Many Americans dream of becoming published
authors, and writing poetry is an attractive way
to get started.
The scam works like this:
 | You receive a letter in the mail or a
notice in your e-mail, advising you of a
nationwide poetry contest that you can enter
for free. |
| You send in your poem. |
| Next thing you know, you get a letter
saying your poem has been selected for
publication. |
| You just need to send a small amount of
money in to pay for publishing. |
Be wary! These types of contests are
typically scams. The scammers prey on the
trusting and unwary, especially the young and
the elderly, with their offers of FREE entry in
poetry contests having awards of large monetary
prizes and publication.
The sponsors of these contests are more
concerned about contestants’ money than their
poetry. Regardless of the quality of the poems,
nearly all contestants’ poems are accepted with
glowing praise. Then money is requested and
cajoled by various and nefarious schemes--
beginning with giving the writer the “option” to
purchase the book in which their own work will
appear.
The legitimate world of publishing does not
work this way! Real publishers pay poets for
their work.
The best way to protect yourself is to avoid
falling for this scam in the first place. Don’t
enter it.
Source:
http://windpub.com/literary.scams/ripoffs.htm
and
http://www.eliteskills.com/writing_scams/poetry.com.scam.php
