First Love: Poems by New Voices
Effective Date: December 10, 2025
Please read these terms carefully before submitting your poem. These Submission Terms and Conditions apply to all poems submitted for possible inclusion in the anthology "First Love: Poems by New Voices, An Anthology of First-Published Love Poems" (the "Anthology") published by First Poem Published Series / Synergy Biblio Publishers ("Publisher," "we," or "us"). By submitting your poem, you agree to these terms.
You confirm that you are at least 18 years old, or that you have the consent of a parent or legal guardian to submit your work.
You confirm that the poem you submit is original, created by you, and has never been previously published in any book, magazine, website, or other public medium. Self-publication on personal blogs or social media does not disqualify your work.
Your poem must not contain plagiarized material, defamation, hate speech, unlawful content, or content that is knowingly harmful or excessively offensive. We reserve the right to reject any submission that violates these standards.
You may use AI tools (such as ChatGPT, Claude, or other language models) as part of your creative process. However, you remain the sole author and are fully responsible for the originality, quality, and legality of the final poem.
You confirm that your poem does not infringe on any copyright, trademark, privacy right, or other rights of any third party, even if you used AI tools during creation. You accept full legal responsibility for the content of your submission.
You retain full copyright in your poem. This means you continue to own your work and can use it in other ways after publication in our anthology.
Upon acceptance of your poem and payment of the publication fee, you grant the Publisher a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual license to:
The Publisher will own the copyright in the Anthology as a collected work, including the book design, compilation, and arrangement. The Publisher will own all royalties arising from sales of the Anthology and related formats. You understand that you will not receive royalties or profit shares from sales of the Anthology. Your benefit is publication credit, exposure, and the prestige of being a published poet.
You can still use your poem elsewhere (submit to other anthologies, post online, include in your own poetry collection, etc.) because you retain copyright. We simply need permission to include it in our anthology and promote the book.
Your poem should be 12-15 lines, approximately 50-75 words. You must include your poem's title at the top of the document. Accepted file formats include PDF, TXT, DOC, and DOCX (maximum 5MB).
Not all submissions will be accepted. Selection decisions are made at the sole discretion of the Publisher based on quality, fit with the anthology theme, and available space. Selection decisions are final and not subject to appeal.
If your poem is accepted, we may propose minor edits for spelling, grammar, punctuation, and formatting to ensure consistency across the anthology. We will share any such edits with you for review and will not publish an edited version without your approval.
If you do not approve reasonable minor edits within a reasonable time after we contact you (typically 7 business days), the Publisher may either publish the poem in its original form or withdraw the poem from consideration.
You will only be asked to pay the USD $250 participation fee if your poem is accepted for inclusion in the Anthology. There is no fee to submit your poem for consideration.
If your poem is not accepted, you will not be charged and no payment will be required.
Once your poem is accepted and you have paid the $250 participation fee, the fee is non-refundable, except in the limited circumstances described below:
The Publisher reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to cancel the Anthology project if a predetermined minimum number of accepted poems is not reached or if the project is not commercially viable. In such a case, the Publisher will refund all fees paid by accepted authors. If the Anthology is canceled and you have paid the fee, the refund will be your sole remedy.
The target publication date for the Anthology is April 6, 2026.
We do not currently anticipate delays. However, factors such as printing issues, platform delays, or events beyond our reasonable control (force majeure) may impact the schedule.
If the Anthology is not available for purchase by April 6, 2026, we will keep all accepted authors informed and will work to ensure publication no later than April 30, 2026.
If publication will be delayed beyond April 30, 2026, the Publisher will notify you and will offer either:
The primary planned distribution channel for the Anthology is Amazon (in both print and Kindle formats). The Publisher may also make the Anthology available through other online or offline retailers and distribution platforms (such as Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, or independent bookstores) at its discretion.
The Publisher does not guarantee any specific sales volume, marketing exposure, reviews, or promotional outcomes. While we will make reasonable efforts to promote the anthology, market success depends on many factors beyond our control.
You agree to provide accurate and truthful information for your author name, short biography (optional), and any other details requested for publication.
You are solely responsible for the accuracy of your biographical information. The Publisher may edit your bio (optional) for length, clarity, or formatting, and will take reasonable care to preserve its meaning.
To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Publisher and its owners, officers, employees, and contractors will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages arising out of your submission, participation in the Anthology, or use of your poem, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.
The total liability of the Publisher for any claim related to your submission or the Anthology will not exceed the total amount you paid to the Publisher for the participation fee ($250).
We will use your contact information only for purposes related to your submission, the editorial process, publication, and related communications, except as required by law. We will not sell or share your personal information with third parties for marketing purposes.
By submitting, you consent to receive email updates regarding the status of your poem, the Anthology project, and important information about publication and timelines. You may unsubscribe from promotional emails at any time, but you will continue to receive essential communications about your submission.
These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Arizona, without regard to its conflict of law principles.
Any disputes arising from or related to these terms or to the Anthology will be resolved in the state or federal courts located in Arizona, and you consent to the jurisdiction of those courts.
By checking the box on the submission form and submitting your poem, you confirm that:
In plain English: You keep the copyright to your poem. If we accept it, you pay $250 and we can publish it in our anthology. You won't get royalties from book sales, but you'll get publication credit and exposure. The fee is non-refundable unless we cancel the project or miss our publication deadline significantly. We may suggest minor edits, but you have final approval.
First Poem Published Series / Synergy Biblio Publishers
Email: submission@firstpoempublished.com
Website: https://firstpoempublished.com
We typically respond to inquiries within 24-48 hours.