How to publish a chapbook
You have two honest routes: submit the manuscript to a small press that publishes chapbooks, usually through a contest or an open reading period, or publish it yourself. Both are laid out below.
First, have a manuscript the form fits
A chapbook is short by construction: one or two folded signatures, so most run twenty to forty pages. That is roughly fifteen to thirty poems, or a handful of short stories. If your manuscript is longer, it is a full collection, not a chapbook. See how big a chapbook is.
Route one: a small press
Most poetry chapbooks are published by small presses through contests or open reading periods. You send the manuscript, sometimes with a small reading fee, and the press handles editing, design and printing. This gives the book a publisher’s name and a small distribution.
- Read the press’s existing chapbooks before submitting.
- Follow the guidelines exactly: length, format and reading window.
- Expect to wait months and to be declined more than accepted.
Route two: publish it yourself
Self-publishing a chapbook is honourable and common in this form: the riso and photocopier tradition is built on it. You control the design and keep the copies. See how to self-publish a chapbook and publishing on Amazon.
Then print and bind
Either route ends at a physical object. Printing and binding covers saddle stitch, riso and what a run costs.
Do I need an agent?
No. Chapbooks are handled directly between writer and small press, or self-published. Agents do not work in this form.
How many poems go in a chapbook?
Usually fifteen to thirty, fitting twenty to forty pages. See how big a chapbook is.
Will it make money?
Almost never, and that is not why the form exists. A chapbook builds a readership and a record, not an income.