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.
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
Okay, I confess. I can’t think of a single thing to write about on this beautiful spring day. Spring fever has hit my brain and I want to go outside and measure my tulip shoots rather than site here and think up some scam-related words of wisdom. And I know better than to post aRead More
Victoria is out of town for a while, so I’m holding down the fort. Does the name “Bill Appell” or “Denise Sterrs” mean anything to anyone here? I sure hope not! They were the “dynamic duo” who ran one of the biggest writing scams in history, the infamous “Edit Ink.” Edit Ink was up andRead More
To paraphrase a famous television ad: “Writers don’t let writing friends (and acquaintances) get scammed.” Yesterday, I attended a women’s conference up at PG Community College. The keynote speaker was a dear friend of mine, a mystery writer who writes both as Elizabeth Peters and Barbara Michaels. (If you haven’t read her work, it’s great,Read More
Wow, my post no. 40 really stirred up some discussion! Bring it on! I think I understand why that article inspired a lot of commentary. The urge to be read is something most writers feel. Writers like Emily Dickinson who are content to write totally or mostly for themselves, with no urge to share theirRead More
