Hi there everyone. This is about an ongoing problem we poets have. I entered a couple of competitions and it gradually transpired that one of them was a vanity press and constantly tries to enveigle me into buying medals and plaques etc (which I am supposed to pay for) telling the world how wonderful I am as a poet? I have allowed them to publish one poem but have never paid for anything. The second one is for an anthology and they want to publish 2 poems and my payment is a copy of the book gratis. I have allowed them to publish the two poems. Experience has taught me that other people are making money from my hard work and all I am getting out of it is exposure for my poetry. Since I am never going to be Pam Ayres I think I have to settle for getting my work out there. The third competition results,which seems bona fide (who knows) will not be revealed until the Spring, so that poem is tied up and I can't use it to enter anything else. It occurs to me that these competitions attract thousands of entries world wide so being chosen for publication is not automatic. Perhaps something is acheived by being published. One way or another you have to get your work out there. What do you think?
I have always found it hard to pick out honest contests and competitions, and have been very careful about it. However, it is impossible to become rich off of one poem. You have to start somewhere. Just make sure it's the right places.
I would suggest being careful, as there are various scams out there luring in poets to spend thousands by saying "This is amazing". Whether it is true or not, be wary of such contests which offer you things which you must pay for on a continual basis. It seems never ending and some may even solicit you at home if one is not careful. I had that happen to me and it is just frustrating beyond anything.
I'm sure it's not just poets. I've seen some short story "contests" that appear to be no more than bait to vanity publishing outfits.
The vanity publishing outlets are always a trap and should be avoided. That goes without saying for those of us who have been around the internet poetry scene for a while. The vanity websites are also a real problem for poetry. Often they 90% consist of novices who know little and write hundreds of poems with no merit, and go around patting each other on the back about the same old boring poems. You should avoid those places as well, because they do nothing for you as a writer, aside from swell your head and make coming to a more constructive and learned placed like this a more difficult step.