Poetry Agency? What to expect in price terms?

[Unknown Caller]

I have written a poem book (Almost done) 67 poems. I have already won a competition and got my poem published in a page of a book. However now I am going to contact a poetry agency. I have one in mind! Although I would like to know, is it free to sign up with one, and than instead of me paying the agent they take a profit from the sales of my poems? Thanks!

[David]

It is said that nobody ever got rich writing poetry.

There is very little market for poetry. For example, I like to write, and have two books of poetry (unpublished), but I rarely ever read poetry and have never read an entire book of poetry, even though I like to read and have more than a thousand books in my list of books read.

Every agency, publisher and agent is different, so you would be better off asking specific questions with the "agency" you have in mind. Research how to publish at your local library.

Book publishing is so competitive today, it is all but impossible for an unpublished author to get noticed, let alone get published. So keep submitting your poems to different publications.

Your best bet is probably to self-publish. Three well-known print-on-demand sites are Lulu.com, Blurb.com and CreateSpace.com.

Lulu and CreateSpace are both fairly basic. Lulu lets you download book tem¬plates in Word format. You can copy your manuscript into the appropriate tem¬plate. Lulu also allows you to create the cover art.

CreateSpace requires that you upload a completed PDF file. It needs to be created exactly the way it should be printed. There are strict rules about spac¬ing and page count. That can be cumbersome. Blurb, on the other hand, gives you a free layout program that offers you more options to set up your book.

Print-on-demand books are a little more expensive to make because there isn't mass production to reduce the cost. But even if you are printing just for your family, you can order in bulk, which can save money.

Blurb, for example, has a graduated price reduction starting at just seven books.

Lulu requires a minimum of 250 books for bulk pricing. And CreateSpace has no bulk order system, but its 'overall pricing structure is lower.

Here is a quick estimate. For one copy of a 100-page, 6x9-inch, softcover book in black and white, Lulu comes in at $6.50, Blurb is $7.95 and CreateSpace is $3.66.

It would seem Cre¬ateSpace has the advantage. But be sure to compare book size, binding type, printing type and paper quality. One of the other services might be less expensive for your specific needs. Even a seemingly mi¬nor change can make a huge difference when it comes to printing costs.

Once you have a self-published book, it's then time for self-promotion. Selling the book is an art in itself.

All three print-on-de¬mand services have stores, which means anyone can buy your book. The down¬side is that there are a lot of self-published books out there, so the field is crowd¬ed and competition is stiff.

Marketing is key, which also can cost you a lot of money. Fortunately, thanks to the Internet, self-mar¬keting can be free. It's as good as you make it. You can promote your book on Facebook and forums, then just link to your book in the online store. If you are a strong social media user, this just might work. If that's not your forte, the publishing services also of¬fer promotional help - for a fee, of course.

Online location of your book is an important factor. For example, CreateSpace has a basic eStore. How¬ever, the service is actually owned by Amazon, so that means you can market your book there if you want, as well. That puts you in front of millions of eyes, including publishers.