Loneliness of the poet
Writing is a strange craft.
On the one hand, it is supposed to be one of the most personal things we do, an unfiltered glimpse into our most hidden secrets. On the other hand, we share this personal craft with the entire world, publishing it in social media and magazines for everyone to see.
Many writers I meet experience tremendous frustration from the natural tension between these two ideas. They feel that despite all the sincerity they make, despite all attempts to bring something authentic to the audience, the audience does not connect, does not respond, and does not read what they write. I, too, feel this frustration sometimes.
One thing that leads to this frustration is that we always write our poems from our own point of view. In many cases, when that poem meets the readers, things get lost in translation, and things that were clear to us evaporate when others try to read it.
To resolve this tension, we are required to do something almost impossible: we are required to step outside of ourselves for a moment and try to read the poem as if we were one of our readers. After this, we cut through the poem's flesh and adjust it to fit our audience.
This process is called self-editing.
What is self-editing?
Self-editing is a process in which I temporarily forget that I am the writer of the poem. Instead, I try to read it as if encountering it for the first time. During this process, I ask myself various questions to help me understand the poem's nature. Some examples of these questions include:
Asking yourself these and other similar questions can help determine whether someone other than yourself can enjoy your poem.
But how do you do it?
Some of you may be skeptical.
"Can I actually edit myself?" You may be asking. "It's not like I can forget who I am and read the poem with stranger’s eyes." While it's true that you can't completely detach yourself from your perspective, there is a way to approach your work more objectively. It takes practice to achieve this, but it is possible.
To prepare yourself for self-editing, you should create some distance between yourself and your poem, separating your poem's quality from your self-worth as a writer. Once you can approach your poem with a fresh perspective, you can refine it more effectively. Remember, the poem is not you, and you are not your poems. By freeing your mind from self-criticism, you can change the poem without worrying about how it reflects on your self-esteem.
In my previous post about fried chicken and brisket poets, I tried to convince you to wait before publishing your poems and not rush to publish them right after you finished writing them. One of the main reasons I recommend this approach is that taking your time before publishing produces the disconnection I was talking about. It is necessary to disconnect yourself from the poem for you to be able to criticize your work and self-edit.
Your poems are undoubtedly close to your heart, and you always want them to be the best they can be. However, it's easier to achieve this when you don’t feel like every change you make is a personal attack. To edit your poems effectively, you need to be able to detach yourself emotionally and make objective changes. It may not be easy, but it is achievable. Once you can edit your poems without being overwhelmed by emotion, you can ensure they resonate with your audience in the best possible way.
Between editing and self-editing
Self-editing is a wonderful process that allows you to experience the best of both worlds. On one hand, you deeply understand yourself and what you were trying to convey in your poem, which helps you comprehend it better. On the other hand, you approach your work as if you were a stranger, someone who hasn't read your poetry before. This dual perspective enables you to gain a deeper insight into your poem and make the most out of it.
However, it's essential to understand that self-editing is not a replacement for professional editing by an experienced editor. These two processes are crucial and separate from each other. Just like learning to play guitar from YouTube videos can't replace a guitar lesson with a teacher, there's no substitute for the eyes of an experienced editor going over your poem and giving you feedback.
Even experienced writers miss some things when they read their own works, and I also don't edit my own books but pay an editor to help me do it. Self-editing is usually an intermediate step between writing the poem and editing with an editor. By self-editing, you make your poem as clear as possible for editing with an editor. Nevertheless, a good editor can help you even if you do not self-edit.
I know that not everyone can afford to hire an editor for every poem they write. However, simply relying on self-editing may not be enough to bring out the full potential of your work. Statements like "I self-edited the poem, so I don't need editing" can be problematic because they limit your ability to improve, expand your writing skills, and learn new techniques to make you a better poet.
When I edit my work, I use the tools I've learned from experienced editors who have helped me develop a new perspective and taught me various writing techniques. To self-edit effectively, you should go through a professional editing process with multiple editors. Each editor can teach you new tools and techniques that you can then use to improve your self-editing skills.
I hope I managed to explain and emphasize what self-editing is, why it is crucial, and its advantages. There are many more things to say: How do you actually do self-editing? How do you maintain neutrality? What are the things worth paying attention to in the process? I plan to expand on these and many other questions in future posts.
If you have completed the self-editing process for your poems and feel ready for a professional and accurate editing process, I invite you to contact me. Together, we will advance your poetry to new heights.
If you’re reading this, it means that the art of writing is important to you, that you have a strong curiosity to learn, and that you liked what you read so far. Please sign up on my website to be notified by every post I make with tips like the ones here, new poems, and my writing workshops.
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