Publishing Poetry

Lesson 2: Poetry Markets

In this lesson you'll learn about the many possible markets for your poetry and how to find the best places to submit your work.

Magazines

Recommended reading:Poet Power! The Practical Poet’s Guide to Getting Published, Chapter 4

Types of publications

There are a number of magazines and magazine-like publications that accept poetry.

Poetry and literary journals

These are likely the best market for your work. Some publish only poetry, while others may also include short stories, essays, or artwork. Often, though not always, these are smaller publications where there is less competition, making it easier for new writers to break in. This does not mean your work does not need to be competitive, however. All publishers will receive more poems than they can publish, and they won’t accept poor quality work.

There are poetry and literary journals geared toward particular subjects or groups of people. There are journals just for women. There are journals for African-American poets. There are journals that focus on mental illness. There are journals for college students. The list goes on and on.

Smaller publications don’t pay as well as larger ones, of course. In fact, many don’t really pay at all. Usually they will give you free copies of the issue in which your work appears. A few will actually have the nerve to ask you to pay for a copy, which I find rather insulting... but that’s another story. Even if you don’t get paid for your work, you’ll benefit by getting publication credits. It will help you establish credibility as a poet and give you valuable experience. It’s a good way to break into the field.

Consumer magazines

These are the kinds of magazines you can pick up at any newsstand or in the checkout line at the grocery store. Most publish little or no poetry. Those that do often want light verse.

Trade journals

These are like magazines, only they are geared specifically toward people who work in a particular profession. Just for fun, look through a copy of Writer’s Market (not Poet’s Market) at the listings for trade journals. There is one for portable restroom operators. There is one for growers of onions. Any job you can imagine, and then some, appears to have a trade journal.

Most publish little or no poetry. Publishers are not seeking poems about portable restroom or growing onions. These publishers aren’t, anyway. Some will accept a small number of poems related to their topic of interest, however. I once had a poem about childbirth published in Midwifery Today, a trade journal for midwives.

Trade journals for writers may be more likely to accept poetry, generally on the topic of writing. This is a bit of an exception, because most other publishers do not want poems about writing.

Specialized publications

There are newsletters and magazines about any subject you can think of. There are religious magazines, magazines about nature and the environment, magazines about parenting and homemaking and the great outdoors. Some of these accept poems, though usually in small numbers.

Children’s magazines

Writing poetry for children is different than writing poetry for adults. These publishers usually want light verse. Children like rhymes. They like silly poems. There is a reasonably good market for children’s poetry, if you can write it well, but that’s beyond the scope of this course.

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