How Poets Can Self Publish

The internet has changed the way a lot of things work.

While shopping once required a visit to the store, people can now choose to do it with a click of the mouse. Corresponding with people on the other side of the world could take days or weeks, but now its done in a matter of minutes through email.

One more way that the internet has changed things is the publishing of poetry. For those interested in reading poetry, the only places available, up until a few years ago, were anthologies from the book store, literary or university journals, or listening to poetry live at an open mic venue.

Now writers of poetry have another way of promoting their work; the internet.

This concept has already been grasped by young poets. For a generation raised with computers, the publication of poetry online is a natural extension, but for those unfamiliar with using computers for anything besides email or basic browsing, the concept seems new and not as prestigious as the journals and anthologies of old.

How things used to be .....

Well, fear not. Let's think about poetry publication and poetry writers in a historical perspective. One hundred years ago, poets would publish their work with the expectation of it only being seen by a select few.

It is not happenstance that many of the world's most well known poets were associated with universities. The university presses were often the only way to get published.

Their poems would then be seen by a few, and if liked enough by the established powers-that-be, those poems would have a chance at wider exposure.

But now .....

Well, the internet allows young poets a publication venue that can reach all the way around the world with the click of a button - their own website!

Its easy to start your own website. Pick up some web design software and, if you picked a good program, you'll have a website up and running within an hour or two. From there, all you have to do is start entering your poetry (or snippets thereof) onto the pages.

Getting noticed ......

There is a great number of message boards, web rings and forums on the subject of poetry. Start contributing to these (with links to your site wherever allowed)and you'll have an audience larger than you ever dreamed in no time.

At social bookmarking sites, e.g. through Digg, Furl, Delicious etc, you will find loads of people interested in poetry who will want to share your site and poetry with other like minded people.

Anyone can publish a website - carpe diem!