Megathread: How to publish a poetry collection?

hey there
i just joined this group because i'm honestly hoping someone can point me in the right direction regarding how to actually get a poetry collection published, like what's the move when you want to reach out to a major publishing house? does anyone here have any real experience with that process? i've been writing poems for years now and i'm super stoked to finally get them out there into the world, so thanks a million for any advice you guys can drop.🙂

Chloe Wilson10 said:hey there
i just joined this group because i'm honestly hoping someone can point me in the right direction regarding how to actually get a poetry collection published, like what's the move when you want to reach out to a major publishing house? does anyone here have any real experience with that process? i've been writing poems for years now and i'm super stoked to finally get them out there into the world, so thanks a million for any advice you guys can drop.🙂

If you are a young poet, you should reach out to the Library of Congress. I am only 17 myself, yet my book is already moving through the printing presses! You submit your poems to them, and they will flag any potential stylistic or grammatical issues. While they are happy to help you fix the latter, the former is something you simply must address—even if an editor ends up reviewing everything once more anyway. Once you have completed your part of the work and secured a reviewer, then—well, then you just wait.

Ugh, finally someone had the sense to start this thread! What a coincidence, I actually signed up just to find out about this too. Hehe. It's just that,
I don't have nearly enough songs for a collection yet, but I've been dreaming about publishing a book—like, a poetry collection...

I’m looking for some guidance on the process of publishing a collection of my poetry. Since this is my first volume, I don't actually intend to commercialize it—I won't be selling copies. My main goal is just to get it published so I can move forward with other material I have ready to go. I'll be giving them away as gifts to friends, local libraries, and various institutions. I’ve already lined up a publisher through a friend (though I'll be covering most of the costs myself), a printing press, and a graphic designer. What I'm stuck on is how to find a reviewer, what the application requirements are, whether I strictly need a formal publisher, and how to handle proofreading. Also, what are my actual legal obligations here?
To be honest, I usually struggle with all the paperwork and bureaucracy that tends to overwhelm me, so I could really use some advice from someone who has been through this before.
Any help would be greatly appreciated, and I'd love to gift you a copy once it's officially out.

P.S. It turns out that writing the actual poem is the easy part...