Publishing Poetry

Lesson 2: Poetry Markets

Other Possible Markets

On-line markets

There are a number of websites which publish poetry. Many of these are listed in Poet’s Market. You can find many others by using the links in the Resource section.

Freelance jobs

Occasionally someone will wish to hire a freelancer to write a poem for a specific purpose. For instance, I once saw an ad from an author of fiction who needed a poem written to include in a book. An adolescent character in her book was to leave a suicide note in the form of a poem, but the author was having trouble composing the poem herself.

You’re not likely to find many jobs like this, but they are out there. Writer’s trade journals often contain ads for freelancers, and there are a number of websites where such ads can be posted, as well.

Greeting cards

Greeting card verse is different from other poetry. Visit your local card shop and browse for examples. Light verse and inspirational verse are often preferred, while most publishers of poetry don’t want this type of work. In fact, the writer’s guidelines of many publications specifically state that they don’t want greeting card verse or "something more suited to a Hallmark card."

Children’s markets

A number of children’s magazines publish poetry, although usually only a few poems per issue. Writing poetry for children is different than writing poetry for adults. Children’s poetry is usually fun or humorous poetry, and usually rhymes. You’ll want to read a few issues of a publication before submitting your work.

You can find markets for children’s poetry in Poet’s Market, but you’ll find a more complete listing in Children’s Writer’s and Illustrator’s Market, also published by Writer’s Digest.

Poetry contests

There are lots of poetry contests out there. Poet’s Market lists many of them. There are usually cash prizes awarded, and the winning poems are often published somewhere as well. These contests usually receive large numbers of submissions, so your chances are probably rather limited.

In addition, they often charge an entry or "reading" fee. For example, The Dorothy Daniels Annual Honorary Writing Award has an entry fee of $5/poem, while The Robert Frost Foundation Annual Poetry Award charges $10/poem.

Writing about poetry

Oddly enough, it is often easier to sell articles about poetry than to sell actual poems.

There are a number of trade magazines for writers which accept articles about writing poetry. For example, you could write articles about a particular form of poetry, such as haiku, or articles about how to get your poetry published.

Of course, if none of your work has ever been published, it’s doubtful that a publisher will want your article about how to write or publish poetry. Establishing some publication credits will be a necessity if you hope to write about writing poetry.

See Writer’s Market from Writer’s Digest to find magazines that publish articles about writing poetry.

You can also write reviews of books by other poets. A number of literary journals and other magazines publish these. You can read more about reviews in Lesson Four.

Teaching poetry

Established poets can also earn money and further develop their credibility by teaching poetry. Again, you’ll likely need to be a published poet before getting a job teaching poetry to others. Some other qualifications will be needed, such as teaching experience.

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