Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware

In March, I wrote about New York law firm Giskan Solotaroff Anderson & Stewart LLP, which had opened an investigation of Author Solutions Inc. (ASI).

Well, now the other shoe has dropped. On April 26…

I’m still following the news (and answering email), so I can at least share with you the publishing stories that caught my eye over the past week or so.

Over the past few years, more and more trade publishers have created digital-only imprints. Another new one just popped up in my newsfeed today: Little, Brown UK’s Blackfriars will be launching its first list this coming June.

Writer Beware has received reports that authors are receiving phone solicitations from an outfit called Close-up TV News, which describes itself as “…a premiere news magazine TV program spotlighting the most successful businesses across America. “

In 2008, following a bitter divorce, Iowan Scott Weier paid one of the Author Solutions Inc. imprints to publish his memoir, Mind, Body, and Soul. Subsequently, Weier’s ex-wife filed suit against Weier and ASI for libel, citing allegations in the memoir that she was a bad mother, had been the victim of molestation, and had a personality disorder

The Baltimore Science Fiction Society, a 501(c)(3) located at 3310 East Baltimore Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21224, is proud to announce more writing workshops for 2013 run by professional writers.

Today’s guest blog post, from journalist Mridu Khullar Relph, explores the world of writing schemes and scams from an international perspective–something that’s increasingly an issue for Western writers looking to find work overseas.

Well, it’s happened again. Another traditional publisher has added a pay-to-play “division.”

Yesterday, venerable trade publisher (and one of the Big 5) Simon & Schuster announced the launch of Archway Publishing, a self-publishing services provider.

These days, many authors focus more time on self-promotion through social media than on marketing their books. It’s not necessarily a bad idea, but with all the social media hype, it can be easy to forget about the fundamentals.

The emergence of the iPod has revolutionized the way our culture consumes media; music, videos, apps, and even literature, specifically in the form of audio fiction. Both long and short form audio fiction have thousands of avid listeners who take advantage of commutes, gym sessions, walks, etc., to catch up on their ‘reading.’