Alarie Tennille's Blog: Alarie's Poetry and Point of View - Posts Tagged "chapbook"
ADVICE FOR PUTTING TOGETHER A POETRY CHAPBOOK
A Goodreads reader who liked one of my poetry reviews asked for my advice on putting together a poetry chapbook. I decided to share my answer here for anyone else who's interested.
ADVICE FOR PUTTING TOGETHER A POETRY CHAPBOOK
(Note that I don’t include tips for finding a chapbook publisher, which is a much later suggestion.)
Do you have a trusted critique group, mentor, or someone with more experience who can honestly critique your work? This is second only to reading a lot of poetry on my tips to beginning writers. If you alone think you’re ready for a book, you’re likely not.
Have you published many poems in journals or anthologies? This step is essential before
compiling a chapbook unless you are self-publishing, which I do not recommend. Ideally, 30-60 % of the poems in your chapbook should be already published. If you’re in major league poetry markets, that number can be somewhat lower. Remember that a publisher is making an investment in you, so it likes this assurance of your experience, success, and marketability. Other talented people are competing for your contract.
Okay. You have a lot of published poems, so what’s next? Gather 35-40 pages of your best work together. While you should select what you consider your best and your published work, publishers have differing guidelines for how many pages they want you to send. Be prepared to cut your manuscript down or expand it according to their requirements. ALWAYS FOLLOW THEIR GUIDELINES FOR SUBMITTING!
If you are self-publishing, you get to make the rules. That is fine if you are making gift books for your friends and family. However, if you want to establish yourself as a literary author, you need to follow the long, hard path to publication.
Do you have 35 to 40 pages you like and that your critique group likes? Because chapbooks are so short, they often stay more strictly on a single theme or topic. Not every poem needs to be about Auntie Em, if that’s your main topic, but enough poems need to be different that one or two poems don’t stick out as not belonging. Make deliberate choices. Look like you know what you’re doing.
Spread your pages on the floor and arrange them. I like to match up 2 or 3 poems that I feel belong together, then switch to something new either in tone or subject. For example, I like to give the reader something lighter to read after a few poems about death or loss. If your book is My Family Makes Me Look Like the Sane One, group a few Dad poems together before dropping in Mom or brother Joe.
For me, titling the book comes after the selection of poems. I tend to throw away 20-40 titles before landing on the one that really sings to me. This task can be easier if you are naming your collection for the best poem in your manuscript. However, you should double check that the title doesn’t jar against many other poems in your collection. I have also rejected names because I don’t want shoppers to assume my books is an art book, cookbook, or something other than poetry.
Google the name you want to use. Although you may have legal rights to call it Gone with the Wind or Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, you shouldn’t confuse readers or unfairly steal another artist’s glory.
So, you have a longish chapbook compiled and a title. Are you ready to send it off? No. Share it with a few trusted readers, ideally from your critique group. Instead of putting them on the hot spot, asking “Is my book any good?,” ask, “If you had to cut 3 poems from this book, which would you take out?” The answer may not imply these were your worst poems, only that they didn’t fit the title or mix. If more than one person names the same cut, please listen.
Recommended reading:
http://jeffreyelevine.com/2011/10/12/...
ADVICE FOR PUTTING TOGETHER A POETRY CHAPBOOK
(Note that I don’t include tips for finding a chapbook publisher, which is a much later suggestion.)
Do you have a trusted critique group, mentor, or someone with more experience who can honestly critique your work? This is second only to reading a lot of poetry on my tips to beginning writers. If you alone think you’re ready for a book, you’re likely not.
Have you published many poems in journals or anthologies? This step is essential before
compiling a chapbook unless you are self-publishing, which I do not recommend. Ideally, 30-60 % of the poems in your chapbook should be already published. If you’re in major league poetry markets, that number can be somewhat lower. Remember that a publisher is making an investment in you, so it likes this assurance of your experience, success, and marketability. Other talented people are competing for your contract.
Okay. You have a lot of published poems, so what’s next? Gather 35-40 pages of your best work together. While you should select what you consider your best and your published work, publishers have differing guidelines for how many pages they want you to send. Be prepared to cut your manuscript down or expand it according to their requirements. ALWAYS FOLLOW THEIR GUIDELINES FOR SUBMITTING!
If you are self-publishing, you get to make the rules. That is fine if you are making gift books for your friends and family. However, if you want to establish yourself as a literary author, you need to follow the long, hard path to publication.
Do you have 35 to 40 pages you like and that your critique group likes? Because chapbooks are so short, they often stay more strictly on a single theme or topic. Not every poem needs to be about Auntie Em, if that’s your main topic, but enough poems need to be different that one or two poems don’t stick out as not belonging. Make deliberate choices. Look like you know what you’re doing.
Spread your pages on the floor and arrange them. I like to match up 2 or 3 poems that I feel belong together, then switch to something new either in tone or subject. For example, I like to give the reader something lighter to read after a few poems about death or loss. If your book is My Family Makes Me Look Like the Sane One, group a few Dad poems together before dropping in Mom or brother Joe.
For me, titling the book comes after the selection of poems. I tend to throw away 20-40 titles before landing on the one that really sings to me. This task can be easier if you are naming your collection for the best poem in your manuscript. However, you should double check that the title doesn’t jar against many other poems in your collection. I have also rejected names because I don’t want shoppers to assume my books is an art book, cookbook, or something other than poetry.
Google the name you want to use. Although you may have legal rights to call it Gone with the Wind or Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, you shouldn’t confuse readers or unfairly steal another artist’s glory.
So, you have a longish chapbook compiled and a title. Are you ready to send it off? No. Share it with a few trusted readers, ideally from your critique group. Instead of putting them on the hot spot, asking “Is my book any good?,” ask, “If you had to cut 3 poems from this book, which would you take out?” The answer may not imply these were your worst poems, only that they didn’t fit the title or mix. If more than one person names the same cut, please listen.
Recommended reading:
http://jeffreyelevine.com/2011/10/12/...
Alarie's Poetry and Point of View
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