What You’ll Find on This Website
There are sharks in the literary waters. Deceptions abound, from fee-charging literary agents, to dishonest freelance editors, to predatory vanity publishers, to fake contests, to imposter scams, to ripoff schemes targeted at self-published authors.
Add to that the complications of copyright, the plethora of dubious writers’ services, and the hordes of well-intentioned but unqualified agents, publishers, editors, and marketers, and you have a veritable minefield of literary pitfalls just waiting for the unwary writer, whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned pro, whether you’re pursuing the traditional publishing route or taking steps to self-publish.
The good news: it’s completely possible to protect yourself. At the Writer Beware website, you’ll find a full toolkit to help you avoid being scammed or otherwise taken advantage of, including detailed discussions of questionable practice, information on how to identify it, advice on how to avoid it, and links to trustworthy online resources.
Here’s a summary (in alphabetical order) of what you’ll find on Writer Beware.
- About Writer Beware: Who are we? What do we do? Why do we do it? Get the answers here, including how to get in touch with us.
- Case Studies: In-depth looks at how a number of (mostly) defunct literary scams operated.
- Contests and Awards: Some literary contests and awards are prestigious, but many aren’t. Worse, they may be money-making schemes, or fronts for fee-charging agencies or publishers. On this page you’ll find tips to help you assess a contest’s or an award’s legitimacy, as well as some thoughts on an important question: Is entering worth it?
- Copyright: Misconceptions and myths surround the complex subject of copyright, including the belief that you must register your copyright in order to be protected, and that you must include copyright notices on unpublished work submitted to agents and publishers. Our Copyright page provides comprehensive information on copyright, copyright registration, and moral rights, and punctures some common copyright myths.
- Editors and Editing Services: Self-editing is a vital part of the writer’s craft, but there are also situations in which it may make sense to hire an independent editor. There are many excellent editors and editing services; unfortunately, there are also many questionable ones, with dubious qualifications, inflated fees, and deceptive come-ons. On this page you’ll find a list of warning signs, as well as tips on how to vet qualified service providers. There’s also a discussion of the limitations of editing, and why you should consider carefully before choosing this often very expensive option.
- Legal Recourse and Other Remedies: Advice on taking legal action if you believe you’ve been defrauded, along with a variety of avenues for filing complaints about dishonest or fraudulent practice.
- Literary Agents: A good literary agent can be a tremendous boon to a writer’s career. But there are also many disreputable agents who prey on writers by charging fees, promoting their own paid editing services, engaging in kickback referral schemes, and misrepresenting their knowledge and expertise. Equally dangerous are the many amateur and incompetent agents, who lack the skills and knowledge to successfully market manuscripts to publishers; and the unscrupulous scammers who impersonate literary agents in order to extract money from writers. Our Literary Agents page discusses questionable agenting practices, offers tips on how to identify and avoid fraudulent and amateur agents, and provides resources to help you research agents’ reputations.
- Self-Publishing: A growing array of self-publishing options have made it possible for anyone to publish a book, free of charge or at a cost considerably lower than the old-style print vanity publishers. It’s a competitive field, however, with many challenges–in particular, achieving visibility in this increasingly crowded publishing segment. Plus, the rise of self-publishing has driven a corresponding explosion of schemes and scams aimed at self-publishers. Our Self-Publishing page looks in-depth at all these issues, along with to help you find and evaluate appropriate options.
- Small Presses: Digital technology, which makes it easy and inexpensive to set up a publishing operation, has spurred huge growth in the number of small presses over the past couple of decades. But though there are many wonderful small presses, there are also many less desirable ones, including vanity publishers in disguise. On our Small Presses page, you’ll find a discussion of these problems and the dangers they pose to writers, along with the warning signs of scams, advice on how to judge a publisher’s professionalism, and links to helpful resources.
- Vanity, Subsidy, and Hybrid Publishers: Some vanity publishers are honest and straightforward, if unduly expensive. But many aren’t, concealing their fees, breaking contract terms, and otherwise defrauding writers. On this page, you’ll learn the warning signs of a dishonest vanity publisher, as well as the pitfalls of pay-to-play anthologies and the pros and cons of so-called hybrid publishers: publishers that charge hefty fees but offer services equivalent to those of traditional publishers.
- Writers’ Services: The past few years have seen an extraordinary increase in the number of people writing and trying to publish books. In addition to fueling an astounding proliferation of scams and schemes, this has also spawned a variety of services targeted to writers. Some are frauds; a few are genuinely intended to help. Many are a waste of money. This page discusses common writers’ services and their usefulness (or lack of it).
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MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT PERMISSION