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.
Last week, Penguin subsidiary Book Country–a digital slush pile/peer critique community with a focus on genre fiction–announced that it was adding self-publishing services. This prompted an explosion of negative commentary, including criticism from self-published authors. But I’ve been following the Book Country story for some time–Book Country staff have been active in reaching out toRead More
In July of 2008, I blogged about Light Sword Publishing, a.k.a. LSP Digital, about which Writer Beware had received a substantial number of complaints (delays, nonpayment of royalties, unprofessional behavior, misrepresentation of the company's expertise and capabilities). For examples, see the Light Sword Publishing thread at Absolute Write, and also the comments thread of my blog post.
LSP was sued in 2007 by one of its authors, alleging breach of contract, fraud in the inducement, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. The author prevailed: in April 2008, default judgments totaling more than $30,000 were entered against Light Sword Publishing and Light Sword's then-owners, Bonnie Kirby and Linda Daly. (The judgments were later declared non-dischargeable and dismissed.)
The judgments (and my blog post) occasioned quite a bit of discussion, and in May or June 2008, in time-honored dodgy-publisher style, Daly changed Light Sword Publishing's name to LSP Digital. It doesn't seem to have helped. December 2008, Linda Daly and Light Sword Publishing filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy petitions with the US Bankruptcy Court in the Eastern District of Michigan. By April 2010, the bankruptcy trustee had decided to abandon assets and close the file; and in June 2010, Daly was granted a discharge.
Two weeks ago, Amazon announced its brand-new Kindle Owners’ Lending Library, which makes it possible for Amazon Prime members to borrow ebooks for free. Members can borrow one ebook a month, which they can keep on their Kindle for as long as they like. Since borrowing is limited to one book at a time, downloadingRead More
A brand-new page on Small Presses has been added to the Writer Beware website. Here’s what you’ll find: An overview of issues to consider if you’re thinking of submitting to a small press. For instance, stability can be a problem–the attrition rate among small presses is very high–as can competence. It’s easy and cheap toRead More
Last December, I blogged about the Brit Writers Awards, an awards program for first-time authors, which was dogged by allegations of loose judging standards and poor communication. (Max Dunbar’s blog provides a summary of some of these allegations.) I was especially worried about the BWA’s Publishing Programme, which offered unpublished writers mentoring and publishing forRead More
I’m writing this in my local Panera, which is one of the few places where I can power my computer just now. Here in Massachusetts, we are still suffering through the after-effects of the massive Snowtober storm, and after four days I still don’t have power at home. And it has been COLD. And myRead More
