I'm a poet and no one knows it!

October 2, 2009 9:06 AM

Which web site is best for self-publishing poetry?

Twenty years ago I finished a degree in creative writing, focused on poetry. I continue to write poetry, but I haven't done anything with it. It's scattered in notebooks, computer files, and napkins. I need to gather it, encapsulate it, and move on to the next thing. I want to have the satisfaction of closure -- and the sense of accomplishment that a book would give me.

I'm not looking to be the next Billy Collins, and I'm not particularly interested in finding a publisher (yet), but it'd be nice to have a pretty little book with an artsy cover I could sell for a few bucks or give to close friends.

I'm looking for something I can do online. Putting all the poetry into a PDF or Word doc, or submitting digital artwork is not a problem.

There are quite a few web sites that offer this service. Which one's the best for me? Have you done something like this? Please tell me about it!

posted by the matching mole to writing & language (9 comments total)

We did a volume of my late mother-in-law's poetry with Lulu.com and were very happy with the results.

Self-publishing is really the norm with poetry in the US--even poets who are tenured professors of writing and have won tons of awards tend to self-publish more often than not.
posted by Sidhedevil at 9:08 AM on October 2, 2009

If you're thinking about eventually seeking mainstream publication for the same poems, definitely go with a service like lulu.com or blurb.com or other print-on-demand service, rather than larger-scale (and expensive) self publishers like xlibris. Also, if you're planning on seeking mainstream publication for the same poems (particularly in magazines), be sure not to post the poems online anywhere, as many publications will consider your poems ineligible if they were "published" online first. I know you didn't ask that, but I figure it might be relevant.

Self-publishing is really the norm with poetry in the US--even poets who are tenured professors of writing and have won tons of awards tend to self-publish more often than not.

I got my MFA in poetry in May, and that really hasn't been my experience--I don't think I know a single professor or student in either graduate school or undergrad who self-published volumes on any sort of large scale, although I do know a few people who sought chapbook publication with chapbook presses or ran a very small run of their poems at staples for friends and family. Really, the book contest system is pretty much the rule for first books to be viewed as legitimate, and there are some who view those who self-publish through a less-than-complimentary lens. Whether that's right is another issue--the low readership and royalties of mainstream poetry book publication might not make the time or monetary investment of first-book contests worth it for OP.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 9:30 AM on October 2, 2009

(Oh, and definitely avoid Vanity Presses--there's a brief list in this wikipedia article)
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 9:34 AM on October 2, 2009

Well, I don't know what to say, PhoBWanKenobi. Maybe it's a regional difference? I can think of several award-winning poets I know in this area (New England) who have done some self-pub, some co-op pub, and some university press pub. I also know some folks who have published with some places that describe themselves as "small presses" whose books look ten times as amateurish as self-pub.

But I totally agree with you ten million percent that vanity presses and subsidy presses need to be avoided always. Using a printing service to self-publish is the way to go if you don't have the time or the desire to pursue trade or university press publication.
posted by Sidhedevil at 10:04 AM on October 2, 2009

This is interesting -- thank you both for the insight.

I was unaware of the first-book contest situation, but it is interesting to know. I have been published by two university presses, so maybe that's enough to establish legitimacy, should I ever pursue publication by chapbook presses.

I didn't mention cost in the original post. Could someone give me an idea what kind of cost I'm looking at, if I use a site like Lulu.com?
posted by the matching mole at 10:53 AM on October 2, 2009

It depends on the type of binding you want and how many pages. I'd take a look around the site here.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 11:03 AM on October 2, 2009

I have been published by two university presses, so maybe that's enough to establish legitimacy, should I ever pursue publication by chapbook presses.

Whoops, didn't realize that you'd already had books published. In that case, of course, you wouldn't be doing first book contests.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 11:13 AM on October 2, 2009

My folks had a very good experience getting my mother's late father's book printed up at Lulu. Very fast and a nice, high-quality book. I'd consider them an excellent option if what you want is a nice copy to hand out to friends or maybe sell at readings or something.
posted by Neofelis at 3:21 PM on October 2, 2009

Whoops, didn't realize that you'd already had books published. In that case, of course, you wouldn't be doing first book contests.

I should point out that I did not have books printed, just a few poems in a couple of university anthologies.

I'm now curious about the first-book contests; it's something I'm considering. Thanks for mentioning that.
posted by the matching mole at 2:55 PM on October 3, 2009