Lessons Learned from Self-Publishing My Poetry Book
This document is a work in progress as I reflect on the process of publishing and binding my full-length collection, The Weeds Grow Anyway, whose first print edition I designed and bound by hand, including linocut-printed covers.
Scope Out Your Materials Before You Start Contructing
The materials available to you might help dictate the construction of your book. For instance, if you know you’re going to print out the book on 8.5x11 pieces of paper which you’ll then trim to size, you might want to base your book’s final trim size based on this fact. Or if you find a discounted coverstock you want to use, you might find that its grain direction lends itself best to a book that’s a certain size.
I learned this lesson when I realized the final trim size for the book was rather nonoptimal in that it slightly too big to fit two spreads on one 8.5x11 paper, so each spread took up one entire 8.5x11 piece of paper, leading to more paper waste than I’d like. Were I to do this again, I think I’d opt to make a larger book dimension-wise to allow myself a little more room to move while formatting, though I love the feeling of a small book. Conversely, if I’d have gone a little smaller, I might have been able to fit two spreads on one sheet, allowing for a more resource and cost effective book. Since I printed the covers before realizing this fact, I was locked in to the size I’d chosen.
Remember: always factor in trim room. More than you think you need. I had to order more coverstock because I realized this lesson a little too late.
Learn the Softwares You Plan To Use Before You Have a Deadline
This is tough because I find it damn near impossible to learn anything without practice. So, my recommendation is to set up a lower stakes personal project for yourself using the same products you plan to use prior to launching your public-facing project.
The two softwares I used the most were Adobe inDesign for formatting the inside of the book, and Procreate for designing the cover. I admittedly didn’t want to use inDesign, but I was finding the effort of learning a new software at odds with the pressure of getting the book out in a timely manner. I knew inDesign, so I used it. My goal is to learn other softwares in the next year, as inDesign ended up being one of the larger expenses for the completion of this book.
Factor in More Time Than You Think You Need
I opened preorders in spring of 2024, thinking I’d have the book ready for release in the fall of 2024. I knew I had a press residency planned in June to print the covers, so I figured I’d finish fine-tuning the manuscript, print the covers, bind the books, and be ready by fall. Unfortunately, my perfectionism and unforeseen life circumstances drew out the process, as I fanatically tinkered with the manuscript deep into the winter of 2025.
I didn’t have much fallout from having a long preorder time – only one person canceled their order – but it weighed on me in a way that felt a bit stressful at times.
When I opened preorders, I did think the book was basically done. I’d made the first draft in 2023 and had submitted it to a press or two before deciding to publish it myself. I didn’t plan to edit it so much after that. I just struggled to get it to a place I felt good about. Plus, the longer the book took, the more growth would occur for me as a poet, making me question older poems more and more, and desire to bring them closer to the writer I am now, leading to a weird arms race of sorts.
Create Real Deadlines for Yourself
According to Parkinson’s Law, “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” I see this law at work in my own life all the time. I’ve always attributed it to my ADHD, which would inevitably lead to a last minute mad dash right before the deadline.
I didn’t book the show date til February of 2025. Once it was booked, that started a ticking clock. The manuscript could no longer be tinkered with. It needed to get printed, and soon, in order for me to assemble the books in time. If I planned to finish the book and then schedule the release show, I am not sure the book would be done now.
Limit making adjustments mid-printing as much as possible
Over the course of printing, I’d see occasional errors or times when the print was off or misaligned. I’d then make adjustments on the press, shifting the paper up or down. This then led to compounding misalignment down the line with each layer, which then made itself very present when it came time to score the covers. I had to take the time to score the covers according to the errors made, to make sure the cover wasn’t cut off. This led me to have to manually score each cover, rather than use the scoring machine for all the scores.
Measure twice, cut once.
Publishing Your Own Book By Hand is Cost-Effective* (If You Don’t Count Time)
Money is a weird thing to talk about, and feels a bit muddy to understand. It feels uncouth to ask other writers just how much money they’ve made from their books being published, so I don’t know much beyond what information I’ve seen offered up by friends on social media. That said, my general understanding has been that, barring publication with a large publisher, an author’s sales largely depended on the author’s marketing efforts, rather than the efforts of the press.
This isn’t to cast any shade on any presses. On the other side of making this book, I can see just how much time and resources it takes to edit, print, and market a book. I would eventually love to print my friend’s manuscripts, but I myself wonder just how that would look financially to account for my time and the resources required to ensure we’d both be fairly compensated. I know future projects will likely not take as long, as I’ve grown in my knowledge of this process, but it would require some careful navigation.
If I counted the hours spent designing, planning, worrying, printing, binding, scoring, then I don’t think the profit margin per book would be very high. I have not counted the hours, but I know it was many. That said, I did not count that in my estimation. I figured it was all a part of a learning process that would aid in my growth as a poet, editor, and bookmaker. Plus, the time spent scoring and binding also doubled as time for me to watch my soaps.
Another factor is that I already had a lot of tools and resources available, either from my own collection or through my friends at Ladyfingers Letterpress and The Press at Colorado College.
All of this is to say, if you have the tools and resources available and enjoy the process of bookmaking, publishing your own book and assembling it yourself is a worthy endeavor. I did make a few thousand dollars (so far) from book sales, after accounting for the cost of the materials and printing. I used those funds to furnish and assemble my own at-home printing studio with shelving, and the cost of moving a press that I was lucky enough to receive for free thanks to the efforts of my printing friends to help me find a press of my very own.
Offer Sliding Scale Pricing
I initially set the price of the book at $20. That was too low for the aforementioned time and resources making the book took. That said, I know that times are tough and they’re particularly tough on trans people, so I wanted to offer this book as accessibly as I could. It wasn’t until a friend reached out and asked that I offer sliding scale pricing that it occurred to me as an option, and a lot of really wonderful folks have offered to buy the book at a higher tier. Squarespace unfortunately doesn’t offer sliding scale pricing, but I was able to set variations in price at $20, $30, and $40.
Managing the Preorder Money
I recommend keeping a separate bank account for your art if you can. Have art income go in, have art expenses go out. Were those few thousand dollars in my general account, I think they’d have been eaten up by bills quickly (and I admittedly did have to dip into the art account a couple times during rough patches). Since I keep the accounts separate, I was able to designate those funds toward the creation of the book and the growth of my studio and future artistic endeavors. Money is a form of energy. I wanted support for my art now to also support my art in the future.
Use Preorders To Help Guide Your Quantity
I printed 600 covers of the book. That was 600 passes through the riso (Easy, since that works a lot like a copier), 600 passes of the green layer, and 600 passes of the black layer. That is a lot of Vandercook cranking.
That said, I am limited by how many books I printed. I printed 600 covers, and 250 bookblocks for this first run. That means in the future I can print another 250 books for a second run if I so choose. I can also take the approach I have with previous books, and bind on demand. Once those 250 books are sold out, I’ll have no choice but to bind more. Once the 500 run out, then I need to decide whether to print more covers, or shift to a less limited edition version of the book that won’t be hand-printed and bound.
This is part of why I will also be making the book available in ebook and audiobook formats – so I can make the text available at a more accessible price point, and because those sales are unlimited.
Learn the Softwares You Plan To Use Before You Have a Deadline
This is tough because I find it damn near impossible to learn anything without practice. So, my recommendation is to set up a lower stakes personal project for yourself using the same products you plan to use prior to launching your public-facing project.
The two softwares I used the most were Adobe inDesign for formatting the inside of the book, and Procreate for designing the cover. I admittedly didn’t want to use inDesign, because fuck Adobe, but I was finding the effort of learning a new software at odds with the pressure of getting the book out in a timely manner. I knew inDesign, so I used it. My goal is to learn other softwares in the next year, as inDesign ended up being one of the larger expenses for the completion of this book.
Be in Therapy
Not a requirement but it helps with the self-doubt and perfectionism that might arise.
Other tips for book-selling
Below are notes I am still fleshing out, but might still be helpful.
Remember that the longer preorders are open, the more maintenance you’ll need to do before shipping to ensure the shipping addresses are correct. I sent out a Google form to all people who preordered before shipping so people could let me know if their address changed. A few people over the year had sent me emails notifying me, but that is a whole lot to keep up with. Squarespace doesn’t let you change details like shipping addresses, so having somewhere that that information was all compiled as really helpful.
Consider charging a little extra for signing. If you’re like me, it’s not enough to just sign your name. I added a note in every single book for the buyer (if they wanted a signed copy). Also, in your online checkout, include questions around signing. Who does the buyer want the book addressed to? Ask them to let you know any details, such as whether the book is a gift, etc.
Remember – the shipping fee should include postage, but also labels, packaging materials, and related shipping costs. I used Shippo.com since it integrates with Squarespace, and printed the shipping labels on my printer at home.
Consider including a little marketing/thank you bookmark with QR code to the book’s Goodreads page.
If you plan on releasing a book, now is a good time to start making a mailing list. Bring it to readings, events, and include a sign up on your website and online store check-out. It’s important to have a means to connect with your audience that isn’t beholden to algorithms. On that note, if you don’t have a website, you should make one. More on making your own website here.