Publish Your Poems the Easy Way
by Edward Weiss
So, you want to publish your poems. But you think it's not worth the time or effort. If I hadn't published my own successful book of poems, I'd say you were right. But by actually doing it myself I've learned a lot. Let me share with you what I did.
First, of course, I finished writing the poetry. I write haiku so my task is a lot easier than most, but that shouldn't deter you either way. I wrote at least 5 poems a day (usually a lot more) and I finished an entire book in less than a month! That's from not having anything, to having a finished book in hand.
Poetry writers have a huge advantage over other fiction writers because we can quickly fill a book. Each page receives one poem and the work can be finished fast!
After I got together over 100 poems (125 to be exact) it was time to create the book. I created my first book "Seashore Haiku" on Microsoft Word 97. Yes, you heard correctly. The cover, the interior pages - all were done using this software program.
I then converted the word document into a PDF file using a free software program called PDF 995. It's great and allows you to convert your word files very easily.
I decided I didn't want to go the usual 5x8 or 6x9 format. I did a custom size 5.5 x 5.5 and it turned out great. I also investigated Lulu, the POD publisher everyone raves about. I decided to skip them and actually have the books printed myself and I'm really glad I did. Lulu takes too much of the profit and they don't do anything to sell your books.
I went with a company called 48-hour books and they did a fantastic job! Plus they give you 25 extra books when you order 100 or more. I ordered 175 books from them and they arrived in pristine condition. You can take a look at the book by clicking the link below.