Spiritual Poetry Publishing
Once you have written your first book of spiritual poetry it will be time to decide if you wish to become a published poet, and if so how you will go about making that dream a reality. Publishing can be a daunting prospect, but if you keep several things in mind it should make the task a little less harrowing.
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Instructions
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Gather your manuscript. Most poetry books consist of at least 45-50 poems, depending on their length. If you wish to publish a smaller collection of poems, which is usually called a chapbook, it may be easier to get your foot in the door of publishing, as many poetry publishers specialize in just these smaller books. Choose only your best work, and make sure it is united by a common theme. There are many types of spirituality and inspirational writing, but it is still important that all poems you include in your collection stick to the same spiritual theme.
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Edit your collection. This is one of the most important steps in getting published. Do not just gather poems together and ship them off without taking the time to go over each piece line by line. Carefully check spelling, punctuation and grammar usage. Often times it helps to read the poems aloud so you can get an idea of how well they flow, check for grammatical errors, and see how to improve their sound. After you have read over and edited them carefully, have someone else read them over and critique them. Remember that you will be sending your manuscript with the hope of selling it to a publisher, and you want to send the company your very best work.
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Decide if you want to get an agent. There are pros and cons to getting an agent, and while many first-time authors don't think they need one, they are actually the people that could most benefit from an agent's expertise. Many publishing houses will not look at manuscripts not submitted by an agent, as they count on agents to find the next big poet or author. But while an agent may help you get your foot in the door, they will do it for a price. Many agents take 10-15 percent of the fee an author will earn for a book. In poetry publishing, when book sales are not anywhere near as high as those for popular fiction, a 10 percent cut of your earnings can amount to quite a lot.
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If you wish to try getting an agent, contact one of the agencies that works with fiction publishing. Agents that deal exclusively with poets are very rare, so it may be best to start off contacting an agency that deals with other types of writing such as fiction to see if they are willing to work with you. The Joy Harris Literary Agency deals with New Age and spiritual manuscripts, so they might be a good place to start. Scherf, Inc Literary Management also handles spiritual novels and nonfiction projects. They mainly work with fiction but are willing to take on other projects if they prove to be of high merit.
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If you wish to reach a publisher directly, contact one of these: PS Avalon Publishing, Dan River Press or Unity House. PS Avalon is a small, independent publishing house that handles the printing and marketing of the books that they publish. They pay in royalties up to 20 percent but do not offer any advance against those royalties. Dan River Press is also a small press, as most publishers that work with poetry are, and markets books almost exclusively to bookstores and media that the poet personally knows. Unity House is a publisher exclusively devoted to books of a spiritual and religious nature, and while a small press, they have far-reaching contacts to help market the books that they publish.
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Tips & Warnings
The Writer's Market is a valuable source for publishers of book-length poetry manuscripts. This comes out in print every year and can be found in most bookstores, or can be accessed online for a fee.
