Competition scams are all over the internet, but some are just disguised far better than others. One of the most cleverly disguised internet competition scams of all time is the poetry competition scam. When entering a poetry competition online, you stand to lose far more than you could ever gain. You’ll just end up paying for something you don’t want, just to see your name written in print. Well, if you’re so fond of seeing your name written in print, get a damn pen and scribble on your wall! Don’t enter a poetry competition scam unless you absolutely love giving your money away.

Unlike other online competition scams a poetry competition scam won’t seem sleazy in the way they ask you for money. First, the poetry competition scam will alert you that you’re poems have been entered into the final round of poems before being chosen to go into the book. But, what the people who are running the competition scam fail to tell you is that every user-submitted poem will be entered into the “final round.” The real way the competition scam makes their money is by sending the same “final round” email to all who have entered the competition scam. Only those who agree to give up the rights to their work and are willing to pay $40+ for an amateur poetry book will get published.

The Truth about Poetry Competition Scams

Though it is a clever business model, it does indeed fall into the category of competition scams. If you’re a good poet, you should be getting paid for your work! Not entering competition scams that will give you nil exposure and only cost you money. If you do enter the competition scam, you’re name will be published alongside unskilled poets who fell for the same competition scam as you. Get paid for your poems! Start a blog to create some samples, and then solicit the attention of regional poetry publications. They’ll actually pay you for your work, often give you a free copy of the magazine and will expose you to thousands of readers.