Maybe You Should not Have Published

Summary

The text reflects on the process of writing and publishing, suggesting that an editor's lack of engagement can lead to the stillbirth of a piece of writing.

Abstract

The poem "Maybe You Should not Have Published" uses the metaphor of childbirth to describe the writing process, from the intense labor of creation to the postpartum care of editing. It criticizes editors who fail to nurture and support a piece through the publication process, merely acting as couriers without adding value. The poem implies that if an editor does not engage with the work by commenting, complimenting, or promoting it, they have not fulfilled their role and may have contributed to the piece's lack of success. It emphasizes the importance of being a supportive and active participant in the life of a written work, suggesting that editors should act as cheerleaders and gatekeepers, ensuring that a piece reaches its potential audience with enthusiasm and care.

Opinions

The author believes that editors should actively engage with the content they publish, beyond just the act of publication.
There is a critique of editors who do not invest time and effort in providing feedback or promoting the pieces they handle.
The text suggests that an editor's role is not just to publish but also to enhance the value of a piece through constructive feedback and support.

Helping a stillbirth

We bend to craft it and squeeze ourselves inside out and feel the labor pang, that leaves us all raw sometimes exhilarated sometimes ecstatic and we pant and heave like drunks coming to from a dry hangover and with a tooth-comb stretch and huff and hoover until the chaff goes, and something erupts and something pops

We wash the baby and toss out the bathwater then we go for a dry towel and we pull it off the rack, and use some body cream on the skin and make it wear some perfume before sending it off to an editor.

We hear she reads all sorts and has to adjust and sort them some lines there a phrase here, a picture, and she’s happy to publish with a self-credit of thanks to her name as footnote

Then there, it sits without stirring, no one wants anything to do with it

few views, no reads, no comments or cusses, no rants or curses and no claps — you failed here our dear editor, you didn't comment you didn’t compliment you did not highlight you did not clap

if only you lived by example, adding value to the piece — if it did not make any impressions maybe you should not have published

You just played courier, from here to there you wasted your own time and the space of the pub when you could have saved the piece from a stillbirth — being your brother’s keeper is also being his gatekeeper but you threw him under a night bus and forgot to call 911. Add value, Cheerleader, that too you should be, and do it with love and make it fun for you and him and for all the would-be fans

OU082021