WEBVTT
00:00:00.420 --> 00:00:08.390
Welcome to the Living the Dream Podcast with Curveball, if you believe you can achieve.
00:00:08.390 --> 00:00:24.460
Welcome to the Living the Dream with Curveball Podcast, a show where I interview guests that teach, motivate and inspire.
00:00:24.460 --> 00:00:28.539
Where I interview guests that teach, motivate and inspire.
00:00:28.539 --> 00:00:38.479
Today, I am joined by poet and podcaster and business owner, katerina Stoichkova.
00:00:38.479 --> 00:00:50.792
Katerina is Bulgarian, but she lives in Kentucky and she's got books out there about poetry and have a podcast, and she's doing a lot in the state of Kentucky to help people also as well.
00:00:50.792 --> 00:00:55.671
So we're going to be talking to her about everything that she's up to and what she's going to be up to.
00:00:55.671 --> 00:00:58.709
So, katarina, thank you so much for joining me today.
00:00:59.682 --> 00:01:01.880
Thank you, Curtis, for this kind invitation.
00:01:01.880 --> 00:01:03.387
I can't wait to talk to you today.
00:01:04.099 --> 00:01:06.790
Why don't you start off by telling everybody a little bit about yourself?
00:01:08.760 --> 00:01:15.730
Oh well, I was born and raised in Bulgaria during communist times.
00:01:15.730 --> 00:01:23.926
I was born and raised on the Black Sea, so it was quite beautiful.
00:01:23.926 --> 00:01:27.411
In a lovely resort town.
00:01:27.411 --> 00:01:34.203
I was seeing the sun rise out of the Black Sea every morning.
00:01:34.203 --> 00:01:38.686
I am an only child.
00:01:38.686 --> 00:01:43.430
I wanted to become a poet.
00:01:43.430 --> 00:01:47.352
That was my dream when I was eight years old.
00:01:47.453 --> 00:01:51.956
When I was at school, a poet came to the classroom.
00:01:51.956 --> 00:02:04.239
I can't remember his name or his face or anything else, I just remember that I was in second grade.
00:02:04.239 --> 00:02:16.055
In second grade, and when he was talking about poetry, I felt how this huge desire unlocked inside me and I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that that's what I'm gonna do all my life.
00:02:16.055 --> 00:02:17.722
And when?
00:02:17.722 --> 00:02:22.650
And then I went home and I told my mom mom, I'm gonna be poet.
00:02:22.650 --> 00:02:26.115
And I don't think she believed me or anything.
00:02:26.115 --> 00:02:27.645
But I told her you'll see.
00:02:27.645 --> 00:02:37.888
So I went to my room and I wrote a poem, and then somebody told me that I, in order to be a poet, I have to write more than one poem.
00:02:37.888 --> 00:02:51.473
So I continued and continued trying to become better and better, and when I was a teenager, in high school, I started publishing poems in magazines throughout the country.
00:02:51.473 --> 00:02:56.289
However, it took longer to publish my first book.
00:02:56.289 --> 00:02:58.367
I was in my 30s when that happened.
00:03:00.300 --> 00:03:09.592
Okay, well, talk to the listeners about what it takes to write a good book and especially, how do you come up with a good title for a poetry book?
00:03:12.039 --> 00:03:28.932
Well, in order to write a good poetry book, normally people write the poems first, and then they put it together in some way that makes sense for the work as a whole.
00:03:28.932 --> 00:03:38.634
So then, what's important to write a good poetry book, I think, is, first, to write good poems.
00:03:38.634 --> 00:03:42.525
Second, to come up with it, come up with a theme.
00:03:42.525 --> 00:03:49.674
And third, to have, uh, interesting architecture in mind.
00:03:49.674 --> 00:03:58.771
And fourth, to not be afraid to completely abandon those ideas and try something new.
00:03:58.771 --> 00:04:08.353
And try something new and try something new, because a poetry book is not a porcelain cup that you break in.
00:04:08.353 --> 00:04:10.506
You can never put it back together.
00:04:10.506 --> 00:04:26.533
You put it back together and then you put it back together and you put it back together until until it is something that you yourself like and a publisher likes enough to make a commitment for it.
00:04:27.634 --> 00:04:29.677
And how to make a good title?
00:04:29.677 --> 00:04:42.262
Well, the title of a of a poetry book has a different function than the title of an individual poem.
00:04:42.262 --> 00:04:46.069
In a poetry book, few things are local.
00:04:46.069 --> 00:05:07.396
Pretty much every decision that you make is a global decision, so you have to weigh that decision uh, to the effect that it has not only to the the poem that it affects, but also against every other poem that has been included in the collection.
00:05:07.396 --> 00:05:41.995
To me, a good title for a poetry book is one that has multiple meanings, so it's open to different interpretations, it is broad, it is non-ating and also also is welcoming, and it is representative to the themes included in the book.
00:05:45.482 --> 00:05:47.365
Well, you mentioned about a publisher.
00:05:47.365 --> 00:05:52.894
What should people look for in a publisher when they're trying to find one?
00:05:55.321 --> 00:05:59.807
One thing that I look for in a publisher is longevity.
00:05:59.807 --> 00:06:07.115
If the press has been around for a while, it is likely that it will continue.
00:06:07.115 --> 00:06:14.221
It is likely that it will continue Not only.
00:06:14.221 --> 00:06:14.401
I mean.
00:06:14.401 --> 00:06:16.894
That means that your book will likely keep on being in print.
00:06:16.894 --> 00:06:28.165
And also, if a press is very new, that means that they have some time to learn things the hard way, and I'm speaking from experience because I'm a publisher.
00:06:28.165 --> 00:06:40.500
Accents Publishing is 15 years old this year and we never compromised on quality, but we did learn things by doing so.
00:06:40.822 --> 00:06:42.749
Longevity is one.
00:06:42.749 --> 00:06:47.411
Another one is that the press would have a good contract for you.
00:06:47.411 --> 00:06:50.649
Ideally, you won't have to pay for publication.
00:06:50.649 --> 00:07:00.240
Ideally, they will give you percentage as a royalty.
00:07:00.240 --> 00:07:05.752
They would give you a discount to buy your own books.
00:07:05.752 --> 00:07:13.377
And the distribution is another thing that I would look for in a press.
00:07:13.377 --> 00:07:29.649
I would look for how they promote their books, and if I know an author who has been published by this press, I would definitely ask them questions.
00:07:29.649 --> 00:07:31.747
I would ask them two questions.
00:07:31.747 --> 00:07:38.466
I have two questions that I ask authors who have been published by a press what was your experience?
00:07:38.466 --> 00:07:41.427
And then, do you recommend the press?
00:07:45.742 --> 00:07:47.288
I know you talked about the contracts.
00:07:47.288 --> 00:07:54.071
What should people look for and watch out for when they are revealing a contract for possible signing of it?
00:07:57.545 --> 00:08:00.172
So what they would watch out for.
00:08:00.172 --> 00:08:13.413
I mean, I would want to see what I'm giving up in terms of rights and what I'm receiving in return.
00:08:13.413 --> 00:08:26.016
So what rights I am giving up to the publisher in this contract, that should be stated explicitly.
00:08:26.016 --> 00:08:31.487
Are you giving up print rights, what locations and for how long?
00:08:31.487 --> 00:08:54.432
Then what I would watch out for is if there is a publisher deadline to it, because there would be a clause that would say that you, the author, need to deliver all your materials by a certain date.
00:08:54.432 --> 00:09:15.071
But let's make sure that the publisher also has a deadline also, because if you're a new author and you don't have a lot of pool or literary power, then things change, priorities shift and you don't want your books to get kicked back to the publisher's queue.
00:09:17.660 --> 00:09:25.514
Another thing that you would want to see is you would want to see an exit clause.
00:09:25.514 --> 00:09:31.438
Under what conditions is this contract terminated?
00:09:31.438 --> 00:09:39.083
So you will want to see, as I said, the publisher's deadline.
00:09:39.083 --> 00:09:55.106
But also, under what conditions do rights return to you, like if they don't meet demand, or if they go't meet demand, or if they go out of business, or what else?
00:09:55.106 --> 00:10:06.643
You also want, as I said a little bit ago, ideally you want to have royalties.
00:10:06.643 --> 00:10:36.697
You want to have outlined everything that you're receiving from this publisher in terms of royalties and free copies and discounts you wanted in writing in the contract why should a person give some best practice tips on someone deciding whether they want to look for a traditional publisher or they?
00:10:36.716 --> 00:10:37.399
want to self-publish.
00:10:37.399 --> 00:10:58.990
Well, I think it's a good idea for us to be aware of our personal goals, and if your personal goal is to launch a long-term literary career, then it's a good idea, and you have the time to do that.
00:10:58.990 --> 00:11:05.967
In other words, you are fairly young.
00:11:05.967 --> 00:11:26.671
So in this case, it is probably worth it to put in a few years of trying to win a prestigious contest or to try to publish your collection especially if it's a first collection in the best press possible.
00:11:26.671 --> 00:11:32.769
So I would look for traditional publishing under this circumstance.
00:11:36.144 --> 00:11:44.508
If you're working on your career in academia, university presses are a very good choice.
00:11:44.508 --> 00:12:02.885
If you are someone who would like to have a book to share with family and friends and the larger literary community, then independent literary presses are very good choice.
00:12:02.885 --> 00:12:24.730
Then, if you have a particular audience in mind and you do not plan to venture outside of that audience, then self-publishing is a very good choice, because you can control quite a few variables at that point.
00:12:24.730 --> 00:12:34.869
Ultimately, it is more important at some point becomes more important to have the book rather than where it came from.
00:12:34.869 --> 00:12:38.269
So self-publishing is always an option.
00:12:38.269 --> 00:12:50.908
However, if you are going to self-publish, I would still recommend that you use a professional typesetter and a designer.
00:12:54.643 --> 00:12:57.966
Okay, well, tell us about your company as well as your podcast.
00:12:57.966 --> 00:13:05.144
Accents Publishing is your company, and tell us about the podcast, what we can expect when we listen to it and where we can listen to it.
00:13:06.221 --> 00:13:07.245
Okay, thank you very much.
00:13:07.245 --> 00:13:13.884
My company is Accents Publishing, independent press for brilliant voices.
00:13:13.884 --> 00:13:21.034
We started it 15 years ago with handmade chapbooks.
00:13:21.034 --> 00:13:27.571
At the time we made the $5 handmade chapbook and we couldn't make them fast enough.
00:13:27.571 --> 00:13:53.275
They were very popular, very beautiful, but I found myself printing and binding books all the time, so became unmanageable and we started printing through professional printing companies, which made things easier for us and we could publish more books.
00:13:53.275 --> 00:13:57.871
For these 15 years we have published over 100 books.
00:13:57.871 --> 00:14:11.472
I would say that a lot of them are poetry books, although we have several nonfiction books and some novels and short story collections and a series of novellas.
00:14:11.472 --> 00:14:17.570
I would say that accents publishing.
00:14:17.570 --> 00:14:46.576
I have learned so much and it has given me so much throughout the years and I have met some wonderful people and accents is was a radio show and currently is a podcast on WUKY and NPR, and it has been on a hiatus for half a year, but I'm about to start later this month recording again.
00:14:46.576 --> 00:14:47.400
Later this month recording again.
00:14:49.063 --> 00:14:51.868
Okay, well, let the listeners know about your books that you have out.
00:14:51.868 --> 00:14:55.114
Tell us what we can expect with each one of them and what we can get them.
00:15:00.437 --> 00:15:00.859
Thank you.
00:15:00.859 --> 00:15:36.509
My latest book is a nonfiction book called the Poet's Guide to Publishing how to Conceive, arrange, edit, publish and market a book of poetry and I worked for over 10 years on this book and I wanted to put in it everything I know about how to put together a poetry book and how to edit it together as a whole, and how to find a publisher, and then, when you have your book in your hand, how to stand behind it and how to promote it.
00:15:36.509 --> 00:16:22.798
And my latest and it's available wherever books are sold and my latest poetry book is called Between a Birdcage and a Birdhouse and it came out from University Press of Kentucky and it has immigration poems in it well, talk to the listeners about how to take their writings to the next level and and also how to deal, you know, with rejection, because you know you face a lot of rejection, or you can at least oh yes, one thing is do not wait.
00:16:23.500 --> 00:16:24.360
Do not wait.
00:16:24.360 --> 00:16:26.423
Do what you can today.
00:16:26.423 --> 00:16:43.313
If you're serious about writing, know that it takes decades to develop as a writer and if you are not actively working on your craft you're getting behind.
00:16:43.313 --> 00:16:50.423
So that is kind of like an urgent message, but I don't want to scare anybody.
00:16:50.423 --> 00:17:16.160
As long as we do the three big ones, the three non-negotiables reading, writing and um workshopping, reading poetry, writing poetry and um talking to several, several other people to get feedback and to become better then we are moving ahead.
00:17:16.160 --> 00:17:19.696
So what was the second part of the question?
00:17:19.696 --> 00:17:20.859
I want to make sure I answer.
00:17:22.310 --> 00:17:25.140
It was just how people can take their writing to the next level.
00:17:26.029 --> 00:17:26.391
Okay.
00:17:34.722 --> 00:17:36.305
Well, talk to the listeners about.
00:17:36.305 --> 00:17:42.670
You did some work with the Kentucky Book Festival and the Kentucky Poet Society.
00:17:42.670 --> 00:17:45.498
Tell us about those important roles.
00:17:47.296 --> 00:17:55.372
Now I remember the second part of the question, which was how to deal with rejection, and, uh, I'm sorry, may I say a sentence about that?
00:17:55.592 --> 00:17:56.233
yeah, go ahead.
00:17:56.453 --> 00:17:59.863
Okay, because I have faced a lot of it over the years.
00:17:59.863 --> 00:18:10.666
Um, I have found that it is most important to be emotionally neutral about it.
00:18:10.666 --> 00:18:18.931
Emotionally neutral because some people let themselves be destroyed by rejections or because they know that they don't deal with it.
00:18:18.931 --> 00:18:22.095
They avoid putting themselves out there.
00:18:22.095 --> 00:18:33.574
And there are other people who swing the other way and become proud or wallpaper their you know writing space with the rejection.
00:18:33.574 --> 00:18:37.121
See how many times I got rejected and how persistent I am.
00:18:37.121 --> 00:18:50.567
I would just take every rejection as a data point, just like thomas edison said you, these are so many ways that I found out how to not make a light bulb right.
00:18:50.567 --> 00:18:51.750
That's the example.
00:18:51.750 --> 00:19:12.934
So being neutral about it and to keep good records about where you've been sent back, where you have had work sent back, so you don't send the same thing to the same places and do not let it stop you, really Don't let it stop you.
00:19:12.934 --> 00:19:24.162
And your question about the Kentucky Book Festival and the Kentucky State Poetry Society, I can speak to that.
00:19:24.422 --> 00:19:24.663
Yeah.
00:19:35.630 --> 00:19:43.919
I can speak to that Kentucky Book Festival is the biggest, longest running literary event in our state.
00:19:43.919 --> 00:20:06.286
This year it will be the 44th edition and it was started by volunteers in Frankfurt, which is the capital, and authors would go and would sit behind tables and sign books all day and meet the public and have events.
00:20:06.286 --> 00:20:19.119
The festival draws thousands of people and we have about 150 authors and it is a community celebration.
00:20:19.119 --> 00:20:23.756
It is People love to be there.
00:20:23.756 --> 00:20:32.997
The first half an hour all you see is authors hugging each other because they haven't seen each other all year.
00:20:32.997 --> 00:20:56.000
So it's kind of like I quote other authors family reunion and everybody with a new book wants to be part of the Kentucky Book Festival and publishers time the release of their books so that they can come at this in time or to be included for the Kentucky Book Festival.
00:20:56.561 --> 00:21:22.433
I had the privilege of serving as the director for two years and I was able to appreciate how hard administrators work, administrators of literary events work, and how many considerations come into play and how it looks.
00:21:22.433 --> 00:21:29.847
Easy and flawless the event the day of, but it has taken like 10 months of meticulous preparation.
00:21:29.847 --> 00:21:36.749
Easy and flawless the event the day of, but it has taken like 10 months of meticulous preparation for that to happen?
00:21:37.593 --> 00:21:42.159
Okay, well, tell us about any upcoming projects that you're working on that listeners need to be aware of.
00:21:57.410 --> 00:21:58.590
I teach a class based on my poetry guide to publishing book.
00:21:58.590 --> 00:22:03.696
It's a five month uh, five month class in which the students work on to put their book together.
00:22:03.696 --> 00:22:22.090
And I'm finishing this one and I'm gearing up to make a new one and I will be working on my own poems and relax a little bit and, who knows, maybe I'll even film a narrative feature.
00:22:22.090 --> 00:22:30.195
That will be my third narrative feature that I'm co-writing and acting in, so it's going to be a busy summer.
00:22:32.010 --> 00:22:35.300
Sounds like it will, so everybody can keep up with everything that you're up to.
00:22:35.300 --> 00:22:36.655
Throw out your contact info.
00:22:40.070 --> 00:22:46.884
Well, following me on social media would be the easiest way to do that.
00:22:46.884 --> 00:22:54.463
Social media would be the easiest way to do that.
00:22:54.463 --> 00:22:55.306
K-a-t-e-r-i-n-a-s-t-o-y-k-o-v-a.
00:22:58.817 --> 00:22:59.680
Katerina Stoykova is my name.
00:22:59.680 --> 00:23:01.965
Okay, we'll close this out with some final thoughts.
00:23:01.965 --> 00:23:05.300
Maybe, if that was something I forgot to talk about, that you would like to touch on any final thoughts you have for the listeners.
00:23:07.491 --> 00:23:08.577
Well for the listeners.
00:23:08.577 --> 00:23:30.464
Well for the listeners, I would say um, having a creative life is a wonderful way to enrich your regular life and um, I find myself a whole lot more happy and fulfilled and excited about my life when I'm creating something.
00:23:30.464 --> 00:23:40.501
So I wish everybody a wonderful creative summer and thank you, curtis, for being a wonderful host.
00:23:42.132 --> 00:23:45.176
Oh well, thank you for coming on and, listeners, please be sure to purchase Katerina's books, you know.
00:23:45.176 --> 00:23:46.141
Check out everything that she's up to and going.
00:23:46.141 --> 00:23:47.587
Please be sure to purchase katarina's books, you know.
00:23:47.587 --> 00:23:50.137
Check out everything that she's up to and gonna be up to.
00:23:50.137 --> 00:23:52.005
Follow rate review.
00:23:52.005 --> 00:23:54.511
Share this episode to as many people as possible.
00:23:54.511 --> 00:24:05.758
Follow us on your favorite podcast platform and visit wwwcurveball337.com for more information on the living a dream with curveball podcast.
00:24:05.758 --> 00:24:08.087
Thank you for listening and supporting the show.
00:24:08.087 --> 00:24:08.881
And katarina, thank you for Thank you for listening and supporting the show.
00:24:08.881 --> 00:24:12.334
And Katarina, thank you for all that you're doing and thank you for joining me.
00:24:13.176 --> 00:24:13.538
Thank you.
00:24:14.510 --> 00:24:22.881
For more information on the Living the Dream with Curveball podcast, visit wwwcurveball337.com.
00:24:22.881 --> 00:24:27.035
Until next time, keep living the dream.