Origami
Printed paper stacked at a press

How to self-publish a chapbook

Lay out the pages so they impose correctly for folding, print on a riso, photocopier or print-on-demand service, fold and saddle-stitch, and distribute by hand, by mail and at readings. No gatekeeper required.

Printed paper stacked at a press
SADDLE STITCHPAMPHLET STITCHPERFECT BOUND staples, up to ~48ppthread, no metalglue, 60pp and up
Three ways to hold a chapbook together. Saddle stitch is the default for short runs; perfect binding starts to make sense past about sixty pages.

Impose the pages

A chapbook is folded, so the pages do not print in reading order. A sixteen-page chapbook prints on four sheets, and page 1 shares a sheet with page 16. Layout software or a free imposition tool handles this; getting it wrong is the most common first mistake.

Choose how to print

Print options for a self-published chapbook
Method Best for Feel
Photocopier Cheapest short runs Utilitarian, honest
Risograph Two-colour art chapbooks The classic chapbook look
Print-on-demand No upfront run, ISBN option Cleaner, less handmade

Fold, stitch, trim

Fold the signatures, staple twice on the spine for saddle stitch, and trim the fore-edge flush. A long-arm stapler helps.

Distribute

Sell at readings, trade with other writers, mail to a small list, and consign a few to a sympathetic bookshop. See also publishing on Amazon if you want a listing.

Origami

An independent record of short-form literary publishing: the chapbook, flash fiction and the lyric essay.

Origami is a new and independent project published at the former address of Origami Zoo Press. We are not that press, we are not affiliated with it, and we sell nothing. Where a book remains in print we point to the press that carries it (much of the original catalogue is at Bull City Press).