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.
From audiate, a question in the Comments section of my Breaking Up post: “Victoria, thanks for sharing this info about termination clauses. Can you tell us what other things should be covered by an author-agent contract?” From an author’s perspective (agents may feel differently), here’s what I’d want to see covered. The scope of representation.Read More
Hi, folks. I’m back, a bit tanned and rather rested. I actually did write while on vacation, whoohoo! Love my new notebook computer! While I was traveling around Florida, zipping by towns on the interstates, or even traveling around in some towns, I couldn’t help remembering how many scam or questionable literary agencies have FloridaRead More
Just ran across this–Lulu, a POD publishing service provider (which, depending on your bias, can be called with equal honesty a vanity publisher or a self-publishing service) has initiated Blooker Prize. (The entry deadline was yesterday, so obviously I’m discovering this rather late.) If you’re not familiar with the concept of a blook, the contestRead More
Ann and I often hear from writers who’ve unwisely signed with a scammer or an incompetent, and want to know how to get out of the relationship. In many cases, I don’t think that it’d be a big deal simply to walk away. Since the contract was offered under false pretenses (that the agent wasRead More
I’ve said here and elsewhere that when you’re evaluating literary agents, track record is the bottom line. Even more than business practices, it’s the most important indicator of an agent’s legitimacy. (I’ve gotten in trouble for saying this, by the way. Many people who keep an eye on the shadow-world of literary scams feel thatRead More
Here’s a good reason to always read the fine print when you’re thinking of entering a literary contest: this contest from UK-based SFX magazine. Many aspiring writers think that entering literary contests is a way to build a list of writing credits. For the most part, I disagree. Of course there are prestigious contests, whereRead More
