Produce a substantial body of work. While there's no mandate for the number of poems a writer should amass before considering the compendium of book size, you'll want to test the waters by submitting your work to magazines and publishers seeking poets. If you have the urge to keep learning, sign up for workshops to sharpen your skills.
Get the latest issue of Writer's Market. You can purchase one from a bookstore or find it in your public library. This reference book devotes an entire section to contests and awards, and there's a cache of poetry competitions currently seeking entries. Study each, decide if your work fits each one's criteria and enter your work to the appropriate ones.
Search for a literary agent as soon as you've got something to brag about. Literary agents need to know the writers they put under contract are marketable, so if you've just landed a poetry prize, you're ready to begin searching for an agent. Find agent names in Writer's Market, locate them in Literary Marketplace or search for other guides of this nature.
Examine each agent's criteria. Highlight the ones that specialize in the type of poetry you write (e.g., one may handle only Midwest poets while another seeks poetry just for teens). Follow each one's guidelines when you put together your query package.
Write a biography. This one-page document should be written in third person. Describe your life as it relates to your poetry. Compile a list, in chronological order, of your published poetry that includes poem titles, the books or magazines in which they were published, the page numbers, names of the publishers, dates and the names of other poets with whom you may have collaborated.
Put together a mailing package paying strict attention to what each agent wishes to receive. Some want the entire manuscript. Others want a sample of your best work. Agents are usually looking for a cover letter, poetry samples, biography, publications listing and a stamped, self-addressed envelope so your work can be returned. If you'd like to save on postage ask the recipient to recycle your materials and return a self-addressed, stamped postcard with the response instead.
Resist the urge to wait until you have heard from one agent before you start sending additional query packages. Many agents don't mind writers sending out multiple queries; if they do, that notation will appear in their profile in the books you're consulting. Honor the wishes of those who say they don't want simultaneous submissions.
Never put literary agents on speed dial to repeatedly ask if they've had time to consider your query. Agents make great commissions by representing poets. They pine for successful clients and won't hesitate to put you under contract if your work has merit. Keep accurate records of query packages and assume no news is not good news if several months go by with no word.
Go directly to publishers if you wish, but keep your expectations under wraps. Finding a publisher on your own can be done, but your chances of landing a book deal by going this route are slim. That stated, if you're up for a challenge, go for it. Find publishers seeking poets in Writer's Market.
Don't give up if rejection cards land in your mailbox. Poetry book deals are often the result of one's work landing on the right person's desk at a fortuitous moment, so don't let a few rejections crush your dreams. Many poets self-publish. Some make it to the big time when a prestigious editor finds their work on publish on demand sites, so do consider this option.