Finding readers for your poems can be difficult. Self publishing is a great way to stay in control of the editorial process and build a readership base yourself. If you want to publish your poems yourself, please follow the steps below.
Steps
Method 1 of 4: Prepare to Publish Your Poems Yourself
Step 1. Finish your series or selection of poems
Before you start trying to publish your book yourself, make sure you have a complete and refined collection of poems. If you start worrying about publication details before you finish writing your book, you won't be able to focus on any of those goals. Here's how to finish your poetry book:
- Write and correct each poem in the collection many times.
- Find the best way to sort the poems in the book. The best order will be the one that creates a mood or develops a theme. You will not have to sort the poems in chronological order.
- Ask reliable sources for their opinion. Make sure you're not the only one who thinks your work is complete.
- Read your works for errors. Check that your punctuation, spacing and grammar are perfect.
Step 2. Consider seeking professional help
If you want to publish your book on your own, but are unsure about some of the details, ask for the help of a professional. Here are some people who can help you finalize the details:
- Hire a publisher. A professional and reputable editor can give you great advice on the quality of your manuscript.
- Hire an illustrator for your book cover. If you don't think you can make the cover yourself, hiring a professional to do it can help make your book more eye-catching.
Step 3. Look for different self-publishing methods
When your book and cover are finished, look for information on different self-publishing methods to choose the one that's right for you. The best method will be determined by the amount you want to spend, the print run your book should have, and how simple you want the publishing process to be. Here are three popular self-publishing methods:
- The e-book. Self-publishing your book as an e-book is inexpensive, simple and you can create a digital copy of your book that will be available on the net and can be downloaded and read on many devices.
- A print on demand service. Using a print-on-demand service is one way to create a good-looking physical copy of your book and sell it on websites.
- Publish through a website or blog. Creating a website or blog to post your poems is a quick and easy way to reach many readers without having to deal with a salesperson.
Step 4. Maintain realistic expectations
Self-publishing is a great way to stay in control of the editorial process and to make your works accessible to more readers. However, this is not a reliable way to get rich fast, especially not in the world of poetry. While you may have heard some success stories about self-published books that have become bestsellers, these are exceptions and not the norm.
Don't be disappointed if you don't have as many readers as you imagined
Method 2 of 4: Publish Your Poems As An E-book
Step 1. Understand the pros and cons of e-books
There are many advantages to publishing your book as an e-book, but there are also some disadvantages. Before choosing this self-publishing method, consider these aspects carefully. They include:
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Benefits:
- Expenses. Publishing an e-book won't cost much more than writing it.
- Possibility of excellent earnings. If your book becomes a best seller, you will have the chance to make a lot of money. Some retailers allow authors to keep 60-70 percent of revenue, which can be a large amount. However, this rarely happens, despite what you may have read about earning from e-books.
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Disadvantages:
- No advertising. You will have to do the marketing of your book yourself. If you have a good following on Twitter, Google+, and Facebook, it can be an easy problem to fix.
- Competitive prices. Some e-books sell for less than a euro, so you will have to sell a lot of copies to make a profit.
- No physical copy. You won't have the satisfaction of holding your published book and you won't have copies to show people. That said, there's nothing stopping you from having copies of your e-book printed.
Self Publish Poetry Step 6 Step 2. Decide on the details
Before talking to a retailer, establish some of the details of the book. Here are some things you will need to decide before moving on to the next stage of the editorial process:
- Create a cover. You can create your own poetry book cover yourself, or you can hire someone to do it for you or ask a friend for help.
- Decide on a price. A good price for a copy of your book is between € 2.99 and € 9.99. If your book is cheaper, more people will be tempted to buy it, but if it is more expensive, you may have fewer readers but have more revenue.
- Decide whether to use Digital Rights Management (DRM). When you upload your book to the different retailers available on the net, you will have to decide whether or not to use DRM. Using DRM will allow you to fight piracy, but it will be more difficult for people to read your book on some devices.
- Write a description for your book. Write a few sentences that describe your book and choose search keywords and categories that will help readers find it. If you don't know how to do it yourself, ask for help from a professional.
Self Publish Poetry Step 7 Step 3. Format your book
Format your book to make sure it meets the requirements for a Kindle, iPad, Nook, and other reading devices. You can do it yourself, or hire a professional.
- Choose whether your book will be available in PDF, the most common format, or if you prefer HTML or EXE formats.
- When you have chosen the format, convert your Word document to the appropriate type of e-book. You can use Adobe to create PDFs, Dreamweaver to create HTML code, and an e-book compiler to convert it to EXE format.
Self Publish Poetry Step 8 Step 4. Choose your online dealer
Do some research to decide which distributor meets your needs. Consider the format used by each retailer and the percentage of revenue they guarantee to authors.
Read e-books from different retailers to find out which one is right for you
Self Publish Poetry Step 9 Step 5. Upload your book
Create an account for the online retailer service, and upload all the information you have decided in the previous steps, including the book, cover, description and other information you need to complete the process.
Each dealer may ask for slightly different information even if the basic process is the same
Self Publish Poetry Step 10 Step 6. Publish your book
When you have uploaded your book and all the necessary information, publish your book. You will have control over your online account and will be able to publish the book, as well as manage its distribution.
Don't forget to advertise. The online retailer won't do the marketing, so you'll need to make sure you advertise your book if you want to have a lot of readers. You can do this by creating a website, blog or Facebook page
Method 3 of 4: Publish Your Poems With a Print-on-Demand Service
Self Publish Poetry Step 11 Step 1. Understand how print-on-demand services work
These are services that allow you to upload a digital copy of your book and will print the book for you. Thanks to these services, you will be able to place your book in their online store and buy as many copies of the book as you want. Some services will distribute the book to other sellers as well, and your book will have a better chance of having more readers. Here are the advantages and disadvantages of using a print on demand service:
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Benefits:
- Have a physical copy of the book. Having a book that you can hold can make your book publishing more concrete, and it will make it easier for you to show or give your book to friends or people who are interested.
- You will have a reseller who will take care of the formatting and printing. Instead of doing it yourself, you will save time and money. If you leave this to the pros, your book will likely benefit and look better.
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Disadvantages:
- You will still have to deal with advertising.
- Expenses. This option is much more expensive than self-publishing an e-book.
- Less room for creativity. While the retailer will have a large variety of sizes, bindings and formatting options to choose from, you will still have to adhere to their formatting standards and have less wiggle room.
Self Publish Poetry Step 12 Step 2. Choose a reseller
Before choosing a retailer, do as much research as possible to find the best service for publishing your book. If money is a concern, focus more on the cost of each service, but if you are more concerned about product quality, spend more time studying the formatting and appearance of the book once it is printed.
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If you don't know which reseller to choose, you can create an account with a seller and post a copy of your book and send it to you for evaluation.
Do this without making the book available to the public and without creating an ISBN, so that if you are not happy with the product, it will be easy to remove it from the market and try another service
Self Publish Poetry Step 13 Step 3. Format the book with the reseller
Each retailer will have different formatting requirements, but the basic formatting process won't change much. First, create an account with that retailer, and then take the following steps before publishing your book:
- Choose whether your book will have a hard cover or not.
- Write the title and name and surname of the author.
- Select the privacy settings you want. You can choose if everyone can see your book in the retailer's shop or if only you can see it.
- Choose the type of paper you will use.
- Choose the size of the card.
- Choose the type of binding.
- Choose whether the book will be black and white or color.
Self Publish Poetry Step 14 Step 4. Upload the book and its cover
Once you've established your book's formatting settings, upload a copy. Upload the cover as well. If you haven't already created a cover, many retailers will help you choose a theme and layout for your cover and create it before publishing your book.
You can also hire a professional to make your cover, or ask for help from a friend who is good at illustration
Self Publish Poetry Step 15 Step 5. Publish your book
When you have decided on your settings and loaded the book, simply press the button that will start publishing the book. When the book is published, you can search for it in the retailer's online shop and order as many copies as you like.
Self Publish Poetry Step 16 Step 6. Advertise your book
Even if you've self-published your poetry book, your work isn't done. If you want to reach a wider audience, you will need to advertise your book by creating a blog or website, creating a Facebook page, sending emails to friends and acquaintances, or having business cards printed.
Many retailers will also have the option to help you promote the book, but you will have to pay to use it
Method 4 of 4: Publish Your Poems Online
Self Publish Poetry Step 17 Step 1. Publish your poems on a website
You can create a website for your book, or just a website as an author, that allows readers to quickly and easily access your work. Create a site that is easy to find and visit, and allow your readers to read and perhaps even comment on your poems.
- Choose a simple format. Make sure your poems look good on the webpage and that the spacing and fonts meet your standards.
- You can decide if all poems will be published on one long page, or if readers can simply see a summary and click on the poem they want to read.
- Remember that a website is a great form of advertising. Use your site not only to showcase your writings, but also to promote your works.
Self Publish Poetry Step 18 Step 2. Post your poems on a blog
A blog allows you to publish poems individually and quickly get readers' opinions, thanks to the comments they can leave on the blog, and gives readers an easy way to stay up to date on your poems by subscribing to your blog feed. You won't get any direct compensation, but it's the easiest way to get your readers' opinion.
- Research the various blogging sites and choose the one that best suits your needs and budget.
- For a blog, set the site's appearance, URL, subscription options, and any custom web codes to properly display your poems.
- When building your reader base, add advertisements to your blog if you want a source of income; or publish your poems as an e-book or physical book that can be purchased - for added value you can include illustrations and a special dedication.
- You can easily edit a blog, add poems to your collection to correct mistakes.
- Pay attention to the attention span of online readers. Some people who read your poems on your blog may not have the intention of dedicating the same amount of time and attention to your works as someone who buys an e-book or a physical copy of your work. If you feel that being limited to these types of readers is a waste of your creativity, avoid using this medium to publish your poems.
Advice
- If you buy a domain, get a private WhoIs. Otherwise, all the people interested in the poems you publish may find out your name, and your address and your telephone number.
- Have someone else correct your poems. However many times you can re-read them, you may still miss some mistakes, because you will be the one who created them, and you will read what you wanted to write rather than what you wrote.
- ISBNs are 13-digit barcodes that can be read by devices, and it's often worth getting one, especially if you can do it for free or at a discount. Many retailers and bookstores require the books they sell to have an ISBN, because it makes ordering and storing books easier; there are no two books with the same ISBN. An ISBN may also cause your book to appear in services that would otherwise ignore it, such as Books in Print. Most print-on-demand services and e-book retailers will grant you an ISBN, but if you're publishing a book completely on your own, you'll need to get one yourself.
- Check your country's copyright laws. In Italy, you should register with the SIAE to be able to prosecute someone for plagiarism.
