Small Press Poetry Publisher's Advice to Poets
Love Writing Poetry? Read On...
I'd like to concentrate on poetry in this article, and really focus on those of you fairly new to writing poetry. As a small press publisher, I've published hundreds of poets via my Peace & Freedom Press in the last 25 years. I've often found that it's the modest poets, and the ones insecure about their work, who are often the best, and the (rage building...) ones who send weighty manuscripts with no covering letter, and no return postage, are often mediocre. So, if you are lacking confidence regarding writing poetry, perhaps it's time to think again.
If you're really new to writing poems, don't be fooled into thinking that writing poetry will be a doddle just because there can be a lot less words than an article. A haiku may look a piece of cake to write, but remember its 5-7-5 syllable structure, and then having the task of writing a descriptive poem about, say, a blackbird within that structure. Not so easy. Indeed, some poems will take longer to write than an article.
Read and Learn
Try and read as many different styles of poetry as you can, and have a pen and paper at hand. Study the poems that strike you, and be inspired, not intimidated into thinking: "I can't match that." Take a break, and think. Ideas can come from nowhere, so just embrace them and write some poetry! Don't worry about whether its good or bad at this stage. Even geniuses need to practice.
Buy a notebook to write your poems in, and, as you're feeling more confident, look through them and edit them. Be your own harshest critic, and be dispassionate. In the editing process read your poems as if you were reading the poetry of someone else. It's best to edit any poem at least a few hours after you've written it.
Find out what styles of poetry you enjoy writing the most - which can be from a sprawling epic to a silly limerick. If you think you're competent in several styles, and enjoy writing in many styles, then great, go for it!
If you're comfortable in showing your poetry to friends and family, then do so, but your own belief in your ability is the most important thing. Don't write poetry (and this is true of any creative endeavor) just with the object of making money. Do it because you enjoy it. If you're not enjoying what you're doing it'll probably come across as lackluster. Age isn't a barrier for writing good poetry either. Some poets as young as 14 have stunned me with the insight of seemingly a 60-year-old!
Here's a couple of Jeff Carey articles, which should inspire ya!
Published by Paul Rance
Paul Rance is the co-founder, with Andrew Bruce, of small UK publishing company, Peace & Freedom Press, which began publishing in 1985. Paul founded the booksmusicfilmstv.com website in 2005. View profile
- A Collage of PoetryA collection of different types of poetry styles
Onika Pascal - the Best of Today's Spoken Word Poetry AuthorsThe paragraphs below detail the spoken word poetry written by Onika Pascal. The information that you will receive talks about her literary prowess. If you are interested in spok...- Writing Poetry: Not as Hard as I ThoughtNot too long ago I was a huge fan of poetry, but I didn't think I had the skills to write it. I took a poetry class and it turns out that writing poetry is easier than I thought it was. Now, I love it and maybe you...
- Writing Poetry Well: Improving Your ProsePoetry, more than any genre of writing, is subjective. Even so, writing poetry well involves some important tools. This article discusses ways to improve writing poetry.
Prerequisites to Writing Poetry that Will SellAnyone can write poetry on their own for themselves. But if you want to write for the purpose of financial publication, then the competition requires more of you which is worth...
- A Different Approach to Writing Poetry
- Poetry Lesson Plan Ideas for Children
- Intro to Writing Poetry
- The Essentials of Writing Poetry
- A Few Tips on How to Get Started Writing Poetry
- Some Specifics of Writing Poetry
- Effects of Two Different Styles of Writing: Philosophical and Poetical
21 Comments
Post a CommentWow, I spend way less time on my poems than on my articles. They must be utter crap! :)
Thanks for the advice from a pro.
Great advice! Poetry is not just about writing, it's about seeing the world in a creative way and translating it into words. Too many people get hung up on the words themselves and/or the structure. True poets just let the poetry flow through their fingers.
I'd like to talk to you about publishing some poetry, if you're still in the biz.
Very good advice Paul, I think if a subject interests you and inspires you, it is much easier to write a poem on it, thanks for this one :)
Well written & stated! I think it is great that poets can receive advice straight from a poetry publisher here. I would also like to add to your advice that poets who do submit to small presses need to be patient when waiting for a response. While we live in the age of instant messaging, it can take months to receive a response. I would advise poets to be patient and graciously wait it out. Put a response time limit in your cover letter if you must but do not make pesky phonecalls/emails to an editor.
Publishing poetry on AC is akin to giving it away, but the personal satisfaction I receive from the writing and readers' reactions balances. Even if I never make money, want and need will still spur me to connect words into poems. Some poems take weeks or months to write, others a few days. I sometimes read poems, aloud and silently, 100 times or more. There are usually dramatic changes from first draft to finished pieces...what began as a short love poem became Lincoln Dreams. I have learned to used less punctuation, and hope to found a more realistic relationship with perfectionism soon;)...too little, I'll end up with "Roses are red"...too much, I'll rarely publish. Great read Paul...thanks you for the links.
Great article Paul, good advice for any poets.
Years ago, i wrote poems. i wrote a poem to a guy I remember from my childhood. i sent it to him. I think he still has it hanging on his wall.
I have written songs for many years and as a kid I wrote poetry but it's been awhile - and I forget the formats sometimes but it is freeing to be able to write poetry sometimes. Mine isn't very good but I enjoy it anyway and hope over time to become better. Thanks for the education