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Guest Post: A Publishing Journey by Poet Aries, Author of Aches and Epiphanies

Today’s guest is a poet with a lot of drive, who queried publishers on her own about sending a manuscript to them for publication. Aries was rewarded for her persistence when Olympia Publishers gave her the green light for her collection, Aches and Epiphanies.

Before we welcome her to the blog, let’s learn a little bit more about the collection:

A collection of poetry, prose and thoughts from poet and songwriter, Aries.
From love lost to happiness found; from pain to joy and vice versa. The words of the unspoken and raw human emotions come to the fore.

For those who have stood face to face with love and it has been terrifying or have hidden secrets behind closed doors. For those who find comfort in the hands of another, you will learn, page by page.

As the universe takes its last breath, it looks at you with glittering eyes and smiles. You were worth the destruction.

Please give Aries a warm welcome:

My name is Aries and I’m a 21-year-old poet and just three months ago, I released my debut poetry book, Aches and Epiphanies.

I started writing poetry when I was 16 and needed an outlet to express my feelings. I started off writing in the comments section of photos I used to post on an Instagram page I made, but only a few of my friends knew about it. I liked having a place where I could write down my thoughts and feelings privately, but as I grew more confident I realized these were more than just thoughts; they were poetry, and I wanted my work to be seen. From there I began writing everything down in notebooks, and when I turned 18 I decided I wanted to get a book published. I was completely new to the entire process and started out just emailing publishers to ask if I could send over a manuscript. I kept doing this until one replied, and one year later came my proudest piece of work: Aches and Epiphanies. So much hard work goes into the process of writing and editing but I wouldn’t change it for the world. It’s been incredible reading and re-reading my poems, and changing them up a little as well.

Aches and Epiphanies is divided into two chapters, the first chapter exploring pain in the form of misunderstandings, breakups and confusion. The second chapter talks about all the things I’ve learned and the good that has come from the bad. How the sun always rises even when the night seems endless.

I wrote all the poems in the span of about three years, taking notes of little experiences and then expanding them. I found it really therapeutic to put all my feelings down on a page because then, they can have a new life, and they’re no longer interfering with my happiness or growth. I write about the hurt because I know there are people out there who feel it too, and if it can make one person feel less alone or inspire them, then that poetry has the power to move mountains.

I don’t think I really have a writing process, and I definitely don’t write consistently. There are days when I’ll write pages and pages and then I won’t be able to think of anything for a week. I’ll also write down words or feelings and then go back to them in a month or so when I feel ready. I also love writing on the train, strangely. I think it’s because I have a lot of time to focus and I have a lot of time with my thoughts, but a lot of my first drafts of poems get done when I’m traveling.

Poetry has helped me with lots of other creative outlets such as songwriting; I’ve been a singer/songwriter for over ten years and since starting poetry I’ve found my lyrics have grown and changed in the best way possible. I use a lot of my poems as bases for songs I write as well, so many of my themes in music and writing are similar.

I still have much to learn as a writer and a person, but being able to document all of that and turn it into something beautiful is the reason why I keep writing. Being an author is one of my proudest achievements and I hope one day Aches and Epiphanies will be on someone’s shelf, next to Allison Malee or Rupi Kaur, inspiring them to write too. And one day, they can move mountains.

About the Poet:

Aries is a poet from Kuwait who currently lives in the UK. She is passionate about writing down feelings and turning the pain into something beautiful.

She has enjoyed writing from a young age, as well as composing songs, and is currently releasing music on several platforms.

Aries draws on personal experience as well as the experience of others for her work, and aims to express real feelings on paper to reach out to anyone who is willing to listen.