Preparing a Pamphlet for Submission to Three Pillars Press

A pamphlet of poems, although smaller than a first collection – does not necessarily mean less.  A pamphlet introduces a new poet, therefore the same guidelines apply when preparing your work for publication whether it is a small or large group of poems.

Many writers publish their first poetry book in pamphlet form – James Joyce and Dylan Thomas to name just two.  A pamphlet is a group of 20 -25 poems that showcase a poet’s range, form and skill, indeed a pamphlet can be one one long 25-page poem. 

GENERAL

1)      Pay close attention to the submission guidelines to give your poems the best chance of success and adhere to the guidelines.

2)      Judges of poetry competitions read a huge volume of poems.  The judge will have a deadline to stick to, so this will alter how they read. They will not have time to give your poems a second chance – your group of poems must read well the first time around.  This means that from the pamphlet title, your poems must hold the reader’s attention all the way through.

THE POEMS YOU SELECT

1)      Choose your best poems where possible

2)      Check poem titles – are they arresting, or predictable?

3)      Check the first and last lines of each poem – do they work well?  If not, edit.

4)      Discard any poem you are not 100% sure of.  Don’t forget that any poem you leave out now can be worked on and used in another project.

5)      Another approach is to have a “Yes” pile, a “Maybe” pile and a “No” pile.  Listen to your own instinct about which poems work well and which don’t.

6)      Reading your poems aloud will help you decide.

7)      Have strong poems at the front and end on a strong poem.

THE PAMPHLET TITLE & SEQUENCE

1)      When you have selected your poems and edited them, decide on a pamphlet title – make it interesting.

2)      Often poets, lay their poems out on the floor and ‘play’ with the order, until they find an arrangement that they are happy with.

Best of luck, we will have more advice on preparing your poems over the coming weeks.