The Latest Scam: poets.com

[AnthonyS]

http://poets.com/

That is the address of the latest poetry scam. Here is their overview:

The Poets’ Workshop is a community of serious poets aspiring to improve their craft by making their work available to review and critique by other poetic artists. Because of its tremendous popularity, The Poets’ Workshop has now become the largest poetic forum ever assembled, with thousands of members actively publishing and critiquing poetic works every hour of every day.

Those who actually register, and there are plenty, must pay:

Monthly--$5.95 per month

Quarterly--$15.00 per quarter

Yearly-- $45.00 per year


What you pay for:

Comments such as, “Wow, very telling poem. This was amazing.” Or, “I love this poem, it is so true.” Or, “You have developed a very special poem.”

Who reviews your poem:

People with personal statements such as, “the depth from which my poetry portrays is only as deep as the person who reads it. every poem i write means something different to everyone who reads it, i hope you enjoy my work as much as i enjoy writing it.”

Or, “I am just re-discovering how much FUN poetry can be .. thanks to the person on this site who dubbed me "Poet Prince" .. I think I'll adopt that!!! I have lived a life full of experiences - good and bad, and I find that poetry is sometimes the only way of expressing what is in my heart. I love to share from my deepest feelings, and never cease to be amazed at how others' insights can touch me .. and mine likewise. We are all on this amazing journey together.”

Why poets.com is a scam:

Right now you’re at the PFFA, which is just one of many online poetry workshops that are free and offer you the chance to actually improve as a writer. All poets.com wishes to accomplish is to make money.

Besides that, however, poets.com is a branch of poetry.com, the king of all scams (http://www.everypoet.org/pffa/showthread.php?threadid=16722&poems).


Anthony

[Monk Bretton]

Good work in pointing this site out, it looks to be irredeemably awful. I am experimenting with it at the moment. One of the most recent poems posted is called "A Shard of My Life (http://poets.com/Poem.asp?S={A57268C3-1342-406E-B27D-A78A139CC2D3}&MemberID=18450&PoemID=40&NR=1)". I think Jeanne has been posting there, under an assumed name.

[Monk Bretton]

This site rocks!

They really don't like it if you go over there and piss them off!

They replaced my poetic masterpiece with this:

THIS POEM IS DEDICATED TO WANKER MONK BRETTON WHO IS A SERIAL POSTER

I AM A VERY LONELY PERSON.
ALL I DO ALL DAY IS POST
REVIEWS ON THINGS I KNOW
NOTHING ABOUT.

I HATE POETS WHO ARE BETTER
THAN ME.

I AM A DIRTY OLD TRAMP.

(things might not be entirely what they seem)

[arthur_henry]

$45 a year? Heavens to betsy.

[AnthonyS]

Originally posted by Monk Bretton
This site rocks!

They really don't like it if you go over there and piss them off!

They replaced my poetic masterpiece with this:

THIS POEM IS DEDICATED TO WANKER MONK BRETTON WHO IS A SERIAL POSTER

I AM A VERY LONELY PERSON.
ALL I DO ALL DAY IS POST
REVIEWS ON THINGS I KNOW
NOTHING ABOUT.

I HATE POETS WHO ARE BETTER
THAN ME.

I AM A DIRTY OLD TRAMP.

(things might not be entirely what they seem) Ha!

That's hilarious. I was doing the same thing earlier; however, I feel sorry for these people, despite their ignorance, as they don’t even know they’re being scammed.

Oh well. It is interesting to note that the categories for submission are:

Love/Romance
Inspirational
Relationships
Friendship
Joy
Hope
Pain and Sorrow
Loss
Loneliness
Regret
Humorous
Special Occasion
Current Events
Sensual
Other
The Art of Poetry



Wait, no it isn't.
Anthony

[Monk Bretton]

Originally posted by AnthonyS

Love/Romance
Inspirational
Relationships
Friendship
Joy
Hope
Pain and Sorrow
Loss
Loneliness
Regret
Humorous
Special Occasion
Current Events
Sensual
Other
The Art of Poetry

That's a little pome in itself. Wait, no it isn't.

I said "(things might not be entirely what they seem)" because I am not entirely sure what was going on over there. Maybe someone other than a board administrator replaced my 'poem'. I got into a rather baffling conversation with someone regarding posting to internet poetry sites. They were quite abusive.

[Rik Roots]

I said "(things might not be entirely what they seem)" because I am not entirely sure what was going on over there. Maybe someone other than a board administrator replaced my 'poem'. I got into a rather baffling conversation with someone regarding posting to internet poetry sites. They were quite abusive.
You got further than me. I was too scared to go past the front door! Here's an interview with poet and ILP education director Len Roberts (http://www.pw.org/mag/0411/newsstever.htm) to entertain you.

[MEHope]

[size=3]You will receive actual Awards![/size]

[size=1]actual awards![/size]

And as you move up the ranks of accomplishment, both as a poet and as a judge, you are awarded actual tangible rewards through the use of a point system based on the reviews you receive and write. You will earn certificates, embroidered patches, bronze and solid silver medals, and you will become entitled to progressively higher titles within your community.[color=blue]You can aspire to move through ten different, and increasingly rigorous levels of accomplishment to the coveted "Laureate" level which attests to your [/color][color=purple]international prominence[/color][color=blue] among your peers, and comes with it a solid Silver Medal of Honor attesting to your accomplishment and your popularity within the largest poetry forum ever assembled.[/color]

[nitestar]

Oh my god I have to have one of those awards!!!! I wonder what you could get if you sent them even MORE money.

rolls eyes

[Little Skittle]

Oh for goodness sakes. You guys are missing the best part: Terms of Use.

You acknowledge that you are an adult user of the Service or that you are the parent or guardian for any minor whom you allow to access the Service, for whom you will be held responsible. Your use of the Service indicates that you are bound by this agreement with us. This Agreement will remain in effect while you use the Service and/or are a Member. You may terminate your membership at any time, for any reason. We may also terminate your membership for any reason.

I can't join. :(

[Lisa Shields]

In the last two years, I was handling some press for a friend who had a book of poetry out---not vanity press...the real deal.

I ran into a Poetry.com "Semi Finalist" who asked me if I would "handle" his publicity, since his "agent" hadn't done squat.

So I asked him about his work.

He goes to their "seminars" a couple of times a year.

(KA CHING)

"Several" of his works have been awarded.

(KA CHING)

But the moment that was the worst was when he said his poetry had been "On the radio---in the Virgin Islands"

Yes, I could see how such an honor might be worth the thousands of bucks he had spent.

He swore he actually had gotten money from them for his poetry...seemed like about 10 percent of what he'd paid them.

When he offered to send me his 4000 poems so I could find him a publisher, I politely declined...

ewwwwwwwww.