Crystal asked Mariah Stone:

Mariah, I write poetry and have quietly considered writing a book for a long time but have told no one. What do you suggest I do to get started? I already have a bunch of poems written.

Mariah Stone Hi Crystal! Oh my gosh, I have such a high regard for poets, I think writing poetry is one of the most beautiful and yet hardest forms of writing. And congratulations on finishing several poems, not everyone can do that! I think you should definitely publish a book, if you have quietly considered it! If it's your dream, go for it. I have also quietly written for many years, without showing my writing to anyone, and only when a joined a local writing group, I got enough encouragement and support and belief in myself as a writer.
So that's what I would suggest, find a writing group (local or online), show your writing to other poets whose opinion you trust (don't show it just to anyone, it's really easy to get discouraged by people who have no idea about writing and especially about poetry!!), and take a class on writing if you can, there are many good ones. One of the writing schools I can recommend (and I know they have excellent poetry classes because I took one) is GrubStreet, they are in Boston but they have online classes.
Good luck, Crystal, I'm so excited to know you write poetry and I'd love to see your book published!

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