21 Day Poetry Writing Challenge

I recently participated in a 21 Day Poetry Writing Challenge. Essentially, the goal was to write one poem per day or if your schedule doesn’t allow for a daily commitment, as long as you write all 21 poems and have them submitted by the deadline, it counts.  The company holding the challenge is BookLeaf Publishing and the fee was $50.  By completing the challenge, you would get to have your poetry published. Now, there are lots of warnings out there to avoid vanity publishers (companies that charge the author money, sometimes ridiculous amounts, to get published) but so far, my experience with this challenge has been overly positive, and I have definitely wasted $50 on other less permanent adventures. I think its very cool for a small commitment and relatively modest fee, I can have a published written work that I can gift to others or enjoy myself.  Completing the competition allows gets your work copyrighted, and an IBSN, and your book becomes available for purchase.  All the relevant info is available on their website: Writeathon Canada | BookLeaf Publishing

There are options after you complete the challenge to “upgrade” your package, but they are not required. I decided to go ahead and upgrade which gave me access to a publishing consultant, some editing services and a few other details explained on the website. I received notification TODAY that my book of poems has entered the editing stage and I have seen the initial draft and can say I am quite pleased with the whole process so far.  If this sounds like something cool, go check out the website. I get nothing in return for mentioning this whole thing, but I thought it was a neat experience and more people should embrace their creative side.  I will continue to update as I move through the process!