writers- writer beware! good anti-scam site
By Wanderlaugh
@Wanderlaugh (1622)
Australia
January 19, 2007 7:18pm CST
Every writer on myLot has posted something about online writing,and the problems trying to get published.
There are many publishing scams, vanity/self publishing, Print On Demand sites, and other horrors. It can be messy, and extremely expensive for writers. Don't get caught!Writer Beware is a site by professional authors about scams.
They're current, and they keep track of scam artists. They've helped me a couple of times, and they respond direct to questions about publishers.
Check it out, and if you haven't seen any of these scams, I'll be very surprised.
http://www.sfwa/org/beware
If the link doesn't work, search the name.
13 people like this
32 responses
@RxONE1 (495)
• United States
20 Jan 07
This is really great to have site thats track scam people
but anyway i tied your link
(http://www.sfwa/org/beware) but you write it wrong so here is the correct link
Working Link: http://www.sfwa.org/beware/
And thanks for sharing this to us :}
@Wanderlaugh (1622)
• Australia
20 Jan 07
****** Yeah, I see what I did. This is the correct link.******
1 person likes this
@SACH4ISHA (1163)
• India
20 Jan 07
thanks for doing that Nobel thing for all of us i am going to be join one of the site tonight and thinking of writing around 4 articals online you save my time man
@manodogs (415)
• United States
21 Jan 07
I actually know the woman who started this program and works closely with it. Her name is A.C. Crispin and she has written a lot of sci-fi stuff, including the novelized adaptation of the television show, V.
Writers Beware is a very good site and the people who are involved in it work hard to verify their information and help make writing a more honest industry.
@Wanderlaugh (1622)
• Australia
21 Jan 07
Yeah, this is the sort of thing that will eventually save the industry. Nice to know there are people who'll put years into doing something like this.
1 person likes this
@ShadyGrove (996)
• United States
20 Jan 07
Thanks so much for the link to this site. I'll be bookmarking this site so I can keep track of what's up out there. Thanks again.
3 people like this
@surveysays (278)
• Singapore
21 Jan 07
That is a great site. I've used it before, and it has a lot of helpful information.
Thanks for posting that. I think all of us get offers for scams all the time. It's good to have a place to check out the validity of all the offers.
2 people like this
@shemb1 (464)
• Sri Lanka
20 Jan 07
thank you sending usefull hints for members. and i have good site to report all scamers in the world. actually i dont have it now but I will give sub dirctory to reach there. www.seagullmembers.com, in there you can see some scamers and near that menu you can see report kind of this this stuff to...
@shywolf (4514)
• United States
20 Jan 07
That is an awesome resource to help those of us who like to write to know what sites to steer clear from. Thank you so much for posting it! I know about the http://www.getpaidforum.com to learn about what GPT programs are good and bad. I've been posting and reading there for years. But I did not know about this site for writers. Thank you again! I will definitely be taking a look. ^_^
2 people like this
@moneymaka (492)
• United States
20 Jan 07
The link you posted above doesnt work, but sure i agree with you about these scams being done.
akoon
www.habboxb.com
2 people like this
@amusements (106)
• United States
20 Jan 07
I think I've seen this site before. I also had to change the little address because it wasn't working. Sadly, I think I see some names here of agencies that my friends have had problems with in the past. I'll make sure I forward it so that they can see this and avoid any problems in the future.
@Wanderlaugh (1622)
• Australia
20 Jan 07
Some of the scam artists can cause real misery to people trying to get their work published. I've got into the habit of checking at Writer Beware first.
1 person likes this
@AmberNormandin (883)
• United States
20 Jan 07
thanks for the tip!!! my mom is an aspiring writer and has wanted to get published one day. ill definately be passing this on to her. thank you!
2 people like this
@masterseifer_20 (50)
• United States
20 Jan 07
i really aprreciate that im not really aware of some sites that are scam i should be keep on eye on it,thanks once again
2 people like this
@creativedreamweaver (7297)
• United States
21 Jan 07
Thanks for such great and useful site. There are alot of scams out there regarding publishing, especially epub and pod publishers. Another site that is very useful is called "Preditors and Editors". http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/
You can check it out also. I have used it several times over the past few years. Now, I have two to double check, that is great. Thank you so much wanderlaugh.
1 person likes this
@creativedreamweaver (7297)
• United States
22 Jan 07
Thanks wanderlaugh. I like eating...sometimes to much, lol.
1 person likes this
@Wanderlaugh (1622)
• Australia
21 Jan 07
*****Note the link, folks, more support for writers who like eating.*****
1 person likes this
@seeyogeshwagh (724)
• India
20 Jan 07
This is really the great Job done by Internet community to stop scam writers. I know what it takes to write the book or even article in news paper. But some people out there are doing the bad job of copying the material. And now this all going to end soon I am happy to knoe this that exist the website and prople who track the fakers. Go boys go you are doing the right job, best of luck.
2 people like this
@nufoundglory (1353)
• Serbia And Montenegro
21 Jan 07
I thought "self-publishing" is all about funding everything yourself to get published and do it all by yourself without the involvement of third parties? How do you get scammed then? *?*
@Wanderlaugh (1622)
• Australia
21 Jan 07
It's what you get from the third party that's the problem, even if you leave out the fact that bona fide publishers don't work that way. I've seen some stunningly tacky deals, including:
1. One that said their books were on Yahoo! Shopping, and was unfindable, even on a basic search of their name. 2. One of the most minimal, undersold websites that I've ever seen, and so much postage and spam that you could have fed a family for a month on what it cost just to send the stuff.
3. A review of one of my stories that got the whole thing wrong.
4. I was quoted the same fee for the story as was charged for a full novel. I made a point of asking about this, and they didn't get it.
5. No guarantee of any result other than them going through the motions in their contract. They will claim to have outlets, you have to guess if it's true. If you want to argue, you're looking at lawyers.
6. Many of these scams have no suceessful published authors on their site. Real publishers always do, and it's for a reason.
You probably don't want to read a book on the subject right this minute, nufoundglory, but this is the intro.
@nufoundglory (1353)
• Serbia And Montenegro
22 Jan 07
I think i DO want to read a book about this matter, which i think there must be a few out there? I've just never really thought deeply about this matter before, you know.
I know there are some vanity publishers that are only intended to make money off you rather than sell your book, but then again, aren't we all know, THAT is what these vanity publishers are here for? **still pretty much confused**
1 person likes this
@Wanderlaugh (1622)
• Australia
22 Jan 07
Sorry I wasn't a bit quicker with the response.
Yeah, that's pretty much the problem. There are variations on the theme, though, so each new day is an adventure for the writer.Writer Beware is the primary source, and you get links and names to do a bit of first hand research and see for yourself. Quite an experience, but cheaper than the alternative.
@ronita34 (3922)
• Canada
23 Jan 07
This is good to know. I love to write and just recently got a poem published a little while back through poetry.com!! I have yet to complete a novel but when i do i will remember this for sure! There is a site called Gather.com that is great for writers!
@Litwriter21 (45)
• United States
22 Jan 07
Thanks for your post, I agree.
I have to admit when I first got my letter from poetry.com telling me that my poem was great and that I was one of the "semi-finalist" of the contest I was so happy, excited, and naive.
One of my poems were placed in one of their books and it was shown on the very first page. I showed it off to my family and friends and I was so proud:( of my first publication in a real book.
But, lo-and behold, I found out through chating on another writing site that their poem was also published in the same book and when they recieved it in the mail, their poem was also on the first page.
It took my joy completley away from me and anger replaced it heavily.
I don't think that it is right or fair to build up a person's sights on something that is not real, not to mention what it does for a writer's self-esteem.
Thank you for the great post.
Katina :)
1 person likes this
