A Self-Publishing Guide on How to Publish a Book of Poetry
“Well, write poetry, for God’s sake, it’s the only thing that matters!”
— EE Cummings
You heard the man, so now you asking about how to publish a book of poetry? If we laid out the life of poetry, it began as stories recited and sung since ancient times. Upon the development of writing, poems were written down on tablets of stone in Egyptian and Sumerian societies. It was when Johannes Gutenberg invented the movable type printing press in Europe that the fate of poetry, and all of literature and mass media for that matter, was changed for the better. So how do you publish a book of poems?
These days you don’t even have to rely on the big-name, poetry publishers, anymore. Self-publishing poetry has opened up doors for everyone who aspires to be heard. Here we’ve compiled tested and true advice for the poet who is looking to publish.
Do it for the right reasons.
Full disclosure: There’s not much—if any—money in poetry. Other poetry writers might have struck gold in the past, but they were the exceptions to the rules. You too can publish poems for money, but it may do you well to internalize the noble underpinnings of your chosen art before you go about publishing your first poetry collection. Don’t quit your day job just yet!
Finish your poetry manuscript.
How can you begin publishing your poetry if you haven’t finished writing it? If it’s gotten to the point that you’re planning on creating your own poetry book, you probably already have a collection of poems waiting there. How many poems do you want in your book of poetry? Curate them according to theme so your poetry book has some cohesion.
Ask for help.
In your budding poetry career, seek doctors in the form of editors to prime your work for print. They proofread the basics, like spelling and grammar, but you very well could glean fresh insight from them, content-wise. Now they say “Never judge a book by its cover” but it doesn’t mean your work has to slack off in the looks department! Unless you’re well-versed in design, enlist the services of a professional for your poetry book’s layout and cover.
Traditional, digital, or both?
Each type of publishing has a different time line or duration it takes to publish a book. To some, this doesn’t matter much as long as they get their book out there. To have and to hold a physical copy of your book—that’s more than enough for most people, especially to family and friends. If you’re into the DIY self-publishing poetry, produce poetry chapbooks with your local printing press. What is a chapbook of poetry? It’s an inexpensive way to release a small collection of poems that usually do not exceed 40 pages.
Figuring out how to publish a chapbook is worth the trouble, as you’ll be able to control every aspect of its creation and prepare as many or as little copies as you like. However, do know that once published in this format, it can be ineligible for submission to established poetry journals and contests. Did you know you can self-publish a poetry book for free? Well, almost. E-books are a cheap way to self-publish a poetry book that’s easily acquired by a wider audience.
If you also want to know how to publish a book of poetry you can also explore beyond the obvious. Through Print-on-Demand (POD) services, you present your book for them to carry out additional proofing, formatting and publishing. They only print copies whenever an order comes in from established online retailers. PODs protect you from large upfront costs and a surplus in inventory.
We hope to see your name on your very own poetry book soon! Contribute your part into our collective poetic heritage, one that’s teeming with life and continues to be written. Indeed, our world is a truer, more beautiful place with poems.
