publishing?

Question

how can I publish my poems? Not alot of money.

Answer 1

Poetry.com

Answer 2

Do you mean get a few poems accepted by existing publications, or get a book of your work put out for sale?
Get a current copy of Poet's Market and read it. It has all the info you will need, from how to properly format for submissions, to how to find a book publisher. Then go through with a highlighter and mark off potential matches for what you write, making a list in a notebook or on your computer to narrow things down and track your submissions. It is best to get some pieces accepted first before trying to get a book out; very few editors will consider a poet who has no prior publishing credits, and even then, they have a quota to stick to- there is little money in poetry, so it is really a labor of love. Also look at trade magazines, newspapers, community publications, and online magazines- any credit is a good thing in the publishing world. You can also self-publish a chapbook if you have the computer skills and a printer, and there are always booksellers in any city that will accept and support local poets- usually for a small commission on each book sold. I did my first chapbook myself, with a computer and a photocopier, and made the cover using a photo I took, photocopied on colored cardstock.
Good luck!

Answer 3

Poetry.com is a business aimed at making money from people who have poems and want to see them in print.

There are lots of poems out there. Also most are never read by more than a few people. Making money from poetry is harder than getting the truth from a politcian.

You want to publish, get creative. Photocopy them at work then drop them in people's letter boxes. Get into stencilling. Stencil them to walls (and run away before the police catch you). Write them in chalk on the sidewalk.

Better yet, join poetry slams. These are great, people get together and do poetry readings. In bars, clubs and lots of other places.

lastly, stick them on your blog along with everyone else.

By the way, I am a fan of good poetry and encourage art, BUT...if you wrote these poems on days when were feeling blue and didn't really know how to clearly express your feelings then please please please burn them.....but spare the 1 or 2 real poems.

Answer 4

go to a book store, and look up some poetry books. after noting the publishers, go to the publishers website. see how they want work summited and/or email the editors. if they don't take submissions, you can either email the editor or send your stuff anyways. don't submit to people that you know won't pay you. (that seems to be a problem with some underground graphic novel publishers that I have heard about.)


Also, you can go to events you know these types of editors might attend, and talk to them. make yourself as remember able as possible. get a unique email that is work safe (no 69 or sexy so and so, or foul language) (also, if your name is common don't us it in your email). this is true in sequential art, gmail is the most popular email service.

good luck

Answer 5

The easiest and cheapest way to publish your own work is to use a print on demand site, such as www.cafepress.com.

People who set up an account with cafepress are given a "store" where they can offer a wide variety of things from artwork they load up on T-shirts to books. If you offer one item the site is free. If you offer more than one to thousands of items it's about $5 per month. Publicity is up to the store owner. If something sells, they print it, bill it and mail it. If you make a profit they send you a check.

The amount you charge for an item is up to you. For a book, cafepress gets a set amount per page, and you charge what you want above that. Many people set up a store to create gifts and memories for their own family.