When I’m not selling my pen as a freelance creative copywriter or writing newsletters, I’m moonlighting as an underground poet on Instagram.

I began dabbling in poetry and shorter forms of creative prose after I got out of a serious relationship back in October of twenty-eighteen.

While I was ultimately the one that waved the white flag, this waving didn’t make me immune to the heartbreak that comes with losing someone, that once upon a time, meant a great deal to me.

I remember experiencing waves of overwhelm as I struggled to make sense of the emotions I was feeling.

Eventually, I realized I needed to get the shit in my chest down onto paper and that while writing copy was an assload of fun, certainly a life passion of mine and a splendid way to pay the bills, it wasn’t cutting it in terms of helping me cope with my emotions.

So, I started writing poetry.

I wrote and published my very first poem in early October of that year –– then I wrote another and another and another –– with each passing poem I found myself feeling a little bit better; a little more whole.

Fast-forward 12-months and I had written nearly 1,000 poems, 191 of which I self-published just a couple months back in my very first book titled, One Minute, Please?

(I gave you a look at the front of the cover in the photograph up above, here’s a look at the back…)

Yes. That’s a photograph of me holding her.

I have dozens of these little matte black beauties sitting in my room in great big stacks, many of which are selling faster than I could have ever imagined.

Which, speaking of selling, let’s confront the big hairy elephant in the room –– the reason you’re here.

How the hell does one make money writing poetry?

I hate to rain lawn darts on your balloons but if you’re writing poetry to get rich, you’re wasting your damn time.

Sure, while there are a few Instagram poets building mansions on the back of their poetry (looking at your Rupi Kaur), the vast majority of poets will never make a dime.

If you love writing and dream to make a living writing, I can promise you there are much easier ways to do so than writing a poetry book.

(You could always take up copywriting, but that’s a conversation for another day).

With that said, while I would argue that making a full-time living as a poet is nearly impossible, it doesn’t mean your secret underground life as a poet can’t act as a worthwhile side-hustle of sorts.

Poetry & profit, an oxymoron?

No. I didn’t start writing poetry for the money.

But, I’m not going to sit here like a coy asshat and tell you I didn’t have dreams of making some moolah as an underground poet… at least enough to cover the money I invested to self-publish the damn thing (which we will get to here in a moment).

While others will tell you differently, I don’t feel like I’m selling out for admitting to this desire –– almost all creatives, whether they’re too proud to voice it or not, aspire to have some degree of commercial success with their art.

Even The Beatles…

Let’s write a swimming pool.

There’s a lesser-known story about Paul McCartney and John Lennon sitting down to write a song one afternoon.

Lennon was in the midst of building a large addition onto his home. McCartney jokingly said…

“Let’s write a swimming pool.”

While writing OM,P?, I kept this story in mind –– I didn’t write the book with money being the only motive, but I used my marketing chops honed whilst building Honey Copy, my creative writing agency, to write and market the book like it was an actual product I was selling.

Here’s my advice to not only folks looking to make money writing poetry but creatives looking to make money creating, anything…

Creatives have to be marketers, too.

There’s an unspoken belief among creatives…

If you build it, they will come.

This is bullshit.

If you build it (and market the hell of it), then maybe just maybe “they” will come.

But, in order to do this, both poets and creatives alike need to realize they’re also their own marketers. In fact, they are the very best marketers in the world to market the thing they’ve created.

Money doesn’t magically appear when we create something.

Marketers must be aware of the money they’re spending.

When I was writing One Minute, Please?, I paid close attention to my break-even point –– or the number of books I’d have to sell to make back the money I had invested in writing and publishing my book.

I worked with the ridiculously talented Jeremy Gotwals at Holon Publishing and a freelance photographer and designer to create a stunning book for $6,000.

If you don’t have $6,000 to invest in your book, that’s okay. There are cheaper alternatives out there, you just have to hunt.

Since I was making right around $22.50 per book after shipping and printing costs, I knew from the jump that I had to sell approximately 267 books to break even.

I’m about $1,000 away from breaking even on One Minute, Please? And, once I do, every book I sell moving forward will be $22.50 in my pocket.

No, I’m not going to get rich off of this. But, I plan to release another 3-4 poetry books in the next 3 years. Eventually, it could be a nice little side-hustle outside of the work I do at Honey Copy.

Anyway, before creating and selling anything, creatives should be very aware of how many “units” they will have to sell to break even.

Market as you go.

While I was writing One Minute, Please? I shared each and every page with my followers (I fucking hate that word) on Instagram.

I not only announced that I was writing a book, but I kept my homies* in the loop every step of the way.

Many folks who ended up buying the book had already read the vast majority of it via my stories on Instagram.

My rough drafts weren’t nearly as pretty as the pages I shared above.

They looked like this…

But, by sharing each page, I cultivated a readership that was emotionally invested in the work I was creating.

They were (and still are) more than just customers, but readers –– readers that mean more to me than they’ll ever know.

To thank them, I dedicated the book to all the names of the readers who believed in my work early on…

So, with all that said, in addition to being aware of your break-even point, I would tell creatives and poets alike to market as they go and actually care deeply about those they’re marketing to.

Something more than money.

To be candid, One Minute, Please? hasn’t been nearly as financially successful as my copywriting guide or any of the other writing services I offer at Honey Copy.

However, despite this, it’s hands down one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever created.

It’s cliche. But, the wealth that poetry offers isn’t monetary.

It’s spending a bit of time alone each day and writing down what you’re feeling in the rawest most beautiful way you know how. Then, discovering that other people scattered around the world, feel the same way… discovering that you’re not alone.

And, sometimes, if you’re lucky… you’ll make enough money to cover your coffee.

But, I digress.

By Cole Schafer.