10 ways to survive Invisible Poets

This week we reached 50,000 members. It would have been a lot more, but not everyone who has been in the group has stayed. Quite a few people have come to a sad end on Invisible Poets. Many of those who have been removed (or in Moderator parlance - 'walked the plank') for being rude and abusive, or for peddling porn, or for deceiving members with scams. These are the undesirable people we don't want in our group. They make the group unsafe, uncomfortable and cause a lot of grief. You can thank your vigilant moderator and Admin team for the lovely, creative and supportive place that Invisible Poets has become. 

There are also a lot of members who don't seem to be able to cope with the way Invisible Poets is run. Some leave the group because they think they are being ignored by other members, or they are being victimised or marginalised by moderators. This is a shame, because they are sadly mistaken, and tend to leave the good ship IP needlessly. 

Here are 10 key tips for you, on how to survive and thrive in the group:

1) Don't stand idly by and hope that people will come to your poem and laud it with showers of comments, love hearts and thumbs ups. It won't happen if you simply share your poem and sit back. Your poem won't show up on the timelines of members because Facebook has an algorithm that only makes you visible to others when you interact with them. So here's the first tip: Read other people's poetry and comment on it, or tap the Like button. That way you'll be more visible. 

2) Don't get angry and blame Admin or Moderators if your post or comment is refused. Post rejections usually happen automatically. The system is set up to reject certain key phrases that usually occur in spam and scam robot posts. Another reason your work may be automatically rejected is if you have no user picture.  Choose an image (either your own photograph, or some other image) that represents your account. That way your posts and comments will not be automatically rejected.

3) Watch the live shows whenever you can. Not only are they entertaining, they contain a lot of information and you also get treated to the very best poetry from the group, several times each week - and all for free!

4) Give more than you take. This is not just altruistic (see point 1 above) but it does mean that if you start to read other people's work you will learn more about your own art of writing poetry and will probably pick up a lot of new ideas about how to develop your writing skills. 

5) Regularly check the Features section at the top of the group page. Contained there are all the recordings of previous live shows where members' poetry is read out, poetry writing challenges, group news and other gems that might just give you some ideas for new poems.

6) Please don't post your own poems in the comments section of someone else's post.  Some people do this when they see a popular post because they think it will gain them a bigger audience. This is not welcomed in the group, because not only it is self seeking, it's very rude. 

7) If you wish to promote your own books or publications, please make sure you share poems from the books, otherwise you'll be disappointed when a moderator removes your post for breaking the group rules. 

8) Read the blog (yes, this one). There are many excellent posts on here about all things poetry, including explanations of terms, new ideas for poetry writing and a series on experimental poetry. It's there for you to learn from, so please use it whenever you wish.

9) Don't share poetry that you haven't written yourself. We do not permit people to plagiarise the work of others. It is illegal (it breaks copyright laws) and it is dishonest (theft). We also prohibit the use of Artificial Intelligence tools to create poetry. Anyone who does this is not welcome in the group.

10) Finally, please treat everyone in the group with the respect you feel you deserve yourself. Being kind to others doesn't cost anything. A supportive comment, a few kind words or a good piece of encouraging feedback goes a long way. You never know, you might meet people on this group that you'll be friends with for life.

Steve Wheeler

Founder of Invisible Poets

 

Why are you here?

Several people have recently voiced their disappointment at not being noticed on Invisible Poets poetry group. 

This is quite ironic. We are Invisible Poets and we can be invisible. Most poets usually are! When I originally named this group I did so because it has become a universal rite of passage for just about every poet I have ever known. You start off in obscurity and continue that way until either someone with some clout notices you, or you begin to gain some acknowledgement from your peers. And for many, that never happens. You remain invisible. 

So we all have to ask ourselves the question: why are we here? Why do we join poetry groups, and why do we share our poems on Facebook groups, if very few people ever acknowledge, like or comment on our work? To answer that question, perhaps we should all ask ourselves an even more fundamental question: why do we write poetry?

Your answer to that question will be different to mine. We are all unique individuals and our motivation will be just as varied as our personalities. But deep down inside, I think that most of us write poetry because it is an outlet for our ability to infuse words with emotion and meaning. I know that when I write poetry, it is often because I have an idea or a thought that I want to crystallise in words. Sharing it with others is a secondary thing. I have many poets that not even my closest friends or family have ever seen. Perhaps they never will. Such poems are from the deepest recesses of my heart and mind, and perhaps it's better that they were never seen or read by anyone else. 

But when I share a poem (and many of my best ones are never shared!) on a Facebook group, my anticipation is that I will get some feedback from my peers, even if it is a simple 'like'. When this doesn't happen, it can be soul destroying, especially for those individuals who might be a little fragile at the time. Does feedback really matter? For many it really does. 

Perhaps feedback, acknowledgement, recognition is vital for you. So, when it doesn't happen for whatever reason, how do you cope? What is your strategy?  Do you go off into a dark corner and curse, weep and moan? Or do you pick yourself up and go and write a better poem? 

If you're simply posting poetry because you want to express yourself and aren't too bothered whether others read your work or not, then stop reading now.

For those who crave a little more attention for their poetry, here's something to ponder: 

On Facebook one of the main reasons people may not notice your poetry is because they haven't see it. It doesn't appear on their timeline as they scroll through posts. This is usually because you haven't engaged much with other people's posts. Facebook algorithms are designed to encourage social interaction. The more you comment and like other people's poetry, the more likely they are to see you posts coming up in their timelines. 

So next time you feel ignored on a Facebook poetry group, think about commenting on, and liking a few other people's posts. If you regularly do this and build up connections with others in the group, you'll soon begin to see them offering you comments and likes on your posts too.

Steve Wheeler

Image source

Poetry and Social Media

Oh how the times have changed! Books seem to have lost the overwhelming popularity they once had…. not to mention magazines and newspapers. The library was once a magical place! Yet many of the younger generation asks… who needs a library when you have social media?! 

Social media is not as much of a literary enemy as old school writers may think… especially in the world of poetry. It seems poetry is on a bit of an upswing lately on platforms familiar to many as Tic Toc, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook to name a few of the biggies.

According to a recent article in Forbes, the #poetry hashtag has more than 48 billion views on Tic Toc. This sensitive app has managed to bring a lot of attention to a number of authors through spoken word poetry. The possibilities of creating videos with a large variety of editing tools makes it a fun place to share work and possibly gain noteritey. 

However, notoriety and fame do not necessarily equate to selling poetry books. Tic Toc is good for writing communities though, especially “BookToc”, a growing crowd of book lovers that talk about nothing but books, primarily fiction related works.

Instagram has been a marvel for poets like Rupi Kaur and Morgan Harper Nichols. Their short form poetry, known for its confessional clean stylings, has brought them millions of followers. This form of poetry has been termed “Instapoetry”, and has garnered a controversial reputation of not being poetry due to its succinct structuring and fast pace. Yet, it seems social media is changing those rules. Kaur has more than 4 million Instagram followers, and has sold over 11 million copies of her books, which have been translated into 43 languages.

Jen Benka, the President and Executive Director of the Academy of American Poets, has stated “So many of the critiques of poetry on social media are about how poetry shouldn’t be performative, or how social media has made poetry too simple”. Is it poetry? Like all art, it’s in the eye of the beholder.

A downturn writers experience on these apps  continues to be simple plagiarism. Poems taken from some authors, then posted to names with a broader appeal and following base, leave the original poets out in the cold. Social media can indeed be what a close colleague once cleverly referred to as “a dark art”. 

Facebook has a blanket presence with a plethora of groups to choose from that all have their own personalities and purposes. I am of course, smitten with Invisible Poets and Wheelsong Poetry. This is not only because of the Wheelsong mission statement of promoting unknown talent. It is really about it’s first priority of giving back with charitable donations, such as the ongoing Wheelsong Anthology series. That incredible direction matches my personal writing motivations and then some!

As a rule of thumb. being active in social media requires a lot of posting, commenting, and interaction. I’ve also noticed that a touch of personal charisma becomes one’s individual brand. It also helps to promote attention by always maintaining a professional posture and positive attitude.

Social media is here to stay, and poets of every age and variety have to accept it. Learning which platforms are best for you for what you are trying to achieve is only possible by engaging in the activity and determining if a group or particular app is right for you.

Matt Elmore

Resources:

https://www.insidehook.com/article/internet/social-media-poetry

https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2023/03/01/bite-sized-tiktok-poetry-blows-up-along-with-growing-claims-of-plagiarism/?sh=5df4cb7c6873

https://gooduniversenextdoor.com/2023/01/19/poetry-on-tiktok/

https://www.writersdigest.com/publishing-insights/should-writers-use-social-media

Image from: Unsplash