Writing is Hard Work, but I Had Another Poem Published!

This week, I had another poem published through an online journal, Solid Food Press. Please read Hummingbird Sabbath here!

There is a temptation to think that poetry (or any other kind of writing) is a gift some people have, the words just come to them in a storm of inspiration, and then they get published. That’s not how it works most of the time.

Writing is hard work, especially poetry, when you are limited to an economy of words and must consider even syllable count and meter when trying to convey your idea. This poem had at least five distinct drafts (and innumerable changes within each draft).

I first witnessed the beautiful moment of inspiration in the summer of 2023, looking through my kitchen window. I knew immediately I wanted to capture that moment in a poem. I sat down, excited to write out my initial, raw thoughts. But I knew I still had a lot of work to do. My second draft brought the poem into some kind of form, then I shared it with fellow writers in the Habit for feedback. After receiving feedback, I spent a long time on draft three, really working it into shape and polishing things. I started submitting it to publications in November of 2023. I received four no’s successively. With the fourth submission, in summer of 2024, I also received a comment that it needed more development. That was a frustrating moment. I resisted the inclination to respond, “I have developed it! I’ve already spent hours and hours working on it.”

I set it aside for a while and had to decide, was the work worth it? There are plenty of other things to do with my time. Do I call the poem “good enough” and share it with my small circle on my blog? Or is what I’m trying to convey important enough to make it even better and make it available to a wider audience? I decided it was worth it and buckled down for draft four. After draft five, I thought it was ready to try submitting again. I finally got word that it was accepted by Solid Food Press so that you can now read it in late February of 2025!

It’s a little humorous that I had to put so much effort into a poem about rest. Haha! I’m thankful I can rest and celebrate a little now.

Also, there are twelve days left in the Kickstarter for the poetry anthology, “I’ve Got a Bad Case of Poetry“! This is an all-or-nothing campaign, so they need to reach their base goal to receive any money and make the project happen. If it is successful, one of my poems will be featured in this fully illustrated children’s anthology!

If you want to write, prepare to do the hard work. If you want to write for a large audience, prepare for even harder work and rejection. But don’t give up, the work is worth it.

Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on Unsplash