Hi, Julia. The chapbook is a somewhat unique creature in the poetry world, falling between the individual poem and the book length collection. But it incorporates aspects of both easily. You are right using the term "putting together." A good chapbook (and one a publisher will want to publish) has to have a coherence among the poems. They need not be on a single topic, or of a single form or length, but there should be a reason for their presence in the book. It (showing my age) is kind of like creating a mix tape or mix CD, arranging songs both as to content and as to flow. The market for chapbooks is, of course, smaller and narrower than the market for poems. But the same sources I use most, Duotrope and ChillSubs do advise of calls for chapbook submission. In addition "Poets & Writers" magazine in their classifieds has a separate catagory for Chapbooks (and their database at pw.org also provides leads by searching the database with the word chapbook). There are, as you noted, a number of chapbook contests, and many are by well respected publishers (but not all so be careful). I am not a fan of contests, so I tend to avoid them (although a number of publications do now charge a small submission fee). And if the contest is by a respected publisher someone has to win, I suppose, so why not you. It comes down to a matter of personal preference. Mine is to send work out widely, and simultaneously (make sure the contests allow for simultaneous submissions, not all do) and see what sticks where. Since there are many publishers of chapbooks that may not hold contests, there should be a number of places you can send your book. And if the expense is not an issue, there is no reason (save a bar on simultaneous submissions by a publisher) to doing both at the same time. Just keep a careful eye on the requirements of each publisher (e.g., limit on number of poems, line length, prior publication). And keep careful records of where you send your book. There is no sin more cardinal (nearly mortal) in the poetry world than having a publisher accept your work only to have you say "Oops, sorry it has been accepted somewhere else." I'm sure that's more than you wanted to here, but Allegra didn't give me a word limit or line limit, so there it is.
Hi Julia, Thanks for reading and asking this question. I don't write poetry myself so I don't feel that I'm the best person to answer it, so I asked Lou if he would answer and he says he will. Watch this space!
What about putting together a chapbook of poems. Any tips or suggestions? Finding a publisher vs. entering contests? Thank you.
Hi, Julia. The chapbook is a somewhat unique creature in the poetry world, falling between the individual poem and the book length collection. But it incorporates aspects of both easily. You are right using the term "putting together." A good chapbook (and one a publisher will want to publish) has to have a coherence among the poems. They need not be on a single topic, or of a single form or length, but there should be a reason for their presence in the book. It (showing my age) is kind of like creating a mix tape or mix CD, arranging songs both as to content and as to flow. The market for chapbooks is, of course, smaller and narrower than the market for poems. But the same sources I use most, Duotrope and ChillSubs do advise of calls for chapbook submission. In addition "Poets & Writers" magazine in their classifieds has a separate catagory for Chapbooks (and their database at pw.org also provides leads by searching the database with the word chapbook). There are, as you noted, a number of chapbook contests, and many are by well respected publishers (but not all so be careful). I am not a fan of contests, so I tend to avoid them (although a number of publications do now charge a small submission fee). And if the contest is by a respected publisher someone has to win, I suppose, so why not you. It comes down to a matter of personal preference. Mine is to send work out widely, and simultaneously (make sure the contests allow for simultaneous submissions, not all do) and see what sticks where. Since there are many publishers of chapbooks that may not hold contests, there should be a number of places you can send your book. And if the expense is not an issue, there is no reason (save a bar on simultaneous submissions by a publisher) to doing both at the same time. Just keep a careful eye on the requirements of each publisher (e.g., limit on number of poems, line length, prior publication). And keep careful records of where you send your book. There is no sin more cardinal (nearly mortal) in the poetry world than having a publisher accept your work only to have you say "Oops, sorry it has been accepted somewhere else." I'm sure that's more than you wanted to here, but Allegra didn't give me a word limit or line limit, so there it is.
Good luck.
Lou Faber
thanks for replying so fully, Lou! No limits!
Hi Julia, Thanks for reading and asking this question. I don't write poetry myself so I don't feel that I'm the best person to answer it, so I asked Lou if he would answer and he says he will. Watch this space!