I Need Your Help: Publishing a Collection of My Poetry
By Richard Everywriter (Edwards) Editor
I’ve been writing since I was in the 3rd grade. Oddly, I was dyslexic and had issues learning to read and started writing poetry before I ever read a book or fully understood how to have any flow or comprehension in reading a text. So I was a little 3rd grader banging out poetry and fumbling through The Little Red Hen. I don’t know, there was something in me that loved writing. I think that’s how it happens for many writers, they just know.
So I’ve been writing for many years and got a BFA in Creative Writing and Journalism from Bowling Green State University. It worked out for me that there were a handful of BFA studio writing programs in the country and I lived about 45 minutes away. I digress. I’ve written a lot and in the early days I did publish a good amount in journals and magazines. I won the BGSU award in fiction (yes I write fiction too), and I started working in publishing and then found teaching. I loved and love teaching, got my M.S. in Education and found a job. Teaching, family and Every Writer have been the most important things in my life for many years. I stopped publishing and even trying to publish my work.
Now, with self-publishing booming for many years now with no end in sight, I have decided to publish my first collection (there is another one out of print, but let’s not talk about it). I thought all of you, my readers and the long-standing community of Every Writer, might be interested in the process of me bringing my work to print.
I am new to print publishing. This is going to be a journey for me, so please be nice! I have published issues of Every Writer in print, but I have never used Kindle Direct Publishing. This is where I believe I will go, but I want your opinion. The steps I have set down for publishing are:
- Editing (find an editor)
- Book cover (I know this is key)
- KDP and the process
What else am I missing? If you have suggestions leave them in the comments. I’ll tell more of my story and talk more about the steps along the way as I figure all of this out. Yes I have queried some publishers, but I am ready to self-publish now. Any help you can give me would be appreciated!
Oh, and follow me on @richardeverywriter on Twitter/X or on BlueSky.
Couple questions
I’d love for writers who have been through this publishing process to help me with.
- Do you think I should publish my poems on a website BEFORE I publish them in print? Many of the short ones are social media. The longer ones are not.
- Do you think using Every Writer to publish some of my poems would be ok? Other than articles I write I’ve never published any of my own work on this site.
- What am I missing? What am I forgetting? What should I know before I start this process?
- Do you recommend a place other than KDP for publishing?
Just leave your responses in the comments please. I will respond.
