I don't have very much to say. Only that I feel raped of my rights to my own and original words of poetry. I was basically told that my poems were my own, and that I would receive money if my poems were published.
(Makes perfect sense since they ARE my works of art, and if you are going to sell a book with my work in it, I should be accurately compensated for my contribution). Only I didn't receive any money in any currency for the hard work, feeling, and experiences that were my own, that I wrote of my own free will on paper (or later submitted into "contests", or online).
I entered my work into a written contest to one of the many contest companies, such as The (Inter) National Library of Poetry. I later received a letter asking for payment for two books of MY OWN to be sent to myself and a public school or library of my choice.
Which didn't bother me because the book had not been published so there was no money made yet. I just figured that after it was published and put onto shelves that I would receive some sort of a check for THEIR publication of MY work. Sadly I was not.
I received my book, and was pleased at the time. But now it has been over a year and the local Library (small town) that I chose has not received the book I PAID for them to receive. I even got a notice saying that they spoke to the owner and they would be pleased.
The thing is I left a request for the owner to call, and never received a call. I later lost my copy of the book. Bad luck over and over again. I recently, however found the book in a very safe place that I thought I wouldn't lose it. Tough luck huh?
So, since I HAPPENED to be at my local library when I found it, I spoke to one of the volunteers there. I showed her the notice I had received about the owner being contacted, and she noticed something... The owner's name was "Joan" not "John". Hmmm a little fishy don't you thing?
Now if they had contacted her in ANYWAY, before they notified me like they said they had, they would have corrected the error of her name. Therefor the book may or may not have had a better chance of being received.
Granted I am thrilled that I may look at my other select poems online at poetry.com, but I am afraid for their safety and my rights as their original and solely/only creator. All I ever wanted was to have my own books with ONLY my works of poetry in them to be copyrighted to me and published, with me as the sole benefactor.
Now why haven't I been compensated for my contribution?
Why hasn't my local library (from a very small town) received the book I requested?
Even BETTER yet... Why can the "Library of Congress Control" not recognize the LCCN appointed to my book?
Why was the title of my poem posted on poetry.com with the contents not released without my sending in of the filled out permission form?
Needs answers I have many poems and they all have a personal story to tell, I did not intend for thousands of readers to read them without some sort of payment for my contributions!
0 comments