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Is this another poetry scam?
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Is this another poetry scam? |
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Salooma Senior Member
since 2000-01-28
Posts 781 |
Hey....I got a letter from poetry.com saying they weregoing to publish a poem of mine in their next book called "Between Darkness and Light" and that I was a semi-finalist in the contest. Now I'm not real experienced with this....not evven an experienced writer, but I don't know is this some sort of scam? Are they just getting my hopes up over nothing? If anyone knows...please please I'm desperate to find out what's going on here. Thanks a bunch! Salma < !signature--> "Not all the answers lie within your realm or mine, they lie within the borders." [This message has been edited by Salooma (edited 03-16-2000).] |
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| © Copyright 2000 Salooma - All Rights Reserved | |||
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Poet deVine
Administrator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-05-26
Posts 22612Hurricane Alley |
Sigh! Unfortunately this is not a reputable publisher......there is another post here about this very company.... |
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Jonas Senior Member
since 2000-03-03
Posts 796Oregon |
Throw the letter in the trash Salooma, all they want you to do is buy their book. |
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Nan
Administrator
Member Seraphic
since 1999-05-20
Posts 21191Cape Cod Massachusetts USA |
I hesitate to dub this or any company with the word "scam". I would be aware, though, that their primary purpose seems to be to sell their product. If seeing your poem in hardbound print is your desire, they can fulfill your needs. This company has a large site online as well, where your poetry would be posted with due credit to you as the author. However, you probably shouldn't expect this book to be purchased by the general public. They make just about everyone a "semi-finalist", and then offer you a reduced rate on the purchase of the book containing your poem. That's not what I, personally, am looking for in a publisheer. You can make your own choice, of course. |
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Ron
Administrator
Member Rara Avis
since 1999-05-19
Posts 8669Michigan, US |
Nan is absolutely right. I think $50 to $70 for a book is a bit steep, but there's nothing fraudulent about it. The only real deception here is they make everyone think they are "winners," when in truth there is no such thing as a "loser" - and you can't have one without the other. There have been investigations (non-authoritative) where people have tried to be rejected by poetry.com and failed completely. They wrote absolute drivel and, in one instance, submitted the work of 1st graders - and poetry.com was more than willing to publish every single work submitted. That certainly doesn't mean some of the poetry isn't darn good poetry - because it is. It simply mean being good has nothing to do with their decision to publish it. Semi-finalists are not selected on merit. Here are a few links with a lot more detail: http://www.halifax.cbc.ca/buyerbeware/reports/poetry.html http://www.bookweb.org/news/btw/297.html http://www.plazma.com/concerns/bunco/nlp/ http://www.sls.lib.il.us/reference/por/features/98/poetry.html |
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Salooma Senior Member
since 2000-01-28
Posts 781 |
Thanks everybody....I knew that was the case and I didn't want to throw it away or send it until i was sure and now i know i'm definatly tossing the thing. Thanks! Salma "Not all the answers lie within your realm or mine, they lie within the borders." |
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cathybohannan Member
since 2000-07-31
Posts 140Paintsville,KY |
Has anyone got any information on the Famous Poets Society, or Sparrowgrass Poetry. I would Appreciate any help you can give me. Cathy Marie Bohannan |
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Romy Senior Member
since 2000-05-28
Posts 1170Plantation, Florida |
Hi Salooma, I was also "published" three times by that particular web site. One time, I just made up a terrible poem to see what would happen and sure enough, I was a finalist! My 13 year old was also "published". Never bought any of the coffee table books they offer to sell you for only fifty dollars! It was a place to post my poems until I found Passions. Now there isn't any other place I'd rather post my work on! Don't bother it's a waste of time. |
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WhtDove Member Rara Avis
since 1999-07-22
Posts 9245Illinois |
I don't know about Poetic Society, but I have also dealt with Sparrowgrass. I went through my paperwork, and sure enough I found a letter from them. I will give you only a portion of what they've said. Here is a portion of the letter I recieved. "As I am sure you know, the costs of designing, printing, and binding a library-quality volume such as this are enormous. For this reason, like many poetry publishers, we can only guarantee publication to contest winners and to poets who purchase at least one copy." "The special pre-publication discount price of 39.95 (after pulication $59.95) You may have your photo and a short biography included in the book with your poem. There is a $40 fee to cover production costs." I would stay away from these guys as well hon. I'll have to check if we still have it, we had a Publishing Forum here on Passions site. It gave lists of reputable publishing companies for many different types of poetry. [This message has been edited by WhtDove (edited 10-02-2000).] |
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WhtDove Member Rara Avis
since 1999-07-22
Posts 9245Illinois |
Sorry I guess we've done away with the Publishing forum. |
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Romy Senior Member
since 2000-05-28
Posts 1170Plantation, Florida |
Here is a good site about poetry scams. http://www.sfwa.org/Beware/contests.html [This message has been edited by Debbie (edited 10-02-2000).] |
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Romy Senior Member
since 2000-05-28
Posts 1170Plantation, Florida |
and here are some not so good places to avoid. National Library of Poetry-- (Poetry.com) aka International Society of Poets aka Watermark Press aka International Library of Poetry aka International Poetry Hall of Fame Poetry Guild-- Sparrowgrass Poetry Forum-- www.freecontest.com-- www.friendlypoets.com-- Free Poetry Contest-- American Literary Council-- .....Sponsors poetry contests for students. .....Most parents HAVE to buy the book in which .....their child's work appears. Disgusting scam .....perpetrated on uninformed amateurs. Often .....promoted by teachers who should know better. National Poetry Forum-- .....Not to be confused with the legitimate .....Ann Arbor Poetry Forum National Poetry Society-- cc.Not to be confused with the legitimate cc.Poetry Society of America National Archives of Short Stories & Poetry-- Iliad Press, aka Cader Publishing, LTD.-- poetrycontestonline.com/-- cc.Affiliated with Cader-Iliad, though this is not cc.evident from their website and was discovered cc.only after requesting further information from .....them. Poets International Society-- Hollywood's Famous Poets Society-- Oak Bend Poetry Contest-- Institute of Contemporary American Poetry-- New York Poetry Alliance-- Amherst Society-- aka Dickinson Poetry Competition Berkely Bards-- Florida Literary Guild-- Celestial Arts-- Reno Fine Arts Institue-- Bards of Burbank-- New Jersey Rainbow Poets-- Texas Poetry Alliance-- Living Poets Hall of Fame-- International Library of Famous Poets-- Remley Literary Agency-- |
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WhtDove Member Rara Avis
since 1999-07-22
Posts 9245Illinois |
Cathy, Ron so graciously opened the Publishing Forum. Here is the link to it, take a look in there. There a few good places in their, for publishing poetry. http://netpoets.com/cgi/pip/forumdisplay.cgi?action=topics&forum=Publishing+Tips&number=28&DaysPrune=5&lastLogin= Deb that's quite a list you have there! Thank you! |
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