[Allison Cobb, How2, Vol2, Issue 4]:
But if poetry publishers don’t make back the money they invest in books, how do they make more books? In recent months I have been asking publishers this question. Many work as nonprofits, securing funding from foundations and governments. Some, like Subpress, operate as collectives; others use credit or make certain lifestyle choices (work more, travel less) to keep publishing. And, I have learned, a number rely for funding on the poets they publish. One friend I spoke with said he couldn’t publish many of his books without money from the authors, and reeled off a list of names. I myself have given contributions to Chax Press, the nonprofit that published my book.