Anyone can pick up a pen and write a few heartfelt lines, but much more goes into shaping a great poem. Each one of us has innate capabilities to be creative. Rupi Kaur’s Milk and Honey, Jaime Fidler’s Jaime’s Inspirations, and Atticus Poetry’s Love Her Wild are only a few of the many great published poets whom poetry enthusiasts would read through during difficult periods in life. Any poet will always see the next mountain to climb, which is a beautiful thing about poetry. You become devoted to learning about this craft, writing poems each day, and diving Into the many wonders of this amazing art. 

And like all other arts, poetry must be shared with the world. Poetry is an extension of yourself so sharing your poetry is comparable to sharing yourself to the public eye. You bear the scars from your heart and mind to poetry which may catch the interest of many people who faced the same experience. Hence, if you dabble in writing poems after poems, hoping to share your thoughts with the world, you have several options to get your work in front of readers. 

Share on Personal Accounts

The fastest and easiest way to publish your poetry is by sharing it on your social media accounts because of its broad audience reach. There are plenty of social media platforms with huge user percentages like Twitter, Instagram, Youtube, and Facebook. Not only are you exposing yourself and your work, but you are also boosting your confidence by sharing it through social media. Creating a blog for your poems is also a great way as this allows you to connect with a relevant audience. A platform of your own gives you the freedom and overall control where your poems and what poems appear. These personal platforms provide an easy way for you to share and engage with poetry readers. 

Submit Work to Literary Competitions

If you hope to catch readers’ attention, literary figures, and maybe even publishers, consider submitting your poems to literary competitions. Joining does not assure a win, but it allows you to step into the limelight. Some competitions like the New Ohio Review consider all entries for publication. Writing competitions is an exciting way to share and publish your poetry. Other than the opportunity to share your work out there, you can win cash and other prizes. Also, these competitions are judged by published poets. You can gain insights from these poets that may help you improve your writing. 

Publish Entry on Writing Communities

It’s good to get involved with the broader poetry community at any stage of your poetry career. Writing communities is not solely for developing your work and moving it forward. Many of these communities offer a collection of resources for students, educators, and readers to be accessed remotely. Through publishing your poems on writing communities provides the opportunity to be discovered and read by anyone, anywhere. If you only hope to inspire people with your writing without any merits, then writing communities is a great place to get you out there. 

Submit to Literary Journals or Magazines

Publishing in literary journals and magazines is probably the most common method to have your poems out to the world. Poetry journals create new opportunities for your writing career. In this method, you can curate your best poetry for future collections. Most literary journals and magazines accept poetry from new and established poets alike. There are numerous reputable magazines and journals; therefore, be sure to check submission guidelines. Moreover, check copyright information as some publications may buy exclusive rights to publish your poetry, meaning you won’t be able to republish your poem anywhere other than the publication. Some publications may not offer you payment but submitting to them is a great way to build your writer’s CV and create your readership. 

Send Poetry to Publishers

Unlike authors, most poets must approach publishers directly to publish a book. You can browse through your favorite poetry books to see who published them. Send a strong query letter and your best poems for consideration to the publishers to determine whether your book is worth the publishing costs. Also, publishers would require you to have a stack of up to 40 poems to publish. However, publishers can be picky when choosing to publish your work; they can ask you to remove some poems from the book. Some publishers may opt not to publish your books, especially if you have no blog readers and publishing credits. Another publishing option if this happens to you is to self-publish. Many self-publishing companies, such as ReadersMagnet, can publish your poetry the way you like it and help you market your book.