Complaint Review: THE FAMOUS POETS SOCIETY

"Poetry Gems of 2000"- released early 2001
"2001-A Poetic Odyssey"- released early 2002
Sales prices at Amazon.com, where they are not only available, but very hot sellers as well: $60.00+tax+shipping.

Sales prices available to poets featured in the volumes:$31.95 each+shipping.

I have this information available to me not only as a published name within these two books and many more of the sort, but also as an ordinary person with internet access and some knowledge of what I'm doing. This information is not hard to track down. The company does not jump from name to name to rip people off. They are a semi respectible internet low profile publishing company with an open door policy. That pretty much means that there is some elimination involved in there publications, but for the most part the company will publish anybodies poetry, just like a studio will record anybodies demo tape whether their good or not. That policy is the same as any community college. It gives everyone that wants it, a chance to be some what known. The company is not there to make you famous. It's there to make a dollar and help you in the process.

As far as the book complaints go, if you're published within the book, you can get a half off discount on purchasing it as a keep sake item. I have done so very successfully myself. I also know that the books are very high-qaulity, enduring items for what they are.

Now on to that subject. These books are nothing more than vessles for an aspiring poet to make his/her work semi known. Once you look past the hype of the company, that's what they promise to be and that is the only promise the company keeps. If you know what you're doing, the rest of it is just a scam for naive people, and I mean that as no offense to anyone out there. Famous Poets Society will not make you famous! That idea is just a cunning marketing srategy to attract hopefull people who can't see past that hope into knowing better. I'll admitt that's not the most morally correct thing to do, and I don't condome it, but I'm not going to boycott the company or try to bring about any legal action, because the company delivered it's promise to me. Past all of the hype, that promise was simply "We'll get your writing out there!"

So, don't expect to be made famous in an anthology published by a semi known company. Just expect to be in the anthology, be known by other poets affilliated with the company (and there are thousands of them), and expect to see (should you choose to look) a book with your name in it being sold by major retailers across the country to thousands of people. When you think about it, that is the best that any up in coming writer can rationaly hope for and more than ninety percent of all ametuere poets will ever get. Thousands of people will have read your writing. It costs nothing to have it done through the company, and you can order copies for your self at half the prices of Amazon and Barnes and Noble, where again I stress THEY DO SELL.

SINCERELY ADAM BISHOP

PS DON'T EXPECT TO MUCH.

They filed the following rebuttal to the above Rip-Off Report:

Their email: contest@famouspoets.com
Their name: Mary
Their phone number: employee
Their relationship to the company: Advocate

Rebuttal:
I responded to a previous complaint on this same matter. The book is coming out in January. We have never heard from either of these people to the best of my knowledge. If someone can leave a complaint here I don't know why they can't find Famous Poets Society online and email a question to us. We don't hide behind anything or from anyone and are very easy to find online and we provide a phone and fax number on our order forms.
Anyway, the book is coming out and this person will get their copy as promised.