From writerbeware.blog
Book Guard: "Anti-Scam Protection" That's Anything But - Writer Beware
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The writing world may have reached Peak Scam: the point at which the extreme prevalence of writing scams can be leveraged to create a protection racket to exploit the victims of those scams. Kind of like paying the people who’d beat you up and burn down your business to defend you against the...
#scams #authors #writing #indieauthors #writerbeware
on Fri, 7PM
From writerbeware.blog
Dogging the Watchdog Redux: Someone Else is Impersonating Writer Beware - Writer Beware
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The ONLY authentic Writer Beware email address is beware@sfwa.org. “Writer Beware” emails from any other addresses are fake. A bit over a year ago, a scammer (I never was able to determine which one, but it’s highly likely it was someone on this list) sent out a large number of emails under my...
on Nov 15
From writerbeware.blog
Edioak and House of Pages: Lots of Questions, Incomplete Answers - Writer Beware
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I’ve heard from a number of writers recently who’ve been invited to join a venture called House of Pages. The contacts, which mostly seem to be via contact forms on the authors’ websites, look like this: What is House of Pages? According to its website, it’s a cross-promotion network where...
on Nov 1
From writerbeware.blog
Some Rare Accountability for a Fake Literary Agency Operation - Writer Beware
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The vast bulk of the publishing/marketing/fake literary agency/impersonation scams on which I’ve expended so many words are based in the Philippines (though they do their best to make themselves look local to their preferred American and Canadian victims by maintaining fake business addresses...
on Oct 5
From writerbeware.blog
Wolves in Authors' Clothing: Beware Social Media Marketing Scams - Writer Beware
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For authors, one of the (these days, increasingly few) positives of social media is connecting with other authors. Especially if no one else in your family/social circle is involved in the arts (raises hand), it’s great to be able to find a community where you can discuss craft, business, the...
on Sep 20
From writerbeware.blog
Facing Author Lawsuits, Shawline Publishing Re-Brands as New Found Books - Writer Beware
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I first heard of Australia-based Shawline Publishing in 2021, thanks to a question from an author who’d been offered a contract. Shawline was (and still is, under its new name) a self-styled hybrid, meaning that it charges fees. Its website loudly touts the “affordability” of its services,...
on Sep 14
From writerbeware.blog
Awards Profiteering: The Book Festival Empire of JM Northern Media - Writer Beware
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If you’re a writer, I’ll bet you’ve been spammed by JM Northern Media. Don’t recognize the name? Maybe these will ring a bell. The Los Angeles Book Festival. The Hollywood Book Festival. The Halloween Book Festival. The Green Book Festival. The Paris Book Festival. The New York Book Festival....
on Aug 28
From writerbeware.blog
The Latest Fake Literary Agencies - Writer Beware
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Fake agencies mentioned in this post: The Elite Scout SocietyImplicitPress Literary AgencyJudith Carter LiteraryLiterary Agents AssociationMushens & Churchill Literary AgencyStory Arc Literary GroupsZenith Literary Not too long ago, I published a post with tips and techniques to help writers...
on Aug 23
From writerbeware.blog
The Literary Reporter: A New Book Promo Site That's Rather Less Than It Appears - Writer Beware
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Just last week, I began getting questions about email solicitations from a website I wasn’t familiar with called The Literary Reporter (TLR). The (extremely verbose–more on that below) emails offer authors placement for their books on the TLR website, plus promotion to “supported book groups”...
on Aug 2
From writerbeware.blog
Evaluating Publishing Contracts: Six Ways You May Be Sabotaging Yourself - Writer Beware
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(If you’re a regular reader and are feeling some deja vu at the title of this post, it’s because I’ve published it before, in a slightly different form. I’m updating and re-running it because I’ve gotten so many questions about these issues over the past few months.) Several years ago, a...
on Jul 27
From writerbeware.blog
The Curious Case of Fullers Library and Its Deceptive Link Requests - Writer Beware
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This isn’t strictly writing-related, but it is the kind of weird rabbit hole I enjoy going down, and it’s a writer (and artist) who drew my attention to it. The writer got in touch to share an email with me. A local library, a young writer, a suggestion for a helpful resource to add toRead More
on Jul 5
From writerbeware.blog
The Latest Impersonation Scams - Writer Beware
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Among the most frequent scam reports I receive are impersonation scams. These are many and various, including agent impersonations, publisher impersonations, bookstore impersonations, production company impersonations, and more. The aim of the scam–as always–is to relieve writers of money....
on Jun 26
From writerbeware.blog
From Motionflick Studios to Snow Day Film: The Evolution of a Book-to-Film Scam - Writer Beware
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The Hollywood dream has always burned bright for writers…and scammers and dodgy operators have always been eager to take advantage. The method may change–from the coverage grifts and pay-to-play snail mail catalogs that were a staple of the pre-internet days, to the impersonation and fake film...
on Jun 22
From writerbeware.blog
Guest Post: Disney, Books, and the Copyright Claims Board - Writer Beware
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Writer Beware has been covering the Copyright Claims Board since it started accepting cases in 2022. A small claims court for copyright matters, the CCB offers an alternative to the expensive court battles that previously were the only path to resolving copyright disputes, providing creators...
on May 31
From writerbeware.blog
Alert: A Scammer is Impersonating the Alliance of Independent Authors - Writer Beware
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If you’ve received this email, beware: it’s a phishing scam. The Alliance of Independent Authors has confirmed to Writer Beware that it did not send this email, which I’m told was received by both ALLi members and non-members. The scam solicitations are personalized with writers’ email addresses...
on May 17
From writerbeware.blog
Contract Critique: Dashtoon - Writer Beware
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Dashtoon is a startup (founded in late 2022) digital comics creation platform that promises to revolutionize the comics industry by allowing anyone to create their own webcomics using generative AI, and to distribute and monetize their creations via the Dashtoon app. Licensed in Delaware USA and...
on May 10
From writerbeware.blog
Guest Post: How a Book Really Becomes a Movie - Writer Beware
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Book-to-film scams are extremely common these days. If the publishing industry is opaque and secretive, the movie biz is even more so, and scammers take full advantage. From disreputable marketers claiming to take your book to pitch events, to fake agents offering to represent you to major...
on Apr 12
From writerbeware.blog
Overseas Scams - Writer Beware
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Publishing/Marketing/Fake Literary Agency Scam List READ THIS FIRST Below is Writer Beware’s most up-to-date list of publishing/marketing/fake literary agency scams operating mostly out of the Philippines, and to a lesser degree India and Pakistan, despite their US/Canadian/UK addresses and...
on Apr 11
From writerbeware.blog
The Scam of "Book Licensing" - Writer Beware
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LICENSING: THE REALITY A few weeks ago, I wrote about the common scam of “book returns insurance”, in which scammers take something real (book returnability, a normal element of book publishing and selling) and spin it into a nonexistent “service” (a kind of “insurance” product, which you...
on Apr 5
From writerbeware.blog
To CCB or Not to CCB: The Question is Still Out - Writer Beware
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It’s been more than a year since my last post about the now not-so-new Copyright Claims Board (CCB). Victoria covered the CCB when it first started hearing claims in June 2022, and her post gives a good summary of how it operates and what it is supposed to accomplish. The short version: The CCB...
on Mar 22
From writerbeware.blog
The Impersonation List - Writer Beware
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The most pernicious scams focused on English-speaking writers these days come from overseas: publishing/marketing/fake literary agency scams from the Philippines, and ghostwriting/editing/marketing scams from Pakistan and India. That’s not to say there aren’t plenty of scammers in the USA,...
on Mar 15
From writerbeware.blog
Author Complaints at City Owl Press - Writer Beware
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City Owl Press (COP) describes itself as a “cutting edge indie publishing company, bringing the world of romance and speculative fiction to discerning readers.” Co-founded in 2014 by authors Tina Moss and Yelena Casale, COP publishes romance, paranormal, fantasy, horror, and mystery, and has a...
on Mar 8
From writerbeware.blog
Coping With Scams: Suggestions for Changing Your Mindset - Writer Beware
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Today I’m blogging again over at Writer Unboxed. Recently, a writer contacted me to ask about the legitimacy of an email they’d just received, from someone claiming to be a literary agent interested in representing them. All by itself, the solicitation itself was a warning sign: reputable...
on Mar 1
From writerbeware.blog
Outrage Over New Terms of Use at Findaway Voices Forces Change - Writer Beware
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Note: This post has been corrected to reflect that the TOU change was made on February 16 (not February 18 as originally stated). A little over a year ago, controversy arose over a provision of Findaway Voices’ distribution agreement that granted Apple a license to use rights holders’ audiobook...
on Feb 22
From writerbeware.blog
The Scam of Book Returns Insurance - Writer Beware
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If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you’ll know that one of the hallmarks of the publishing/marketing/fake literary agency scams that are so prevalent right now is the selling of bogus services. Sometimes they’re bogus because they’re totally substandard (a la those online clothing...
on Feb 17
From writerbeware.blog
Bad Contract Alert: NovelSnack/AnyStories/Readink - Writer Beware
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This is another in my series of posts about poor contract terms from serialized fiction apps. A few months back, this email arrived in my Writer Beware inbox. I’ve never used Wattpad, so clearly they had me confused with someone else (maybe something to do with this?), but I never pass up the...
on Feb 2
From writerbeware.blog
Peak Fake: A Scam Website Impersonating Macmillan Publishers - Writer Beware
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I write a lot about impersonation scams on this blog–for good reason: they are extremely common, and becoming more so all the time. Literary agents, publishers, production companies, film directors: all are targets. The purpose: money, of course. By posing as real, reputable companies and...
on Jan 23
From writerbeware.blog
Contest Caution: Script Writing Audition from Silent Manga Audition - Writer Beware
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Silent Manga Audition (SMA), a project of Tokyo-based manga and anime production company Coamix Inc., conducts regular open auditions, or contests, for creators of silent manga (manga without dialogue). Contestants can win cash prizes, as well as mentoring and, possibly, publication. SMA is...
on Jan 22
From writerbeware.blog
Best of Writer Beware: 2023 in Review - Writer Beware
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Every January, when I look back over the previous year’s blog posts, I’m amazed that there was so much to cover. When Ann Crispin and I started Writer Beware in (gulp) 1998, we really didn’t envision it as a long-term project; we thought if we put out enough warnings, and named enough names,...
on Jan 5
From writerbeware.blog
A Message at Year's End - Writer Beware
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As another year of schemes, scams, and pitfalls draws to a close, I just want to say THANK YOU to the readers of this blog, to the writers who share their stories, and to the industry professionals and others who spread the word about Writer Beware. Writer Beware would not exist without you, and...
on Dec 22
From writerbeware.blog
How to Spot a Fake Literary Agency - Writer Beware
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As if writers didn’t have enough to contend with, the past couple of years have seen a huge rise in scammers posing as literary agencies. I’m not talking here about the imposters who “borrow” the names of real agents and agencies (though they are certainly part of the same problem)–but about...
on Dec 15
From writerbeware.blog
Author Complaints at L.R. Price Publications Ltd. - Writer Beware
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Founded in 2013 by Russell Spencer, Leonard West, and a New Zealand company called Redairon Holdings (whose director, Susan Woodard, served as an officer), UK-based publisher L.R. Price Publications Ltd. (LRP) describes itself as “dedicated to publishing books by new and unknown authors”. FEES,...
on Dec 1
From writerbeware.blog
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About Writer Beware Writer Beware® is sponsored by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association ( SFWA®). Like many genre-focused writers’ groups, SFWA® is concerned not just with issues that affect professional authors, but with the challenges and pitfalls that face aspiring writers....
on Nov 29
From writerbeware.blog
Two New Solicitation Bewares: DiscoverPublishers.com and Reseller Ventures - Writer Beware
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DISCOVERPUBLISHERS.COM I’ve gotten several reports over the past few days about solicitations from an outfit called DiscoverPublishers.com. The solicitations are “personalized” with the author’s name, and have slightly different text, but the import is the same. In the original email, if you...
on Nov 24, 2023
From writerbeware.blog
Artificial Intelligence and Copyright: SFWA's Comments to the US Copyright Office - Writer Beware
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In August, the US Copyright Office issued a Notice of Inquiry (NOI) seeking public comment on copyright and artificial intelligence. The NOI is part of the Copyright Office’s AI Initiative, which seeks to assess whether copyright-related legislation or regulation is needed in response to the...
on Nov 10, 2023
From writerbeware.blog
Contest Caution: Lichfield Institute Writing Contest - Writer Beware
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I’ve gotten several questions lately about a writing contest offering enormous prizes: the Lichfield Institute Writing Contest. Just about every temptation for a hungry writer is here. Big bucks for the winners. Feedback on every submission from distinguished judges–at least, one assumes they’re...
on Nov 3, 2023
From writerbeware.blog
Imposter Syndrome: The Rise of Impersonation Scams - Writer Beware
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I’m blogging over at Writer Unboxed again today, with an overview of a type of scam that currently represents 50% or more of the questions and complaints I receive. The current self-publishing industry has its roots in the mid-1990s, when three startups–Xlibris, Trafford, and AuthorHouse–began...
on Oct 27, 2023
From writerbeware.blog
Why Writer Beware Doesn't Recommend or Endorse Agents or Publishers - Writer Beware
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“You warn about so many bad literary agents and publishers, why don’t you ever tell us about the good ones?” It’s a question Writer Beware has been getting for almost as long as we’ve been around, from writers bewildered about where to go for reliable information, frustrated by the abundance of...
on Oct 20, 2023
From writerbeware.blog
Long-Standing Payment Problems At Cricket Media - Writer Beware
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Cricket Media describes itself as a global education company, with products that include mentoring platforms, language instruction, and a suite of well-known children’s magazines for kids of all ages. Having a story, article, poem, or illustration published in one of these magazines is a coveted...
on Oct 18, 2023
From writerbeware.blog
Vanity Radio and TV: Think Twice Before Paying for Interviews - Writer Beware
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In a super-crowded, hyper-competitive marketplace, one of the main challenges for book authors is to stand out. And where there’s a need, there are always unscrupulous operators waiting to take advantage. The internet is awash in worthless schemes and outright scams designed to profit from...
on Oct 13, 2023