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When you write a poem from scratch, it can come out pretty good, or it can come out a bit of a mess. Either way, what you end up with is a draft – not a finished poem.

To get the message of your poem across to the reader, you need to work on your draft to make sure the reader reads your poem the way you want them to, and iron out all those little not-quite-right words that it most drafts contain. This is called self-editing your poem.

Self-editing using the read-aloud method

When you read your own poem out loud, you are reading it the way you want others to read it. Because if they read it the way you read it, they will be more likely to understand the message, the meaning of the poem. They will be more likely to “get” the poem.

What is the read-aloud method

My preferred method is to read the poem aloud without making any corrections to the poem. Then read it aloud while making corrections to the poem according to how you hear yourself reciting it.  Then read your corrected out loud while orrecting it again. Do this until you feel the poem is about right, or until you are stumped on a word or how to get it right and need time out.

Two other ways you can use the read-aloud method to self-edit your poem are:

• ask a friend to read your poem for you aloud, while you listen and mark up any corrections (based on how they read it) in the draft poem. This can be a good way to do it, as you can leave the reciting part to them and just focus on the reading and self-editing according to how they read it. Then get them to read the corrected copy out loud. And so on, until you feel it is about right. Or,
• record yourself reading your poem aloud. Then listen to the recording while reading the poem. Then listen to it again and as you listen, make corrections to the poem according to how the poem has been recited. Once you have made corrections to the poem, ditch the recorded version and read your poem out loud, while reading it and making further corrections, until you feel it is about right.

See the types of corrections you are likely to make to the poem while using the above read-aloud method, below.

What sort of corrections might you make when self-editing?

Here are some of the corrections you might make to the poem at the same time as reading the poem aloud, and listening to the sounds in your poem.

• if you paused slightly mid-way between words in the middle of a line of your poem, this indicates that you need to either a) insert a comma, semicolon, colon or fullstop between those two words, or b) insert a line ending after the word to indicate a pause. Note: inserting a line ending is called “enjambment”.
• if you added a word in or left a word out, then I always recommend correcting the poem so it reflects the way you said it. That is, if you added a word in I would add that word into the poem. If you left a word out I would delete that word from the poem. Note: adding or not stating a small word in the poem when you read it out loud is very common.
• if you heard a repetitive word that jarred slightly, put a circle around that word to indicate you need to find another word or delete it. Do the same if: a) you heard a word that jars because it does not suit that poem or place in the poem. b) you heard words that upset the rhythm of the poem. c) it is a rhyming poem but you heard words that did not rhyme and should have. Then work on deleting or improving those words.
• if you pause for a longer time than the length of a comma, then you need to consider whether that comma should be a full stop. If there is a full stop in the poem but when you read it you don’t “read” the pause of a full stop, you need to consider whether that full stop should be a comma.
• if you paused longer than usual somewhere in a  stanza, I would always recommend considering whether there needs to be a stanza break where you naturally paused for that longer-than-usual time. The pause may be needed for effect or to accentuate the preceding word or words or lines. Try inserting a stanza break and then read it again to see if it works.

Listen keenly with all your senses when using the read-aloud method. Where you want to portray something as harsh, the sound of the word/s need to be hard, sharp, brittle. Where you want to portray something as gentle or vulnerable, the sounds need to be soft, silky, sensitive. Where you want the pace to be fast: short snappy words. Slow: long drawn-out or dawdling words.

Whatever changes you make to the poem, after you have made each set of changes you need to read the corrected poem aloud again to see whether the new version is better than the old version. If it isn’t, which it may not be once you hear it read out loud, change it back to the original.

Should I self-edit in hardcopy, or on computer?

I prefer to write poetry in handwriting because it suits my brain to do so. I also prefer to correct a poem in handwriting while reading aloud from a printed page because I find it easier to mark up corrections in handwriting while reading the poem out myself.

You may prefer to correct your poems on the computer while you read it aloud. This will only work if you are able to type in the corrections very quickly at the same time as reading it, without disrupting your reading pattern or the rhythm of the poem as you read it out loud.

After self-editing your poem: what next?

Once you have finished the self-editing stage, you need to apply all your final-decision corrections onto the computer version of your poem*, so it is either ready for publication, or ready for an editor’s input.

* Make sure you keep the original draft of the poem as well as the edited poem.

If you intend to publish the poem by itself (for example, in a poetry journal or anthology someone else is compiling and editing) there may not be any need for you to seek an editor’s assistance to fine-tune and finalise the poem. You can just submit it and see what happens.

If you are not entirely happy with that poem, we advise you contact a qualified poetry editor to give you either some coaching in self-editing poetry, or to review and give you some editing suggestions for your poem.

If you intend to publish your poems in a self-published book of your own, we recommend you seek the assistance of a qualified poetry editor to overview and copy edit your poetry book. You can find a poetry editor here.

If, during the self-editing stage, you need some direction or support in the self-editing process, please contact us and we can give you that coaching support: here.

Author Sally-Anne Watson Kane is a qualified poetry editor. See her experience here.

Image: Paperbark flowers, Latrobe Valley. Copyright Sally-Anne Watson Kane.