How to write a poetry proposal for The Emma Press

If you’re looking to submit a poetry manuscript for an Emma Press open call, we also ask for a proposal to go alongside it. Since so many of you have asked, we’ve created this template for what your proposal might look like, adapted from our ‘How to write a prose proposal’ blog. We hope it helps you put together your submission to us, and also perhaps when you’re approaching other publishers or agents. 

Alongside reading your manuscript or sample of poems, what we’re most keen to understand from a proposal is what you feel your poetry book or pamphlet is about and why you’ve written it. We want to know what kind of writer you are, what your hopes are following possible publication, who you can see enjoying your work and why you think the Emma Press are the right publishers for it. 

About your submission: 

• What is your book or pamphlet about?
  • What is it titled?
  • Is there a general theme or topic you are exploring across the poems? 
  • If not, what is the organising principle of your collection? Why are these poems the ones you’ve chosen to put together?
  • What are you trying to achieve with this book?

• How would you describe your poetic style?
  • What other writers are you inspired by or do you feel your writing is like?
  • Are you choosing to use particular poetic forms? Why?

• Who is your target audience?
  • Do you have an idea of who might particularly enjoy reading this book? Who would it particularly speak to? (A broad brushstroke saying “poetry fans” is less useful here)

• Why do you think it would be a good fit for the Emma Press
  • Are there books or authors we’ve published that particularly resonate with you and your work?
  • Are there other things about how we work or create books and projects that you feel would be a good fit for your own ambitions or ways of working?

• What are your expectations for publication – what do you hope will happen if you have this published?
  • What might you want to do to advertise it and support Emma Press marketing?
  • Do you have any ideas for places you would want to promote it?

• Have any of the poems in your manuscript already been published before in books, magazines, journals or elsewhere? Or performed at events?

• How many poems will your Collection or Pamphlet have, approximately?
  • If you’re not sending the full manuscript, tell us how many other poems you’re thinking of including. 
  • Remember our Poetry Pamphlets are short and have a maximum 23 pages of poetry, with a maximum 30 lines per page, including line breaks. (ie. if a poem has over 30 lines, it will go onto 2 pages)
  • For Poetry Collections, there is no upper page or poem limit, but we expect most will have at least 60 pages of poems.

About You

We’d also love you to give us a short author biography so we know a little more about you (max 100 words). You can think about telling us things like:

• If you’ve had any other books or pamphlets published, and/or have any of your poems been published in magazines or journals? [You don’t need to have been previously published to submit!]

• Have you performed your work in front of audiences?

• Where are you currently living?

• Any other things about you that you’d like us to know?

Finally… when you come to submit your work to Submittable

• Don’t forget your writing samples! Upload your proposal & writing samples (in one document is useful for us, but separately is fine too)

• Please let us know of any trigger warnings our editors should be aware of

• What may take a little more thinking is a brief summary of your collection (max. 100 words), which you’ll be asked to provide on the submission form.

Image: Photograph of selected Emma Press pamphlets