CREATING POETRY CHAPBOOKS

Adapted from a workshop delivered for the AOCI W.R.I.T.E.R.S. Group

by Chris Minton

What is a chapbook?

Chapbooks were originally known as "street literature" because they were primarily sold on the streets by traveling salesmen known as chapmen. These small, inexpensive booklets contained a variety of content like ballads, folk tales, and religious tracts, and were a popular form of reading material for the common people, particularly those with limited access to more expensive books (for example, in rural areas).

Today, chapbooks are normally used by poets to accomplish a specific objective, which may include:

• To create a sample of their work for publishers or other parties
• To target a specific, interested audience
• To get their work into circulation quickly
• To make it more affordable (for both the author and reader)
• To create enough work over time to warrant a full-length collection
• To demonstrate their commitment to the craft
• To give as gifts to family and friends

Features of a Chapbook

Most chapbooks share some common features and traits, which include:

• They have fewer pages than a full-length collection. Typically 25–40 pages long for a chapbook versus 50 or more pages for a full-length manuscript.
• The dimensions of a chapbook are usually smaller. The most common size is 8.5 inches by 5.5 inches (a sheet of copy paper folded in half).
• They are normally “saddle stitched”; 2–3 staples are used to bind the pages together. However, some poets actually use thread or glue to bind the book in order to give it a more personalized, craft-like feel (although this is obviously more expensive and/or time consuming).
• The cover is normally printed on a thicker card stock to give it a more high-quality, professional look than regular copy paper.

Chapbooks Typically have a Theme

Some poets create chapbooks to be a representative sample of their work, and therefore they simply include their best poems, regardless of subject. However, most chapbooks have a theme – a common storyline or subject matter that runs throughout all of the poems. The theme could be anything:

• Relationships (with a spouse, family members, etc.)
• Religion or spirituality
• A geographic location or region
• A specific activity (hiking, playing an instrument, dancing, etc.)
• A childhood home
• Experiences from childhood (positive and/or negative)
• Future hopes and dreams
• Traumatic events (from childhood and/or adulthood)

Having a theme may make the chapbook collection more emotionally important for the poet and subsequently more interesting for the reader. A poet may want to choose a theme that will allow them to be vulnerable and “seen” in a way that may not be obvious to others. A chapbook on a subject perceived to be mundane (cats, food, sports, etc.) might be “cute” – and well worth doing – but may not have the type of impact on a reader that a more thoughtful or poignant theme might create

Components of a Chapbook

Obviously the poet will need an appropriate number of poems to create 25-40 pages of length for a chapbook collection. In addition to the poems themselves, a poet will also need to have considered/created the following:

• Title — Like almost any creative work (a song, short story, painting, movie, poem, etc.), the chapbook will need a title. In most cases, the title is reflective of the theme (if there is a theme) or even the title of one of the poems contained in the collection. Having a good title can be key to getting someone intrigued enough to want to own and read the chapbook, so give some real thought on how to make it gripping and tantalizing.
• Cover art/design — The poet will want to give distinct thought as to what type of artwork appears on the cover of the chapbook. In most cases, just like with the title, the artwork and design is representative of the theme (if there is a theme). A great cover should not only be visually captivating, but it should be capable of hinting at the theme of the collection even if there was no title. Because the inside of a chapbook is most commonly designed with printed black-and-white pages (no illustrations), having a color illustration/design for the cover will give it more “visual flavor” than a black-and-white cover.
• An introduction — The poet may want to include an introductory page that explains the theme (if there is a theme). This might include sharing with the reader why the theme is important to the poet, how and when the poems were written, or any other information that might help the reader truly understand and appreciate why the poet has chosen to write a bunch of poems on the selected theme.
• Author biography — The poet should write a third person biography of themselves. The biography often appears on the last page of the chapbook, but many poets also choose to put it on the back cover, particularly if they do not have any other material they want to include on the back of the chapbook (see below).
• Back cover information — The back cover offers the poet a lot of flexibility. Some poets choose to have artwork on the back cover that is either a continuation of, or complement to, the artwork on the front cover. Even if the poet has written a detailed explanation of the theme on the inside of the chapbook, many still use the back cover to provide a shorter summary of the theme. Unlike most full-length poetry collections, chapbooks typically do not have promotional quotes about the chapbook (i.e. other poets/scholars saying great things about the book).

Provided below is a checklist that you can reference to make sure you’ve considered/created all the important components of a chapbook.

Publishing Methods

There are typically two ways to publish a chapbook: go through a traditional publisher or self-publish. Following are a few of the pros and cons associated with each approach:

• Traditional publisher — There can be some distinct advantages associated with finding a traditional publisher for your chapbook. Most publishers provide editing services, creative design and even marketing/promotional efforts. Some of the challenges include the time and effort it takes finding publishers who may be interested in your chapbook, creating cover letters, conforming to their submission guidelines, finite submission windows, and extended waiting periods before hearing back. Some may even have submission fees.
• Self-publishing — A few of the prominent advantages are complete artistic license, and the relative speed with which one can bring a chapbook into the world. The primary challenges are that the poet is responsible for all editing, design and promotion of the book (any or all of which may involve both time and expense).

It should be noted that poets who self-publish sometimes take responsibility for the physical production of the chapbook. They “self-create” the final product by printing out the pages, cutting or folding them, and then doing the stapling or stitching.

Editing the Chapbook

If the poet is going through a traditional publisher, a professional editor will typically be provided. While this can alleviate the poet of this burden, it should be noted that the publisher may demand edits that the poet is not keen on making. If a poet is self-publishing, it is never advisable to put a chapbook into the world without having it edited first. Ideally, one should find an independent professional editor. Lacking the resources for that, the poet can disseminate the draft to other poets or other writing professionals who might be willing to provide suggested edits without charging a fee.

A word on editing: poets should try to remain open-minded and objective about the suggested edits they receive. It is easy to get attached to the original text, and thus defensive when someone else indicates that changes are needed. But the poet must bear in mind that a good editor is trying to make the text as appealing as possible for the reader, as well as grammatically correct. If the chapbook is being self-published, the poet can always simply ignore any/all suggestions (and sometimes it’s good to “stick to your guns”), but it is unadvisable to simply dismiss suggested edits without thoughtful consideration, especially if the editor is an experienced pro.

       SELF-PUBLICATION CHECKLIST

o There are approximately 25–40 pages worth of poetry written 

o The collection has a title that is captivating 

o The collection of poems has a theme (optional) 

o There is an introduction explaining the theme (optional) 

o A third-person biography has been written 

o There is a clear idea of what the cover art/design should look like 

o There is a clear idea of what should appear on the back cover 

o The poems, biography, introduction, etc. have been reviewed/edited  

o I know what I’m going to do with the chapbooks after they’re created

 TRADITIONAL PUBLISHER CHECKLIST

o There are approximately 25–40 pages worth of poetry written 

o The collection has a title that is captivating 

o The collection of poems has a theme (optional) 

o There is an introduction explaining the theme (optional) 

o A third-person biography has been written 

o I’ve researched publishers who align with my theme/poetry 

o I’ve submitted my work to those publishers per their guidelines 

o I know what I’m going to do with the chapbooks after they’re published