Study the greats. The best thing you can do as a poetry writer is to see what other poets have written and to study their style. Looking into some of the older, classic poets, such as Rumi, Sylvia Plath, William Blake, and Ralph Waldo Emerson. It is also important to look into the the Poet Laureates such as Billy Collins, and Rita Dove.These all can help you to define what components of poetry are currently a part of the market.
Study the styles. Poets that are able to make the best statements use techniques that are able to get points and philosophies across. Some of the most important poetry concepts to look into are things such as metaphors, similes, personification and rhyme. With this, you should also study different forms, such as haiku or sonnets to help add in variety to your own poetry. Even if you have been writing poetry for years, this can help you to establish your craft.
Exercise your writing. This means that, every day you should stop long enough to write a poem or to write within the styles that you are studying. If you aren't feeling inspired, you can look at the other poets and emulate their concepts for practice. You can also push yourself to write with the forms and techniques you are learning.
Edit your writing. Once you have exercised your style long enough, go back to the older poems you have written. Looking at what you wrote and how you can improve or polish your style can help you to advance to the next level of writing. You want to make sure that you know what to change and what not to change by evaluating what you are saying.
Get inspiration from others. You can find a poet or writing group that can help to criticize what you have. If you can't find a group in your area, then looking into online areas can assist you in getting the feedback you need.
Pick your best poems. After you have been writing for some time, and have polished your poetry, then you can start to take them to the next level. Find some of the poems that you enjoy the most and that you think gets specific points across. Compile these into one area so you can begin to distribute them to the public.
Get your poetry under copyright. A huge component of writing poetry with the best materials is to make sure you protect your words. For each compilation of poetry that you have, you want to make sure that you copyright what is written with the Library of Congress. Even though the words, form and poetry belongs to you as soon as you write it, the ability to copyright the words is a stamp of approval to show others that the work is yours, and to protect you in case someone tries to steal your poems for their own works.
Distribute your work. You can distribute your work in several ways. Poetry contests, magazines and compilation books are one form to distribute your poetry. You can look into self - publication. There are two types of books you can publish. The first are chap books, which are shorter sets of poetry, usually ranging between 25 - 50 poems. You can also find a publisher or publish a complete book of poetry, which usually ranges between 100 - 150 poems. Within this, you can look into online areas to distribute your poems, or physical entities that will accept your poetry. If you decide to use a physical area, then you have the option of short run or long run books. A short run consists of an average of 100 physical book, while long runs are closer to 1,000 printed books..
Gather interest. When you begin to send your poetry out, you want to make sure that others know who you are. The more you can connect with others, the more your poetry will get recognized. For instance, going to poetry open mics or readings can help you to get recognition. You can also find social networks either online or in your locality to let others know who you are and what you have available.