Do you write poetry with the goal of getting published? [OPINION]
Curious to hear the attitudes of the various poetry-writers who assemble here. I've noticed three broad personality types when it comes to writing poetry:
- The ambitious — I regularly submit poetry for publication. When crafting a poem I try to make it worthy of publication.
- The amateur — I don't think about publication one way or another. I write mostly for myself.
- The disenchanted — My poetry doesn't fit into any journal or magazine. I write in opposition of the publication industry.
I'll admit that I'm in the first camp. Got my first few publications this year, organizing another round of submissions now. The second group describes the private hobbyist and a lot of people who write more poetry than they read, oftentimes using poetry as an emotion-processing or diaristic activity. They constitute the bulk of the poetry-sharing subreddits, such as r/OCPoetry. The last group makes up a smaller slice of amateur spaces but they have an axe to grind regarding poetic trends.
Does one of these apply to you? What have I missed?