Using Poetry Publishers Or Self-Publish A Chapbook
Writing poetry is a passion for many people. You can find a poet in almost any crowd. There are so few poets who actually publish even a single book in their lifetime. If you are serious about publishing your masterpiece you will first want to get your hands on a copy of Poet's Market. Published by Writer's Digest, Poet's Market has information on over 2,000 poetry publishers in great detail. Poet's Market offers information for those that wish to publish individual poems or books. It is updated yearly so that you can always find the most accurate information. You may be wondering how you get paid while pursuing the life of a poet. The truth is that publishers usually pay first time authors with one or two copies of the publications of their work. Most poets have a job that is related to poetry such as teaching or publishing. It is rather difficult to make a living as a poet. In many cases, famous poets became famous after they had passed away. Publishing your own book or chapbook can be done by self-publishing, too. What is a chapbook? A chapbook can be from four pages up to nearly 50 pages. You basically need a computer with some type of word processor on it, a printer, and a piece of paper that is 8.5 x 11 inches. This is enough to make a four page chapbook. Fold the piece of paper in half and print on all four sections of the paper to create your four page chapbook. For more pages you can use a stapler to hold the pages together. These pages need not only contain writing, but can have unique artwork on the pages as well. When decided to take the route of using poetry publishers you will need to take the proper steps to submitting your work. First of all you want to study the publishers to know what type of work they publish most. Then you will want to read through your poems to find what will best work with that company. Have your poem printed neatly on standard size paper. Make sure to number your pages and have your name and address on each page. Be certain to proofread all your work. Include a cover letter, just like when applying for a job. Include a self-addressed stamp envelope with your package. Once you have sent in your "resume" you will want to be patient. Give the publisher a little bit of time to read everything over and think things through. And lastly, be prepared to be rejected. Just because one publisher has rejected your work doesn't mean that you are a bad writer. Your writing might not be their style or what they are looking for at that time. Keep your head high and keep walking forward. For more information on finding reputable poetry publishers, you may want to consider joining a poetry guild. A guild is an organization of people with a common interest. You can find many poetry guilds on the internet. You are able to submit your writing and receive feedback from fellow writers. Just be certain to protect your writing from being stolen from others. Your work is a masterpiece and very valuable to you and others. Make sure to get your work copyrighted to prove that it is yours. |
