Poetry in Real Life

For the last three years, I've had the privilege of presenting "Poetry in Real Life" to students at my former high school in honor of National Poetry Month. I talk to them about how I was once in their shoes: a girl who loved to write rhymes and clever, raw things about my life. Then, I show them how I made writing my entire personality and how I poet my way through life: from my writing process, to my self-publishing experience, to marketing my books. It's both rewarding and exciting to watch young minds latch onto the idea that they could do what I do. Some of them will probably do it even better.

I decided to offer a blog-formatted version of my presentation in case someone reading this also has dreams of being a writer and published author. We all have stories to tell!

The most powerful person in the world is the storyteller.

-Steve Jobs

PROCESS

So you want to write a book of poetry. How do you begin?

Everyone will have a different process, especially when writing a book. I typically go through a "new era" every 2-3 years, depending on when and how inspiration strikes me.

Some very, very basic steps I follow as I start from scratch:

Create a theme

What inspires you lately? Does the inspiration come first or second? I gather inspiration from everywhere and anything. Life experiences, music, books, relationships, pets, politics, weather, you name it. Nothing is too silly to use for inspiration. In fact, in 2017, I saw a shower curtain called jardín (garden in Spanish), and boom, there was the impetus for my second book, Garden.

Write all the time

Set up a creative zone (a defined, distraction-free period) where you can write and edit. When I'm in the middle of writing a book, I pick a time (usually Wednesday evenings, for whatever reason) to sit down and focus. That said, I'm not only writing on Wednesdays. If inspiration strikes me at the gym, I jot something down in my notes app. If I'm at the beach, I've got at least one journal with me to write and reflect. I also like using Evernote to organize all my poems and save them as my one source of truth for when it's time to edit.

Make a timeline

Factor in time for writing, editing, drafts, formatting, publishing, marketing, etc. It can be loose at first, but you'll want to give yourself a metric, a goal to work towards. I've had to push publish dates twice because I'd underestimated how long it would take to tell a complete, polished story. The most eye-opening part of writing a book is realizing how long the editing and drafting portion takes. I aim to have at least three drafts when I get to that point.

When it comes to editing, think of food

Write hot, edit cold

• Like a good steak, poetry sears the page, but then needs time to rest

• Just get the words out, then come back later to polish them up

• By being patient, you’re bound to be more thoughtful and intentional

  
  

Let it simmer

• Like a good sauce, poetry needs time to let all the flavors meld together

• Does it need more salt? Add some. Does it need to be stirred up? Do it.

• Edit. Then edit again. But trust your gut. When a poem feels ready, it’s done!

And while you're in the thick of it:

DO

• Be honest with yourself

• Ask questions 

• Challenge yourself

• Put thought into the order of your poems

• Stay open-minded with feedback

• Be transparent, relevant, expressive, and intentional 

DON'T

• Practice self-loathing

• Surrender to writer’s block

• Be afraid to cut things

• Ignore your self-care

• Rush yourself

• Be cliché, redundant, preachy, or tone-deaf

PUBLICATION

Why do I self-publish? I love having complete creative control over my work. I write everything, edit everything, design the book cover, format the layout, market it, and more. The whole process is fun for me!

Plus, it's well-known that snagging the attention of a traditional publisher is difficult, though my ultimate dream. Self-publishing my books makes my work more accessible, as I can make it happen on my schedule. I get to publish on my timeline, so if I want it in my readers' hands ASAP, it's doable. If I want to spend a little longer making sure my book is perfect, there's no rush.

Here are the two platforms I use to publish my books:

Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP)

Pros

• Easy-to-navigate user interface

• Tons of how-to articles (I have yet to have an unanswered question because of how thought-out their articles are)

• Multiple formats (softcover, e-book, hardcover)

• Lots of opportunities to promote your work

• Fast review turnaround

• Cover creator software

• The quality of the book is great

• Amazon Prime members can get the book pretty quickly once it's listed for sale

Cons

• Does Jeff Bezos really need my money?

• Once, when I published under my maiden name, another author had the same name as me, and our reviews got merged. This was very annoying, but KDP corrected it relatively quickly.

Barnes & Noble Press

Pros

• I like supporting a traditional book seller, even though an indie bookshop would be better!

• Multiple formats (softcover, e-book, hardcover)

• Publicity, editorial, marketing, and design help resources are available for a cost. Admittedly, I haven't used these because I like to have full creative control and save money.

Cons

• Fewer royalties than KDP (about 94 cents less per book)

• Review turnaround was longer than KDP, so they got published on different days

• The quality of the book seemed cheaper than KDP, even with the same paper type and cover type

PRESENCE

I tell the students I speak with to "embrace the cringe" when it comes to presence. It might seem weird or uncomfortable to share your work, but it won't get read or heard if you don't share it. The whole point of writing a book is to allow others to dive in with you. Here are a few of the essentials when your book is ready to go.

Build a website/portfolio

• A site like Wix, Squarespace, WordPress, Medium, or Tumblr will do

• Give your book and your "about the author" pitch a home

• I like to print business cards with a QR code to my website to make it accessible

Go digital

• Post to social media, do giveaways, say yes to podcast features, live streams, etc.

• Create & share Apple Music or Spotify playlists of songs that inspired your work

Go to events and network

• Interact with & support your peers, see what’s going on in your area (check your library for existing events or to volunteer), get contacts and inspiration

• It's always nice to have friends in a similar creative vein so you can bounce ideas off each other, review each other's work, and share the highs and lows of being a writer :)

Perform your work

• You can do this at open mics, DIY videos, and readings for special events

• For example, if you have a poem about art and you see a flyer for an upcoming art show, ask if you can volunteer to read

Best of luck to you, fellow writers! I hope we meet again on the bestseller list one day! :)