The Sad Truth about Poetry.com
- Thread starter PoliteSuccubus
- Start date
Angeline
Poet Chick
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2002
- Posts
- 27,174
Read This Now!
The Ugly Truth
Poetry.com and Noble House UK, are run by the same company!
Be aware! Here are some tips on publishing scams that my research revealed.
Scammers typically do *not* ask for money when you submit your poem, but do so after they tell you it is accepted (or you have "won the contest"). Then they'll want you to pay for the book in which your poem will be published. Furthermore (as many of you have pointed out), they will ask for increasingly more money, upping the ante some as they spring each new “opportunity” on you. This is really cruel--most of us dream of being published, and these folks are messing with the mind, playing on your desire to have your writing ability recognized.
Legitimate publishers and organizations running contests very often *do* charge an entrance or submission fee to defray the cost of reading/evaluating the poems submitted to them. You will be charged either by the poem or you'll pay a flat rate. Either way there will be a limit on the number of poems they'll accept from you. Usually these fees run anywhere from a few dollars per poem to a 25 or 30 dollar flat rate for the contest.
Why do the legit contests charge? Well they hire people who are trained to read poems critically and then recommend the better ones that will move on to "finals" and be judged by more well-known, published poets. If you win a legit contest, there should be no hidden fees after the fact--everything should be spelled out up front (including the fact that there are additional charges, if that is the case).
Another important tip-off is who sponsors the contest. Legit contests are almost always overseen by respected organizations or literary publishers. The bad guys know you may be aware of this and will use any means to trip you up. For example, you need to be very careful of the sponsor’s name. One way the tricksters get you is by securing a domain name that is close to a legit company name (like Randome House instead of Random House).
Nobody would love to win a pile of money more than me, but I can tell you from my own reading that if you are essentially unpublished in the legit world (i.e., no book of poems), you are not going to win big bucks from a legitimate association. If there's a big prize (say upwards of a few thousand dollars), it will go to someone who is well-established. Top prizes go to well-known poets who are at mid-career or are receiving major achievement awards. If you are unpublished and you win the top prize, you can hope for a modest sum and, very likely, the publication of your first book. If you are promised much more, be very suspicious.
Look too for how many contests the place you're considering has run in the past year or how many "winners'" books they've published. The good guys may have one or two, but the profit mills will have many. Also try to find out how many prizes were awarded in a month or a year or, better yet, read the prize-winning poems to determine whether you think they are good. Any company that hesitates to give you this info is probably after your money not your poem. And you should be able to track these people down. Legit places have real addresses, real people, and ample info available on site; the bad guys often have nonworking email addresses and faulty links on their website.
Poetry.com, Noble House UK, and places like this essentially are vanity presses--companies that you pay to publish your work. Lots of people do publish this way (I even know a few who have), and who am I to say whether this is good or not? They do have pros and cons that you'll likely want to consider before handing over your money. The problem with the scammers is that they are pretending to be something they are not, and will grab as much of your cash as they can without giving you a clue that they are really a very costly vanity press.
My dad always said “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t.” He was a pretty smart guy.
Want to find out more? Go here to Google, where you’ll find numerous sites that discuss writing scams.
The Ugly Truth
Poetry.com and Noble House UK, are run by the same company!
Be aware! Here are some tips on publishing scams that my research revealed.
Scammers typically do *not* ask for money when you submit your poem, but do so after they tell you it is accepted (or you have "won the contest"). Then they'll want you to pay for the book in which your poem will be published. Furthermore (as many of you have pointed out), they will ask for increasingly more money, upping the ante some as they spring each new “opportunity” on you. This is really cruel--most of us dream of being published, and these folks are messing with the mind, playing on your desire to have your writing ability recognized.
Legitimate publishers and organizations running contests very often *do* charge an entrance or submission fee to defray the cost of reading/evaluating the poems submitted to them. You will be charged either by the poem or you'll pay a flat rate. Either way there will be a limit on the number of poems they'll accept from you. Usually these fees run anywhere from a few dollars per poem to a 25 or 30 dollar flat rate for the contest.
Why do the legit contests charge? Well they hire people who are trained to read poems critically and then recommend the better ones that will move on to "finals" and be judged by more well-known, published poets. If you win a legit contest, there should be no hidden fees after the fact--everything should be spelled out up front (including the fact that there are additional charges, if that is the case).
Another important tip-off is who sponsors the contest. Legit contests are almost always overseen by respected organizations or literary publishers. The bad guys know you may be aware of this and will use any means to trip you up. For example, you need to be very careful of the sponsor’s name. One way the tricksters get you is by securing a domain name that is close to a legit company name (like Randome House instead of Random House).
Nobody would love to win a pile of money more than me, but I can tell you from my own reading that if you are essentially unpublished in the legit world (i.e., no book of poems), you are not going to win big bucks from a legitimate association. If there's a big prize (say upwards of a few thousand dollars), it will go to someone who is well-established. Top prizes go to well-known poets who are at mid-career or are receiving major achievement awards. If you are unpublished and you win the top prize, you can hope for a modest sum and, very likely, the publication of your first book. If you are promised much more, be very suspicious.
Look too for how many contests the place you're considering has run in the past year or how many "winners'" books they've published. The good guys may have one or two, but the profit mills will have many. Also try to find out how many prizes were awarded in a month or a year or, better yet, read the prize-winning poems to determine whether you think they are good. Any company that hesitates to give you this info is probably after your money not your poem. And you should be able to track these people down. Legit places have real addresses, real people, and ample info available on site; the bad guys often have nonworking email addresses and faulty links on their website.
Poetry.com, Noble House UK, and places like this essentially are vanity presses--companies that you pay to publish your work. Lots of people do publish this way (I even know a few who have), and who am I to say whether this is good or not? They do have pros and cons that you'll likely want to consider before handing over your money. The problem with the scammers is that they are pretending to be something they are not, and will grab as much of your cash as they can without giving you a clue that they are really a very costly vanity press.
My dad always said “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t.” He was a pretty smart guy.
Want to find out more? Go here to Google, where you’ll find numerous sites that discuss writing scams.
Last edited:
ScottishChieftan
Virgin
- Joined
- Jul 9, 2003
- Posts
- 28
(*&_(*^&%&^$&^%#^$&^%*&%
I never fell for the poetry.com thing. Sent em a couple of poems, but never fell for the book scam. Noble House UK burned me though. But, what the heck. It is a nice enough book (not 50 bucks worth). It just hacks me off. Not the 50 bucks, that ain't enough to matter. WHat gets my dander up is the matter of knowing they took advantage oy me. I was tickled to be included by the mighty "Noble House" in an anthology. Color me embarrassed...........
I never fell for the poetry.com thing. Sent em a couple of poems, but never fell for the book scam. Noble House UK burned me though. But, what the heck. It is a nice enough book (not 50 bucks worth). It just hacks me off. Not the 50 bucks, that ain't enough to matter. WHat gets my dander up is the matter of knowing they took advantage oy me. I was tickled to be included by the mighty "Noble House" in an anthology. Color me embarrassed...........
Angeline
Poet Chick
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2002
- Posts
- 27,174
Hey ScottishChieftain guy, don't be embarrassed! There ain't a person alive who hasn't been hoodwinked one way or another at some point--some of us have also said as much in this thread. You are just braver than most in admitting that they tricked you. 
G
Guest
Guest
Re: Read This Now!
Wow... that's incredible, and I don't mean that in a good way. I knew they were ripping people off, but I had no idea they were getting THAT MUCH doing it! I also loved the thing about their absently manned mail addresses in NYC, Paris, and London. Of all the places they could have chosen, they probably chose those three because they sound "important". Well, this link certainly clears up a lot of things. Thanks for the link! I think everyone definitely should read this!
--Xtaabay
Angeline said:
Wow... that's incredible, and I don't mean that in a good way. I knew they were ripping people off, but I had no idea they were getting THAT MUCH doing it! I also loved the thing about their absently manned mail addresses in NYC, Paris, and London. Of all the places they could have chosen, they probably chose those three because they sound "important". Well, this link certainly clears up a lot of things. Thanks for the link! I think everyone definitely should read this!
--Xtaabay
Anj, thank you for the warm welcome....
The thing that threw me off with poetry.com is that they advertised about 1,000-10,000 dollar prizes. So of course when your poem is accepted and you feel hey I have a shot at money. Reminds me of publisher's clearing house. They say you don't have to buy the magazines to win BUT the majority of winners have. So.......it is a good scam I am glad I realized it and did not end the money.
Side note: I had one of my poems accepted here and it has kept a smile on my face for day now. Take care al.
niyah
The thing that threw me off with poetry.com is that they advertised about 1,000-10,000 dollar prizes. So of course when your poem is accepted and you feel hey I have a shot at money. Reminds me of publisher's clearing house. They say you don't have to buy the magazines to win BUT the majority of winners have. So.......it is a good scam I am glad I realized it and did not end the money.
Side note: I had one of my poems accepted here and it has kept a smile on my face for day now. Take care al.
niyah
PoliteSuccubus
Spinster Aunt of Lit
- Joined
- Nov 29, 2002
- Posts
- 8,093
Guess what came in the mail today?
Yep, you guessed it..."Irony" has been accepted.
"After carefully reading and discussing your poem, our Selection Committee has cerified your poem as a semi-finalist in our International Open Poetry Contest."
"..you now have an excellent change of winning one of the 104 cash or gift prizes--includeing the1,000 Grand Prize. You may even when the $10,000 Annual Grand Prize!"
And then the blurb for the book they sell.
Then:
"Before we go any further let me make one thing clear...your poem was slected for publication and as a contest semi-finalist, on the basis of your unique talent and artisic vision. In this regard, you are under no obligation whatsoever to submit any entry fee, any subisdy payment, or to make any purchase of any kind."
So, now I send back my proof and wait for the next step:
They tell me that they like my poem soooo much that they want to do speical things with it.
Yep, you guessed it..."Irony" has been accepted.
"After carefully reading and discussing your poem, our Selection Committee has cerified your poem as a semi-finalist in our International Open Poetry Contest."
"..you now have an excellent change of winning one of the 104 cash or gift prizes--includeing the1,000 Grand Prize. You may even when the $10,000 Annual Grand Prize!"
And then the blurb for the book they sell.
Then:
"Before we go any further let me make one thing clear...your poem was slected for publication and as a contest semi-finalist, on the basis of your unique talent and artisic vision. In this regard, you are under no obligation whatsoever to submit any entry fee, any subisdy payment, or to make any purchase of any kind."
So, now I send back my proof and wait for the next step:
They tell me that they like my poem soooo much that they want to do speical things with it.
dragonhearted
Not pussy-footin' around!
- Joined
- Oct 5, 2002
- Posts
- 5,008
PoliteSuccubus said:So, I knew it was some kind of scam but I went ahead and sent a few poems anyway and was quite happy when they were accepted. I was quite happy when they asked if they could include them on a recording of spoken poems. I fully exspected the sales pitch of "buy the book your poem is in". Which, of course, I didn't do since heck, I have my poem. I also didn't buy a plaque with my poem on it, etc, so forth and so on.
So then they send me a notice that I've won a siliver cup for "artist of note" and want me to come down to the awards assembly to collect it. In case I've not mentioned it before, I'm poor. So no, I'm not going to fly down to their award thingie and pay for a room in the hotel I would have to stay in, buy tickets to the show etc so forth and so on. But you know what? They never sent me the cup, either. Or contacted me again except about another poem I had submitted at the same time...and with the same speil.
I know the thing is prob about the size of my thumb, but I would have had liked to have the cup anyway.
Soto Poetry.com
funny...same thing happened to me. All I got to show is that my poems are on their site, all one need do is type in my name. lol
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