This page was last updated on the 17th of August, 2015 by Patrick Carpen.
When I was around 17 years old, my yearning to become a published writer was at a fever pitch. I was quite unlike many youths my age, who seemed to have very different ambitions.
Just then, an advertisement from a UK company made its way infront of my very eyes. Nothing could have been more relevant to my situation at that particular point in time. It was an advertisement from the Writers Bureau.
Like most advertisements, it was well written, and it fanned the flames of my desires to become a writer to a blaze. I wanted this course. No, I needed it.
I decided to join the course. I took the installment payment option. I paid the first installment and completed the first writing assignment. My tutor said that I had a knack for writing and that I was very talented.
But my interests waned right after completing the second lesson. For what reason? A clause that wasn’t there earlier. The next assignment required that I study the current issue of a number of magazines, and then write an article suited to that magazine. I must admit that I was not subscribed to any magazines at that time. So I had to go out asking everyone I knew if they had any such magazines and if they could give it to me.
Subscribing to these magazines would have been financially impractical at the time. I wasn’t on a large budget, and I was already reeling from the punch of existing expenses.
I managed to amass some old outdated magazines that precipitated some awkward situations during acquisition. And they just wouldn’t do the trick!
What was I to do? Meanwhile, the Writers Bureau kept harassing me to pay up the outstanding amounts. I did so at great financial strain and risks. I finally managed to complete all payments. But I couldn’t move forward with the course. I was stuck at a dead end.
Interestingly, the Writers Bureau didn’t harass me to complete my next lesson. And this reminded me of my experience with the then “ICS” or “International Correspondence Schools”.
Four years passed, and I didn’t have a single book, article or poem accepted for publication, although I kept writing and thinking away.
I decided to contact the Writers Bureau and asked them to honor their money back guarantee: “If within four years you have not earned the cost of this course from writing, we will refund every cent”.
But they said they couldn’t because the time was too late.
What was I to do then? There was no sense flogging a dead horse.
I figure though, that all is not lost. I could tell that they are indeed a genuine, legitimate and caring organization. I hope to recontact the Writers Bureau and approach them properly. If necessary, I’ll pay for the course all over again and hope for better results this time. This time though, I’ll make sure to have all the facts straight before proceeding.
I’ll let you know how it comes by posting updates to this page.
