Guidelines for Submitting Poems to Your Daily Poem

Before submitting, please study the YDP archives for a better understanding of the type of poetry we prefer. In general, we look for short poems that are well-constructed, with compelling use of language and imagery, and subject matter that is appealing to a broad range of ages and interests. We like to be amused, we do not like to be offended, and we are not impressed by obscurity. Please don't waste our time or yours by submitting poetry with crude or hateful content or profane language. We don't do politics, death, gloom, or gore. Keep in mind that the purpose of Your Daily Poem is to show those who think poetry is a waste of time that, when done well, it is highly enjoyable and entertaining; if your poetry doesn't leave us smiling or thoughtful, it's probably not a good fit for us.

Please send at least three but no more than six poems in the body of an e-mail to info@yourdailypoem.com.  E-mails sent with poems as attachments will be deleted unread. Submission of poems constitutes permission to feature said poems on Your Daily Poem. While all copyrights remain with the poet, please be aware that if your poem is featured, it will remain in the archives of Your Daily Poem indefinitely.

YDP looks for quality, not credentials. If you've written a great poem, we don't care whether you've ever been published or not. By the same token, we believe great poems should be seen by as wide an audience as possible, so we are happy to consider previously published work. We do ask that you use common sense and not offer us poems that are currently in circulation. If, after three or four submission efforts, none of your poems has been accepted, assume that your work is not a good fit for the YDP readership and kindly remove us from your submission list.

When submitting, please review all poems to eliminate spelling, grammatical, or formatting errors and include:

• any copyright, publication information, or backstory that may be relevant to your poems
• a brief bio that focuses on you as a person rather than a list of publications and/or awards
• titles of any published books
• a link to your website or blog, if you have one

Expect a response within 1- 8 weeks of submission. Thank you.