How To Write A Poetry Book

April 5, 2020 Dr. Nicolya Williams

Writing poetry may be one of the most difficult forms of creative writing that exists. But on the flip side it can be very fulfilling.

Many of my clients are passionate about poetry and I must admit I love listening to it and so do other people. So I say if you write poetry it is your OBLIGATION to share it with the world.

In the book publishing world you can write a book with a bunch of your poems or have a book with a lot of different poets sharing their poems. There are two different types of poetry books. An anthology is a collection of literary works chosen by the compiler; it may be a collection of plays, poems, short stories, songs or excerpts by different authors. A chapbook is a small collection of poetry, generally no more than 40 pages, that often centers on a specific them. Most poetry books fall between 25-50 pages in total.

Here are the steps to write your poetry book

Identify your goal- what are your hopes with publishing this poetry book. What do you want your audience to feel? What do you want them to take away from reading your book?

Determine the type of poetry. There are the different types of poetry:

Narrative – this kind of poem is based on a story. It tells about an event and there are often a few extra elements, such as characters, a plot shared through the poem itself.
Lyrical – a lyric poem is similar to a song. This type of poetry describes a specific feeling, scene, or state of mind.
Dramatic - The focus of this kind of poetry aims at getting the reader involved in different experiences. This often creates tension and conflict. This is a form of narrative closely related to acting. (Note this can include comedy)

Poems can also be free-form, which follows no formal structure. Most poets have a style and that’s a great thing.

Don’t Just Throw A Random Collection Of Poems Together

You may be a great poet, but it’s always best if your poems tie into a single narrative. The last thing you want to happen is you have one poem about getting your hair done and your last one is about the tragic loss of your great grandma . Also choose your best work. Even if that means the book is shorter you want quality over quantity. Remember this book represents you.

Let your emotions in

Poetry is powerful because of the emotional nature of it. People that read and listen to poetry they need to be able to relate to your imagery . So share your emotions, share your life, share parts of you.

Give audiences a taste of you before hand. Not all poetry is good and sadly many people are hesitant to buy poetry from a total stranger . So do you have a platform from which you share your poetry? This gives people a chance to really know you better as an author and the more they know and like you the more they trust you. When people trust you they are not only likely to purchase your book they are like to share or recommend it as well. Also be sure to have a place that your reader can connect with you after (website, email, social media etc.)

Find a good editor.

The reality is punctuation with a typical book is much different than that with a poetry book so you will need an editor who understands this.Here are the various ways poetry can be edited

Grammatically – this is basically were you use typical punctuation the way it will be use in a typical book. ( note that If you removed the lines and stanzas, it would work as a grammatically correct paragraph)
Stylistically – this means you’re using grammar to match how you would read it out loud (A comma indicates a short pause, a period indicates a little bit of a longer pause, a dash indicates a pause with a connection of thoughts. Multiple periods meaning it’s dragging on and Using no punctuation at all would lend to a rushed reading which may be ideal for the reader to interpret and read it that way.
Lastly you can do a blend between the two. You can choose to follow punctuation rules in some parts and then you’re own grammar rules in others. The point is you want to have as style

Step back

Take a break from your poems and come back to them in a few days to try to see them from your readers view point. You can also consider having someone read your sample book for feedback.

Create a STAND OUT Cover

This is why it's important to have a theme for your book, because your design and title will need to speak to your audience. If someone picks up your book, the first thing they are looking at is the cover. What will yours say about what they can expect to gain from reading it?

Publish

Now that you have worked through these steps the next part is to publish your book. You can choose traditional or self publishing. Be confident in the work you did and your creativity. With a good amount of time and more importantly, the right mindset, you might just end up with a pretty neat book.

You got this!

If you are ready to get started writing your book and complete it without the overwhelm sign up for my FREE five day book writing course here!

Books you may want to check out to help you on the poetry journey :

The Daily Poet: Day-By-Day Prompts For Your Writing Practice' by Kelli Russell Agodon and Martha Silano

'A Poetry Handbook' by Mary Oliver