How Do You Tell Someone?

I recently had someone send me an e-mail about Poetry.com after seeing me mention that I dealt with them when I was a teenager. I had referred to it as a "scam" and they couldn't figure out why.

How do you bring up a topic like that to someone? Poetry.com is a scam in the sense that they are only out to get your money. Yes, they publish your poem in a book. No, you can't buy it at any bookstores anywhere. It's a giant book that will cost you way too much to purchase, and your poem will probably be small and insignificant in a stream of other poems. Poetry.com will publish anything. People have purposely submitted terrible poetry to them, and they got published!

To cap it all off, they tempt you with awards and honors, then expect you to pay to get them! For more information, see some of the complaints.

So, how do you tell someone so excited about writing that they are falling into a trap? I was just a teenager when they lured me in, but I know many adults who have fallen for it too. I still look at that "published" poem differently now, after I figured it out. I hate to break someone's heart, but part of me thinks that once they figure it out by themselves, they'll be much stronger for it.

When Smart Authors Get Taken

When considering submitting to publishers, contests, and agents, it's always a good thing to check them out first! Take a look at this article When Smart Authors Get Taken and see why even smart authors get scammed sometimes. To do your own search, I recommend Preditors and Editors for a comprehensive list of contests, agents, publishers, magazines, and much more.