- Report: #23037
Complaint Review: FAMOUS POETS.COM - TALENT Oregon
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Author Not Confirmed
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FAMOUS POETS.COM
PO BOX 97540 & PO BOX 21 TALENT OREGON 97540 TALENT, 97540 Oregon, U.S.A.
Phone:
541-535-2500
Web:
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FAMOUS POETS.COM RIPOFF TOOK OVER 120$ FROM ME TO PAY EXTRA EXPENSE IN PUBLISHING A HARDBACK BOOK WITH MY POEMS AND BIOGRAPHY AND PHOTO TALENT Oregon
I am Sharon Wells. AS of some 6 months ago I submitted a poem in a free poetry contest on the internet. Several months passes and finally i recieved a letter from famous Poets.com on the red colored envelope for return address.this was at PO box 21,Talent Oregon 97540
inside the envelope i was amazed at how origional the letter seemed to be. They were informing me that my poem called-"My Sorrow" had been selected to be printed and published in their new hard back book called Library of congress New Mellinium and would be out by May of 2002. They also invited me to enter any other poems at a fee of 25$ and also a photo and brief biography of my life. i thought this was terrific. The poems i submitted were botj about the passing of my daddy and were very precious to me.
I made sure there were no mistakes in my entry and sent it back. a month or so later I got another letter wanting me to proof read it again and was assured they were on schedule of releasing and i would be notified.There was another fee of 10$ and there were mistakes all through my writing. the special dedication i paid extra was not at all like what i sent in --but i was told that if i changed the poem from the way they had it i would have more extra fee to pay. so , i just tried to correct the spelling and some of the punication but sent it back. i did not hear a word.
finally by some miracle of God i was able to get an email address off of the website and emailed them as to who i was and why and when would the book be ready?? I got one very brief message saying the production of the book was delayed, but should be available June 1,2002. now i can't even get a response from them except for another letter wanting me to pay to them 499.$ for a faboulas 3 days at orlando fla. the week of Labor day.weekend. they wanted me to be present for a special presentation of many talented poets and give me a medal and 3 full packed days of parties etc. This is to attend the events only, if I stay at the choosen hotel i must send them extra 89$per night and they would book my room. i must supply my own transportation. i have a scaner and will send you a copy of my mail if it will help. i do nt think this is a true business and I fear there never was a book that was to be published and placed in The Library Of Congress called New Mellilumn.
i will help you all i can if you can help me. It is not so much about the money---I want the book
thankyou
sharon
Bastrop, Louisiana
inside the envelope i was amazed at how origional the letter seemed to be. They were informing me that my poem called-"My Sorrow" had been selected to be printed and published in their new hard back book called Library of congress New Mellinium and would be out by May of 2002. They also invited me to enter any other poems at a fee of 25$ and also a photo and brief biography of my life. i thought this was terrific. The poems i submitted were botj about the passing of my daddy and were very precious to me.
I made sure there were no mistakes in my entry and sent it back. a month or so later I got another letter wanting me to proof read it again and was assured they were on schedule of releasing and i would be notified.There was another fee of 10$ and there were mistakes all through my writing. the special dedication i paid extra was not at all like what i sent in --but i was told that if i changed the poem from the way they had it i would have more extra fee to pay. so , i just tried to correct the spelling and some of the punication but sent it back. i did not hear a word.
finally by some miracle of God i was able to get an email address off of the website and emailed them as to who i was and why and when would the book be ready?? I got one very brief message saying the production of the book was delayed, but should be available June 1,2002. now i can't even get a response from them except for another letter wanting me to pay to them 499.$ for a faboulas 3 days at orlando fla. the week of Labor day.weekend. they wanted me to be present for a special presentation of many talented poets and give me a medal and 3 full packed days of parties etc. This is to attend the events only, if I stay at the choosen hotel i must send them extra 89$per night and they would book my room. i must supply my own transportation. i have a scaner and will send you a copy of my mail if it will help. i do nt think this is a true business and I fear there never was a book that was to be published and placed in The Library Of Congress called New Mellilumn.
i will help you all i can if you can help me. It is not so much about the money---I want the book
thankyou
sharon
Bastrop, Louisiana
1 Updates & Rebuttals
Meghann
Buffalo,New York,
Sorry to say this...
#2Consumer Comment
Wed, June 19, 2002
...but you were scammed. The company goes by several names, but the scam is always the same. You submit a poem. You get a "personalised" letter saying how great your poem is & that they want to include it in a book (the name of the book changes) to be placed in the Library of Congress. But you have to send money. And more money for extras. And more money to attend the award ceremony. Etc. There IS a book, from what I've been told about this scam. They put one out a few times a year, and they are sent to "contributors" - for a fee, of course. I've been told that the editing is sloppy, the quality of the pages & print job is poor, and the type is tiny. I don't know how to help you get the book; production delays are a fact of life even in legitimate publishing (I edit books for a living & we're always behind). You will get it eventually, but be warned that you'll probably be disappointed with the results. I can, however, offer you a few words of advice for the future. (1) Don't be impressed when a company says a book is going to be "placed in the Library of Congress." Every book published in the U.S. receives a catalogue number from the LOC, and the LOC receives copies of every one of them. Honestly, I don't know what the good folks at the LOC do with all the copies, but the truth is that every book published in the U.S. is "placed in the Library of Congress." (2) A reputable publisher will NEVER ask you for money to publish your work. There are legitimate subsidy publishers - often called "vanity presses" - who require payment for publishing a book, but this involves paying a portion of the production costs and is agreed upon up front. (3) A reputable publisher will NEVER change your work without your approval. There are several stages of book production, and the author is generally given the opportunity to make changes at a few points along the way. Authors are sometimes charged a fee to make changes, but only if making those changes are (a) due to earlier oversight by the author and (b) will cost the publisher money to fix. A reputable publisher will always give the author the opportunity to fix mistakes and make changes before that point. I'm sorry to hear you were taken by these jerks; I hope you get your book soon; and please, take the info above into account before you submit work to anyone in the future.
