Getting Discouraged with OP
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How to get your poetry read 101- The ins and outs of OPFor those who are really willing and interested and learning and not just complaining, I will bring part of my forum to you. Here is the opening thread to my most popular thread, "How to get your poetry read 101". This is just the opening thread and a teaser but will give you some of the basic info to get you started, for a more indepth information as well as other points of view from other members of the OP team, please visit the forum, "The ins and outs of OP". Here is the openi9ng thread: |
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RE: How to get your poetry read 101- The ins and outs of OPQuote: Originally Posted by angel33614 Popularity, ok so I am sure some people new to this site as well as some that have been here for awhile think this site is just one big popularity contest and in some ways it is. But in truth if you want your poetry read you have to be visible. It is the same way in the real world, why would it be any different here? If someone want to sell a product it is unlikely they will sell much if they don’t advertise some. If you film and produce a new movie not many people will come to see it if there is no previews, no advertisement. If you write a new book it is unlikely you will sell many copies if you don’t advertise yourself some, a certainly level of popularity is needed in life if you want people’s interest, just fact. Honestly Angel I understand all your points but I wanted to address this one specifically poetry is supposed to be the fair element in an unfair world you yourself in this paragraph have shot that out of the sky, when people have no voice poetry is supposed to be the voice. popularity should not matter and when it does, when you have to be involved in all the behind the scenes stuff on a poetry site to publicly make it it is no longer a poetry site it then becomes a social networking site and it degrades what poetry truly represents. poetry is supposed to bleed out the wrong and right from an observers perspective if people truly aren't observing as they should be when they call themselves a poet maybe they should look in the mirror and reevaluate.This is only and just my opinion but unfortunately for the world that is all I need. 
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RE: Getting Discouraged with OPI have said this before in the days of the new. |
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RE: How to get your poetry read 101- The ins and outs of OPQuote: Originally Posted by angel33614 For those who are really willing and interested and learning and not just complaining, I will bring part of my forum to you. Here is the opening thread to my most popular thread, "How to get your poetry read 101". This is just the opening thread and a teaser but will give you some of the basic info to get you started, for a more indepth information as well as other points of view from other members of the OP team, please visit the forum, "The ins and outs of OP". Here is the openi9ng thread: I will start off by saying I am not the most popular poet on the site, I am not the most knowledgeable, I have not been on the site the longest, and I am certainly not the most talented or best poet on the site. But one thing I have learned through trial and error is how to get your poetry read. Talk is cheap so I use actions, proof as they say is in the pudding. So go to my profile and check out my poems and see the results of my reviews in numbers. At the time I am writing this my last 10 poems all have over 20 reviews, my last 7 over 30, and my last 5 over 40. So I think I have figured out a coupe of tricks that work. Ok I will probably repeat myself with this several times but the number one way I have found to get your poetry read is very simple, read, read, read, comment, comment, comment, the rule of thumb is the more you review the more reviews will come your way, repeat this at least ten times to yourself before moving on, seriously! There are some other tricks to learn that will help but this is the number one most important rule bar none! Number 2 best way get reviews is to send a PM to all your friends that you have posted a new poem. Now this does take time, as there is no way to send a mass PM to all your friends that you have posted something new. You have to go under each and every friend and send them a PM, you can create a general PM about your new poem and copy and paste it into each friend’s PM. But anyway you get around it, it does take time. And the more friends you have the longer it takes. Just because you post something new doesn’t mean all your friends will know. There is a activity list for all your friends and they can see when you comment on a poem or post a new one but they have to be on the same time you are posting to see it, days later, even hours later, they won’t know because the activity cycles the older stuff back. Over time you may gain a loyal fan base of people that just come to your profile and check to see if you have new poems but this is not the norm. So if you want your friends to review you poetry, ask them to come and review your new poem and you will return the favor. Now, here is a key point to this whole equation. If they come and comment, you have to return the comment. If not people will stop coming, people on the site are the same as you, they want their poetry read as well. If they take the time to review your poetry it is only common curtsey to return the favor. Many people come to the site and they post a few of their poems or many, they gain a couple of friends and then get frustrated because they get limited results. Some stick around long enough to learn the ins and outs of the site, some get frustrated and just leave and don’t come back, and other get so frustrated they take it out on other poets with negativity. In truth is takes a certain amount of time and effort to gain visibility in the site, to gain loyal friends, to gain a fan base. Like most things in life it takes some work. There are over 40,000 members here on OP and growing every day, it is not really realistic to think you can come on the site where no one knows you and post a bunch of poems, have few friends, read no one’s poems and people just come flocking to your poetry, it just isn’t how it works on this site or in life. Popularity, ok so I am sure some people new to this site as well as some that have been here for awhile think this site is just one big popularity contest and in some ways it is. But in truth if you want your poetry read you have to be visible. It is the same way in the real world, why would it be any different here? If someone want to sell a product it is unlikely they will sell much if they don’t advertise some. If you film and produce a new movie not many people will come to see it if there is no previews, no advertisement. If you write a new book it is unlikely you will sell many copies if you don’t advertise yourself some, a certainly level of popularity is needed in life if you want people’s interest, just fact. Do you have to win the poetry contest to be popular and get a lot of reviews, no, no, and hell no! I just won the contest this month with “the eternal chess game” but before it won it already had 47 reviews. Also look at my other poems before I won, like I mentioned in the first paragraph proof is in the pudding. I will say this once more since there seems to be a lot of confusion with some poets on this site as well as newbie’s, you do not have to win the contest to be popular and get reviews. Actually it is almost impossible to win the contest till you have a certain level of popularity, it is the exact opposite of what many think. There will be a thread just for the poetry contest so I will not say more than this for now. Friends- there will be a later thread for how to gain friends but you friends will be your number one source of reviews. All my other tricks that I have learned get me a few reviews, I would have to say 90% or more of my reviews come from my friends. That being said the more is not the merrier. Some people think the more friends you have the more reviews you will get, this is not true, not true, not true! I know people with 500 friends, 1000 friends, and a couple of poets with over 10,000 friends but they get few reviews, trust me when I say it is not the quantity of your friends that will get reviews it is the quality. I will cover more about friends and how to gain loyal friends, that read your poetry in a later thread. Advertise yourself- it is good to increase your visibility by adverting yourself around the site. I will have a later thread to cover this point in greater detail but if you want people to come and read your poetry, it is good to become more visible in the community. You can participate in the chat rooms, and ask others to read your poetry and you will return the favor. When you post a new poem you can post a thread in the forums telling the community about your new poem and that you would like a review. You don’t have to give away the whole poem but good to give a tease so people want to get more. Posting poems- it is not good to post too many poems to quickly. Now here is a problem for some poets. Some people write all the time so they are excited and want to post everything they have and that is fine, but know that if you post poems every single day it is unlikely you will get that many reviews on each poem you post. There is just not enough time for your friends to come read your newest poem after you send them a PM if there is a bunch more by the time they get there. Some poets are on everyday and very active but most have lives outside of OP and many are not on every single day, and are limited on their time. So if you really want your friends to come read your newest post then you have to give it some time in between poems. I personally like to wait about a week or two in between posts. I am not sure what the magic number is but it seems to work for me, proof again is in the pudding. I am not saying you can’t post more if you really want to, that is up to you but don’t be surprised if you don’t get as many reviews. Also, another reason I wait is that it takes time for me to return the favor to all those who commented on mine. If you just keep posting and posting and don’t return the favor your friends will eventually stop coming. Now if you are retired and can be on OP for hours and hours a day than I for one envy you, lol. and for two you could post more often. It doesn’t necessarily take along time for your friends to respond. My most recent poem had 43 reviews in just one day, now it was about 9-11 but still the proof is in the pudding. Reviewing poetry- I will cover this topic in greater detail in a later thread but I do want to cover a few points. When you review try to be objective and have constructive critism. You are not going to like every poem you read, you will not be able to relate to every poem you read, just isn’t realist. If you read something you don’t like just comment on the structure, rhyme, meter, etc or if you can think of nothing positive to say then just move on and read something else. People do not like negativity, the old saying goes you catch more flies with honey than vinegar. There is a lot of truth in this saying. It doesn’t do the poet a lot of good if you just destroy their poem, for one they will most likely take it very personally and be offended. Try and be constructive with your comments and if you point out something negative also point out something positive. If you really think the poem needs work and you want to help them and pass on advice, send them a PM, rather than blasting them in public. Trust me they will take it a lot better this way. So, way does this all matter, on how you review? Well if you want people to want to be your friend and review your poetry it is better to be on a positive note with them, If you come in and blast their poem and tear it to little shreds, than what is the likelihood they will want to come and read yours? And if they do they will probably try to retaliate and low ball your poem regardless of how good it is, people are just this way. That is why I say if you can’t find some positive in a poem, better to just move on. Time- does it take a large amount of time to be able to get reviews, no, no, hell no! Now the more time you put into it the more you will get out of it, like most things in life but a large amount of time is not needed. I am a good example, I work 50 hours a week and have a wife, three young kids, and two dogs. Time is almost never my friend, lol. But as they say proof is in the pudding, look at my profile and see my numbers. So how do I do it, well I follow these guidelines I have come up with through trial and error. Even in the reviews, if you don’t have hours a day to just review, review, review then when you do review make it worth while and really give them something to remember you by. Rather than just saying great poem, write a review from your heart, it goes a long way to make up for the lack of time. I hope this starts out the threads well and helps those new to the site that want to learn the ins and the outs of our community as well as helps those who are having trouble getting their poetry read. I also hope this will help curve some of the negative BS on the site, the whining and complaining, the jealousy and create a more positive atmosphere for all of us to enjoy. So I will end this thread where I started it with this: read, read, read, comment, comment, comment, the rule of thumb is the more you review the more reviews will come your way. This is always the number one rule bar none!!! These are the tricks that have worked well for me, I am sure there are more. My team of experienced members will also be posting their ideas and thoughts and what has worked for them. This thread is open to anyone who thinks they can add to the topic in a positive way. Please any and all experienced members of the OP community, come and post your ideas, thoughts, and any tricks you have learned. Please feel free to contact myself angel33614 at http://www.originalpoetry.com/poet/angel33614 or the God father of OP papapaczki at http://www.originalpoetry.com/poet/papapaczki or any member of the team if you have any further questions about the forum, one of the threads, general questions about OP, or any suggestions for future threads. Here is s listing of the ins and outs of OP team members in no particular order: Teardrops aka Marie at http://www.originalpoetry.com/poet/Teardrops Atie at http://www.originalpoetry.com/poet/Artie Ginga at http://www.originalpoetry.com/poet/ginga Malificent aka Mal at http://www.originalpoetry.com/poet/Maleficent Knight at http://www.originalpoetry.com/poet/knight4696 Rygar at http://www.originalpoetry.com/poet/Rygar Wordslinger at http://www.originalpoetry.com/poet/WordSlinger Madelynn aka Maddi at http://www.originalpoetry.com/poet/Madelynn Kah at http://www.originalpoetry.com/poet/kah Dahlusion aka Dah at http://www.originalpoetry.com/poet/dahlusion Rymer at http://www.originalpoetry.com/poet/Rhymer Cheronold aka Cher at http://www.originalpoetry.com/poet/cheronld Gogant at http://www.originalpoetry.com/poet/gogant Aria at http://www.originalpoetry.com/poet/Aria Chaos at http://www.originalpoetry.com/poet/Chaos128 ApaqRasgirl aka Asha at http://www.originalpoetry.com/poet/ApaqRasgirl Supence aka Spence at http://www.originalpoetry.com/poet/SuSpence Charlie23 at http://www.originalpoetry.com/poet/Charlie23 Ianscott at http://www.originalpoetry.com/poet/ianscott Cousinsoren aka Cousin at http://www.originalpoetry.com/poet/cousinsoren Dano at http://www.originalpoetry.com/poet/Dano Sammia at http://www.originalpoetry.com/poet/sammia Purity of the soul, journey well to all!!! With grace and humility ANGEL aka The Poem Buster I hope this will help some and please don't just take my word for it, come to the forum and you will see many other experienced members comments and what tricks have worked for them, so come one and come all and please learn, don't get fustrated and leave, that is not the answer. I have been to many if not all the poetry sites on the net, both free and paying sites and OP is by a mile the best on the net, bar none. It just takes some time and effort to really learn the ins and outs of the site and how to get your poetry read, that is why I created the forum, to help give new members a heads up. Thank you for your time and energy! Certainly many OP poets will find your post very helpful. I have found that what you have posted in the forum to be sound advise about getting reviews/ posting poems/ and reading poems. Thanks again. Peace, Light and Love 
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RE: RE: How to get your poetry read 101- The ins and outs of OPQuote:
Originally Posted by thecross Originally Posted by angel33614 Popularity, ok so I am sure some people new to this site as well as some that have been here for awhile think this site is just one big popularity contest and in some ways it is. But in truth if you want your poetry read you have to be visible. It is the same way in the real world, why would it be any different here? If someone want to sell a product it is unlikely they will sell much if they don’t advertise some. If you film and produce a new movie not many people will come to see it if there is no previews, no advertisement. If you write a new book it is unlikely you will sell many copies if you don’t advertise yourself some, a certainly level of popularity is needed in life if you want people’s interest, just fact. Honestly Angel I understand all your points but I wanted to address this one specifically poetry is supposed to be the fair element in an unfair world you yourself in this paragraph have shot that out of the sky, when people have no voice poetry is supposed to be the voice. popularity should not matter and when it does, when you have to be involved in all the behind the scenes stuff on a poetry site to publicly make it it is no longer a poetry site it then becomes a social networking site and it degrades what poetry truly represents. poetry is supposed to bleed out the wrong and right from an observers perspective if people truly aren't observing as they should be when they call themselves a poet maybe they should look in the mirror and reevaluate.This is only and just my opinion but unfortunately for the world that is all I need. [/quoMr Cross my friend, I was not saying this is fair but as you know life is very often not fair, I was merely stateing an obsevation that I noticed since joining the site, not saying I agree or feed into it but rather that it is a fact ot the best I know it both here on OP and in life. I agree with your statement wholeheartedly and sincerely on a personal level but I have found no site on the web that this rule does not apply. If you know of a site that I can join, post all my poems, and put little to no time and effort into becoming visible within that community and people just come flocking to my work and read and comment, please let me know and I will be one of the first to join. I am very limited on time and would love this ideal to be a reality but in truth you and I both know there is no such site. There is a big difference between ideals and what is reality in the real world, I was merely stateing what I have come to be known as the reality of this world and this site and the way this benifits people, is in the understanding. Better to have realistic expectations and know the truth than to live in a delusion. I am not saying you live in this way, but if anyone joins OP and thinks that just posting a bunch of poems on this site will bring people running, well it just isn't reality. There are now over 50,000 plus members and growing, so I stand by my statement that if you want to be read and get reviews you need to become active and visible within the community, if not than don't be surprised by the limited results you will get. As I said in my thread the proff is in the pudding, come to my profile and see my reviews and don't just take my word for it. Come to the forum and see the other posts from the OP team, they pretty much all say the same thing. If you ask anyone on OP who gets a fair amount of reviews they will all tell you it takes a certain amount of time and effort to gain those reviews. If you don't put in the time and effort it is very unlikely you will get the results you want, this is true on this site as well as in life, not the ideal but it is reality and a fact. So I say again if you want reviews it is really pretty simple, review. review, review, the more you review the more reviews will come your way. I am sorry if this is not the polically correct answer but better to know the truth than an illusion. Purity of the soul, journey well!!! ANGEL PS as for the whole social networking thing, OP is more than just a poetry site, there is a certain amount of social networking that does go on but what internet site does not have a certain amoutn of this??? When you have a large community of people come together with the ability to PM, post in foums, and chat in chatrooms than you will have a certain amount of social networking, but why is this a negative or bad thing??? There are plenty of poetry sites out there to choose from but the community and friendships here is what makes OP so much more than just another poetry site. I have made some of the best friends I have ever had here and there is so much positivity that comes from this, why down it??? Without the social networking this site would not be what it is, if no one knew no one than it would be just another poetry site, and it wouldn't be OP. Lets look at some of the positives of the social connections this site has brought together, how about all the life long friendships that have been forged??? How about the poets that have meet and got married??? How about the Poets of blood organization that got its start here through social networking who now has a poetry book out that will help feed and cloth the poor??? How about the school of poetry that has given the chance for countless people to grow and learn in thier art and skill of poetry??? How about the prayers that have been posted to those in need??? How about the poets that have published due to the popularity they built on OP??? With everything positive there must come some negativity and we have our fair share forsure, but why focus on the negative when there is so much positive on OP, let spread the joy and help OP grow and prosper. This site has come so far so quickly and has the potential to be so much more in the future, there are many new ideas brewing behind th scenes such as OP around the world, a new OP new letter run by the poets of OP, a new OP magazine in the near future, maybe a worldwide OP poetry convention, who knows what the future will hold, the sky is the limit when we all come together as a community with one voice with a positive goal in mind. Now bringing so many poets together with one common goal is a challenge forsure but it is one that can be overcome if we focus our energy on the positive things and try to fix or eliminate the negativity that tries to drag us all down. I certainly do not know everything, but have learned enough to realize I know nothing, but in coming to this realitization I have opened the door to all possibilities that life has to offer, I have opened the door where real leanring can begin... Angel |
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RE: Getting Discouraged with OPThere is more than a certain amount it either makes or breaks you on this site even people who say "ok give it too me on this one I mean really let me have it on a critique" then when one out of ten actually does, the super amazing god's gift to poetry writer gets a bruised ego gets all defensive and scoffs at the lowly commenter and the over usage of social networking in my opinion is actually a downfall because people let their emotions and human nature run them and it becomes more of a who is saying it rather then what is being said and that to me is a mockery of the art known as poetry this is not a personal attack against you btw I am just attacking the popularity aspect and simply saying if people weren't pretending but truly practiced what they preached and put as much into changing the system as they do emotionally rubbing and fondling each other this site truly could be the best of both worlds but to me the beautiful art form is diluted if the system remains as such. |
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RE: Getting Discouraged with OPI have new wordsketches folks, I have a bad habit of writing poetry, I cant seem to stop, does this site have poetries anonymous, My name is John E WordSlinger and Yes Im a Poet, I ask all of you to read me, and I'll read you, and if you rate me, please state why you gave me a three, and if you gave me a ten, can you find a way to rate me again, lol Last edited by WordSlinger 12-12-2010 at 10:11:47 PM |
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RE: Getting Discouraged with OPI'll admit I just skimmed through the first and last page of this... I didn't read all 3 pages... But I know others have stated this as well. |
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RE: Getting Discouraged with OPYou guys sure are needy. Last edited by Hiporlacking 12-12-2010 at 10:42:39 PM |
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RE: Getting Discouraged with OPBut but I'm in a hurry! hehehe not really! Most of us readers and writers shake hands in so some extend their hand first where others wait until one does. Read or write without expectations and keep your goals to continue to do what you love. I have read many and only the lovers to the art read back, the rest are self absorbed to personal issues and are easily seen. Side notes to what I notice is when I peruse a persons writing is how hard it is to read a massive amount of their work when few are gems. Maybe a little direction on profile directing to personal favorites. Lastly only you can answer is If a writer gets discouraged and quits are they really a writer? hehehe silly poets anyways! P.s buy OP scratch off tickets for a chance to win if winning is important otherwise tissues are on asle three! hehehe. Last edited by ccslim 12-12-2010 at 11:01:07 PM |
Poetry is what gets lost in translation.
Robert Frost (1875-1963) American Poet.