Showcasing some of your poems on your author website can be a great way to introduce readers to your work. But before you post even a single poem on your website, there are crucial facts you need to know.
Safety Tips For Posting Your Poetry On Your Author Website
More and more literary journals deem poetry that has been posted online—including on your own blog—to be previously published. This means that the poem is no longer eligible for consideration by most literary journals because it has appeared online. So how can you share your poetry without having to worry about the “previously published” conundrum?
Write poetry specifically to publish on your website. These author website exclusives will help create an audience that’s eager to see more of your work.
Post previously published poems. If your poem has already been published in a literary journal, you can safely post it on your author website once the rights revert back to you. Be sure to acknowledge the original publisher too!
Plan to self-publish. If you become your own publisher, it doesn’t matter if your poetry has already been published online.
Reserve poems published online for poetry collections. Works that have been previously published are usually acceptable to editors of poetry collections.
Find journals that accept previously published work. There aren’t many literary magazines that will accept previously published work—but they do exist. A few are okay with poetry that has been posted online. You’ll have to spend a lot of time researching and carefully checking submission guidelines to uncover these journals.
Style Tips For Your Poems On Your Author Website
Choose a legible font. You should select an easy-to-read, Web-safe font—one that will show up on most computer systems. Learn more here: How To Choose The Right Font.
Use contrast, but not too much or too little. Your color scheme shouldn’t knock readers senseless with overly harsh contrasts. Likewise, you don’t want visitors desperately squinting at the computer screen, unable to see your poems because the contrast is too weak. While it may not seem exciting, black type on a white or lightly tinted background typically works well.
Add images. By including images with your poems, you’ll make them pinnable on Pinterest—which means your poetry could be quickly and easily shared with more potential new fans! You can use photos that you’ve taken, or stock images found online. For the best results, photos should be 400 to 500 pixels wide.
Keep it simple and visually appealing. You don’t want a busy background or lots of distracting images. Remember, less is more: You want the focus to be on your writing.
Choose “short” poems. Poems that are less than one page in length tend to be more appealing to online readers.
Create a multimedia experience. Thanks to the flexibility of online design options, you can include video or even music (as long as it’s in the public domain) to promote interaction with your visitors.
When you do publish a poem on your author website, be sure to share the news! Make an announcement on your Twitter account and Facebook Author Page so as to increase visits to your site and build an appreciative audience for your writing.
QUESTION: Have you posted any of your poetry on your author website? How did you choose which poems to post?
Interesting. I’ve never posted poems on my website. Maybe I should start.
This is my first time pay a quick visit at here and i am really impressed to read all at one place.
I need to register my work of poems; please help me to do so.
Hello! If you are referring to copyrighting your work, you might find this article helpful: http://writersrelief.com/blog/2012/06/copyright-law-for-your-book-novel-story-or-poems/
How do I make my poems well known, where is the suitable place to post them? Please, may I get any help?
Hi Joshua,
We recommend you submit your poetry to reputable literary journals.