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.
WELL, LEST ANYONE READ THIS POST IN THE ARCHIVES AND NOT NOTICE THE DATE, I AM HEREBY ANNOUNCING, IN BIG LETTERS, THAT THE FOLLOWING WAS WRITTEN ON APRIL 1st, 2006. IT IS AN APRIL FOOL’S JOKE. JOKE. HA HA HA. DO NOT SEND US ANY CHECKS OR MANUSCRIPTS. THEY WILL BE RETURNED UNREAD AND UNCASHED.Read More
Q. If you listen to music while writing do you find yourself writing the scene(s) to fit the music or is it just pleasant background noise? A. The only time I’ve used music to affect my writing was when I was writing tie-in novels. I found that playing a tape or CD of the StarRead More
That’s right, our favorite “traditional” publisher is in the news again. In the latest embarassing (to PublishAmerica) coverage, we learn about the successful arbitration conducted by one of PA’s less-than-happy authors, Philip Dolan, which resulted in financial compensation, including the expense of arbitration, and would have resulted in the reimbursement of attorney’s fees if Mr.Read More
Recently, Ann and I compiled a list of Writer Beware’s 20 Worst Agents, which we posted to WritersNet, Absolute Write, and Miss Snark (check out the comments from people who were rooked by agencies on the list). Since then, we’ve been waiting for the inevitable explosion, and taking bets on who’d be first. We wereRead More
Okay, here we are for the second question of the 7 posted. Maggie asked: “Do you think all these scams have made the publishing world distrustful? What impact will it have on, say, pseudonyms?” Maggie, the world of the publishing and agenting scammer exists completely outside the world of the real publishers and agents. ManyRead More
Okay, Dave has asked me how much walking or digging in my garden influences my writing? Answer: Not much. (smile) Victoria is the gardener, and she is an excellent one. You might want to ask her about the influence on her, since she does have a garden in her new book that’s coming out, theRead More
