5 of 26

Write now Article Tools

Poetry is one of the most poorly paid professions in the world. Our chances of making a living entirely by writing poetry are slim indeed. Making a living as a poet is a long term goal you have to work at it and you have to want to be a professional writer, and maybe have a little bit of luck. The important thing is to keep working at producing top quality writing and establishing your reputation. The more you publish, the more positive reviews you get, the more recognition you get, the easier it will be to get paid for your work. The world is a bizarre and unpredictable place; you never know what is going to happen. It might work out for you.

There are five sources of income for poets:
1. sales to magazines.
2. royalties from poetry books.
3. fees for readings, lectures, writer in residence and other artist programs.
4. prizes and awards.
5. grants from government, foundations or arts organizations.

A few print magazines pay for poetry, most pay in copies of the magazine; online e-zines do not pay at all. Payments are usually in the range of $20 to $50 per poem, although top markets may pay up to $150. There is a lot of competition to get into the paying markets; you need to be a fairly well established writer to have your work considered.

The financial return on poetry books is quite low. A normal print run for a poetry book from a small press is 500 copies. If a poetry book sells for $15 and the author receives a 10% royalty, then the return per book is $1.50; so the writer's total potential income from the print run is $750 and print runs rarely sell out. With digital printing, it is becoming economical to produce shorter runs, as low as 200 copies.

To get paid for readings you have to be a well established writer. I belonged to an arts organization that sponsored poetry readings; the maximum payment for a reading for a big name poet was $650, including travel expenses. Some of the lesser known readers received only $120 total. Some college and university reading programs pay more, but you need to be a really big name to be signed up for those. Most venues, like coffeehouses or local arts groups, will expect you to read for free (it's usually worth it for the exposure).

For lectures, writer in residence, and other programs such as visiting artist' or artist exchange,' the bigger your reputation, the more likely you are to be accepted. The sponsor needs a big name to draw a crowd. These programs are temporary; you can't count on them as a continuous source of income.

There

• 1
• 2
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about How to make a living as a poet?
We want to hear your view. Write now!