Publishing your Poetry Chapbook - part 3
Written by August Hawley
In our last blog post, we talked a bit about the publishing aspect of a poetry chapbook, and today we will dive in a little deeper. We are going to assume that your chapbook is finished and ready for publication.
If you have a chapbook completed, and you’re ready to get moving with the publishing process, there’s a lot to consider. Hopefully, we’re able to lay the options out in a way that helps you decide what path is right for you and your chapbook.
Option 1: The Classic Method
Chapbooks, for quite a while, have been printed, put together, sold, and shipped all by the hands of the poet who wrote them. They’re sold through the author’s personal website or social media, and even over websites like Etsy—upon searching for “chapbook” on the Etsy home page, you’ll find hundreds of results. It’s likely you won’t be able to get a chapbook like this into a physical store since it’s all handmade, but depending on what your goal is with your chapbook, there’s nothing wrong with going in the handmade direction.
In order to go this route, you’ll need to have the money and resources to do everything yourself or hire someone to do it for you. You’ll also need to make enough books to fill demand, but not so many that you’ll have a surplus. If you go this direction, you’ll also have to purchase an ISBN, generate a barcode, and register copyrights for your book. I know, sounds like a lot, but sites like Bowker Identifier Services help this process go a bit smoother.
Option 2: Print on Demand
If the hand-made stuff and sentimentality aren’t really for you, there are a bunch of print-on-demand sites that you can publish your book through, some of them being cheaper than others. These services, as the name suggests, print your book as readers order it. They’re generally faster, more affordable, and higher-quality than publishing a chapbook by hand, and there’s no shortage of services to choose from.
Some of these services include:
Amazon KDP, a free service that just handles the technical stuff (this is the one we use to publish our books)
IngramSpark, which costs money but offers various options for design and editing
Book Baby, similar to IngramSpark, which is a bit pricey but well-loved by authors.
There are plenty of other websites you can print your book through, most of which will help you get them to the largest online retailers for little or no money. If none of the above sounds like your cup of tea, do a bit of online digging and find which one is right for you!
Option 3: Traditional Publishing
Most agents and larger publishing houses don’t take chapbooks, but that doesn’t mean it’s impossible to find a press that’ll pick up your work. A lot of independent publishing houses take chapbooks, and there are even chapbook contests run by many companies that can help you get into the ring.
Most of these contests only run during a couple of months of the year, so we recommend doing some research to see which ones are running at the moment. A lot of these charge an entry/reading fee, so make sure you look into each contest you enter and make sure the price is worth it for what they offer. Our humble opinion is that you should never have to pay for sharing your work. It’s a privilege for the other party to read it.
If you win a contest or get accepted by a publishing house, they should never charge you for publishing your book. If they do; they’re publishing scams. In this case, Google is your friend. Run all the companies that want to work with you through your favourite search engine to see if they’re up to anything sketchy. Some presses will claim that they take on “new/high-risk” authors in exchange for a fee (usually a very hefty one, upwards of $1000), but this is almost always a scam.
At the end of the day, remember that this is your book, and if you decide to work with a person or company that just isn’t doing it for you, you don’t have any obligation to continue working with them (unless you’ve already signed the contract. In which case… tread carefully).
Have fun, be safe, and happy publishing!
AUGUST HAWLEY is a trans man who has been writing poetry and fiction for most of his life. Author of poetry collection Writing My Obituary and winner of the West Michigan Showcase, he’s pursuing writing and editing, but spends most of his time with his friends and gossiping with his mom. He lives in Michigan with his large family and his cat, Nemo.