Frequently Asked Questions
Q. Why should I pay to have my poetry published? Won't some publishers do it at their own expense?
A. If you have an established reputation as a poet, there may be publishers willing to fund the production of your book. Keep in mind that the sales of poetry books are almost never profitable. Many publishers produce occasional volumes of poetry as a literary responsibility, rather than a profitable venture. This means they are understandably picky about the poets they publish.
Q. If I finance the publication of my poetry book, how will I sell the books?
A. If you visit your local bookseller you might notice how few books of poetry are available compared to other types of books. This is because poetry does not sell very well from the retail shelf. On the other hand, poetry sells very well person-to-person. If you order 200 books and are diligent in marketing them, it's likely that you will be able to sell all of them from your own hand.
Q. Could I convince a book seller to carry my book for sale?
A. You might, but book sellers usually ask that you offer a substantial discount (often 50%). They also demand that you not be paid for your books until after they are sold, and that you agree to take back any books that are unsold—even if they have been damaged on the shelves. If you are publishing a short run of books (fewer than 500), it's extremely unlikely that your "unit price" on the books will be low enough to offer discounts and cover your costs. In order to compete commercially and receive a reasonable return, the books must be produced for less than 25% of the cover price. This is impossible with a short run.
Q. How much money can I make selling my own poetry book?
A. Poetry rarely makes a profit for poets or publishers, but the most frequent profit comes to poets selling their own books. Our most successful client made a profit of about $5,000 on an order of 1,000 poetry books, but she was persistent and followed a plan that proceeded over a period of 3 or 4 years. Most of our clients sell enough books to return their initial investment, but the results are directly proportional to the effort put forth.
Q. How many pages does my book need to have in order to be published and bound by Utmost?
A. We want your book to be a minimum of 60 pages. It's hard to perfect bind a book that is thinner than that. This usually means you need at least 40 poems to make a book.
Q. Is there any easy way to tell how many pages my book manuscript will be?
A. There is no guaranteed way, as poems are often only one page in length, but can also be much more than that. If your book manuscript is prepared in Microsoft Word® it is usually much shorter than it will be when published into a book. For instance, a poetry book manuscript of 40 pages in MSWord might easily be 60 pages or more when published as a book. The best way to estimate the potential size of your book is to send it to us and let us tell you.
Q. How many books should I order?
A. Only as many as you think you can sell. The greater the number of books, the lower the per-unit price and the better possibility of profit. On the other hand, it takes a greater effort to sell more books. If you order as few as 200 books, you will probably need to sell all your books just to get your investment back.
Q. What do the books look like? Are they professional in appearance?
A. Our books meet or exceed the quality and appearance of mainstream publishers' books. Most of our books are perfect bound, with color covers and high gloss UV coatings. The layouts are beautiful. Many of our clients have sold their books from the shelves of large retail books sellers, and our books compare extremely well, side-by-side.