Make a Chapbook of Your Poetry

A chapbook is "a small book or pamphlet containing poems, ballads, stories, or religious tracts" (dictionary) The term is still used today to refer to short, inexpensive booklets.

 It is easy , simple and affordable to make a chapbook yourself. You can produce the chapbook yourself, using Microsoft Word or WordPerfect . Print it out on a good printer and have a print company make multiple booklets for you. Make sure you contain a title page, an author bio and a synopsis of what the poems are about. You may also wish to add an acknowledgement page, a dedication page, author photo, and table of contents. Carefully select your poems that have special meaning to you. Your special chosen poems are a reflection of who you are.  Chapbooks are normally no more than 24 to 26 pages and the cover price should not be anymore than five dollars.

Your Cover

• Title of your book
• Your pleasing  eye-catcher design
• The author's name

Your Back Cover

• A short description of the contents in the book
• A short biographical note about the writer and your photo
• Contact information of the publisher

Inside Pages

Using your word processing program, customize  your copyright information, add a title page, acknowledgements page and dedication page. Type each poem into your template. At the end of your book you may wish to post well wishes for the reader and your contact information such as an email address or ordering information.  When you have completed proof reading your book  print out the template, you may need to play around with your printer so that it prints on both side. Be sure that you have included the ©. symbol within your book.

Assembling your Chapbook

After you have printed the last of your pages it is time to bind them together to make your chapbook.  Fold the cover and pages in half and staple them on the fold.  Do not use more than two staples.

Poetry Chapbook Publishers are hard to come by therefore it is just as easy to publish  your own chapbook. Consider selling your book through a local library,  grocery store , card shop or your local book store.  If you are looking for an affordable book-cover designer why not give invision-graphics.com/  a try. They can give you an  eye-catching book cover that will stand out.  Remember that a well design cover is like a billboard therefore you want it to catch your readers eye. To see some samples of chapbooks, visit your local bookstores, libraries, or card shop. This will give you an idea of what they look like.  These books will not make you rich nor famous. However,  it's a great way to start promoting your poetry. Now with your computer it is possible for you to become your very own publisher.

Download  a free Microsoft Word Chapbook Template