Originally posted by Lovely Murder
thanks for this, because my friend said she "won" something on that site and i was able to warn her before she payed anything, and it would have hurt too because we live in whalley, and whalley girls know what that means... we are very poor.
Glad you appreciate it, I hate to think about all those people who have paid extortionate amounts of money for nothing.
IMO, the biggest problem with poetry.com is not that they take money off you.... but they can take your confidence too.... the minute you realise that you could have just strung some random phrases together and they would still publish it in their book if they got paid... it can make you question whether you're any good after all.... I know I'm good... I was approached by a company wanting to publish a book entirely of my poetry, for free... and they said that if they recouped the costs of publication, i could have a share of the profits... and if I could actually sell the books myself, I could keepp 50p of the cover price!! Then they went bust.....
Originally posted by big gay kirk
IMO, the biggest problem with poetry.com is not that they take money off you.... but they can take your confidence too.... the minute you realise that you could have just strung some random phrases together and they would still publish it in their book if they got paid... it can make you question whether you're any good after all.... I know I'm good... I was approached by a company wanting to publish a book entirely of my poetry, for free... and they said that if they recouped the costs of publication, i could have a share of the profits... and if I could actually sell the books myself, I could keepp 50p of the cover price!! Then they went bust.....
I already knew this to be true, I went to poetry.com years ago and wrote a poem on the spot, maybe 8 lines, about a train. I knew it sucked, but did it anyway. A few days later they wanted to publish it. icon5
Originally posted by Syren
I'm sorry to be the bearer of bad news, I can relate to how you're feeling because I was so psyched when they sent me all that correspondence telling me I was an amazing poet and that I'd won all these competitions! 😬 Don't take it the wrong way though, this doesn't mean your work isn't good and that you're not talented. It's just a warning to let you know that Poetry.com do not sift through everything that's submitted to them, they simply choose pieces at random, and poets. Your work is probably very good, I'll take a look at it 😉
...makes me feel a little bit better thank you....
Stop the bashing
I do not think it is a hoax, I think it is more of a law of poetry. The site lets any one submit a poem, they send everyone the same thing, its not to trick any one, it is a way of respect for the people who did post on there site, as for books and Cd's they promise to have people published in truly happens, it is not an achievement how ever it is more of putting poetry out there and letting the rest of the world indulge in some good to bad writing, you are truly not a poet if they publish your poem, to be a true poet you must have a signed contract to at least be labeled as one. For the people who have spent money and have received books or Cd's you have been in, those same books and Cd's are out in the market only we the people in them can not find them, you must look harder, they make a limited publication, after say 2 in one book store has been sold you will never see that book again. As for "Eternal Portraits" the letter I received specifically stated it would be out in spring 06 "if" the poets they have sent letters to reply back by a certain date, for that probably being the reason you can't find the book, it is being held back and if ever will be published for the reason people hate on the site, it is a true site only it isn't something that is competitive, a 4 year old could be in a book, its all a respectful site but poets must reply back, its not necessarily a bad thing for your work will be seen by one person that could change there thoughts of something, and to me that would be a bigger accomplishment whether I ever know it or not.
It's a hoax because of the fact that people who are 'published' are cheated into sending large amounts of money, expecting to see their work published, which doesn't happen because (as you say) other poets haven't responded and sent the money requested. It's a disclaimer on the part of Poetry.com basically, 'if you all send us the money we requested we'll publish your work'. They know that not everyone is going to send the money, therefore the work isn't published. So it's a hoax... it's been proved to be a fake site.
I want to thank you for giving this information.
I found a letter to my son from Poetry.com about publishing his poem and was hoping it to be real.
He was always writing poems and stories. Some were dark, or okay, but many were witty, funny, or thoughtful. He received the letter a month before he went in hospital and he then died early April 2005.
It looked like maybe a scam, but since didn't ask for money, per se, I was hoping it was real. I really needed it to be real and am only happy he never knew it for the scam it seems to be.
Is it bad to still want the book, if his is in it, just to have? Hoax or not?
does anyone know if they show up used?
Oregonmom
Originally posted by OREGONMOM
I want to thank you for giving this information.I found a letter to my son from Poetry.com about publishing his poem and was hoping it to be real.
He was always writing poems and stories. Some were dark, or okay, but many were witty, funny, or thoughtful. He received the letter a month before he went in hospital and he then died early April 2005.
It looked like maybe a scam, but since didn't ask for money, per se, I was hoping it was real. I really needed it to be real and am only happy he never knew it for the scam it seems to be.Is it bad to still want the book, if his is in it, just to have? Hoax or not?
does anyone know if they show up used?Oregonmom
I'm so sorry for your loss. I'm also sorry that I've been the one to inform you that this website is a hoax. But I've heard that a lot of the pieces that are published are genuinely brilliant, it's almost as though poetry.com has some kind of 'hit and miss' strategy. Please don't think that, because the intention is to con people, it means your son's work was not as good as it seemed, I don't believe that. I've seen a lot of work published by poetry.com that is really, really inspiring and I simply wanted to make people here aware of the dangers of sending a lot of money without guarantee of rewards.
Hi. I too posted poetry on poetry.com, expecting it to be a scam, and was sent the email asking me to go to a presentation (that was mysteriously not running this particular year), and to pay for trophies etc. However I also, a while later, recieved a letter asking me to buy an anthology etc. (which I still expected to be a con, but it seemed much more reliable than the email). It only asked money for the books, so I wasn't quite sure what to think of it. I wasn't going to send it back or anything, but my friends wanted me too. I'd like some advice on this if anyone could please help me. Thank you.
I think that the anthologies may be for real. If you scroll through this thread there are instances where people have sent the money for the published books displaying their work and have received them.
BUT I don't think that the presentations are real. Not once has anyone confirmed their existence since I opened this thread and I would strongly urge all of you to avoid sending money for anything in connection with these supposed gatherings. Including the trophies, surely having your work published in a book is trophy enough? Also, I've never seen the books themselves actually published in shops as promised, so I don't think that's the entire truth either. I personally think that the books you receive are created specifically for those who've submitted poems, and not the general public.
As I said before;
It's a disclaimer on the part of Poetry.com basically, 'if you all send us the money we requested we'll publish your work'. They know that not everyone is going to send the money, therefore the work isn't published.
I hope this helps 🙂
In my line of work (I make about 62,000 - 65,000 a year) $50 doesn't hurt me in the least, plus since I live in MS... the cost of living is cheap... Anyway the point is ... that I have a book with my poem on the first page... I liked it, it gave me a sense of acoomplishment and was worth $50, that's just me.