How to Format a Poem for Publishing

Formatting includes text placement, font size, type considerations and printing specifications parenthesized in top and bottom margins. Properly formatting a poem will increase your chances of getting it published. Furthermore, properly formatting a poem (especially stanza break content inclusion) will aid the publisher in printing the poem correctly.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. Place the five-line header (your name, address, phone, and email) in the upper left hand corner of your paper, about one-half inch down from the top of the paper and one-half inch in from the left side.

2. Return four times.

3. Type your poem's title in all capital letters and center it. Underlining and bolding the poem's title looks amateurish. The title's font size is standardized at 14-point.

4. Insert three more spaces.

5. Use 12-point Times New Roman (or similar) font for the poem's body. Generally, single spacing the poem and left-aligning the text is best. Poem lines do not need to begin with capital letters.

6. Inform the reader on page one that there is or is not a stanza break if your poem exceeds one page. "No stanza break" or "Stanza break" is typed at the bottom of the page and is right-hand justified. On the second page, type the following: "Last name, Poem Title, 2" and right-hand justify it. These typed things should be small (10-point).