Seeing Red

I am so very, very angry right now. It's funny, because less than an hour ago, I was so happy... I was almost giddy. Why? Let me tell you a little story, and hopefully warn you of a cruel scam.

A few weeks ago, I entered a poem in a free online contest at www.Poetry.com. I actually thought the poem was pretty good, even though I wrote it in less than three minutes. A few days later, I got an email saying this:

Dear X,
The Editors of The International Library of Poetry recently informed you that your poem was bestowed the prestigious Editor's Choice Award because of your artistic accomplishments and unique perspective.
The stunning 2006 Editor's Choice Published Poet Ribbon Award Pin proudly displays your elevated status in our poetic community. Since only an elite group of published poets were selected to receive this special honor, imagine the sense of pride you will feel when others see you wearing the 2006 Editor's Choice Published Poet Ribbon Award Pin. What an impressive way to show off your status as an honored poet for the year 2006!

I was happy, until I saw that you had to pay for the Pin - "You can receive this amazing keepsake for only $49.95, plus shipping and handling." So I decided it wasn't worth buying, and I forgot about the whole thing... Until today, when I got a letter in the mail from Poetry.com. It read:

Dear X,
After carefully reading and discussing your poem, our Selection Committee has certified your poem as a semi-finalist in our International Open Poetry Contest. Your Poem will be entered into the final competition held in March 2007. As a semi-finalist, you now have an excellent chance of winning one of 104 cash or gift prizes-- including the $1,000.00 Grand Prize... In celebration of the unique talent you have displayed, we also wish to publish your poem on it's own page in what promises to be one of the most highly regarded collections of poetry we have ever published...

Sounds good, right? That's what I thought. I was really happy; I thought my poem was being published because it was good, and I was going to buy a copy of the book ($49.95). My Mother - smart lady that she is - tried to point out that something didn't sound quite right, but I was too excited to listen. All I kept thinking was, "I'll be a published writer!". But eventually, the logical part of my brain kicked in, and I started doing some research online about The International Library of Poetry.

It turns out, that while they are not quite doing something illegal, this is most definitely a scam. Sure, your poem is published... in one of dozens of anthologies a year. They will publish anything. All they want is your $$$. It's almost impossible to write a poem bad enough that they won't publish it. They have ripped off countless unsuspecting, amateur "poets" - fortunately, I won't be one of them. Even though I didn't lose any money over this, I still feel so disappointed... I really thought my poem was good.

Don't let this happen to you. For more information, go to http://windpub.com/literary.scams/ilp.htm