If you’ve written so many poems that you’re interested in publishing your poetry as a book of poems, as a chapbook, or as a collection of poems, there are a number of ways you can get a book of poems published. But before we tell you how to publish your poetry book, there are a few things you should keep in mind.
First, poets approach Writer’s Relief every day asking us how we can help them make money on their poetry. The unfortunate truth is that it’s not very likely you’ll make a significant amount of money by publishing your book of poetry. Traditional, big publishing houses typically do not publish the work of unknown or moderately known poets because there simply isn’t a large audience that is willing to plunk down money for poetry. And because there’s no money in poetry, literary agents tend not to represent poets (with the exception of the very famous). So that’s the bad news.
Learn more: How much money can you make writing poems?
But the good news is that poetry readers and writers have created a strong alternative market to big New York publishing houses. And if you’ve got time, talent, and luck, you may be able to get your book of poems published and maybe even make some money on your poetry. It’s best to have a solid list of publication credits for your individual poems before you start asking people to publish your poems en masse. If your bio is strong and testifies to your skill, here are some ways to publish your poetry chapbook or collection of poems.
How To Publish A Book Of Poems
Enter chapbook contests. If you’ve amassed a collection of poems that might not be long enough for a full poetry book, you may want to consider entering a chapbook contest. Although the rules vary, chapbook contests generally want between 25 and 60 pages of poetry. Most chapbook contests are sponsored by universities or small presses, so while there may be an entry fee, there is also usually a payout for the winner in the form of publication and a monetary prize. If your poems are very strong, entering chapbook contests might be a good way to get your poetry chapbook or collection published.
Approach small presses. If your collection of poetry is too big for a chapbook, you may consider approaching small presses (independent publishers) with your poems. To do this, you’ll need to have strong publishing credentials. You can learn more about how to get publishing credentials at these links: Building Publication Credits and No Publishing Credits? Get Publishing Credentials: How To Build Up Your Writing Bio Super Fast. Universities and small presses are the heart of contemporary poetry, so do the proper research and send your queries their way.
Self-publish. If you have not had your individual poems published in reputable magazines, and you don’t have the patience that it takes to develop a good submission strategy, you might want to consider self-publishing. Just be aware that self-publishing requires you do all the legwork regarding distribution. Your book will not appear on bookshelves unless you do something to get it there. If you’d like a way to easily share your poetry with your family and friends, self-publishing may be a good option. But if you’re taking the self-publishing route because you think it’s an easier way to reach a large audience, think again. Unless you’re prepared to do lots of legwork and marketing, your book will not reach far and wide.
Many poets are competing to publish their poems as poetry collections or chapbooks. Even though there isn’t a strong mainstream market for poetry, the “underground” and independent markets are thriving. In order to keep publishing markets open to poets everywhere, consider subscribing to literary magazines and journals, or consider supporting the work of other poets who are publishing in the small-press market. To build more lucrative publishing markets for poetry, read and buy more poetry.
If you’d like help building up your poetry credentials, Writer’s Relief can help you develop a strong submission strategy to publish your individual poems. Our clients publish regularly in the literary magazine and journal markets. Visit our Overview of Services for more information.
QUESTION: Mainstream readers tend to shy away from poetry books. Have you ever purchased a collection of poems by a single author? Leave the name of the book as a comment!
I am interested in self publishing a poetry book which has 50% photography.
I was told that if I wanted to retain full control of my book, it is best to obtain my own ISBN #. Is that correct? I know that most printers prefer to use their own ISBN #’s which makes sense for them, but could I find a printer who would permit me to use my own ISBN#?
Kindest regards,
HORACE
Horace, You will need to speak to your specific publisher about their policies on ISBN numbers. Generally speaking, self-publishing does give you more control over your work than traditional publishing.
Can someone tell me briefly what a “chapbook” is? Also, what is an ISBN number in reference to self publishing? Is that similar to a copyright? I am not new to poetry writing, but tottaly new at trying to publish.
Thank you, Carolyn Ross
Carolyn,
Great questions. A chapbook of poems is essentially just a small book of poetry (as opposed to a longer collection of poems). The ISBN number is the International Standard Book Number: it’s the identifying number for your book and is accompanied by a bar code.
Perhaps we might offer a bit of advice? Before you try publishing a poetry book, you may want to have some of your individual poems published in literary journals. This will help build up your publishing bio and perhaps give you an edge when you’re trying to find a poetry book publisher.
At Writer’s Relief, we help writers target the best literary journals for their poetry. We take the frustration out of making submissions. Learn more by watching the video on our homepage: http://www.writersrelief.com/
Good luck!
Why was everything in quadruplicate?
Can you say more about approaching small presses and universitites with a book of poems? How do I find who is interested in looking at poetry manuscripts?
Suellen,
Sure! Check out this article!
http://www.writersrelief.com/blog/2011/06/how-to-submit-to-independent-and-university-publishers/
I have written approximately 100 poems that are primarily a narrative of personal experiences and cynical insights/humor.
I think they would be of interest to the right publisher but I have no idea of how to go about locating that person.
I’d greatly appreciate any information you may have that might steer me in the right direction.
Dear Martin, The first step–if you’re looking for a traditional publisher (that you don’t have to pay)–is to get many of your individual poems published in literary journals. Once you have some publication credits you can start thinking about a collection.
There are two ways to proceed.
First, you can try finding literary journals on your own. You can start here: http://www.writersrelief.com/blog/2008/03/researching-literary-journals-for-your-writing/
Or, you can investigate Writer’s Relief services to see if they are right for you. We research and target the literary journals that are best-suited for a particular writer’s work. Full Service clients (writers who take advantage of our best service) are accepted by invitation only, but A La Carte clients don’t need to be approved by the Review Board.
We help writers submit their work for publication.
Learn more here: http://www.writersrelief.com/help-for-writers-submitting-for-publication/