when a friend asks for crit

[Leanne]

That is true for individual submissions to journals etc, but for an entire collection it's often expected that at least a few poems have been published. It makes quite a good publicity point.

I would encourage her to try out at least one or two pieces here if she would like, simply because it's good to find out if poems of a personal nature translate well enough outside the circle of people who know what you're talking about. The members only forum is safe from googling.

Additionally, it's a benefit to any poet to try their hand at critique and to see what else is possible.