Over the weekend, I was asked by a poet for tips on how to handle criticism as he tried thinking out whether he should join a writing critique group. With his work, he was afraid of a few things:

1. He wouldn't be able to handle the critiques. That is, he was afraid too much negativity would lead him to give up writing.
2. He wouldn't find the right readers to give critiques. He'd written a massive blank verse poem, and he's afraid the wrong group won't appreciate his words.
3. He won't appreciate the written words of his peers. He seemed to have a particular view of other contemporary writers--thinking much of today's writing is kinda like spam.

Now, I'm not going to get into a debate of his stance on contemporary poetry, which I personally think has very good vital signs. However, as a former participant of several online critique groups and a student that logged more than 60 credit hours in writing courses at the University of Cincinnati, I will speak a little on the value of critique groups.

So there, I've already tipped my hand: I think critique groups are valuable, even if you don't agree with the critiques. And here's why:

First, the only way to gauge if something is actually working for your readers is to solicit feedback. Sure, you know what you're trying to do, but you don't know if anyone else is picking up on it unless you hear it from your readers. After all, you can't go around explaining your intentions to every reader--unless you actually want a very small audience.

Second, bad feedback is still valuable, because it forces you to look hard at your work and try to justify exactly why a particular line or image is fine as it is. And you need to be honest with yourself. If you can't honestly defend your work, then you may have an area that needs revision.

Third, there's nothing better than good feedback. After taking in all the praise though, be sure to develop a certain sense of paranoia. Is everything really okay? Can I change a line here or there? I've found that when I receive absolutely no negative feedback that I'm usually more self-critical of my work. After all, there's no such thing as a perfect poem.

Fourth, critique groups give you the ability to talk out problems you're having. If you know something's not working, you can ask the group to pay attention to x or y and give specific feedback.

Fifth, critique groups provide camaraderie with other poets. And that's often hard to do, especially if you don't live in a major city--but even there, poets are a bit hermetic and love to fly solo.

So there are some reasons why critique groups--as well as workshops, conferences and creative writing programs--are a good thing (in my opinion).

*****

As far as handling the criticism, as mentioned above, you should always be prepared to defend and scrutinize your work. It's a crazy tightrope act, but one that poets need to perform to get the most out of their lines.

Personally, I always bring a new poem to my critique group hoping for the best and expecting the worst. Usually, I find my words are somewhere in the middle.

Currently, I'm not a part of a critique group, but I still have some trusted readers for poems that I feel are close to getting where I want them to be. These are the readers I trust to let me know if my writing is hitting the mark or falling short. I know they'll let me know, because we've built up a level of trust over the years--both in giving and receiving criticism. Hopefully, if you haven't already, you will be able to find such a group of trusted readers.

I received a couple questions over the weekend as part of my Writer's Market thing I do. And I thought they both would work well as things to ponder here. In fact, I'm opening myself up to poetry specific questions at my work email (robert.brewer@fwpubs.com) if you put "Poetic Asides Poetry Question" in your subject line AND if you refrain from asking me to critique your poetry (while I'd be honored, I just don't have the time to critique everyone's work).

If I get enough good questions, I'll try and answer some here from time to time.

*****

Question 1 had to do with planning ahead. The writer was ashamed she didn't know where to start with writing and getting published. This is a common problem, and the answer is very simple: Start by writing and not worrying about the other stuff.

Too many writers, including poets, worry about making money and finding fame before they've actually finished their manuscripts. Don't trouble yourself over all the riches and awards your writing is sure to earn you. Just write and enjoy the writing process.

As you're writing, you can (and should) read as many literary journals as you can. This is where you will be trying to place your poetry, so you should be studying these journals to have a good idea which journals match up well with what you're writing.

After you've got a lot of great material, read up on the do's and don't's of submitting your poetry. Then, read the specific guidelines of where you're submitting. As soon as you pull the trigger on submitting, don't wait around for a response: Get your butt back in your chair and craft some more poems.

*****

Tied to that 1st question I received this email (name omitted for privacy): "I am a very accomplished author and writer and I have written eleven poetry books to date now in a series. But I cannot seem to be able to land a good agent to represent me with my poetry books. They keep saying that they don't do poetry. I know that there is a big market for good poetry books. My newest two-book set of 600 poems is going to be a hit. Please help!"

Okay, so that's not really a question. It's a call for help.

The problem here is that this "very accomplished author" has an unrealistic view of the poetry market. Most bookstores reserve very little room for poetry. And then, the space in that rare shelf space is dominated by "the classics" and major award winning poets. So, there's usually no room for "good poetry books" by other poets--whether they are accomplished or not (in non-poetry fields).

Poetry is not a "get rich quick" method of writing. And literary agents are usually going to have no interest in representing poetry, because agents make 10-15% of what their authors make. And no agent is interested in working for 15% of 2 free contributor copies or even $50 (for those poets who do hit it big).

*****

So the message of this post (I really should try to have a message, shouldn't I?) is that you shouldn't get caught up in wondering what's going to happen to your poetry after you write it; you should just write it.

Received this question via e-mail from poet Liesl Garner:

"Last year I performed a poetry show at our local Fringe Festival. I got wonderful reviews, and I am performing a Repeat Performance in October of this year. The Fringe Festival is every Spring, and I plan to participate each year. After my first show, I was asked if I had my poetry printed in a chapbook for sale. I didn't, but for the Repeat Performance I want to have that available for audience members. I'm actually thinking of doing a chapbook for each year's performance. Is it bad for my hopes and dreams of someday becoming a published poet to be doing my own publishing of chapbooks?

"Currently, I just don't have the time to be submitting with the numbers I would have to in order to get noticed by a publisher. However, on my local scene, I have a large fan base that wants to see my work in print.

"Thanks, Liesl Garner"

Before I get into my ramble, you should probably read Nancy's Published Is Published post about what self-publishing will do to those poems that are self-published in the eyes of editors. Then, come back here to read what I have to say.

(Tapping on desk as Liesl reads Nancy's post. Ba-ba-ba. Humming to self.)

Back?

Okay then.

So you now know that self-publishing any of your poems will have editors considering those specific poems already published, right? That doesn't mean your career is over, it just means these specific poems are now only available as reprints. This fact can hurt when submitting to poetry journals and magazines or even chapbook contests. But the publication of some of your poems does not affect what you do with other poems that are not self-published.

If you decide that for the current crop of poems you wish to self-publish that it is okay if they risk being only available in your self-published chapbook format, then you should go for it. More and more poets are doing this. However, if you wish to see any of these specific poems in some journal or future chapbook competition winning collection, you may not want to include in your self-publishing effort.

As far as actually self-publishing, I advise you to either go with a local printer that you can work with directly--or there are some online POD companies that allow you to print and publish only one book at a time, which dramatically lowers the investment you have to make in your self-publishing venture. I'm sure some very nice poets (hint, hint) could even give suggestions in the blog comments below. Even if not, that's why God created Google; just type "POD Publishers" into Google, and you will receive plenty of online resources of how and who to proceed with.

On another note, there's no shame in self-publishing. Through the ages, poets have been especially prone to self-publication. And that trend only seems to be expanding even more with online and POD technologies now available to poets.

Just remember: Self-publishing does equal publishing. So those specific poems that are self-published could pay the price with publishers in the short term. Of course, most poets would agree that you're not risking much financially by self-publishing over traditional publication. For many, the main goal is to just reach an engaged audience.

Best,

Robert