Promises, promises

Every morning I get into work and read the free daily papers while I eat my breakfast. 24 hours is pretty content light and full of ads, but hey, it's better than staring at the grey cubicle walls while I eat my chocolate chip muffin, er, I mean fruit and fat-free yogourt. *grin*

Only today I came across an article, complete with the 24 hours news service byline talking about this woman who decided she wanted to start a writing career, took a distance learning course from a school and now she's a multi-published author. RIGHT NEXT to this article, is an ad for the school she went to with a guarantee that pretty much shocked the shit right out of me. This writing school guarantees that every student will earn more than the cost of the tuition by publishing their work BEFORE HE OR SHE GRADUATES, or the school will refund their money. They have six "streams" - romance, business, children, family/memoirs, novel and creative writing. Now, I'm pretty early into my foray at getting published in romance, and I'm still sitting here waiting to hear back about my requested material that's been sitting at a certain publisher since February, but I've got a pretty good idea about how fickle and unpredictable the publishing industry is.

So please tell me how this school can promise that they will teach you how to write and get you published as quickly as they do and for only $779?

Uh-huh.

The thing that really pisses me off, is this article is blatantly an advertorial. As in, a paid-for by the school article to promote the school. Only no where on the page does it tell the reader that that's what it is. Leaving the unsuspecting reader hoping for a quick fix to their money woes thinking that this is the answer to their dreams.

I can't believe anyone can guarantee publication without seeing your work. I can't believe that anyone other than an actual publisher can guarantee publication until after they've seen your work. And I can't believe how many people are going to be suckered into this promise, and will then clutter up the already full publishing houses with work that isn't even close to snuff.
(And I say that having worked as the "Slush Queen" for one of the biggies. You'd be amazed how many people haven't even read a single thing published by the company, or gotten a feel for what they're looking for.)

I'm not gonna post the company name or website, so as not to give credence to their bullshit (but if you really, really want it, email me and I'll tell you...)
But wow. people never cease to amaze me.