These Notes Are Yours
The uHlanga guide to self-publishing poetry in South Africa
Version 1, December 2025
Text by Megan Ross and Nick Mulgrew
PDF document released under Creative Commons BY-NC-SA
These Notes Are Yours is a document filled with notes, resources and contact details to help poets and other writers to self-publish their own poetry books, pamphlets and other publications in South Africa. (It also has plenty of advice for people outside of SA, too.)
Ever since uHlanga started in 2014, we have been contacted by writers asking us to help them publish their own work. Due to this demand we have put together a free PDF document, especially formatted for screens and phones, filled with advice, helpful tips and trusted suppliers to help you take those steps yourself. This document focuses particularly on simple zines, but also offers advice and contacts to help you produce more commercial books, and who to contact to find a seller and distributor for your books.
Current contents:
Introduction; 1. Why Self-Publish?; 2. Beware False Gods; 3. Starting Out; 4. Making a Plan: Budgets & Bottom Lines; 5. Tips on Layout; 6. Making a Zine; 7 Suppliers & Resources: Self-publishing services, poetry editors, printers, typesetters & designers, distributors, ISBNs, translators & other suppliers; 8. Promoting Poetry (Without Feeling Gross); 9. Final Notes; 10. Postscript: ‘You, Too, Belong in ‘The Country of Writers’.
We have released this document as a PDF, and it is licensed under Creative Commons, meaning you can print, distribute, remix or otherwise use this guide how you like. (That is, as long as your project is also non-commercial and attributes our work.)
Simply click here or on the book cover to download your copy.
The most recent version of These Notes Are Yours will always be hosted on this page. Below is our version history: