Writer Beware

Latest Posts

Not Simon & Schuster: Deconstructing an Impersonation Scam

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FEB 28, 2026February 28, 202623 COMMENTS

For writers chasing a traditional publishing contract, an email from Big 5 publisher Simon & Schuster inviting submission might seem like a dream come true.

Just one problem: major publishers like S&S, which acquire mainly via reputable literary agents and expect manuscripts to come to them rather than the other way around, don't email random authors out of the blue. Also, impersonation scams are extremely common these days, with fraudsters posing as publishers, literary agents, film production companies, even editors (see my previous post on this subject). Any publishing- or movie rights-related email or phone call that you can't tie directly to a submission or a contact you yourself made is highly likely to be a scam--and with generative AI infesting every aspect of the writing scam industry, the scams can be quite elaborate and authentic-seeming.

Given the amount of time I spend writing and warning about such things, it's always funny (well, kind of) when an impersonation scammer tries to target me.

CONTRACTS

Authors and Authors’ Estates Sue The Topps Company for Unpaid Royalties

FEB 20, 2026February 21, 20265 COMMENTS

This is yet another Writer Beware post about allegations of royalties long left unpaid. But it's also about the challenges of work-for-hire arrangements, and what can potentially go wrong when intellectual property repeatedly changes hands.

The BattleTech and Shadowrun franchises--which included both games and novels--were originally developed and published in the 1980s and 1990s by FASA Corporation, a publisher of role-playing and board games. FASA closed down in 2001, and the two franchises were transferred to a new company called WizKids, founded by former FASA employees.

In 2003, the Topps Company, which manufactures trading cards and other collectibles (and candy, including the iconic Bazooka bubble gum), acquired WizKids and its IP, in a bid to expand its entertainment holdings. Topps closed WizKids down in 2008, citing economic factors; it subsequently sold WizKids and its IP to the National Entertainment Collectibles Association, but retained rights to BattleTech and Shadowrun.

CONTESTS AND AWARDS

Unhappy Returns: Harper’s Bazaar Short Story Contest, America Star Books

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FEB 6, 2026February 6, 202618 COMMENTS

I always try to keep track of the stories I write, and to update my posts when new information comes to light. Sometimes, though, it's worth re-visiting the stories themselves--as in the two cases below, where "bewares" that appeared to have resolved return, unhappily, for a second go-around (or seem to).

In 2019, I wrote a post about a rights grab in the guidelines for the annual short story contest conducted by Harper's Bazaar magazine, the wording of which included a surrender of copyright. Here's what I wrote at the time (Hearst is Harper's parent company):

The bolded language isn't completely clear, at least as I see it. Read narrowly (by entering and in consideration for publication, i.e., as a consideration for publication only), it requires the winner or winners only to surrender their copyrights and all the rights that copyright includes for zero financial compensation. It could also, however, be read more broadly, to indicate that merely entering the contest constitutes a surrender of copyright ownership.

EDITING SCAMS

Two New Impersonation Scams to Watch For

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JAN 30, 2026January 30, 202631 COMMENTS

Impersonation scams in publishing tend to be variations on a theme, since the goal is always the same: to sell you something. In that sense, the scams below, which are aimed at tricking writers into paying for editing, don't break new ground. Still, the approaches are distinctive, and I've seen enough examples at this point to be sure they are A Thing (as opposed to isolated occurrences), so I'm highlighting them here.

As you'll see, they appear to be yet another variant of the AI-driven scams from Nigeria. One of the characteristics of such scams--along with Gmail addresses and effusive fake personalization--is how closely each variant sticks to a specific M.O, customizing the approach to the targeted writer but otherwise pulling from the same playbook.

For tips on vetting an independent editor, see the Editors and Editing Services page of the Writer Beware website.

BEST OF WRITER BEWARE: YEAR IN REVIEW

Best of Writer Beware: 2025 in Review

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JAN 16, 2026January 16, 202633 COMMENTS

It's been a busy year in writing scams (but then what year isn't?). From the new AI marketing scams, to nasty contract clauses, to publishers behaving badly, to the biggest copyright infringement restitution in history, Writer Beware has been on the beat. If you missed any of our posts, here's your chance to catch up.

On a personal note, it's always instructive for me to do these overviews, not just because they help me take stock of how well Writer Beware is fulfilling its mission, but also because looking at the trends and changes of the year just past can give me a sense of what I'll likely be focusing on in the year ahead. I was a little surprised, for example, to see how much space I devoted to generative AI.

Also somewhat surprising: scams are what most people think of when they think of Writer Beware, but my posts about scams actually comprised less than half of what I published in 2025. Just a reminder that "beware" applies to much more than literary fraud.

CONTRACTS

Reversion Redux

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JAN 9, 2026January 9, 20263 COMMENTS

In the aftermath of the recent Anthropic Settlement (more information here), many writers are making a reassessment of the necessity and value of copyright registration. Claiming a share of pay-out from the settlement is 100% dependent on having a work registered with the U. S. Copyright Office in a timely fashion. It’s relatively easy to register a work with the Copyright Office and doing so can guarantee the right to receive statutory damages in infringement lawsuits and settlements.

These writers may be overlooking another significant factor in making a class action claim – whether the work’s rights have been reverted to the author.

Under the definitions on the Anthropic Settlement website, there are two types of rightsholders who may make a claim – those who have received publishing rights by contract (generally, the publishers) and those who have licensed those rights (generally, the authors). While this breakdown is very common for traditionally published books, there are many exceptions. Self-publishers, for example, own their rights 100% because they’re both the publisher and author. (For these works, Amazon is a distributor and owns no publishing rights.) Another important exception is for works that originally had a publisher but have gone out of print and have had their rights returned to the authors (rights reversion).