Your Questions
What’s most on your mind about poetry book development and publishing?
Photo by Towfiqu barbhuiya on Unsplash
In the two and a half months that I’ve been publishing this newsletter, I have been so touched by the attention and appreciation these posts have received. Your comments and feedback mean so much to me.
So, this week, I’d like to open it up to you. What would you like to see in future newsletters?
What’s on your mind regarding book development and publishing?
What are your biggest current challenges?
Which topics would you like to see explored here?
What would you love to ask other poets about their process?
(Respond in the comments, pretty please!)
For example, here’s what’s on my mind right now.
Book themes. As I work on high-priority revisions and get closer to exploring possible book structures, I’m particularly sensitive to themes. How do I honor them without unnecessarily narrowing the book’s scope and potential?
Momentum in late phases of book development. Honestly, I’m fatigued. Maybe it’s just world weariness—that’s certainly possible—but I suspect it’s the sort of tiredness we all encounter late in the process of any major, long-term project. Distance runners call it “hitting the wall.” There’s a massive energy dip before the last few miles, and you think you might not be able to finish. I feel this. I’m also aware that the closer I get to the final phase of book development, the more I doubt the value of the work. So, how can I better manage book fatigue? Are there more skillful ways to deal with Doubt with a capital D than just pushing through, as usual? What buoys other poets in the last phase of book development?
Your turn! What’s sparking your curiosity? Or driving you crazy? Thanks in advance for your honesty. Absolutely no one benefits if we all pretend the process is easy. That’s why I started this newsletter.
P.S. A quick announcement about spring classes for those of you not on my regular mailing list. I have just ONE seat open in the private 6-week online (Re)visionary Workshop (April-May). This class is suitable for intermediate-advanced writers looking for focused feedback on drafts and new approaches to revision. Also starting in April: The all-levels Poetic Pause—Lineation & Stanzas (4-week class, Lighthouse Writers Workshop via Zoom). Thanks for taking a look.
A timely newsletter, Radha. Thanks for inviting more inquiries. Here are some questions on my mind currently:
1) I would like to hear more about the path from revision to single-poem publication to book publication. How important is it to get a poem or more published in a journal before trying to publish a book of poems?
2) Should we submit poems before we think they are in "final" form?
3)What about self publishing? Marketing? Is there a place for poetry on social media?
4)When should we stop adding "new" poems to a book of poems we're trying to put together?
You say so many wise things, Radha. This is one of my favorites: "Absolutely no one benefits if we all pretend the process is easy."
Indeed it isn't easy. Which is one reason we should celebrate the days when the writing is both easy and satisfying. And honor each other as we continue the work when it isn't.