POETREE

This is really cool. I like Native American poetry, and poetry about that branch of history.

I have not written a book-length poem in one piece, but I have written a lot of long poems. I also have poetic series, some of which are starting to add up to book length now. In my pricing for the Poetry Fishbowl, I start epics at 61 lines, charging $.50/line as a standard rate.

The amount of research I do varies. Some series are set in totally different worlds, requiring little or no serious research. Others are set in analogs of this world -- I have historic fantasy versions of Italy, Asia, and now Sweden -- which requires more attention to detail and historic accuracy.

Then there is The Steamsmith series, which is set in a version of Victorian England ... but with science based on alchemy rather than atomic physics. Same scientific principles apply but most of the answers to the questions are different. I have done a lot of research into history and the sciences for this. I finally wound up doubling the price when I realized that these poems were taking me twice as long as usual to write, compared to other poems, just because they required that much research.

Often when I post a poem that has research behind it, I'll include links to some of my references. My readers really enjoy that. They'll go out and look at the linked materials, sometimes come back with further discussions on the subject area. So part of researching epics involves understanding your audience's level of knowledge and what will intrigue them. Then you can include some really fun little eastereggs.