The publishing process can be hard to navigate on your own. This is made even more difficult by the fact that there rarely seems to be any resources guiding poets in editing for their genre... so I wrote one!
This post will help you navigate the editing process and give you some helpful tips on each stage as you work toward your dream of being a published poet.
I started my poetry journey as an emotional 9 year old. I was published in my first magazine when I was 17, and I've gotten published in two others since! I was also the poetry editor of a literary magazine for four years. Now, after helping other poets get published, I'm working on my own manuscript.
This is all to say: you're not alone, I'm here with you, now let's do this!
Self editing: For poets, this isn't as simple as waiting a few weeks for your eyes to be fresher. Sometimes poets have to wait to have time and space between the event or emotion a specific poem is centered on before self editing can begin.
Some things to look for when self editing poetry:
Placement of line breaks and punctuation
Imagery
Weak words
The message: does it say what you want it to say?
Alpha readers: These are the people you trust the most to be kind and honest when giving you feedback. My alpha readers are usually my husband and my cat (seriously!). Alpha readers help you decide which poems should be workshopped and which ones might need to spend more time in the notes app.
Workshopping: Instead of a developmental edit, poetry goes through rounds of workshopping. This can be done in many ways: a free group at the library, a paid college workshop, a group of poets, or hiring an editor.
Instead of paying thousands to enroll in college workshops (like I did as part of my degree), hiring an editor that you can pay by the word (like me! Shameless self promo hehe) can be much more cost effective and productive.
Group workshops are great, but oftentimes my experiences in workshops have been lackluster. I haven't gotten the constructive feedback I so desperately crave because people are shy to be critical of emotionally-charged poetry, work about traumatic events, etc. Hiring an editor for this step is one way to solve that problem.
Beta readers: Beta readers approach your work from the viewpoint of a casual reader, which can be extremely helpful as you decide what works in your manuscript and what doesn't.
There are so many people online that are interested in beta reading poetry for free! People are also more likely to be willing to help out with a poetry book, as they're much shorter than a novel. Finding beta readers is also a great way to practice marketing your book.
Poem ordering: The order of your poems tells a story, so make sure it's the one you want to tell! Do you want your book divided by theme? Do your poems tell a chronological story?
My favorite way to order my own poems is to print them all out and arrange them on my office floor. It's the best way I've found so far to truly visualize them.
Some editors (myself included!) offer poem ordering as a service. Sometimes an outside perspective can see a theme or story that you don't!
Formatting: This step will be different for everyone depending on budget, publishing platform, ebook vs. print, etc. You can hire a typesetter to format your book, or you can put in some hours learning to do it yourself.
Unfortunately, having a poetry book can complicate this step as a lot of poems have purposeful line breaks, "weird" formatting, and art that accompanies the poems. There are amazing people out there who can do the hard parts for you, and it might just be worth it!
Proofreading: Once your work is formatted, a proofreader will look for formatting errors, typos, and any lingering grammatical and stylistic errors.
Many people (including myself) recommend that you hire a proofreader who isn't the same person who did your other editing. This is because even if weeks have passed since they read your manuscript, their eyes will never be able to pretend they haven't read the content before. Also, no editor is perfect and a different editor might catch something the first one didn't. The more eyes on your work the better!
Advanced Reading Copies (ARCs): Advanced Reader Copies are important for marketing your book! The relationship between author and ARC reader is a symbiotic one: the reader gets a free book in a genre they enjoy, and the author gets a review and possibly some promotional content. Reviews on websites like Amazon, Goodreads, and Storygraph help get your books in the hands of the readers that will connect to your book the most!
Publication: Yay!! You did it! Throw a party!
Your editor(s) will likely want to support you in marketing your book! Don't forget to send us a link to where people (possibly us!) can purchase your book and share your social media posts so we can share to our audiences. My support of you doesn't end just because I've returned your manuscript :)
My dear poet, I hope this blog was able to help you organize your thoughts to work toward your dream.
If you are in need of any poetry-related service, please don't hesitate to reach out via email, social media, or my inquiry form! I would love to chat about how I can support you.
Happy writing and editing!
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