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[Anthology] The America Library of Poetry

ms_mimsy7628

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I'm in hopes someone can help me. I teach high school English and different writing contests land in my mailbox on a regular basis. I received a flyer from the America Library of Poetry yesterday concerning a student poetry contest. They claim to offer a $500 US savings bond to the top winner. I offered the contest to my students with the caveat that I would check the legitimacy of the organization before I would allow them to enter the contest. I do not want my students to lose their rights to their work. Something about the contest feels fishy to me (the incorrect spelling the sponsoring organization raised a red flag), and I usually go with my gut instinct, however, I do not want to stifle the creative drive of my more talented students.

Does anyone know anything about this company or have a place to point me to for more information? The website for the company is rather vague about how the judging process works. It all smells of a scam, but I thought I would bring my question to some more professional writers.
 

frandavea

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RUN. AWAY. FAST.
Cyia is right. They sucker you - big time - by announcing they love your work, and then you essentially pay to see your poem in one of their so-called anthologies.
 

CaoPaux

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http://www.libraryofpoetry.com/

Certainly screams scam. Wonder of wonders, I'm not finding any obvious link to the poetry.com family. Not that they have a monopoly on the vanity anthology market, by any means.
 

James D. Macdonald

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Here's where they make their money:

Q. Is there any physical difference between the initial author's copy and one of the additional copies?

A. There is no physical difference in any of the books. Initial "Author's Copy" and "Additional Copies" are terms used on the order form to define how the discount is offered. The initial book purchased is $32.95 and referred to as an "Author's Copy" as this is for whom it is usually ordered. Any subsequent copies are referred to as "Additional Copies" which are discounted to $24 each. If a family has more than one student being published, we suggest having each student sign their respective form, stapling them together and simply using the top form to place the order. That way, both poems will be published, and the discounted rate will be applied beginning with the second book purchased. Shipping and handling is $6 regardless of quantity ordered.

$32.95 for an author's copy? $24 for each additional copy (for Mom and Dad and Auntie Sue)?

No obvious link to Poetry.com, except, perhaps for an identical business model.
 

ms_mimsy7628

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Thank you all for your input. I'll let my students know that this is not a contest they should enter. Along the same lines, do any of you know of contests which accept student work and are legitimate contests? Thanks for your help!
 

writer friend

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American Library of Poetry:Is this ok?

Please advise:
A friend of mine has a grand daughter who has been "selected" as a winner in her school to be published in the book put out by The American Society of Poetry. Note, this is different from the American Poetry Society and others.
They offer a book for the parent/anyone to buy with the winning poems included, for $32.95.
Is this just an innocent kind of thing or what? Please advise.
Writer Friend
 
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M.R.J. Le Blanc

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I'd be REALLY wary about this. This smells of a poetry.com-type setup, and scammers are notorious for going to schools with their scams. Someone might have better insight, but this screams scam to me.
 

writer friend

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I think so/although title is The Amer. Lib. of Poetry

Thanks for your help> This looks like the same website I found.
But the title of the co. is
The American Library of Poetry.
They seem to be selling the idea of a contest in the schools nationwide. NO obligiation to purchase, but of course, I would imagine they hope each parent would purchase a copy of the year's winners for the $32.95, which seems steep for a soft cover.
What is your take on this? I've mentioned to my friend to be cautious, but of course not to mention any of this to the young writer.
I think the schools would be better off letting the teachers select good poems to be read over the intercom each day, and leave it at that, or publish an "in house" school paper for good poems.
Appreciate your take on this.
Writer Friend
 

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As far as I can find out, any poem submitted to them is printed.

I think the school and teachers are being duped. They could make their own anthology with a local printer for much less--and do something for the community.
 

Cyia

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I'm pretty sure that's the same place my mom sent one of my (OMG...awful... written when I was 12) poems to when I was in high school. It's nothing but a vanity printer where they print everything and then sell the anthologies to moms and dads and grandmas, etc.

I wouldn't be surprised if everyone is "awarded" something - as the awards lead to more money. (10% are made into audiobooks, 10% are matted, whatever - I can't remember all the "special" versions for the "best" work.)

People buy it - in every sense of the word. (mom still has a hard time believing it's just a vanity press. ... it's in the Library of Congress, after all :rolleyes:)


Interesting to note -- I actually put it down in my college applications a couple of times. They don't check the publisher, but a "published" teen gets a bit of notice with the admissions board.
 

ChristineR

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I'm sure there was a thread about these guys somewhere. Anthology called Inspired and they claim that they only accept twenty percent of submissions.

Ha ha! Found it.

And here's another one. Kim was told that she had to buy the book to be in the contest. That contradicts what was said on the site.

The book is $24 to the general public, $33 for the entrants. Plus $6 shipping and handling. In any case, the cost to them is probably about $5 per book, plus whatever it costs to cut and paste into their word processor, cost of a $500 savings bond is about $250, so figure their costs to run the contest are about $1000 a year, so if they get a measly twenty kids to buy their books, they can pocket about $20 per book sold. Not bad for a few hours work.
 

CaoPaux

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Thanks for your help> This looks like the same website I found.
But the title of the co. is
The American Library of Poetry.
They seem to be selling the idea of a contest in the schools nationwide. NO obligiation to purchase, but of course, I would imagine they hope each parent would purchase a copy of the year's winners for the $32.95, which seems steep for a soft cover.
What is your take on this? I've mentioned to my friend to be cautious, but of course not to mention any of this to the young writer.
I think the schools would be better off letting the teachers select good poems to be read over the intercom each day, and leave it at that, or publish an "in house" school paper for good poems.
Appreciate your take on this.
Writer Friend
If that site is the one you're talking about, then the company is America, not American, and the grammatical atrocity alone should be enough to warn your friend away.

Since there is no American Library of Poetry that I can find, I'll assume we're talking about the same one and merge this with the existing thread.
 

writer friend

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My niece was steered in that direction, too, by a teacher. Wish the teachers would do a search first, before recommending any site or "publisher" to their students. Glad you asked here!
Yes, I wish the teachers could be forewarned about these vanity contests. Seems like a "You win, you buy expensive book" game to me. Thanks everyone, for this forum. You've steered me the right way before!
Writer Friend
 
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Brandi636

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I entered one of these when I was high school after it was recommended to me by a friend. She was so excited to be selected as a finalist. Sure enough a few days later, I was declared a finalist. The letter was very flattering and really stroked the ego. As young writers, we were especially susceptible to the false praise. Luckily, I did a search and discovered it was a scam. It hurt my pride, but at least my wallet (or rather my dad's wallet) was intact.. It's awful about how they prey on unsuspecting teenagers who don't really know the ins and outs of publishing. I wish teachers would do research before they hand these out!
 
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