In December 2022, I flirted with the idea of building a community of Filipino poetry enthusiasts. This idea was from my desire to find kindred: people who share the same interest and love in reading, writing, and creating poetry books.
I started a soft landing. because I genuinely believe that more poets in the Philippines are not being read, are still budding in the craft, or are in need of a bigger platform or means to produce their work yet.
I was once them. I started out my writing career not knowing that I would be in this space. For me, poetry has always been intimidating, but falling in love with it as a reader first, and an attempted poet next, has done wonders for my mental and emotional health. It has bettered my craft and has widened my audience of readers through the years.
Of course, I didn’t do all of it alone.
My success after releasing my very first poetry book in 2016 was met with love and support by my existing readers and community. But it grew so much more than I’ve ever anticipated or expected, reaching readers from countries I’ve never been to.
I will always attribute this success to four things: readers, editors, community, and intuition.
As a member of a writing community (#romanceclass), I learned that while writing can be a solitary endeavor, it is so much better to do it with a group of like-minded folks with similar goals and aspirations to lift you as you go through your phases as a writer.
I started a soft landing. with what I believe every writer needs, no matter where they are in their careers: editors and readers. I’ve tapped my editor and beta reader, Layla and KB, in this journey, confident that whatever I build will be in good hands with their knowledge, skill, experience, and empathy.
In my nine (going on ten!) years of being a published author, I have learned the importance of having a team, and I would like to replicate that experience for a soft landing. to make sure that the people we find feel supported and empowered as they launch themselves further into their writing careers.
If you liked any of the authors featured in this collection, I hope that you support them in their next endeavor.
May you find inspiration in this collection, recognize the talent in each of these writers, and continue to support Filipino poets and authors.
Happy reading!
Dawn
** A Quiet Unfolding is available on digital retailers on February 22, 2023. Go to: https://books2read.com/AQuietUnfolding to purchase.
Dawn Lanuza 