Forget Esoteric: How to Get Your Poetry Out of the Closet and Into a Book
By Maggie Ball
Poetry is an esoteric art isn't it? There's no point in getting caught up in base things like publishing or pandering to an audience - it's only the work that matters, right? Wrong. Writing superbly crafted works of art full of rhythm and insight is a magnificent thing to do for oneself, but if these works aren't shared with others, they will disappear into the vacuum of certain death without trace. Of course there is always the chance that, like Emily Dickenson, your masterpieces will be discovered post-mortem. The chance is higher however, that this work won't have reached its potential, since it won't have gone through the stringency of refining, grouping, and structuring that publication involves, not to mention the opportunity of working with a professional editor. The poet has a responsibility not only to his or her art, but to the world, to publish, and to have publication as an end goal for the work.
That's easy to say, but how do you get your poetry published as a collection? Speaking from personal experience, getting a chapbook or full length poetry book published isn't easy, but it isn't actually that hard either. Small collections like chapbooks are cheap, and relatively easy to sell, and there are many quite a few publishers that specialise in poetry. There are a few tricks though.
Group your work into a common theme. One of the key ways to get a collection published is to work within an overall unifying theme. This doesn't necessarily mean you have to write to a theme at first. But you might find yourself attracted to a specific area which will ultimately form your framework. For me, I found myself increasingly drawn to Cosmology, and a number of my poems were pivoting around that. I did some work with a writing coach who convinced me to produce a full collection, and together we set a goal of two poems a week. I began to read journals like New Scientist and whenever something caught my eye, I would use that as the basis for a poem. That's the way Quark Soup took shape and it was surprisingly quick.
Find a publisher who is looking for work on a theme and write to it. If you don't seem to be naturally gravitating towards a theme, look for one. What hobbies do you have? When I saw a publisher calling for sports poetry, I wrote a few poems about swimming, and then sent them a query with those poems, asking if they would be interested in a book of interviews with professional sportspeople, with an original poem for each included sport. It's a concept that with a low time investment initially that could work for any publisher, on any topic. Just find a call for submissions on a specific concept and build a query or series of poems around that. Another publisher friendly theme is to write about where you live, and submit the work to a local publisher. There are tons of poems about Paris and New York, but what about Morebath or Poughkeepsie? You're sure to find something historically interesting, and the local council and library might buy up your first print.
Periods in history are also good. Karen Knight's Under the One Granite Roof is a terrific collection of poems built on Whitman's Civil War Years. Pick a period in your own history and write a series of poems around that topic. The possibilities are limitless, and it's much easier to let your creative flow rip when you've got a theme to work to. Finding a publisher is also easier, as the market for your work will be ready made.
Get Out There. Or get your work out there. Go to poetry slams; read your work, talk about your work, network. One of the nice things about publishing poetry is that pre-published poems are more likely to be accepted in a collection than poems that haven't been published, so you can submit each poem immediately when you finish writing it, even as you are pulling poems together into a collection. You get double benefit for your work, and increase your odds of getting a collection published every time you publish a poem. Publishers are much more likely to take on your book if they recognise your name, so make sure your name is familiar by making it familiar!
Create a Market Database. Research the different poetry publishers and create a database of those that are likely to be right for your work. Build your manuscript and once it's ready, follow the guidelines and submit your queries. Does this sound basic? It is! Local Writer's Market yearbooks are excellent sources of publishers and guidelines as is the Internet - just do a Google search on poetry publishers (and watch out for the sharks-never pay to have your work read or published and be especially careful about anthologies). Think small. Most legitimate poetry publishers are small and don't offer advances, but on the upside, small houses tend to provide more individual editorial attention. Having your poetry edited is well worth the trouble of seeking publication- it will make you a better writer. There also isn't the time pressure that you get with a large house. You can expect to continue selling your book for years, rather than months, and since most small publishers use POD (print on demand) technology,
you don't have to fear being "pulped".
That's all there is to it. Don't let a fear of failure stop you. The only way to publish a collection of poetry is to set a goal and work towards it, at whatever pace your schedule allows. Poetry is particularly suited to this method, as it doesn't take that long to write a single poem and the satisfaction of completion comes regularly as you're building the collection. Good luck!
Magdalena Ball runs The Compulsive Reader and is the author of Repulsion Thrust, Sleep Before Evening and many other books. Visit her at http://www.magdalenaball.com
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Related Reading
6 Tips to Make the Most out of Writing Workshops Part 1
Writing in Rhyme
Writing Goals, Detours, and Opportunity Cost
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