Where can I go to publish and get paid for a poem?

Question

I have a poem i recently wrote and I want to publish it and possibly get royalties for it. I don't know where to go for that.

Answer 1

Try visiting writersmarket.com or going to your local bookstore or library to find the print version of their book. They come out with a revised edition every year which allows you to search listings of publishers for a company that will be best suited to your poem, most likely a magazine or journal. Writer's Market is really the leader in this sort of thing, and for me was well worth the investment of a website subscription (but I've found most local libraries will have a copy you can check out).

I'd also suggest their book Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript, for details on what you will need to do when you're ready to publish. Every publisher has a different set of requirements, so it's important to do your research.

Getting something published is NOT easy. You will be rejected a lot. Magazines and journals recieve a lot of submissions and have a limited amount of space to print poetry.

Also, for a single poem it will most likely be a one-time payment and not royalties. Royalties come into play when you are publishing a book.

Answer 2

Poetry is not a hot ticket today and you must be dreaming if you think you can get royalties for a poem! The books by the great poets languish on the shelves. Again, there is no market today for poetry, and it's very difficult to write excellent poetry.

Answer 3

can you sell it as a song lyric?
enter a poetry competition for a one-off prize, but no royalties.
unless you already have poems published it is unlikely that someone will buy your work. A lot of people get into print by paying for it themselves. If you have something newsworthy about you it would help, such as being a 9/11 survivor. Joe Bloggs from Croydon doesn't open may doors.

Answer 4

First of all, beware of adverts seeking poems to add to their anthology! Your poem will be in the anthology, sure, but it will cost you at least £40 to buy the book - they don't give you one for nothing!

Poetry is notoriously difficult to sell as so few magazines use it these days. One place you can sell poems is to write for greetings card producers. I used to do this, years ago.

First, write a few that you think will be suitable (new baby, bereavement, birthday, engagement etc), then ring the card manufacturers asking for the verse editor's name and the address to send them to. You could become one of their regular contributors. Very best of luck!