Our Top Tips for Editing Poetry

Editing and revising are part of the writing lifecycle, and no poem is complete until you have given it the editorial attention it deserves. There are lit mags and presses out there that explicitly say in the submission guidelines not to send them your 4 a.m. first drafts. While we all enjoy a hot take every now and then, there’s some wisdom to exercising a little restraint and sitting with your words until after sunrise.

Tip 1: Get Used to the Sound of Your Own Voice

I learned this in the first workshop that I ever attended. Always read your poems and poems you are editing for other people out loud. This can be done by just listening to your voice, or you could use your phone to record yourself and play it back. This is helpful because you will catch what’s audibly working and what’s not. If you have some sort of a rhyme scheme going, you can check if that's serving the poem that you're working on right now, or if it's distracting from the overall message you're trying to get across. 

Another reason why listening to yourself read your poem out loud can be helpful, is that poems are traditionally meant to be performed. Hopefully, you’re getting out there and going to open mics or virtual readings or some sort of other event that allows you to share your poetry. I have been in situations in which I get really passionate about the subject I'm writing and I choose a certain form or literary device, only to later realize that I have put a long-winded rant on the page.  

True story: I did not discover that I hadn’t given myself any breathing room in a poem until I was reading it out loud at a workshop in Dublin. Literally, there was no space in my words to slow down and take a breath between lines. Unfortunately, this can lead to a poem feeling rushed or even incomplete.

Editor Tip: I sometimes find in my reading and editing activities that some poets will sacrifice other aspects of their work to sort of punch through or force a rhyme scheme to work, and I don't recommend doing that. And, sometimes, this is something that won't be apparent to you until the poem is read aloud. 

Tip 2: Pay Attention to Elements of Sound

Not only are you listening for whether something sounds right, you’re also paying attention to how it feels on the page. Does the tone stay consistent? Are the words you’ve chosen working together, or do they clash? For example, you might notice a very formal phrase sitting right next to something casual or conversational. Sometimes that contrast is intentional, but other times it can pull the reader out of the poem. If you’re unsure, it may be helpful to revisit our blogs on finding your voice in poetry and exploring diction, and think about whether this piece aligns with that voice.

It’s also worth noticing where a reader naturally wants to pause. When you read your poem out loud, where do your eyes—or your breath—want to rest? Are those pauses guided by the shape of the poem on the page, or are they happening somewhere unexpected? Ideally, your formatting should support those moments. Line breaks, spacing, and overall structure can all help guide the reader’s rhythm. When those visual cues and natural pauses work together, the poem feels more intentional and much easier to move through.

Tip 3: Ditch the Window Dressing

Another tip that has helped me when I am going about editing my poems is to remove declarative language. This is often referred to as ‘Show. Don’t Tell.’ Find a more creative way to describe the situation. If your poem centers around a person, for example:

• How does their voice sound that shows the emotion? 

• How are they moving their body and walking? 

• What can we observe? 

• How can we feel, see or hear that this person is feeling what they're feeling?

Give us, as readers, that interiority. This can be done in several different ways. You can go through and look for opportunities to dial up the language a little bit using techniques like:

• Figurative language

• Embedding elements of sound or shape

• Writing a concrete poem (if it matches the vibe)

It can be easy to get caught up in what a dear friend of mine calls ornamental language. You don't want to be distracting readers or bogging them down with fluff when you already have really strong bones on the page. Own that and go with it. Trust that you knew what you were doing. 

Tip 4: A Time-Out Can Be a Good Thing

Sometimes, it's most helpful to step away from the piece you're editing for a couple hours—or a couple days—to approach it with a different perspective. I find that sometimes I have a mental block because I'm on deadline for a submission. I just want this poem to be finished and out in the world, but a sense of urgency on my end has never created an effective poem.

Editor Tip: I recently encountered someone who said that they approach editing as playing rather than grunt work. As in, I have this wonderful opportunity to go back and rearrange things in a way that elevates the piece and gets it to somewhere I had never envisioned it at the outset. Just that simple act of reframing the revising and editing process as something positive to look forward to has had a profound impact on how I approach revision.

Tip 5: Follow Presses, Lit Mags, and Poets Online

Many presses, magazines, and poets have resources for writers looking to hone their craft.

I'd like to give a shout out to the lovely people at Arcana Poetry Press. Full disclosure, I have been featured in one of their anthologies, but I also really value the content that they put out in the way of poetry prompts and tips for editing. So, if you don't already, I recommend following them on Instagram. They frequently share tips with examples from published poems of ways to prune back ornamental language and really make the strong, weird associations that you already have. You've concocted them, and they’re there to shine through, so don't bury things in the undergrowth. 

Tip 6: Let the Last Line Speak for Itself

I know we’ve all had the experience of reading a poem where the ending just completely wrecks you (for better or worse). Maybe it’s devastating, maybe it’s soft and hopeful, maybe it leaves you sitting there for a second thinking, wait. Whatever direction it takes, it sticks with you. And a lot of the time, that’s because the writer didn’t feel the need to spell everything out. They trusted you to meet them halfway, to sit with the image or the idea and make meaning from it.

Something I’ve been told—and that I come back to often—is to look at your last line and just…delete it. Let your second-to-last line become the ending and see what happens. It can feel a little scary at first, but it’s a really helpful way to catch those moments where you might be overexplaining. I know I’m definitely guilty of that, especially when I care a lot about what I’m trying to say. But sometimes, the strongest choice is to stop just a little bit sooner and let the poem breathe on its own.

Tip 7: Listen, Listen, Listen

Something else that can be really helpful is listening to other poets read their work. This could be a podcast, an interview, a YouTube or Instagram video, a reading, or a workshop. A lot of local libraries host events, too, and it’s always worth checking in with your favorite indie bookstore or seeing if a local poet has something coming up. 

Make sure you’re really listening. Pay attention to how they’re reading. Where are they placing emphasis? What words are they repeating, and how does that repetition land? How are they building sound throughout the poem? What feels like it’s working? Just as importantly, what doesn’t quite work for you? What would you do differently?

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve left a reading thinking, Oh my gosh, I didn’t know you could do that in a poem. Or realizing, Wow, I don’t have that kind of stage presence yet when I read my own work. And that’s part of it, too—learning not just from the page, but from the performance.

Editor Tip: You’ve probably heard the advice that if you want to be a better writer, you should read a lot. I think the same applies here: if you’re editing your work, make sure you’re listening a lot. Read your poem out loud and notice what comes up. It’s kind of amazing how something can feel perfect in your head, and then shift completely once you hear it. That performative element can bring things forward that the words alone on the page might not show you right away.

After Editing, Send Your Poem Out Into the World

I hope some of these tips have been helpful, and I’d genuinely love to hear if you have others that you come back to in your own process. Editing can feel a little endless at times, but there’s also a point where you have to trust the work you’ve done and let the poem go.

A quick reminder: We currently have our K–12 poetry contest open for submissions through April 30th, and our regular monthly issue submissions are open until the end of the month as well. So take the tips that resonated with you, spend some time sanding down your poems, and submit them to Ink & Oak today.