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How to Publish & Sell a Poem

If you want to be a poet, all you have to do is write poetry -- if you want to be a paid and published poet, though, you need to do more work than that. When you start out, you start out at the bottom, so don't expect to immediately land a book deal. Instead, you must do research, read and study poetry, submit your work to dozens of publishers (if not more) and keep the hope alive, that with determination and practice, you can find success with your art.

Things You'll Need

  • Poetry publishing guidebooks
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Instructions

    • 1

      Study the most recent edition of "Poet's Market," an annual guide published by Writer's Digest. This book aggregates listings for poetry publishers like magazines and journals, providing information such as submission guidelines and contact information for all of them. While you could do this research on your own, amassing the information for more than ,000 publications is a time-consuming task. Determine which publications are best-suited for your style of poetry and make notes regarding their submission guidelines. Other similar guidebooks include "The Writer's Handbook" and "The Writers' and Artists' Yearbook."

    • 2

      Submit your poetry to magazines, journals and newsletters. Tailor your submissions for each publication by following their guidelines. For example, if a publication requests poets to send three to four poems per submission, don't send six. If it requests a cover letter, send one specific to that publication -- don't send the same cover letter to every publication.

    • 3

      Accept rejections and move on. Every author must cope with rejection from publishers -- it is an inevitability that you must deal with and move on. When you are rejected by a publication, submit different poems to them and to other publishers.

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Poetry

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