I have seasoned poets asking if I have a collection out AND every single journal I send work to rejecting my strongest poems right now.

So. That’s great. Love that for me.

@zdfs not sure if you’ve considered it, but you may be able to work with a local bookbinder to put together a small run of nicely hand-bound books to sell/give away for promotion? Ginny’s MFA in graphic design in SF involved making a few, and the bookbinders we worked with were all lovely and helpful. It’s shocking how nice a properly bound book feels compared to a thing you’d get at a random print shop.
@sufian these are good thoughts.