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.
I’ve gotten permission to post Ann’s full interview with SciFi.com. It includes lots of interesting info on Martha Ivery and how she was brought to justice, but SciFi.com felt it couldn’t publish the interview without giving Martha and/or her counsel a chance to comment. (!!) Since Martha’s lawyer didn’t respond and they couldn’t find contactRead More
Ann recently did an interview with SciFi Wire on the Martha Ivery case and Writer Beware’s involvement in bringing Ivery to justice. The interview was very detailed and informative–unfortunately, SciFi Wire condensed it to a paragraph within a general article about the case. Maybe we can publish the interview here–I’m going to see about gettingRead More
Questionable agents, who unlike reputable agents are unable to impress potential clients with their track records, sometimes try to project an aura of professional competence by attaching lots of (apparently) professional memberships to their names.
Mensaguy, whom I discussed a few posts back (his agency is a front for an expensive editing scheme), uses this technique. His letterhead prominently lists a business organization, a couple of Who's Who tomes, and, of course, Mensa. It's a good-sized list, and it might actually look impressive if you didn't realize that none of the memberships are relevant for a literary agent.
So what professional memberships are relevant?
Okay, friend and neighbors, it’s time to explode Aspiring Writer Myth No. 2 — “Agents and editors eagerly look for even the smallest typo, they want excuses to reject your manuscript. If it’s not 100% perfect, they won’t give it the time of day.” Myth. ‘Tain’t so. Agents and editors read slush piles much theRead More
Victoria and I were talking the other day, and decided we’d blog a bit from time to time about some myths we’ve noticed floating around in the world of the aspiring writer. Most of you posters are probably too sophisticated to ascribe to these, but more people read than post, so here goes: Aspiring WriterRead More
Ann is away for a few days, which is why you’re seeing so much of me just now. I just did a brief interview on WAMC, the NPR station in Albany, NY, about Martha Ivery and writing scams in general. It went well–the hosts always ask smart questions–and I was able to mention Writer Beware’sRead More
