Many aspiring poets dream about publishing their own collection one day but don’t know where to start. Poetry Chapel has created a practical way to show them how it’s done. In under six months they co-author and publish a book with an experienced poet so that they can go out and do it for themselves.
Your Guide – Chelan Harkin
Chelan Harkin has always had a close connection with the spiritual world, a loving, ecstatic and expressive spirit, and an intimacy in her soul that she longs to share with others and the whole world. Poetry is one of her favorite, most satisfying ways to accomplish this.
Chelan comes with years of writing experience and two beautiful self-published collections to her name. Her work is highly influenced by other mystical poets including Hafiz and Rumi and has reached an international audience. Chelan’s poetry has even been highly regarded by American poetry and interpreter of mystical poetry Daniel Ladinsky. Watch an interview with Chelan
Co-Guide – David Tensen
David is the founder of Poetry Chapel and author of four poetry collections. He will be guiding you through all the publishing and editing aspects of becoming an independent author.
“I founded Poetry Chapel after publishing my third book. My collections were selling well but writing can be a lonely experience and I have always believed poetry should be experienced communally. My background in therapy and business gave me the small group and tools to see Poetry Chapel become a wild success. I can’t wait to encourage and empower you to prosper and heal in your poetry writing journey.”
David’s Blog David’s Books on Amazon Instagram
Watch a conversation between Chelan and David
THE QUICK FACTS
Here’s what we do together over 5-6 months:
- Create a supportive, encouraging and healing community.
- Gather via Zoom 10 times.
- Share and submit poems for feedback.
- Write poems covering themes / prompts.
- Publish a collection of poems in a softcover and eBook that will be available worldwide.
I’d like to serve you by:
- Creating a safe space for you to explore and improve your gift.
- Pointing you towards voices and resources to help you discover your own style and story.
- Coach you through the self-publishing process using major print-on-demand services.
- Being available to answer your questions.
- Getting your name out there by leveraging my network and influence.
Cost: $1690 US Dollars (USD).
Still interested? Read on… application button here and at bottom of page.
Previous Collective Author’s Testimonials.
Nicole C.
“The opportunity to take part in the Poetry Chapel Collective was a transformative, encouraging, supportive experience.
… I rediscovered my voice.”
Carly C.
“I’m proud of what we created together and of how much growth we experienced individually and collectively with David as our guide.”
Andrew C. A.
“.This was a course of unexpected surprises and tests that prompted change in the ability and scope of my written expression, and heart motive for doing so.”
THE LONGER FACTS, DATES AND TIMES
We have several goals for our time together. Firstly, to gather and share our collective life experiences using poetry as a common language. Secondly, to show you how to self-publish a book. Thirdly, to give you the opportunity to have several your poems featured in a collection which we’ll print and release in time for midyear or Christmas. We’ll elaborate some more and hopefully answer some questions along the way.
Gathering and Stretching:
Poetry can move us in ways that prose and instruction cannot. One of our highest priorities will be to foster psychological safety, which is why we will be selecting participants as best possible and modelling vulnerability and inclusion. This is not a College course or lecture on poetry, but we will certainly discuss some of the practical aspects of writing poetry for private and public spaces. You will receive constructive feedback on your poems, but there are no marks or grading. It will be an immersive and diverse experience aimed towards healing and discovery of the genius in you. As mentioned earlier, you’ll be given homework most weeks which may include things like writing poems for others or writing from prompts. We hope to be a coach or mentor for you in this space.
Self-publishing know-how:
Throughout the course, David and Chelan be sharing the tools, services, and methods I used to release their 6 collective books. Our hope is, by the time we’ve finished, you’ll be empowered to perhaps publish books of your own. No, you don’t need a big-name publisher to endorse and promote you anymore. You don’t need thousands of dollars and room under your bed for boxes of unsold books. Print-on-demand has disrupted the book market and you’ll be given insight into the whole process as we write and publish a book together. In our first course, one of the new poets, Franki, published his own collection, with my help and encouragement.
Creating a collection together:
I envisage a collection of around 70 poems available in soft-cover and eBook on the market for Christmas – (depending which intake you sign up for). The first half of the book will be poems Chelan will have written, the second half will be a collection of poems from participants. This will mean, for example, you’ll have a single author profile page with a little about you (socials, other books, background) followed by 3-6 poems you have written during or before the course. We’ll be vetting these poems for suitability and quality to make sure they suit the feel, length and genre of the collection. Here is where you may have several questions so I’ll answer what I can below in the FAQs
COST
$1,690.00 US Dollars.
This amount will be payable 100% up-front
or 50% up-front ($845) and the remainder over 13 weeks ($70 p/w) total $1755.
* Because demand is high and spots are limited, a holding/booking fee of USD$140 will be required if you are accepted. This can be deducted from the upfront fee or 2 of the weekly fees.
If you cancel your spot this holding fee is non-refundable.
If the course is cancelled, holding fee money will be refunded.
This price includes:
- Access to all ZOOM sessions.
- 5 softcover books shipped to you.
- Cost price + shipping + 15% on further book buys (min order 5) for 12 months.
DATES AND TIMES
| Date | Event |
| Thursdays, June 30, 2022 – Group 1 Friday July 1st, 2022 – Group 2 | ZOOM Gathering 1 |
| Thursdays, July 7, 2022 – Group 1 Friday July 8, 2022 – Group 2 | ZOOM Gathering 2 |
| Thursdays, July 14, 2022 – Group 1 Friday July 15, 2022 – Group 2 | ZOOM Gathering 3 |
| Thursdays, July 21, 2022 – Group 1 Friday July 22, 2022 – Group 2 | ZOOM Gathering 4 |
| Thursdays, July 28, 2022 – Group 1 Friday July 29, 2022 – Group 2 | ZOOM Gathering 5 |
| Thursdays, Aug 4, 2022 – Group 1 Friday Aug 5, 2022 – Group 2 | ZOOM Gathering 6 |
| Thursdays, Aug 11, 2022 – Group 1 Friday Aug 12, 2022 – Group 2 | ZOOM Gathering 7 |
| Thursdays, Aug 18, 2022 – Group 1 Friday Aug 19, 2022 – Group 2 | ZOOM Gathering 8 |
| Thursdays, Aug 25, 2022 – Group 1 Friday Aug 26, 2022 – Group 2 | ZOOM Gathering 9 |
| Thursdays, Sep 1, 2022 – Group 1 Friday Sep 2, 2022 – Group 2 | ZOOM Gathering 10 |
| Friday, September 9, 2022 | FINAL DRAFT OF ALL POEMS DUE |
| Wednesday, October 4, 2022 | BOOK LAUNCH TEAM START |
| Wednesday, November 10, 2022 | BOOK LAUNCH DAY |
You can choose to attend one of these gatherings every week.
WEEKLY SESSION 1 – Thursdays
PDT/PST, Pacific Daylight Time (US) – 10:00a – 11:30p Thursdays
LONDON, United Kingdom, England. 6:00pm – 7:30pm Thursday
BERLIN, Germany. 7:00pm – 8:30pm Thursdays
WEEKLY SESSION 2 – Fridays
PDT/PST, Pacific Daylight Time (US) – 10:00a – 11:30p Fridays
LONDON, United Kingdom, England. 6:00pm – 7:30pm Fridays
BERLIN, Germany. 7:00pm – 8:30pm Fridays
Post publishing surveys indicated increases in:
Overall wellbeing 94%. Confidence in writing 91%.
Confidence to self-publish 85%.
Transformational 91%. Overall satisfaction 97%
FAQs TO READ
1. Will I get any books at the end?
As part of the course, you’ll be shipped 5 copies of the book for free. Do with them as you please.
2. Will I get royalties from the book sale?
No book sale royalties will be given to those who offer their poems for the collection. You will retain copyright to the poems you put in the collection, but you’ll be given a rights release form to sign – giving me the right to publish them in the book with no monetary recourse. If you ever have a poem published in a book or magazine, you will understand this is common practice. e.g. David’s poems appear throughout around 10 books, of which the value is in the exposure and collective influence of the other authors. If you do not want a poem in the book, you’ll be under no pressure to do so. It’s a ‘get too’ not a ‘have too’.
3. What if I want more book copies? And can I sell them?
What I can offer those who want more than the 5 copies included, is an opportunity to order more to be printed and shipped at a price of cost (which you’ll discover) plus 15% admin. This means for example you may want to buy 20 copies as gifts. Let’s say they cost $7 each wholesale plus $20 shipping. The cost will be $160 plus 15% ($24) admin fee for me to arrange the print and ship. Selling the books in person (at your church or among friends) is OK but you will not be allowed to sell them online via a website etc. That will be reserved for myself and the retailers the book goes out too. This wholesale cost will be available to you for 12 months after the publication date.
4. Where will the book be available to buy?
Wherever you can find Chelan’s or David’s books. Basically, all over the world via Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Bookdepository etc. Bookshops are another story. E.g Bookshops usually only sell books distributed by the big labels. We’ll explain more about this in the course, including ways to get around it.
5. Will my name appear on the book?
Yes, you’ll be listed as a contributor to the collection with your name appearing on the back cover and in the description of the book sold by online retailers. Chelan Harkin will remain as the main author and will be featured on the spine. ( If you want to remain anonymous, you may use a suitable pseudonym. ). The book will be by Chelan Harkin and Friends.
6. What sort of poems will be excluded from the book?
For no other reason than personal preference, conviction, and the readership we’ve been establishing over the past 4 years of releasing poems we will not be including poems which are traumatically explicit, violent in nature, or over-sexual. As far as style goes, most poems in Chelan’s books are free form and/or contain rhyme but lengthy rhyme-based poems are not the main style we’ll be stretching you to write throughout the course. Having said that, if you are the next William Blake or Wordsworth exceptions can be made.
Also, we’ll be leaning into your personal capacity for lament, love, empathy, and the human experience together. Hopefully, together, you will learn to dig deeper into your own honest experience and desires. People buy Chelan’s poetry collections for their points of resonance, hope and honesty. The poems vetted for the inclusion in the publication will need to carry this same feel. I must also mention that the collection will most likely include language on God that is nuanced. We do not claim to have agency or authority on how God/Source/Universe/ etc. is presented and we expect participants to hold a similar mature and civil outlook. If it goes against personal ethic or moral standards to participate in this kind of expression, this course may not be for you.
7. What will the book be called?
No idea yet.. Title and theme generally emerge during the writing and collating phase. Doing this together will be a journey of discovery for us all. Collective consciousness is a fascinating thing.
8. Do I get a say in the artwork etc?
I hope to include you in the cover artwork process, but the final decision will lies with Chelan and David. I can’t see 10+ creatives all agreeing on a single cover. Plus, there is a cover style on my previous books I hope to keep some continuity with.
9. Do I need to identify as a Christian, Bahai or religious person to participate?
No. Certainly, if you read David’s work you will see many of his poems contain elements of divinity and reference to Christ, but not all of them do… and neither do yours need to be. Chelan’s work is nuanced by her Bahai faith background. In fact, we hope you discover a new sense of sacredness and spirituality outside of religious reference and rhetoric.
10. Do I have to publish a poem in the book?
As mentioned under the royalties FAQ, if you do not want poems in the book, you’ll be under no pressure to do so. I hope most participants do, though. By the way, there is no change in price for those choosing not to have poems published in the book.
STILL INTERESTED? WHAT IS THE NEXT STEP?
If you’ve read everything and this sounds like something you’d love to be part of in the second half of 2022 for the Poetry Chapel Vol. 4 Collection, this is the form to fill out.