Poet Power: The Complete Guide to Getting Your Poetry Published (Culture Tools)
Thomas Williams'Poet Power: The Complete Guide To Getting Your Poetry Publishedcovers every aspect and facet of the process of submitting poetry for publication. Williams explains how the business of publishing works and provides a crash course in the economics of publishing and what it means to the aspiring poet seeking publication.Poet Powergoes on to explain what editors want and the '7 Secrets' of publishable poetry; how to get published in magazines; how to have a volume of poetry published; designing and publishing one's own books of poetry; becoming the editor of one's own chapbook series; selling poetry in bookstores, retail outlets, and catalogs; gaining personal visibility in order to succeed as a published poet; and how to enhanced one's reputation as a published poet in order to achieve worthwhile goals and becoming a spokesperson for poetry in the community. 'Must' reading for all aspiring poets yearning to break into print, and for published poets seeking to expand their literary audiences,Poet Poweris reader friendly, authoritative and accurate, comprehensive and practical.(The Writer's Bookshelf, February 14, 2003)Almost everyone I know writes poetry. Not always for publication, but poetry does seem to be the way almost all of us can express our most powerful feelings. But when I ask my poetry writing friends if they ever buy books of poetry, they almost all admit that very few, if any, poetry chapbooks grace their library shelves. That, in a nutshell, is the primary reason even excellent poets have a difficult time finding someone to publish their works.Author Thomas A. Williams, in his new bookPoet Power: The Complete Guide to Getting Your Poetry Published, tackles this problem head-on. He pulls no punches when he describes the economics of poetry publishing. Books of verse do not sell well, he says, so publishers will only order a small print run. Because the print run is small, the cost per copy is high. And because the price of the book has to be set low, (poetry buyers won't pay more than $10.00 for a book of poems) the publisher almost always ends up losing rather than making money on poetry.But after laying out the facts, Williams points out that there are publishers that do publish poetry. University presses, non-profit publishers or publishers receiving grant money to finance poetry projects are all potential markets for poets. The competition is fierce, butPoet Powercovers a variety of things a poet can do to greatly increase his or her chances of seeing their verse in print.What struck me most while reading this book was the poet's role as a salesperson and marketer. Williams asserts that a publisher can't sell poetry. Only the poet can do that. The poet, then, cannot be an introvert. Readings, signings, workshops and so much more all become tools to help the poet sell. Even the unpublished poet must seek public visibility to increase his or her chances of getting published.Williams covers all the bases for poets in this book, from getting poetry published in magazines, finding a book publisher or checking out subsidy publishing arrangements, to starting up your own poetry publishing company.The Bottom Line:WhilePoet Power, in my opinion, has over-emphasized the self-publishing option, this book is still incredibly valuable to aspiring poets and will undoubtedly become the bible for anyone who wishes to see their verse in print. No other book on the market today covers the topic as clearly and completely.(Publishing Central)This is subtitled The Complete Guide To Getting Your Poetry Published. The book is full of excellent advice. It emphasizes the need for poets who seek publication to find their marketing niche, to be known as a reader as well as a writer and to build up a track record.He warns poets about the beginner's mistakes that they should avoid such as'Do not include a note telling how much your family and friends think of your talent and how they encouraged you to send these poems in.'How many times have I read such a note and been dismayed by the quality of the work they accompanied?Williams goes a step beyond just advising the poet. Chapter 8 is HOW TO START AND PUBLISH YOUR OWN POETRY SERIES.'Once you've brought out your own book and learned the basics of publishing and selling poetry, you can easily extend your activities to include publishing the work of other good poets.'Oh yes it is easy to get bitten by the publishing bug. Williams has a lot of sound advice including how to avoid some of the pitfalls. Whilst I wouldn't agree totally with all his marketing suggestions, the general tenure of his thrust is absolutely sound. Writer and publisher need to support each other. Most sales of poetry come not from bookshops but from personal appearances. The writer who performs is the one in the best position to make sales.Speaking about the internet, Williams writes'Serious writers use the internet as a more and more indispensable medium for the exchange of information and ideas, but not for publication of their work. When such writers do post their work it is usually as a participant in a critique group or workshop.'I'd largely agree, but he draws a distinction between webzines and ezines which seems to me to be either erroneous or outdated. True it is that there some very dire websites, but there are some dire print zines too. There are actually some really fine web periodicals and they shouldn't be totally dismissed. I was recently asked why we didn't review ezines and the answer is not that we don't think there are any worth reviewing, but that we've got enough on doing what we are doing.The book includes a very useful glossary of printing and publishing terms.I'd recommend this book to all beginning poets as a solid and comprehensive account of the needs of publishers that poets ignore at their peril. It is also useful as a guide to the most effective ways of selling poetry.(Gerald EnglandNew Hope International Review)Fledgling poets hoping to break into the tough world of publishing will appreciate the sound advice offered…in this new manual. Founder of a successful small publishing house, Williams provides tips for selling poems to magazines as well as finding a publisher for a book of poems. He covers publicity and the marketing of books at poetry readings and retail outlets. For those wishing to try their hand at self-publishing, Williams describes how to design and print a book of poems…A wise purchase.(Library Journal)Thoughtful, perfect pitch prose and jam-packed with every bit of info one could possibly need from such a package.This book if very nicely done. Good information and great layout. It could be described as a Self-Publishing Manual for poetry.(Dan Poynter, author of The Self-Publishing Manual)This book is an absolute must for anyone writing poetry who hopes for publication. Tom Williams is an extraordinary guide; this book should be on the poet’s desk.(Patricia J. Bell, author of The Prepublishing Handbook)Must reading for all aspiring poets yearning to break into print, and for published poets seeking to expand their literary audiences.Poet Poweris reader friendly, authoritative and accurate, comprehensive and practical.(Midwest Book Review)Poet Poweris an excellent resource for anyone who writes poetry. Its simple jargon-free prose will stimulate you to do more with your poetry, to write specifically towards publication, to give readings and talks, to promote your work, and essentially to turn your vocation into a career.(Magdalena BallThe Compulsive Reader)