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Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware Last week, I got a question about the reputation of a service called Author Translation . I'd never heard of it before, so I paid a visit to its website. Logically enough, given its name, AT offers "literary translations for authors, online and worldwide." The website doesn't say which languages are AT's specialty, but per its Twitter feed , that would appear to be Spanish only. Also not revealed: exactly who is doing the translations, and what qualifications they have. It's said only that they are "literary translators, proofreaders, bloggers and reviewers with English and Spanish literature studies." The cost? $5 per translated page. This relatively low fee (good translations are expensive) was what attracted my correspondent, who would like to be able to sell her book into the Spanish-language market. Unfortunately, I had to tell her that you tend to get what you pay for. AT raises a bunch of red flag...

Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware A publishing contract just came across my desk for evaluation. From a publisher that sometimes charges fees (but didn't in this case), it's a pretty poor contract--just two pages long, because it's missing a lot of important language: nothing to indicate when the contract term starts to run (on publication? on signing?), no editing clause, a claim on subsidiary rights with no breakout of the rights claimed, no copyright notice requirement, the same royalty rate for all formats including ebooks...the list goes on. As if that weren't bad enough, it also includes two provisions that, even in contracts that are more professional and complete than this one, can be red-flag warnings. Promotion and publicity shall be at Publisher’s election and discretion as to the character, scope and extent thereof. With this or similar language, the publisher may be trying to convince you that it actively promotes and publicizes its books (bec...

Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware If you're a regular here, you'll have noticed our new look! It's courtesy of the talented Tiana Smith of The Blog Decorator , who offered to donate a custom blog template just because she thinks Writer Beware is awesome. We're grateful for her generosity, and thrilled to finally have a design that lives up to our new logo. We hope you like it, too. Thanks, Tiana!

Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware Welcome to 2015! It's time again for our annual look back at the year just past, to remind you of our most important, helpful, or amusing posts. Here goes. JANUARY Scribd's Ebook Subscription Service : A look at Scribd's ebook subscription service--which in January 2014 was brand-new--and the related concerns raised by the rampant piracy on the site. Says Writer Beware's Michael Capobianco: "[B]eneath all the new things, the old Scribd--offering not-necessarily-legal user uploads of copyrighted works--is still there."(Scribd later responded, stating that it's concerned about illegal uploads and working to prevent them.) FEBRUARY Questions to Ask Your Prospective Literary Agent : What are the right questions to ask when you receive The Call? How can you be sure if the agent is really right for you--if his plan for your manuscript matches your goals, if her style is a good fit for your needs? This post provide...