How to Compile a Poetry Manuscript

a guide to getting started

As I complete my third (!) full length poetry manuscript, Hermit Season, I thought I would take this opportunity to write down some of the things I’ve learned about this process over the past four years. I am no expert in publishing and I still consider myself a relative beginner when it comes to being a professional writer, but I think sometimes it’s easier to teach when things are still fresh and you can remember what is hard about them.

First of all, every poet is going to find their own way

“Everyone makes books differently, everyone makes poems differently. There is no one way, no right way, only the way that brings you pleasure, the way that lets all the poems vibrate and pulse within the pages.” - Ada Limón, from “On How to Write a Poetry Collection” ← a fantastic article!

What is your goal?

Are you planning to self-publish, submit to chapbook contests, query agents, or submit directly to publishers?

You can begin with this in mind or finish a manuscript and let its form guide you to these questions. But starting with an idea in mind has its advantages.

Manuscript length

Full-length manuscripts tend to be around 65-120 poems long.

Chapbooks are typically between 20-40 poems

Length can be a key aspect for publishers and contests. If your collection is too long or too short, it may not be considered, so it will make sense to do some research into the publishers you’re most excited to work with before you begin.

Curation & Expansion

Often we begin to think about putting out a book when we have an abundance of poems that we’ve written, so it can be tempting to think of manuscript as simply a selection of our best work. But in my experience, developing a manuscript is less about whittling down and more about building up and around a really good core set of poems.

Anchor Poems

Begin with the pieces you’re the most passionate about, the ones you know you’re going to include. Use these poems as a guide to begin to curate your collection. I literally copy/paste all these key poems into a new document to begin. These poems don’t have to perfect yet, you will likely continue to edit them throughout the process.

Build up and around these pieces

Which pieces do you have that are already in conversation with your anchor poems? It is ok to have some of the same images or themes in multiple poems, just make sure you understand how they relate to each other, and make it an intentional choice.

Think about the context your audience might need to understand a set of poems. You don’t have to make everything clear in a single poem, you can let the understanding unfold throughout the collection.

Keep in mind, that you will likely need to write new work as you curate and begin to understand the book that wants to be written.

Narrative & Narrator

Consider who is telling the story and what they are trying to communicate. Is there a clear beginning, middle, and end, or is your collection more about exploring themes, locations, or moods?

Read through your poems imagining they were written by a close friend, begin to get some distance.

Visualizing your themes

I am a very visual person, so making Pinterest boards and collages for my book ideas can be very helpful for me.

Once you have 40 or 50 poems, go through them and jot down themes, symbols, ideas that are coming up in these pieces. You can type some of these themes and symbols into Pinterest or look for them in magazines for new and interesting connections.

• What themes are you working with?

• What images come up?

• Are you working with the body? Locations? Nature? Time?

• Do the images you curate give you new ideas?

Allow connections to form. Allow the book to take up space in your life for a while.

Order and Flow

Print Your Draft

Print out your manuscript draft, with one poem on each page. This will allow you to “see” the book in a new way, play with the order, and notice how the poems look together.

I do a lot of very intense and serious editing during this phase; cutting poems, and doing entire re-writes, as I begin to see the pieces in their right context.

Walk the Poems

Spread the pieces out on the floor and immerse yourself in the order of the poems. Walk from one to the next if you can. Read them out loud, notice connections, disruptions, etc

Having too many long poems in a row can start to exhaust the reader, too many short poems can start to feel choppy.

Give yourself space from the “real story”

At some point, the manuscript will start to become its own thing. Even if you’re writing almost entirely from your real life, a poetry collection isn’t a memoir. You don’t have to stick with what really happened, or keep the poems in chronological order.

This is where the magic happens, if you let it. What is the book that is coming together trying to be?

Titles, Editing, and Format

Titles

Don’t underestimate the importance of your poem titles. You can use the title to situate your reader (add context), create a sense of cohesion within the collection, make your table of contents stand out, etc. There are whole classes and articles written on the importance of poem titles (this is an area I really struggle with, personally!)

Hire a Professional Editor

If you’re self-publishing, I highly recommend a professional proof-reader and editor.

If you’re submitting to traditional publishers, do your very best to provide a clean, well-edited manuscript!

Formatting the Manuscript

• Self-publishing - You’ll likely need to handle the formatting yourself. Consider how your poems will appear on the page, whether you want to include art, and if you’ll have sections or a table of contents.

• Traditional publishing - The publisher will typically take care of formatting.

Ok! I think that’s all I have for now!

If you have any questions, please drop them in the comments! I’ll try to answer them to the best of my ability. And if you’re in the process of compiling a manuscript, may you be guided by intuition, flow, and your own heart.

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Hermit Season will be available on Amazon on June 21st, the summer solstice! I will send another quick email on that Friday to remind you to grab a copy.