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Eber & Wein Publishing / National Amateur Poetry Competition

morningsong

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Just a heads up for anyone that responded to a poetry contest that was advertised in Parade newspaper insert with a deadline of Jan. 30, 2009 The contest is indeed a scam and once you are 'chosen' you will recieve a letter with the name Eber & Wein Publishing. However, a google search turns up nothing on this 'publishing house'. Also, the mail has been re-routed. Another poetry.com deal. Probably run by some felon with too much time on his hands...
 

CaoPaux

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Hmmm. http://209.85.173.132/search?q=cach...692512+"Eber+&+Wein"&cd=3&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

Articles of Incorporation NOTICE is hereby given that Articles of Incorporation were filed with the Department of State Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for the purpose of incorporating the proposed business corporation Eber & Wein Inc. under the provisions of the Business Corporation Law of 1988 on January 20 2009. the corporation is incorporating for the purpose of providing publishing service and for any other lawful business purpose. The location of the initial registered office of the corporation is 15727 Whitecraft Road New Freedom Pennsylvania 17349. LAUCKS & LAUCKS LLP DAVID M. LAUCKS Solicitor
 

CaoPaux

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So, from the pitch letter we get "John T. Eber, Sr.". From the State record we also get Rachel Mueck.
 

HapiSofi

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I checked to see what other interesting publishing operations might be located near Shrewsbury, PA, home of Eber & Wein. Turns out they've got at least four within a twenty-mile radius: Old Line, Abecedarian, Atlantic Family Publishing, and Marathon. There might be more.
 

CaoPaux

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Site hasn't been updated for a year or so. Dare we hope?
 

jairey

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My mother-in-law just got my grandson sucked into it. Gosh! his poem has made the semi-finals and for only $50 he can buy the anthology.
 

Lalaloopsy

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Am I being fooled by a scam?

I enter the Eber and Wein Poetry Nation's National Amateur Competition. The first prize is 2000 dollars, but there are smaller prizes too. I was really excited when I found out my poem was in the semi finals, but my excitement faded when I did a little research.
A lot of people are saying that it's a vanity publisher and that will take my money. But on the letter they sent out to me they aren't demanding any money. They just say that you have to pay for the book and if you want a writer's bio in the anthology you'll have to pay 20 dollars. But they say that this is optional and that you can still be part of the contest if you don't pay for anything.
 

Polenth

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I enter the Eber and Wein Poetry Nation's National Amateur Competition. The first prize is 2000 dollars, but there are smaller prizes too. I was really excited when I found out my poem was in the semi finals, but my excitement faded when I did a little research.
A lot of people are saying that it's a vanity publisher and that will take my money. But on the letter they sent out to me they aren't demanding any money. They just say that you have to pay for the book and if you want a writer's bio in the anthology you'll have to pay 20 dollars. But they say that this is optional and that you can still be part of the contest if you don't pay for anything.

If you win a real contest or get a publishing deal you don't have to pay for including your bio or contributor copies. This company might not insist that you have to pay for anything, but the scheme is set up in a way that means most people will pay. Most people will want a copy of the book, so by charging for it, the company is calling fees by another name.
 

ctripp

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At $44 a paperback copy, no person unrelated to the project will be buying one of these books without knowing who the Poets are, without the poets being well known but even then, NOT at that price!
The idea is there isn't likely a writer chosen for the anthology that will not want their bio in it, that will not want to buy a copy to see themselves in print. That is what these kinds of contests count on. They also assume extra copies will be purchased by family and friends, or the writers will buy extra copies as gifts for same.
When you do the math, even if the writers get a half price discount (I don't know if the discount would even be that high) the book and bio will cost them the better part of $50. Multiply that by the number of poems that are included in the book and it's a very lucrative deal (but not for the writers)
 

Filigree

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Chalk it up to a learning experience and move on. This type of scam is decades-old (at least in the US), and all the variations count on poets desperate to see their names in print. You aren't the first to get hooked. I fell afoul of them back in junior high, but stopped when I realized paying for publication wasn't 'real' publication. Especially in a publication where no one important was likely to see my poem.
 

Maggie Maxwell

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Same here, Filigree, middle and high school. I've got one or two tucked away somewhere because Holy crap, someone wants to publish my poems! Made me feel talented. It was the biggest heartbreak to realize a few years later that it was all junk.