Poetry is a beautiful art form. If you love writing poems, whether short or long, silly or profound, sharing this poetry with others can be a fantastic experience. As UK-based publishers, we have the local connections to help you get published..
A poetry book is the perfect antidote to the frenetic modern-day pace of life. A few moments of reading this creative work can give you a moment of calm, a brief respite, that you can carry in your pocket.
We think poetry should be published and shared, so however you enjoy writing; in scattered moments, on paper napkins in coffee shops, on the tube, or proudly at a walnut desk with a fountain pen, we want to read it.
Independent Poetry Publishers Serving the UK
Here at ShieldCrest poetry publishers, we are an extremely experienced publishing house in the United Kingdom. We approach every project that we undertake with enthusiasm, diligence, and integrity.
So that throughout your publishing experience we will work with you to ensure that your poetry is professionally produced by a team of poetry publishers that are as excited to see your poems in print as you are. We will explain each step to you so that you understand the publication process from start to finish.
How Can A Poet Get Published?
Once you have got your poetry collection ready for submission, please ensure that you follow our submission guidelines, so that we can get back to you quickly.
It is generally wise to have in the region of 50 poems before sending. To enable us to determine the level of our investment and optimise the book print cost, we prefer to see the entire manuscript. If sending just a selection, these poems should convey your tone, style, and your message and need to reflect the whole of the collection.
If we are interested, we will want to see your whole collection quickly, so don’t be caught out. We receive many submissions of poetry and you want yours to stand out for all the right reasons, not the wrong ones.
Do I Need a Publishing Agent?
It can be as hard to find an agent, as it is to get a response from a mainstream publishing house. We think producing a publication should be accessible to all talented writers and poets, not just a handful of well-known names.
This is why here at ShieldCrest we accept poetry submissions directly from writers, as well as from agents.
How much does it cost to get Poems Published?
We believe that publishing should be achievable, and fair. Many self-publishing companies charge extremely large up-front fees, with hefty minimum order requirements.
We are different. Our pricing is structured so that it is affordable and reflective of the costs. We want you to be able to share your publication of poetry.
What we offer to our Authors
We work with all our authors and poets to ensure that we offer a first-class service. We pride ourselves on our high level of communication and our clarity with all our poets.
We will always ensure that you fully understand the process and know what is happening throughout the publication process.
We love reading poetry and can’t wait to read yours. Please follow our submission guidelines so that we can easily read your poetry submissions and get back to you swiftly.
You may be interested in reading
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Do you have some general guidelines towards getting published?
Please read our submissions page for details and advice on submission requirements.
2. How do I know if I am eligible for poetry submissions?
If you are a poet and have a poetry collection, then you are eligible! Please send to ShieldCrest poetry publishers UK and we will be gladly review your work.
3. Can I get a critical assessment and poetry review?
You should get a critical assessment of your work from a trusted friend, who will give you honest feedback as part of their poetry review. We will review your work and offer a proofreading and editing service which can work with your text to improve the content without detracting from your voice or ideas. Poetry competitions are an active way of assessing the quality of your work against your peers if you are early in your career and want to push yourself. Becoming a member of a poetry society is yet another way to hone your skills to the next level, to improve your chances at getting your poems published.
4. Copyright and legal matters – who should I ask?
Our experienced legal team will be on hand to answer any copyright or legal questions that you may have.
5. What is the response time?
Your poetry will be read by our team of experts and we respond within 2-3 days. Once we accept the book for publishing, we move quickly and can have your book into distribution within 4-6 weeks.
6. Do you accept online submissions?
All poetry submissions must be online in a digital format. If you only have a hard copy of your poetry, we have a service that can digitise it for you.
7. How can I submit my poetry for publication?
Please use our normal submission form which is located here.
8. What types of poetry do you accept?
We accept all forms of poetry. If in doubt, let us have a sample.
9. Is there a fee for submitting poetry for publication?
No, there is no fee for submitting your poetry. Once received our managers will review it and respond within 2- 3 working days.
10. Can I submit previously published work?
This has complications if the work is already available under a different publisher’s name. If you are dissatisfied with your present publisher, it is always better to request they remove it from sale prior to asking another publisher to publish the same work. It is best to discuss this with us from the outset.
11. What are the payment terms for published poems?
We pay royalties to all our authors on the sale of their work. We are happy to discuss this.
12. Do you offer any promotional support for published poets?
We have an extensive range of both publishing and marketing support services. These are described here.
13. How can I find out if my poetry has been accepted for publication?
After we have reviewed the work we will respond in detail within 2-3 days.
14. Can you tell me more about Shieldcrest’s reputation and track record in publishing poetry?
That is a pleasure for us to do as we have published hundreds of poetry books, many of which can be found in our bookshop. With regard to our reputation, you can see what our authors say about us through Freeindex and Trustpilot. We recommend you also take a look at the awards we have received over several years here.