Poetry.com/Howard Ely Screwing over a Devastated Mother with Dreams ripoff Owings Mills Maryland
I am a mother of two and I feel totally devastated at what Poetry.com has done to me.
At first when I received email from them, I said sure...why not!! So I went to their website and started to enter into the competitions. I received several different letters from them telling me how I received an Editor's Choice Award for outstanding achievements in poetry.
I didn't realize that I was being bamboozled out of my poems for their own personal gain. They congratulate you for your poems just to take them for their own personal use.
My poems are still listed online and I dont like the idea of them having it and making a profit off of it. Whats even worse is that they tell you that they WANT you to pay for a book or CD's for YOUR OWN POEMS!!!
I think that ALL of those that have gone through the same such devastation should all group together and file a class action suit against Poetry.com and Howard Ely!!! Especially since he is getting RICH of other peoples dreams!!!
Cheryl
Dearborn Heights, Michigan
U.S.A.
5 Updates & Rebuttals
bev1126
Port Huron,Michigan,
United States of America
Same with us..
#6General Comment
Sat, September 10, 2011
My daughter and I have both submitted poems to poetry.com and are no longer able to view, edit, delete, or get copies. This IS truly sad.
catherine janet taylor---- Lovee
chicago,Illinois,
United States of America
loveeee
#6REBUTTAL Individual responds
Mon, August 01, 2011
mr.howard ely is making money off my poems / lyrics loveeee and i want rebuttal
Sheila
Marion,Ohio,
U.S.A.
Your wrong C.J.
#6Consumer Comment
Sat, September 30, 2006
They stole one of my poems .
I placed a poem on their website it was on their for maybe 2 weeks then it just disappeared.
I called the company and this rude lady answers asked her what happened to it she said that they take the poems of the site to reviwed in fornt of judges for the contest and it should be back on in 4 weeks.
4 weeks passed and my poem was not back up on the website. So I called them back got the same rude lady. I asked her why my poem was taken off and she said that they take them off the website beacuse it was either plagerized or it had profanity in it. I asked why the first time she told me they take them off only to review them in front of judges she said that they never do that. I got angry and told her that she needed to take my other poems off the website. Then I hung up the phone.
I a sure that I am the person that wrote the poem and their was no profanity in it so what happened to my poem. It was stolen.
Or maybe you could tell me what happened to it?
CJ
Tallahassee,Florida,
U.S.A.
Poetry.com is not stealing anyone's work.
#6Consumer Comment
Wed, June 09, 2004
I just went to the Poetry.com website and did a search on my name. It plainly indicates at the bottom of the page that copyright resides with me. Even the form you fill out before submitting a poem states: "I hereby certify that the above poem is my original work and that all rights to this poem are mine. I am entering this poem as an honest and true effort of my personal creativity and unique artistic vision, and I understand that it will be published on the Internet as my original work and under my own copyright by The International Library of Poetry (poetry.com). The community of poets who use this forum for self-expression will also be able to view and share my poem, always as my original work and under my own copyright in the various ways described on this website." So the copyright remains with me; the only rights I've granted Poetry.com are to publish the poem on the Net and in a book form. Therefore it seems to me that I can still market my poetry in any way I see fit; if I later choose, I can self-publish a compilation of my own poetry.
Poetry.com is not stealing anyone's work. Making a profit from it? You give them that right when you agree they can publish it. And let's be realistic it costs $30 to apply for a copyright certificate; it also costs money to publish books and to maintain a website, especially one of the size of Poetry.com (where our poetry gets published internationally, free of charge). Granted, $57 for a book is a bit steep for most people; but the company has to do something to cover its expenses.
It's one thing to enter a contest and be hopeful of winning; it's completely unrealistic to enter a contest expecting that you're absolutely going to win and become famous and life will be all all roses from there on out. For one thing, it really boils down to the taste of whoever is judging the contest and everyone's tastes differ. What you might think is wonderful poetry, I might consider utter drivel, and vice versa. For another thing, becoming well-known for one's writing or poetry is not so easy - overnight successes are rare. For the rest of us, it's an investment of a lot of time, self-promotion, and money. We can either make a lot of submissions to and get a lot of rejections from a lot of publishing houses, or elect to self-publish.
Susan
Tallassee,Alabama,
U.S.A.
also sent me letters and email on how they have chosen my particular work
#6Consumer Comment
Wed, June 09, 2004
I have also submitted poems to Poetry.com. They also sent me letters and email on how they have chosen my particular work for so and so book. At first it made me feel all warm and fuzzy that someone liked my poetry, but soon realized that they just wanted you to buy the books they put them all in. I do still submit poems, but it is just for the pleasure that someone might read mine. The poems are copyrighted under your own name, you could possibly sell your poetry to magazines, book publishers, etc. I might look into that is I have the time myself! Don't let this discourage you from writing though! If you want to see my work, search under Susan Michelle Price, I have 5 poems now. Best of luck to you!