sàds

Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware NOTE: Before writing this post, I thought a lot about linkage. I didn't want to increase traffic to propaganda blogs and websites by linking to them--but I did want readers to be able to see the kind of nastiness involved. So most of the links in this post are to cached versions. FULL DISCLOSURE: I've been a member of Absolute Write since the early 2000's, and was a moderator there for several years. Last week, I received an email from the owner of a website that, among other things, posts lists of resources for writers. One of the website's users had objected to the inclusion of the Absolute Write Water Cooler (which, if you're not familiar with it, is an online writers' forum and community), pointing to a slew of blogs and websites with names like Absolute Wrong and Absolute Blight that purport to expose AW as a bully board populated by losers and wannabees whose main recreational activity is persecuting membe...

Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware Today I thought I'd be writing a blog post and catching up on Writer Beware correspondence. However, that is not to be. On Friday, my desktop computer (on which I keep most of my Writer Beware files) was working fine. Turned it on this morning...and it won't start. So it's off to the computer repair shop. I do have Internet access via my laptop, so if you've written to me in the past week and I haven't responded (I am, as always, several days behind on correspondence), please contact me again, either via my website (if you want to reach me at my personal email address) or at beware [at] sfwa.org (for Writer Beware). Thanks, and hopefully I'll be fully operational soon.

Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware As many of you may know, earlier this year Writer's Digest terminated its involvement with Abbott Press , the white-label self-publishing imprint created and powered for it by Author Solutions, Inc. Although Abbott Press remains online, all reference to Writer's Digest and its parent, F&W Media, has been removed. (Interestingly, there's no reference to Author Solutions, either, unless you dig pretty deep into the Abbott Press website--deeper, probably, than many authors will go--and Abbott Press does not appear anywhere on AS's list of imprints .) Now Writer's Digest has re-entered the self-publishing services space with the just-launched Blue Ash Publishing . This time, WD is partnering with Bookbaby , a self-publishing service that, unlike Author Solutions, has a decent reputation . As with Bookbaby itself, the emphasis at Blue Ash is on ebooks rather than print--a change from print-centric Author Solutions. Also ...

Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware I know I've written about this before. But I'm seeing an increasing number of these kinds of "services," and they are all worthless. What am I talking about? Agent middleman services--services that, for a fee, purport to contact agents on your behalf with the aim of snagging representation and, hopefully, a publishing contract. A particularly egregious example: Bookmarq.net's Finding a Publisher service. (All errors courtesy of the original.) Agents in New York or London receive thousands of query letters a year in the first stage of the book-beauty-contest that is traditional publishing.... Publishing a new author represents a significant investment for any publishing house which goes far beyond the amount of advance. To reach the promise land it is absolutely vital for an author have all the links in the chain in place or they will not be successful in securing a publishing contract. What are those all-import...

Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware I've completely re-worked the Self-Publishing page of Writer Beware , to better reflect the rapid changes in the self-publishing marketplace. New features include an introduction that provides an overview of how technology has transformed self-publishing, pointers on making the decision to self-publish (or not), an expanded list of cautions for self-publishers (including common scams), and many new links to articles, experts, and statistics. Comments and suggestions are welcome. Please post them here, or email me .