improvement by mistakes

If this poem had any typos they would be considered assets.

not too much fidelity

Writers insist that editors be faithful toward their texts; but not faithful to their typos or other errors therein.

useful list of errors

The erratum slip made for a convenient bookmark.

portrait of an author

The magazine he most wanted to publish in, he didn’t subscribe to.

If he went to a poetry reading it was because he was the featured reader, or the featured reader was someone important he hoped to introduce himself to after the reading.

When he was published in a literary magazine, he turned straightaway to his own poem, checking it for typos…then immediately closed the magazine.

Next thing to do, right after getting that publishing credit, was to update his c.v.

For an author photo, he pushed the limit, sending a photo two decades old.

His books all seemed to be published by different publishers; perhaps each editor was one and done.

His bio listed all his prizes and publications down to the most obscure and the earliest ones in his career.

In his apartment, the only books he owned, at least the only ones visible on bookshelves, were his own.

once over lightly

He thought revision meant fixing the punctuation and cleaning up typos.