I have been trying to get published for some time now, but every company I’ve contacted charges a fee. If anyone knows of, or has a suggestion of an avenue to do this, I’d appriciated the advice. My works are mainly poetry and songs. thank-you, zep
Stay away from vanity presses. Real publishers pay YOU, not the other way 'round.
That said, there’s not a lot of money to be made in poetry, so not many people buy it. Certainly don’t expect to make a living at it.
Excuse me for saying so, but you sound rather ignorant of the publishing business, do you have a copy of Writer’s Market 2003?
If you’re writing poetry, get the latest copy of The International Directory of Little Magazines and Small Presses; that’s where you’ll find poetry markets. Most are nonpaying, but you will get published if you send things out to as many appropriate markets as possible.
You’re not likely to make much money poetry (my wife has had over 300 poems published and has probably only been paid for about a dozen of them). But with so many presses, you can get published if you work at it.
And you’re wise not to pay money to be published.
Contact your local university and see if they have a press. Many put out literary quarterlies. You often have a better chance of making it in if you are local. Go to a good library and look at a copy of the magazine before you submit to see if they print your kind of stuff. That way you can narrow the list and make your work a little less daunting. Above all, never give up.
Also avoid those companies that require you to purchase a copy of the book before they will put you in it.