Welcome to Pink
Mouse Pub Issue
Number 6
Thanks
for your patience, I'm not doing so well with my own. Finally, the new issue is published.
Congratulations and thanks to Linda Joyce for submitting
the caption to accompany the photo below.
Thanks for your continued support of PinkMouse Pub.
There
is not much for me to say, the purpose of PinkMouse Pub is to come in and drink some verse, but I do like to include
some editor notes from time to time. I thought I would share with you that I entered a contest that was in the newspaper;
my sister brought me a clipping. It was a National Amateur Poetry Contest and it is hosted by Eber & Wein
Publishing. I read many things on a google search that said the contest was a scam. Here's my take on it.
I submitted my poem. I received a mailing that said I could pay some amount to have it published in their Anthology.
I did not have to pay to do this, and I would not pay to do this, so I did not pay to do this. I never paid anything
and eventually received a notice that my poem made the third place cut (with about 160 others). That made me happy,
as there were many entries. The letter I received said that I would receive a $25 gift certificate and a Plaque.
I received the $25 gift certificate (it was to a future purchase at Eber & Wein Publishing). I never received my
plaque and I am sad about that, I was waiting to get the plaque before telling my sister (who gave me the clipping) that I
had this honorary mention of third place (with 160 others).
So what
do I take from all of this - if you pay to have your poem published - the company is not scamming you - you are allowing them
to have your money. All poets need to be aware of this - do not pay to have your poem published unless you are comfortable
with doing so, and are okay with spending some money to see your poem in print. I see this as not much different than
self publishing. Also, many places have you paying fees to submit your work, at least if you pay for the Anthology you
got something for your money other than rejection.
The thing is, you need
to be aware of what you are consenting to, before you write that check. I was quite happy to have mine chosen for the
shared third-place honor and be considered somewhat of a winner. After so many rejections, this was nice. I would
have liked the company to follow through on their promise of the plaque with my poem on it, but I might send them an email
and ask about that. If I get a response, I'll let you know. In the meantime, I'll share my poem with you all,
for free.
A Penny on the Floor, by Genevieve Harten Borleis: the
link to the poem is below the photograph or click on my name in the poet's pages navigation above.
Hope you are having a great summer, I am so happy to put this
issue to rest. I hope you will enjoy the poet pages and please email me with any comments or suggestions anytime.
Thank you.
G. Borleis, Editor PM
