How Do You Seriously Earn Money Writing Poetry?

@EAStanley (2688)
United States
October 15, 2008 5:27pm CST
I am always entering those online poetry contests, the ones that are free. :) I simply will not enter a contest where I have to pay an entry fee, it's just not gonna happen! ;) Sometimes I get published on their websites, sometimes I do not. More often than not, I get one of those letters in the mail, saying that we have decided to publish your poem in our upcoming anthology, "Memories Of Life", "Seasons Of Change", etc. and so on. And, you do not HAVE to purchase this anthology, BUT, the only way to see your poem in print is to purchase the anthology. And it is not available in stores, of course. And when you really read the fine print, it is only available to those who submitted poems that were chosen. So, it is not like the general public is going to be introduced to your poetry, anyway. Not to mention that *YOU* earn *NOTHING* in this whole process. I mean, if I submit a poem that is considered "good", or "excellent", or whatever, then THEY should be wanting to pay ME! *LOL* So, there are not really "scams", because you always have the option to NOT buy the "Anthology", BUT, they are not what I would really consider "legitimate", when you really think about it. And, when it comes getting poetry published on various free web sites, I have gotten that done quite a bit, but that is about all that happens. On some of those sites, you supposedly earn money every time somebody views your poem. But on one of those sites, one of my poems has over 20 views, but I have only earned like 3 cents for it. That is like WAAAAAAAAAAAAY less than a penny per view. So, once again, it is not really a "scam", but, it pretty much takes years and years to actually earn money off of it. I am not sure what else to do to actually make money with the poems that I write. Thanks in advance to those of you out there with experience in these matters who can help me out! :)
1 person likes this
6 responses
@cheongyc (5072)
• Malaysia
17 Oct 08
Well, it's hard to earn through writing poems. Not to discourage or demoralize you, but the profit always come after market demand. Therefore, I think poem writting might be less lucrative than article writting. So, why not you give it a try on web sites which offer reviews writting? Or simple article writting? In my opinion, since you are good in poem, you sure are gifted to write great articles for them. In fact, I just learned about there some web sites paying people for writting articles or products review. I am looking through it, but I think I am not good in writting these. May be practicing more in Mylot will help bringing me to a higher level in writting
@EAStanley (2688)
• United States
18 Oct 08
Thank you. :) I might just try article writing. Thanks again! :)
1 person likes this
@cheongyc (5072)
• Malaysia
18 Oct 08
You are most welcome. But I really think you should use your talents in writing. I always think writting poem requires higher skill than article writting. So, you shouldn't have problem in writting an article then. Let me know if you want some article writting web site, and I will send it to you. Good luck and have mylotting!
@EAStanley (2688)
• United States
19 Oct 08
Oh, I would definitely like the web site! Thanks! :)
1 person likes this
• Canada
15 Oct 08
Yeah, it can be hard to know which poetry contests are real and which ones are just a scam. Typically when they want you to buy a book then it's a scam. You should check out professional writing magazine sites for contest listings, they'll know which ones are good or not. They will also give you some tips about how to figure out the best way to win. writermag.com is a good place to start.
@EAStanley (2688)
• United States
16 Oct 08
Thank you for the advice. :) I had never heard of writermag.com. I will definitely check it out now. Thanks again! :)
@EAStanley (2688)
• United States
16 Oct 08
Thank you for that additional resource. I really appreciate it. :)
• Canada
16 Oct 08
No problem. Writer's Digest has a good website too.
• United States
17 Nov 08
I really don't have a knack for writing poems but I have written a few. Neer gotten paid for them. LOL Poetry is hard for me to write which I don't really understand because I have a lot of emotions running through me. Good Luck!~
• United States
17 Nov 08
oops! sorry for the typo. That should be "Never" gotten paid for them. geez...(rolls eyes)
@EAStanley (2688)
• United States
17 Nov 08
I am sorry that you don't have a knack for writing poetry. I bet the few that you have written are good, though! I am sorry that you have never gotten paid for them! I also have a lot of emotions running through me. It can be good to write them down on paper. Thanks for your response! :)
• United States
17 Oct 08
It is VERY difficult to earn money by writing poetry. I've had many poems published, and usually you just get a free copy of the magazine you're published in. I've sold a couple of poems. Two, to be exact, for $25 each. And I won $75 in a contest. That's it. If you want to know magazines that buy poems, get a copy of Poet's Market. They list publications and tell you which ones pay for poetry. But not many do, and those that do get tons of submissions, so your chances of getting published are slim. The bottom line is, even if your poetry is good, you're not gonna get rich from it. Kelly
@EAStanley (2688)
• United States
18 Oct 08
Thank you for your insight. :) It probably makes sense that I won't get rich writing poetry. :) Thank you for telling me about your experiences! :) I really appreciate it. :) Thank you also for telling me about the Poet's Market. :)
@aisaellis22 (6445)
• United States
19 Nov 08
Hi EAStanley, I never really went to some writing articles site but I have only one. I published my poems and my articles already. But I guess it's not for me to introduce it to you because I think the there earnings is too slow too. I have published 5 articles and 2 photos there and 2 of my articles got 250 views but still I only earned 1 dollar yet. I have been to the site for a month now. I think it's really hard to make money through writing.
@lilfret (81)
• United States
15 Oct 08
lol idk write a giant book of it and sell it
@EAStanley (2688)
• United States
15 Oct 08
Thanks, but I don't think I have enough poems to do that. Or at least, enough seriously *good* ones. I wonder how many poems I would need to sell a book. Probably more than 30 or 40. So, I guess I should get to work writing some more! Thanks for the suggestion! :)