United Press Ltd, are they ok?

And why not?

I have also sent my poem in, It didnt win, though i still got my poem in another book. I payed the money and recieved my book. since i got my first poem published. i have since had another published, with united press. and have had no trouble at all.

If you check out their web site, Gail: http://www.upltd.co.uk/ I think you will agree that they seem fairly reputable. There are several publishers that print books of poetry which are mainly for those whose poems are included. The half price trick is to convince you that it's a bargain - whether it is or not depends upon your outlook.

the website looks ok to me, but good to have another's opinion, thanks!

Never judge a book by its website. It's a Vanity Publishing shop, gail. You would be better advised to self-publish your work. Better still, keep sending your work to ABC, where it's free, and to paper magazines (God bless 'em). It's the hard way (rejection slips etc.) but it is the best way.

There's an element of vanity in all publishing. Otherwise we'd just lock our writing in the cupboard. It's an expensive business publishing poetry and you have to make an individual judgment about whether or not something should be classified as vanity publishing. Very few small presses will actually be able to afford to pay you for the rights to your work. As a general rule, I'm not interested in being published by people who won't send me a free copy of the publication my work appears in but there are some exceptions.

i may buy one copy, just to satisfy my vanity!