Reading submissions I find myself saying one word often: potential.
But we cannot publish potential.
We publish work that is ready.
More often than you might think, I find myself voting to reject pieces with a heavy heart. Not because they lack talent, but because the work isn’t fully realized yet. Submissions are fully anonymous, so I never know who wrote them. Sometimes this makes it harder. I find myself wishing I could read the next draft, the revision that finally sharpens it into what it is so close to becoming.
Being almost there is not a failure, but a stage of the process. Unfortunately publishing requires readiness not promise.
Self Reflect
Before submitting, make sure your poem has been through several drafts and revisions. If you decide a piece is finished the first time it lands on the page, you may be robbing yourself of your strongest work! Revision is where good poems become publishable poems.
A few questions to ask yourself before you hit submit:
- Have I read this aloud?
- Are the line breaks intentional?
- Is every word earning its place?
- Am I relying on an explanation where I could trust the image?
- Have I let this sit for a few days and returned with fresh eyes?
Time is an underrated editor. Distance allows you to see where a poem leans too hard, where it rushes, where it overreaches. So walking away and coming back later can let you review it with a clean palette
Share Your Work
It can also help to share your work with other writers. Workshop it. Co-edit. There are many writing groups out there, both online and in-person. Even a small circle of trusted readers can sharpen your craft. For some writers, open mics can be just as valuable. Reading your work to a live audience gives you immediate, unfiltered feedback. You can feel where people lean in, where they laugh, where the room goes still or doesn’t. That kind of live response can teach you a great deal about pacing, clarity, and emotional impact.
Try to search online for writers’ groups in your area. You may be surprised. I live in an extremely rural area and I found several different in person options for North Georgia.
Some journals offer paid feedback on submissions. While this is not accessible to everyone, it can provide direction if you don’t yet have a writing community.
Read Widely
One of the most overlooked ways to better understand when a poem is ready is to read widely. Read contemporary journals. Read collections from poets you admire. Read outside your usual aesthetic preferences. Pay attention not just to what moves you, but how it is built.
- What does a finished poem feel like?
- How does it handle line breaks?
- How does it enter and exit?
- How much does it explain and how much does it show?
The more finished works you encounter, the sharper your internal barometer becomes. You begin to recognize when your own poem is leaning too hard, resolving neatly, or stopping just short of depth. Reading teaches you what revision looks like in its final form.
Rejection is not a verdict on your talent, nor a nail in the coffin for your piece. It is often an invitation to go deeper. If a piece comes back, don’t shelve it immediately. Revisit it. Let it breathe. Push it further than feels comfortable. The gap between potential and publication is almost always revision.
Be patient with your work. Finish it fully before you ask the world to judge it.
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