The official blog of Writer Beware® shines a bright light into the dark corners of the shadow-world of literary scams, schemes, and pitfalls. Also providing advice for writers, industry news, and commentary. Writer Beware® is sponsored by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association.
…the World Fantasy Convention, that is, held this year in Austin, TX. The hotel was luxurious (though located way out in suburbia, disappointing to those of us who’d hoped to see some of Austin), the programming stimulating, the event well-planned and attended (I heard a rumor that it was the biggest WFC attendance ever). IRead More
Since the sudden birth and equally swift demise of the infamous IILAA, with its ridiculous allegations about “hate sites on the Internet,” I’ve been mulling over the idea of blogging about the accusations and falsehoods leveled at the anti-scam activists by the people and companies we warn about. Great minds work alike, however, and myRead More
Ridicule can work, my friends. As many of you may already know, Leann Murphy yanked the IILAA website last night. At first, the content was replaced by an amusing (though not, I suspect, in the way Leann intended) nyah-nyah message. Second thoughts apparently prevailed, however, and the message was removed. Currently, the website consists ofRead More
…You set up your own. There’s a brand new literary agents’ association in town, y’all. It’s called the International Independent Literary Agents Association, and it ain’t just playin’ around. Its mission: “The International Independent Literary Agents Association (IILAA) is composed of independent agents who have formed an association for the purpose of better serving ourRead More
In the nanosecond-attention-span environment that is the Internet, everything old is perpetually new again. Take, for instance, pay-per-click content sites such as Triond.com, where you can post your work (articles, videos, podcasts, photos) and earn a “royalty” from ad clicks. Such sites present themselves as something new and innovative–but in fact they’re updated incarnations ofRead More
Bored with writing query letters? Sick of all the pesky research required to find appropriate agents? Tired of sticking stamps on envelopes or looking up email addresses? Wouldn’t it be great if there were an easier way? Never fear–a growing number of online services feel your pain. For a not-terribly-exorbitant fee, they’ll do it allRead More
