I want you to think back on when you first started writing poetry, and I want you to envision the first famous (or otherwise) poet that you remember reading and thinking to yourself, “I want and can do this too!”. For many people in America (and some English-speaking countries), the first time they are exposed to poetry is Robert Frost, Emily Dickenson, William Carlos Williams, William Butler Yeats, etc. While this may befit students of older generations, for many new poets coming into their 20s and 30s, the old classics don’t hold the same magic that they once did.
I personally never liked poetry growing up as the aesthetic never was pleasing to me, and to be truthful, all of the poetry sounded the same to me! I know, I know, unpopular opinion, faux Bukowskis, and all that other shit.
Anyways, it is my personal belief that many people today do not appreciate poetry because unlike nearly every other artistic medium – poetry never evolved past the page! Yes, ‘instapoetry’ is definitely a thing, and many people partake in this creation of aphorisms, but it is the rare gem that goes against the grain to produce some solid writing that goes largely unnoticed and underappreciated. I mean, who are we to tell the next man that what they are doing isn’t worth anything? Subjectively speaking, people will find any excuse to talk shit, but objectively speaking, you can’t deny the facts!
Going back to me asking what was the first poet you remembered reading, I would also like you to imagine that you are asking that poet to collaborate with you on a piece and that you paid them for their time. . .
How would you feel if they ignored you? Or were spiteful? Or became arrogant and kept any money you paid for the collab? Would you be angry? Or would you let it go?
Since beginning my poetic journey back in 2017, I have reached out to a great many living legends and famous poets, only to be ignored by virtually ALL of them. Jimmy Santiago Baca? Nope. Margaret Atwood? Nuh uh. Antler? No reply. The list goes on and on and actually encompasses people from all types of industries, not just poetry.
In trying to bridge the gaps between industries such as conservation and poetry or rap and poetry, I have inadvertently realized just how deep the ties of money can affect modern art as a whole. Monetization is killing the small artist faster than Corona.
So, where do we go from here? How does an indie author become more well-known or sell more books? In today’s world you’d be remiss if you didn’t mention online sales, but due to corporate greed, even selling online has become a pain in the balls. Back in the early days of MySpace and Limewire, you could market yourself both easier and harder due to the factors in play. As the market develops and metastasizes, we as artists must be the ones that adapt or die.
In my journey to collaborate with some of the greatest still-living writers, I find myself in a quagmire: Unable to increase my small audience while simultaneously being unable to break the mold like say Rupi Kaur or Atticus did. After all, mediocrity sells quicker than a cup of coffee if you’re so inclined, and the most legendary talents can now be outsold by a simple NFT. You want to spend a year on a physical painting to maybe sell it for a couple hundred bucks? Cool story bro, some kid just flipped his shitty digital art piece that he made in minutes for thousands of dollars. Does this really sound fair to you? If it doesn’t, that’s because you aren’t indoctrinated to celebrate the unadulterated hoarding of money as a means of being a good person, and/or you know the true value of real art.
After being involved in selling books since 2017, I can honestly tell you that it doesn’t matter how good you write; it only matters how many connections you have and how many stupid people you can fool into saying your shit smells like lilacs. Is it fair? Nope. But is it reality? Quite so, yes. You want my advice for writing and marketing a book? Here are a few tips I have learned, you can have the first five for free! All the kids are doing it!!!
1. Copyedit more than you write.
2. Research more than you read.
3. Help small authors more than the big guys.
4. Diversify your marketing 10x fold.
5. Don’t lose sight of yourself or your purpose for writing.
No, following these does not guarantee success (hell I am doing all 5 as we speak and I am still in this hole I am trying to get out of!), but they do offer a good foot to stand and start on. I know how difficult it is to get started with NO ONE willing to help, but just take it slowly and ask a LOT of questions to different people. Don’t accept the first answer as gold, as you must appraise its value by putting it into action! If at first you don’t succeed, try something else.
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