“If you are always kind, people will want to collaborate with you/ help you with your own artistry.” – dimitrireyespoet.com
As a content creator still trying to become monetized on YouTube, I often return to Why I’m a Poet and why I’m committed to engage with you all. The creation of Dimitri Reyes Poet derived out of the need for poetry resources on the internet. So much of what is learned in the literary business is simply through experience and communicating with others— asking and growing from professionals with more knowledge and know-how about that space.
I’m not ignorant to the fact that countless writers— good writers— passionate writers— those who write to understand and/or save themselves— don’t always have access to programs, mentors, and burgeoning art scenes where they can get this information from. Actually, I too, turned to the internet upon acceptance into an MFA program even while in a metropolitan city with a thriving artists community because I just didn’t know how to find it. With that being said, if you are already writing and submitting your poems, I’ll quickly make you aware of 4 Secret Poetry Tips to consider while you continue navigating your work.
1) Always Be Kind
When I was younger, every now and then I’d hear the adults say, “always be nice, your friend could be your boss, tomorrow.” This is easily translated into how I continued to move throughout the community, not in the sense that I was always waiting for my next acquaintance to boss me around, but in the way that you’ll never know who will be able to/ want to help you out. If you are lucky enough to be in a community— no matter how big or small— of creatives, chances are that at some point they will call upon their peers for an opportunity or you’d want to call upon your peers for some help. If you are always kind, people will want to collaborate with you/ help you with your own artistry. It’s easier to be kind than mean, and doing so allows your circle of contacts to be wider.
2) Editors Can Be Cut & Dry
When submitting your work, you can often be sending in your poems among 50, 100, or 500 other people. To that effect, a team of editors (sometimes a single individual!) has to sort through all of that work. To thin the pile, they can look for the slightest requirements that you might not find that big of a deal, like proper formatting or titling of your file. If these submission guidelines aren’t followed correctly, it can quickly find its way into the ‘declined’ pile. You can hear me discuss this and a few other tips in my 5 Tips for Literary Magazine Submissions video.
3) Be Grateful w/ Who You Work With
Whether publishers, venues, or other organizations, it is always nice to be grateful when you get the chance. Scenarios in which you can show gratitude?
- In an email response when you get asked to do a reading.
- Praising the hosts right before a reading.
or my favorite…
- Thanking them in a social media post, while leading our friends/ followers to their other work.
It’s important to honor the hosts/ publishers/ venues because there are usually more artists than spaces/ publications/ features available.
4) Sometimes… It IS About Who You Know
In the beginning I was sure that cliques were the worst thing to happen to writers (and in some ways I still do, especially for cliques who are in the upper echelon of the literati, but that’s another blog for another day!) but I learned that the longer you are actively engaged in a writer’s community, the more likely you are to be involved in circles of people who are actively thinking about artists to amplify. Which in themselves become cliques too!
With time, friends will recommend you to different events and places to publish because they’ll believe and trust in your work and you’ll find yourself doing the same. One can make it as a writer on their own, but it’s comforting to look ahead while turning around and seeing a family of scribes behind you.
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