I can only imagine how many people e-mail you to beg for help, but that gives me the impression that you know what you're doing. 

I am a freshman in high school who has been addicted to literature since I was born. In the past couple of months, I have discovered a talent of mine that I never knew I had; poetry. I have written approximately nine poems in the past two months or so. My friends and teachers have read most of them, and I can honestly say that I haven't had one negative thing said about any of them. I feel kind of awkward e-mailing you like this, but I am in desperate need of advice from someone with experience in the publishing field. I don't really know where to go from here...I have heard of people who have received scholarships for writing poetry, but have never had the chance to enter any of my poems. What are my options from here?

 Can you help me? I'm clueless!!! Thank you for your time!! Any input would be *much* appreciated!!!

Congratulations on discovering this wonderful, frustrating talent. Firstly, keep writing. 

Next, buy or borrow some issues of Poets & Writers' Magazine (your local library might carry it). This magazine has a great section every month on writers' prizes, grants etc., as well as interviews with successful published writers and poets.

 There's not an awful lot of money to be made in poetry, but there is a definite thrill in seeing your work published. To get published you need to find publications that are looking specifically for poetry. To do this, you need to look for listings of "writer's markets". At your local library you'll likely find a copy of a big book called "Writer's Market 2004" published by Writer's Digest. This is a great place to start (they also have a website but you have to subscribe to get access to all their listings). This book will tell you about thousands of publications and what they are looking for, how much they pay, etc. It also has good essays in the front about how to go about submitting writing.

 You will also find listings of writers' markets online. They usually specify pay rates and requirements. (Here are a few examples: http://www.forwriters.com/markets.html, www.inkygirl.com, writersmarkets.com)

 I'd recommend steering clear of publications that promise to give you 'exposure' but no money. One way to tell if a market is legitimate is if they can afford to pay you. In the poetry field it might be acceptable to get contributors' copies of the publication in lieu of cash but try not to sell yourself short.

 Also steer clear of poetry.com. This is a well-known scam site. They accept almost anything, put it in their 'anthology' and then sell the anthology to the authors at about $50 a pop. In general avoid anyone who asks you to pay to be published (there are some exceptions to this rule, especially if you decide you want to self-publish your work, but that's a story for another day).

 You can find other warnings here.

 Also, consider sending your work to local publications, radio stations, alumni magazines and places like that. They probably won't pay much, but you might get some valuable feedback, confidence, and clips for your portfolio.

 The next thing you'll have to do is get ready for rejection. It happens to us all and it doesn't mean you're a bad writer, just that what you've written doesn't fit a certain publication or contest's needs this month. Keep writing and keep printing out copies of your work and sending it off. (If they accept submissions by email, so much the better because all that postage, and return postage, can get expensive.) The best way to avoid rejection is to pay close attention to what editors want to see and how and when they want to see it (there is no point sending a 'summer' themed poem to an editor in June. Their summer issue is already well underway).

 You might also want to consider joining a writers' group (online or in real life) to get feedback and gossip and general encouragement in your writing journey. It's not compulsory, though, and can be counter-productive, so if you don't want to join one, don't!

 There are some more useful resources at my site. 

 A couple of caveats: 1. Getting published is great, but it's not what it's all about. If you find yourself no longer enjoying writing because you're obsessed with the 'will I get published' question, stop trying to get published and just get back to writing the best work you can. You can worry about publishing later, when you hit a creative dry spell.

 2. Finding all these writing resources can a, overwhelm you, and/or b, take up way too much of your time. Indulge with care.

Hope this helps.

Best wishes,

Julie