The biggest challenge most poets face is how to make money from what they love doing – poetry. You can ask any poet you know if they ever considered making a living from their writing poems. You’ll likely get a sarcastic reply or a doubtful laugh in response. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The reason is not far-fetched. Most poets\u2014especially the ones who have tried to do it\u2014understand that the prospect of making a career out of their poetry is very slim.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Not to worry, in this read I’m going to show you how to make money writing and selling poetry. Stay with me!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Poetry is all-encompassing; it evokes a concentrated imaginative awareness of experience or a specific emotional response through language chosen and arranged for its meaning, sound, and rhythm. It can be beautiful, funny, and powerful, carrying the impact of 100,000-word tomes in just a few precisely chosen and placed words.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The problem with being a poet is that it\u2019s not exactly a lucrative full-time profession. In reality, financially successful poets are few and far between and making a living as a poet is close to impossible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, while you may not be able to make a full living writing poetry, you can make some more money by selling your poems, and through other activities, we\u2019ll call \u201cpoetry adjacent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here is a table of these untapped ways to expect:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are many ways for you to make money from your poetry both online and offline which are yet to be tapped into by you. From self-publishing to submitting your work to poetry publishers that pay, to utilizing online platforms…a lot of ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Here are some of the ways of making money from poetry:<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most poets make money through poetry reading. A poetry reading is a public oral recitation or performance of poetry; it is a bodily creation that thrives in a live connection. The voice is the mechanism by which a “poet’s voice” comes alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are several places you can read your poetry – at bars, schools, tea houses, community centers, libraries, bookstores, open mic poetry events (still popular in many cities), something you arrange on your own, and so on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In fact, wherever you can get a booking, just stand up and say your words. The idea here is to read publicly, then sell the books you\u2019ve self-published. Don\u2019t start doing this until you have books to sell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Many poets are now tapping into spoken word art. The spoken word is a broad designation for poetry intended for performance. It’s quite similar to poetry readings in the sense that they are both performed poetry. However, spoken word poetry is more encompassing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Spoken word<\/strong> is an oral poetic performance art that is based mainly on the poetic as well as the performer’s aesthetic qualities. It is a “catchall” term that includes any kind of poetry recited aloud, including poetry readings, poetry slams, jazz poetry, and hip-hop music, and can include comedy routines and prose monologues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As a spoken word artist, you’ll be making cool cash. You can create a YouTube channel for your spoken word poetry, place adverts on your video content, and earn money from them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can also perform at paid events or collaborate with brands that include poems in their adverts (to not only advertise their works to their audiences but also to speak volumes to them through such short presentations as well as grow the culture of poetry).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most people who ask if you can make a living through writing poems also want to know if you can make money getting published as a poet. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here is the thing…<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Book sales can bring in some really cool amount of money, but you\u2019ll have to work for it. For poetry books, traditional publishing deals are pretty rare. The reason is that publishers are very unlikely to accept poetry books into their arsenal compared to other options, but you can always write and self-publish\/e-publish several collections of your poetry on platforms like Amazon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n By \u201cseveral\u201d I mean \u201cnot less than ten\u201d so you can benefit from some of the ways Amazon recommends and rates books. This, however, takes effort, and some out-of-pocket cost for layout and editing, but can reliably trickle in some payments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you love language and literature\u2014and you have the advantage of being a people person\u2014you just might find your calling in teaching. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Teaching gigs can be a great way for poets to make money. Many community programs and schools like to offer poetry classes, and qualified poets are kind of thin on the ground. So, you can teach poetry at the high school or college level and beyond. These might not be full-time teaching jobs with benefits and enough salary to live on, but they can produce a nice paycheck for engaging, rewarding work. Or you can teach just for fun on your own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition, you can also make money from teaching poetry online. As a skilled and knowledgeable poet, you can teach those interested and willing to pay for such classes in various formats, through video tutorials, pdf formats, or just text \u2013 your choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A speaking engagement is like a combination of public readings and teaching jobs. So, if you enjoy reading your poems or teaching poetry, you’ll definitely enjoy speaking engagements. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here, you can get one-off assignments to address a classroom, or work at a conference, or lead a panel at a literary event. Most speaking engagements usually pay some cash to you, plus you have an opportunity to promote and sell your books if any). Although these opportunities can be hard to break into, once you book one or two you\u2019ll find offers for others start pouring in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This is one of the untapped ways you can make money as a poet – other kinds of writers make a lot of their money here. Literary magazines are good for building up your portfolio as a poet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So, what are you waiting for?<\/p>\n\n\n\n There are several poetry magazines, literary journals, paying websites, and anthologies welcoming poetry. Firstly, you\u2019ll have to submit regularly, but expect to sell only occasionally. Most reputable ones will pay up to $50 per submission or more. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Also, on a per-word basis, poetry pays pretty well, but the market is small and pretty saturated. However, if you get a large enough list and are a really skilled poet, this can easily net you around $500 per year or more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That being said, it’s not enough to make a living alone but, you can use this option as something to supplement your current income.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Poetry is a form of art. This means that grants and fellowships for poets are easier to get, and often more generous, than similar programs for other kinds of writing. To get them, you\u2019ll have to learn how to write effective applications, but it\u2019s worth the time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Surprised? It is actually very real!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The amazing thing here is that you can earn a pretty decent amount of money doing this. According to vocal. media, a lady earned $50,000 in one year selling things to greeting card companies<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yes, you read rightly!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The truth is that every greeting card you read was written by a real-life human\u2014not some impersonal poetry-generating robot. In fact, some greeting card writers even become relatively popular, having their bylines written on the cards they pen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is a problem though. Not all greeting card companies want poems or already have in-house writers like Hallmark. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Notwithstanding, if you choose to make a living through poetry going this route, you might need to be flexible in what you write. Also, if you have a good portfolio of poetry and greeting card submissions, there’s a chance they may hire you. However, it’s not an easy field to break into.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Having your own website of poetry is another way of making money as a poet online. You can average about $75-$100\/month from people reading a couple of your poems and clicking on advertisements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although this may seem little, it can really add up over time \u2013 especially as you build up traffic to your website and create a following.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you gain enough traffic to your website, you can start exploring different advertising partners who can help you get paid as much as $10-$15 for every 1,000 visitors you have to your website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cool, right? But, there will be a little learning to be done from your end.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n You’ve to learn how to set up a website and how to get traffic and advertisers, but this is a very viable option to do something you love while earning some side cash. You can use free blogging software like WordPress<\/strong><\/a> as it’s a great way to get started with creating an affordable website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n#3 Self-Published Books<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
#4 Teach Poetry<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
#5 Speaking Engagements<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
#6 Magazines and Anthologies<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
#7 Grants and Fellowships<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
#8 Sell Poems to Greeting Card Companies<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
#9 Create a Website For Your Poems<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n
#10 Freelancing and Self-Employment<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n