Publishing!

If you are not trying to reach mass publishing marketplace, but want mostly to have a printed collection of your poetry to offer to a more limited audience, consider having a small collection of your poetry printed in Chapbook form. Chapbooks are great to sell after poetry readings because you can usually price them very reasonably, and great as gifts, introductions to you as a poet in other literary circumstances, and just overall rewarding to your literary pursuits.

If you want to publish a book of poetry you should try to have a collection of 70 or more. For a book to find its way onto bookstore shelf it will need to be perfect bound, have a thick enough spine that all of its title, author and publisher infomation is visible on it, and back must have ISBN information and pricing. My first book of poetry, You Beckon, is 88 pages and meets all of that criteria.www.barnesandnobel.com

There is a wonderful free publication entitled Publishing Basics: A Guide for Small Press and Independent Self-Publisher by Robert Bowie Johnson, Jr. It is available from RJ Communications and can be requested online from http://www.BooksJustBooks.com. It will take you step-by-step through everything you'll need to know to get your book from your head to shelf!

It can be done! I did it following information outlined above. I chose to publish a book rather than a chapbook. My book, You Beckon, has received numerous honors including Best Poetry Book for 2003 from Mahogany Book Club (Albany, New York)and spent over six months (in 2004) as most requested result under Poetry Inspirational on Amazon.com. It has not been easy and truthfully, it has not been exceptionally profitable, but it has been personally rewarding. You can do it too. Start now!

I hope this has been helpful and encouraging!

Peggy Eldridge-Love Author http://www.peggyeldridgelove.com

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