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How to Format a Poem for Publishing

Formatting includes text placement, font size, type considerations and printing specifications parenthesized in top and bottom margins. Properly formatting a poem will increase your chances of getting it published. Furthermore, properly formatting a poem (especially stanza break content inclusion) will aid the publisher in printing the poem correctly.

Instructions

    • 1

      Place the five-line header (your name, address, phone, and email) in the upper left hand corner of your paper, about one-half inch down from the top of the paper and one-half inch in from the left side.

    • 2

      Return four times.

    • 3

      Type your poem's title in all capital letters and center it. Underlining and bolding the poem's title looks amateurish. The title's font size is standardized at 14-point.

    • 4

      Insert three more spaces.

    • 5

      Use 12-point Times New Roman (or similar) font for the poem's body. Generally, single spacing the poem and left-aligning the text is best. Poem lines do not need to begin with capital letters.

    • 6

      Inform the reader on page one that there is or is not a stanza break if your poem exceeds one page. "No stanza break" or "Stanza break" is typed at the bottom of the page and is right-hand justified. On the second page, type the following: "Last name, Poem Title, 2" and right-hand justify it. These typed things should be small (10-point).

Poetry

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