Making Money with Poetry Workshops

Making Money with Poetry Workshops I always wanted to be a teacher. I always wanted to be a poet.   In reality, I ended up in the Marine Corps   which led to a career in aviation. Hmm, not very poetic! However, my dreams to be a teacher and a poet never subsided and I now make money, yes, real money creating and teaching poetry workshops at local libraries.   This is a robust market and fairly easy to penetrate! Most libraries have discretionary funds available to them via the Friends of the Library group associated with their particular branch. This is a nationwide network of non-profit groups that raise money to help local libraries. Groups conduct book sales and bake sales and often operate small gift shops at the library to raise money. Funds are used to pay for additional library equipment, employee appreciation luncheons, special events and yes, even poetry workshops! The best way to find the money is to contact the local library manager or event manager with a poetry workshop proposal.   These people are able to review and endorse your idea and forward your proposal to the Friends Group to seek funding for your workshop.   Response time is generally within a month because the groups tend to meet on a monthly basis. In my experience, a two-hour poetry workshop typically pays $50 to $200 per event. Note, these are for workshops you teach at YOUR local libraries.   If you would require funding for travel and expenses to other libraries, you would need to ask for more money. A poetry workshop proposal should be neat and succinct. One page is sufficient. Something that provides only the salient details: title of the workshop, summary (one or two sentences), purpose (one sentence), participants (for example, suitable for adults versus children), duration (recommend 90 minutes to two hours), materials (mention if participants need to bring their own pens and paper or if you will provide), set-up (for example, indicate if you need a podium, conference table and chairs), cost (flat rate works best), class size and a brief literary