How I self published my poetry book
In 2020, I decided I wanted to self publish my own poetry book. I’d been writing for 4 years and had many notebooks full of poems that were collecting dust.
Despite self publishing platforms making it possible for virtually anybody to publish their writing, it still required a lot of commitment, persistence, and hard work.
If you’ve been dreaming of self publishing your own poetry book, I’d love to share some of the steps I took towards making it happen for me. I know it’s possible for you.
I decided on the theme for my poetry collection.
I don’t know about you, but I write about literally anything that comes to mind. From romance to news articles and anxiety to nature, my repertoire had the potential to form one very confusing book.
What I did was gather all the poems I’d written and started culling the ones that I didn’t want for my first collection. Then I laid out all of the remaining poems (about 200) on the living room floor and started to put my poems in an order that told a story. I ended up with around 130 poems in my final manuscript, with a chapter on trust, a chapter on love, and a chapter on belonging. My poems turned out working fairly well together.
You may not need to do this if you already have a theme and/or story in mind, but I found it very useful to sift through my poems on the floor and find the underlying story behind them.
You can read more about choosing the theme and order for your poetry collection here.
2. I hired an editor for my poetry collection.
I know not everyone will have the budget to do this, but if you can, I highly recommend hiring an editor when self publishing your poetry book. It is such a rewarding experience to work with someone to ensure your writing reads smoothly and your book is the best it can be.
Even though I am now an editor myself, I still hired someone to work with me on my second book (that’s how important a fresh pair of eyes can be).
If you’re looking for an editor who specialises in poetry, you can learn about my editing services here.
3. I outsourced my cover design.
People judge books by their cover. I know this goes against a popular saying but I have worked in bookstores for 4 years and trust me when I say––good covers sell. Unless you are talented at design, I’d recommend hiring a cover artist to work on your collection.
When I self published my first poetry book, I developed the idea for my book cover and asked my husband (who conveniently happens to be a graphic designer) to bring my vision to life.
At the end of the day, it’s all about your intention behind publishing. You may not care about sales; you might just want your book to have a cover you can swoon over. Either way, hiring an expert is never a bad idea.
4. I chose a platform to self publish my poetry book.
There are so many great options out there for authors now. I chose to go with Ingram Spark to self publish my poetry book because it had great distribution worldwide. Being based in Australia, it was important to me that my books could be printed locally for friends and family to purchase, as well as printed in the US where my main reader base is.
What I love about Ingram Spark is that readers can purchase your book on multiple book retailer sites, including Amazon, Book Depository, Barnes & Noble, etc.
The process of formatting and uploading my book was time consuming (and frustrating at times), but it was well worth it once I had the first proof copy in my hands.
5. I sold my book.
It may seem like this goes without saying, but after you self publish your poetry book, you need to sell it.
For me, publishing my poetry collection was never about making money. It was something I wanted to do even if I only sold ten copies. But I did hope to eventually earn back the several hundred dollars I invested into publishing my book.
Thankfully I was able to do this in the first two months thanks to supportive friends, bookstores, and the online community.
I was already posting my poetry on Instagram (and more recently Pinterest) which helped me connect with a bunch of readers who resonated with my words. I also asked if local bookstores would be willing to stock my book which helped me get sales from other poetry book lovers in my community. My real life friends were also incredibly helpful in spreading the word about my book (and purchasing it themselves).
If you’re wondering how to sell your own poetry book, I would start with the people you know in real life. There are so many people waiting to support you.
And, if you didn’t already know, I am one of them.
Self publishing a poetry collection? Download my free timeline templates for poets. This download includes a blank timeline for you to fill in and a sample timeline to guide you.
Hi, I’m Rachel!
I’m a poet and poetry editor based in Sydney, Australia.
I help poets write with purpose and create books that they are proud of.
I’m usually found with a coffee in one hand and a pen in the other.
I’m obsessed with stories and love equipping poets to share their own.
