In effect, desktop publishing has put the production of books of poetry into the hands of a wider range of Americans. Most independent presses publish specifically what interests them. By focussing on one kind of work independent presses are often extremely successful in reaching specific audiences. Independent presses vary greatly in their goals, their resources, and their reach. While the largest are nationally distributed, others seek to reach a regional, or even local, audience.
Some excellent presses struggle with severe under-capitalization and lack of distribution.
Because of these difficulties some publishers are unable to publish all of the work in which they are interested without an investment from the poet to help meet the costs of publication. This is usually done under a separate imprint and is called subsidy publishing. Due to chronically low sales figures for poetry, many publishers who will pay advances to authors for works in other categories may require subsidies from poets for the publication of poetry. Another option is self publishing which, with Walt Whitman as an early example, has a long literary tradition. There are some small presses which can trace their origins to the successful self-publishing of their founders.