Money taken under false pretences

I know how stupid I’ve been and I know I shouldn’t have done it, but I fancied having a poem published in a poetry book as a Christmas gift for my three sisters. The blurb and the promises made by International Poetry Publishing and Distribution (Poetry Press) appeared to be OK if very pricey, but Hey! It was October and Christmas was getting nearer all the time, so I stupidly parted with $66.50 for one poem in, as it turned out, two grubby A4 paper files, the third useless copy is still on its way from Canada and may never arrive - below is my response to Poetry Press:

Without prejudice

15/12/2018

Poem Title: ‘If a tear could tell a story’ (how appropriate)

66 bucks for a spoilt poem and a storm of typos.

I think by now we all know how disappointing encountering unfit for purpose International Poetry Publishing and Distribution (Poetry Press) can actually be. $66.50 for two possibly three copies consisting of eight grubby (back bedroom publisher) poetry pages on A4 strung together by a spiral binding masquerading as a book/books is not only dispiriting it is an insult to poets everywhere. As for your laughable claim of ‘Editors and Proof-Readers’ you should immediately change that to Dyslexic Illiterate Incompetents and by so doing, if what I received with a storm of typos for over 66 bucks is anything to go by, you would be much closer to the mark.

Thank God I nipped this daylight robbery in the bud at one outrageously expensive encounter. I believe on this point I am perfectly entitled to pass on my experience as a warning to other poets. Odd thing is, these people whoever they are, didn’t even have the common decency to apologize and put their own mistake right, all they originally had to do was copy and paste the correct version of the poem I sent them, instead of which some idiot retyped it, adding error after error, typo after typo as they went. Odd too, how this rubbish claims to be an international digest yet there is no mention made of where in the world each poet is located - now I wonder why?

So, Poets Beware! There are people out there who don’t give a toss about your work or how they present it. They only want your money, no apologies for mistakes, typos to be expected, no refunds, no help, no-one to turn to - embarrassment is rife as who in their right mind is going to admit to being fleeced? Well, me for one, I take people at face value until they prove otherwise, and if my experience helps others to avoid the same mistake it was surely worth it. My advice? Never send money to: empiremedia@rogers.com or any outfit connected to them.

Joe Dawson