International Society Of Poetry Scamming cheating phony company that attacked hopeful artists' dreams Owings Mills Maryland

Hi Kristy

I do know the scepticisum that you are feeling right now. As far as my own exsperiences with the International Library of Poets They are more legitamate then most vanity press's. One of which is Sweet Grass Press. I have both purchased and not Purchased books my poems are in and even if you don't buy it is printed and yes one does to my knowlege go in to the National Library of congress. I have also had a family member who had bought one and came across one of my poems in it. So they do publish reguardless of purchase. I don't always buy the books I do how ever make sure that they get the authorized proof back. They also do copy write the poems they receive in their contests to the poet who submits them so if your work is ever copied by anyone and reprinted they owe you a royalty for it.
You just have to be careful of what contest you enter with and what companies you choose to deal with

Hi Kristy

I do know the scepticisum that you are feeling right now. As far as my own exsperiences with the International Library of Poets They are more legitamate then most vanity press's. One of which is Sweet Grass Press. I have both purchased and not Purchased books my poems are in and even if you don't buy it is printed and yes one does to my knowlege go in to the National Library of congress. I have also had a family member who had bought one and came across one of my poems in it. So they do publish reguardless of purchase. I don't always buy the books I do how ever make sure that they get the authorized proof back. They also do copy write the poems they receive in their contests to the poet who submits them so if your work is ever copied by anyone and reprinted they owe you a royalty for it.
You just have to be careful of what contest you enter with and what companies you choose to deal with

Hi Kristy

I do know the scepticisum that you are feeling right now. As far as my own exsperiences with the International Library of Poets They are more legitamate then most vanity press's. One of which is Sweet Grass Press. I have both purchased and not Purchased books my poems are in and even if you don't buy it is printed and yes one does to my knowlege go in to the National Library of congress. I have also had a family member who had bought one and came across one of my poems in it. So they do publish reguardless of purchase. I don't always buy the books I do how ever make sure that they get the authorized proof back. They also do copy write the poems they receive in their contests to the poet who submits them so if your work is ever copied by anyone and reprinted they owe you a royalty for it.
You just have to be careful of what contest you enter with and what companies you choose to deal with

Hi Kristy

I do know the scepticisum that you are feeling right now. As far as my own exsperiences with the International Library of Poets They are more legitamate then most vanity press's. One of which is Sweet Grass Press. I have both purchased and not Purchased books my poems are in and even if you don't buy it is printed and yes one does to my knowlege go in to the National Library of congress. I have also had a family member who had bought one and came across one of my poems in it. So they do publish reguardless of purchase. I don't always buy the books I do how ever make sure that they get the authorized proof back. They also do copy write the poems they receive in their contests to the poet who submits them so if your work is ever copied by anyone and reprinted they owe you a royalty for it.
You just have to be careful of what contest you enter with and what companies you choose to deal with

Yes, what you say is true regarding getting mail back from them. They send you letters and do ask you to pay for certain things. Yes it seems that you shouldn't have to pay for a copy of your own book. However, I did the same as you, submitted a poem received feedback and a letter, with the invitation to come to the convention to compete for the award money etc.

I contacted the company to find out their judging criteria and if everyone who wrote a poem got selected etc. They explained that they get Thousands of poems each day into the contest and that they do go thru the judging process and those who win the editors choice award are only random based on his choice and are not common. Those chose for the convention and awards ceremony are less than 5% of those that submit.

The convention does take place. There are lots of people from all over the world. They have classes from different proffessors and published artists. There is also an expo where you can sell or showcase your items as well as meet or buy others. Their are even publishing companies on hand, and they give you a discount should you choose them. The awards really happen, you get yours and some freebies.

The money competion is fierce since there is a lot of great talent. I had an opportuntiy to make friends with the previous years winner, who says the cash is very real. It has also given her a great start into other things and she has become mor known and published for money. All in all the convention is worth every penny. The networking and classes are invaluable. You have plenty of opportunity to share your work with lots of people.

They will publish your work even if you don't buy. You just have to send in the proof. The books are nice. If you're looking to be uplifted and get your foot in the door by meeting others and learning some great things then I recommend the convention. I have had several other offers and have become published in other areas due to people i met at convention. As to having to spend money and not getting paid to be published i agree with both of you. You shouldn't have to however, what does one convention and being in one book hurt?

I have found the help to far outweigh the hurt. Just go in with your eyes open, knowing what it is and you won't be disappointed and may even get somewhere. Just don't keep pouring money into it.

i looked up the company on the better business bureau site, it says "the international library of poetry contest", zero complaints in the last 36 months, have tried to contact the company, but have not received a response. It does give a New York address. Maybe you should make a complaint there also, it helps to get the information out as many places as possible.

Kristy,

It looks like Meg invested a lot of time dispensing good advice. I'll add little more here.

Let the market be your guide. If people aren't generally reading or paying for poetry and more and more publishing houses, like Meg's, simply don't publish it or pay for it, then it would be inconsistent for a publisher to be in the position to dispense large awards and monetary prizes.

Start small, and support your local presses as well as other artists and writers in your area. Buy poetry and pay attention to who is actually selling and supporting it. Go to readings and participate in readings, and read as much as you can get your hands on.

And, the mantra of the rip off report is worth repeating here. If it sounds to good to be true, then it probably is.

Best of luck,

Kristy,

I don't have any info on legitimate publishers offhand (I work in publishing, but we don't publish poetry, so we couldn't be much help to you).

Your best bet is to seek out literary magazines that publish poetry or - if you have enough poems for a collection - small, literary presses that publish such things.

The best way to find this information is to stop into the public library and look up a work called WRITER'S MARKET. It's published by Writer's Digest & is updated every year (which is why I wouldn't bother buying a copy - the information in it gets outdated pretty quickly). It's a treasure trove of information for writers looking to publish their work, with listings of book and magazine publishers and what kinds of work they accept for publication.

Alternately, you can subscribe to the WM Web site (writersmarket.com) - I'm not sure how much it costs - it's updated daily. It's up to you which option works best for you, depending on how often you'll use the resource. I'd suggest looking at the book from the library first & then making a decision.

There are also a lot legitimate Web sites that offer assistance and encouragement to writers. My favourite is writersweekly.com, but I'm sure you'll find others.

Just remember the basics I outlined before about legitimate publishing, and don't sign up with anyone who sounds remotely fishy to you, and you'll do fine. And if you're ever unsure whether something is legit, let me know & I'll try to help you sort it out.

I just wanted to thank Meg for responding to my report. Thank you for your kind words and for the encouragement of not quitting.

Also, i would like to ask, do you by any chance have an address or phone number i could get ahold of a REAL publisher, to please post it...

One last word- To anyone interested in publishing your poetry, stay as far away from Poetry.com as you can!! Trust me!

Kristy,

Do not, repeat, DO NOT send them any more money.

ILP, poetry.com, and its many other incarnations is, indeed, a scam. You will probably get your books - so sit tight there - but DO NOT send them money for "postage" for your "awards" or any other BS. And DON'T EVEN THINK about shelling out the $$ for a trip to attend the award ceremony.

Please don't take anything I'm about to write as disparaging your work in any way - I'm sure your poetry is lovely, and I hope you'll keep writing & not give up on trying to get your work published. But there are a few things you need to know about ILP/poetry.com.

First of all, everyone who sends in a poem gets the same letter you did - I imagine it spoke very highly of your work, correct? A friend of mine had his cat walk across the keyboard & sent in the resulting gobbledy-g**k - and got the same letter.

Secondly, if you don't pay the $$ to buy the book, your poem won't appear. It's pay-to-play, simple as that. Since you shelled out for the book, you will eventually get a copy (they have to send you what you ordered or risk being shut down for mail fraud). Be prepared that the book will probably not be what you are expecting - it is a gigantic anthology printed on very poor-quality paper, and my understanding is that they jam as many poems as possible on each page so the type is quite small.

Finally, anyone who sends them the $$ gets the awards. Again, pay-to-play.

Please allow me to give you a few tips from my years of experience in legitimate publishing:

1. You own the rights to your work. Legitimate publishers will not make you pay them to publish it. My company pays royalties for publishing the work of our authors, and we also send them complimentary copies of the books in which their work appears. This is how it works in the legitimate publishing industry.

2. Never, ever pay to have your work published - and never let anyone else publish it for free. When you allow your work to be published for free, you establish it as worthless. Not only does it hurt you, but it hurts other writers who are trying to make a living selling their work.

3. Be prepared for rejection. You will rarely get a "gushy" letter like the ones from ILP from a legitimate publisher. Even if the publisher deems your work to be something he or she wants to publish, legitimate publishers will conduct the whole thing as a business transaction. Why does the ILP gush? Because it is trying to squeeze $$ out of you & playing on your hopes to be a published writer is a good way to do that. When you submit your work to legitimate publishers, you will meet rejection - but keep at it & eventually you will find a fit for your work.

Remember: It is not easy to get your work published - it takes a lot of time & effort to create your work, and even more to market it. A legitimate publisher pays YOU for your work, not the other way around. Please bear this in mind the next time you submit your work - it'll save you both money and disappointment.