Writer Beware

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How to Spot a Fake Literary Agency

Header image: "Real" fading away and being replaced by "Fake" (Credit: Net Vector / Shutterstock.com)

DEC 15, 2023March 11, 202458 COMMENTS

As if writers didn't have enough to contend with, the past couple of years have seen a huge rise in scammers posing as literary agencies.

I'm not talking here about the imposters who "borrow" the names of real agents and agencies (though they are certainly part of the same problem)--but about scammers who set up entirely fake literary agencies as fronts for extracting money from writers.

Reputable literary agents do occasionally reach out to authors whose work they've seen to ask if the author is represented or to invite a submission. But this is rare. Reputable literary agents are buried in queries; they don't have a pressing need to scout for more.

PUBLISHER COMPLAINTS

Author Complaints at LR Publishing London Ltd. (formerly LR Price Publications Ltd.)

L.R. Price email revoking author's right of veto: "Your complaints have placed us in a position where you accuse us of a breach of contract for delays which are within your control but outside ours. Therefore we have to act in order to maintain the integrity of the contract and our rights under it, including the rights to edit, publish and sell your book.

The only option available to us is to revoke your veto and approval rights. This will mean that our editors make all decisions regarding your book's publication and will allow us to quickly finalise the work that is being carried out and publish your book without further delay.

While you have lost your rights of approval and veto, this won't affect any other rights or obligations that you have under the contract and you will retain all other rights...However, I note you have made several threats to publish false and defamatory comments about us on social media. If you do this, then you will lose all rights to your book and you will also be sued for libel."

DEC 1, 2023October 20, 2025398 COMMENTS

Founded in 2013, per its listing at Companies House, UK-based publisher LR Price Publications Ltd. (LRP) describes itself as "dedicated to publishing books by new and unknown authors".

LRP is a fee-charging publisher. It offers three publishing paths: fully author-funded; "shared publishing", with LRP saying it contributes part of the cost; and publisher-funded ("Choose this option if you would like the publisher to pay all of the publishing costs and if you do not mind losing ownership or the rights to your book"...hmmm). All of the LRP authors who've contacted me (more on that below) signed up for the shared publishing option, with payments ranging from around £900 to around £1,500.

Unusually, LRP doesn't feature its books on either of its two websites. Instead, it provides a link to Waterstones, where 99 LRP titles are listed (many with cover images missing). There appear to be distribution issues, however. Only a fraction of the titles are actually in stock online; most have to be ordered from the publisher, with a delivery lag of 4-5 weeks.

PUBLISHING SCAMS

Two New Solicitation Bewares: DiscoverPublishers.com and Reseller Ventures

Header image: "No Soliciting Please" sign hanging on a red-brick wall (Credit: rSnapshotPhotos / Shutterstock.com)

NOV 24, 2023November 24, 20237 COMMENTS

I've gotten several reports over the past few days about solicitations from an outfit called DiscoverPublishers.com. The solicitations are "personalized" with the author's name, and have slightly different text, but the import is the same.

In the original email, if you hover over the link you'll see that it actually goes to a different URL, https://goto.discoverpublishers.com/grow/. That's often the case with mass marketing campaigns, which take you to a special page that tracks clicks from the solicitation emails.

So what is DiscoverPublishers.com? (That's the real URL.) On visiting, I recognized it as a company I mentioned all the way back in 2018, as part of a post on predatory publisher-finding and -matching "services". These outfits have you fill out a form with your name, contact information, and maybe a couple of things about your manuscript (is it fiction? What's your budget?) and then either provide you with a list of supposedly perfect matches, or promise to send your matches to you.

Artificial Intelligence and Copyright: SFWA’s Comments to the US Copyright Office

Image Header: Neon image of a human brain embedded in a computer motherboard. Credit: vchal at Shutterstock.com https://www.shutterstock.com/

NOV 10, 2023November 10, 202311 COMMENTS

In August, the US Copyright Office issued a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) seeking public comment on copyright and artificial intelligence. The NOI is part of the Copyright Office's AI Initiative, which seeks to assess whether copyright-related legislation or regulation is needed in response to the rapid development and deployment of generative AI.

The NOI seeks factual information and views on a number of copyright issues raised by recent advances in generative AI. These issues include the use of copyrighted works to train AI models, the appropriate levels of transparency and disclosure with respect to the use of copyrighted works, the legal status of AI-generated outputs, and the appropriate treatment of AI-generated outputs that mimic personal attributes of human artists.

Below is the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association's response to the NOI. It details a variety of harms reported by novelists and short fiction writers as a result of generative AI (including the training of AI systems on vast amounts of in-copyright work without permission), and offers four specific suggestions for protecting creators and their work.

CONTESTS AND AWARDS

Contest Caution: Lichfield Institute Writing Contest

Lichfield Institute writing contest: $10,000 first prize, $5,000 second prize, $1,050 third prize. Promises "important literary feedback from our distinguished judges" for each submission, and monthly stipends and "considered for representation by literary agencies" for honorable mentions

NOV 3, 2023April 3, 202455 COMMENTS

I've gotten several questions lately about a writing contest offering enormous prizes: the Lichfield Institute Writing Contest (screenshot above).

Just about every temptation for a hungry writer is here. Big bucks for the winners. Feedback on every submission from distinguished judges--at least, one assumes they're distinguished, since they're finalists for important literary awards. Monthly stipends! Consideration by literary agencies! What more could a contest offer, even if it does charge a $15 submission fee?

Well...

OVERSEAS SCAMS

Imposter Syndrome: The Rise of Impersonation Scams

Header image: joke mask with glasses, fuzzy eyebrows, and a fake nose on a white background (credit: Marco Verch Professional Photographer / Flickr.com)

OCT 27, 2023March 19, 20253 COMMENTS

I'm blogging over at Writer Unboxed again today, with an overview of a type of scam that currently represents 50% or more of the questions and complaints I receive.

The current self-publishing industry has its roots in the mid-1990s, when three startups–Xlibris, Trafford, and AuthorHouse–began selling digital publishing services to individual authors.

(Bear with me: I’m getting to the subject of this post!)