Please, please, please check with one of these sources before signing a contract with an agent or a publisher.
Writer Beware - http://www.sfwa.org/beware/
Helpful information about bogus agents and publishers - http://www.absolutewrite.com/freelance_writing/writer_beware.htm
Absolute Write forums - http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=22
5 reasons to avoid PublishAmerica - http://copywriting123.50webs.com/5-reasons-to-avoid-publishamerica.html
Preditors and Editors - http://anotherealm.com/prededitors/
Agent Query: http://agentquery.com/
Publisher's Weekly is chock full of great info about who has done what deal. http://www.publishersweekly.com/
If anyone has other links to share about agent and publisher scams, leave them here!
(Thanks to AngelSong and soccer_mom, who both provided links to add to this list)
----------
Heather Dudley
Forums Moderator
Liquid Story Binder, on sale for 50% off during November!
A Dragon Writes
42,565 / 50,000
Oct 2, 2009 - 06 10
These are great resources, I've heard too many horror stories about fledgling authors being scammed. So sad that it happens as often as it does.
----------Alexander DeLuca
Writing Tips, Tricks, and Stories.
Six Months in Ipswich - Coming Soon
Follow Me on Tumblr or Twitter
40,866 / 50,000
Oct 2, 2009 - 07 30
This is really important info, thanks.
FYI: The link to the Publish America article seems to be broken. I found it on articleslog.com (I think it's the same one).
----------7,052 / 50,000
Oct 24, 2009 - 13 47
I've got quite a long list.... The highlights:
Yes, I know this list is overwhelming. Here’s my advice: read a bit of each and, if it interests you, follow it. Before you query anywhere, though, read the Anti-Scam sites and Miss Snark. And if you ever need advice, search the archives of these blogs or send in questions to those who take them.
http://misssnark.blogspot.com/
Miss Snark doesn’t blog any more, but she’s got wonderful archives on author-agent relations, querying, nitwittery, scams, and more.
http://accrispin.blogspot.com/
Blogging and good advice on how not to get scammed.
http://www.sff.net/people/VictoriaStrauss/agentsearch.html
How to find a good agent.
http://www.slushpile.net/index.php/2006/04/21/why-people-hate-self-publi...
----------Reasons not to self-publish.
2006--Blackwing (pitiful, wimpy attempt)
2007--Blackwing--finished at 43K
2008--The Search for ArdRi--winner! and still not finished
2009--The Abolitionist
26,647 / 50,000
Oct 30, 2009 - 20 34
>
>
>
http://www.slushpile.net/index.php/2006/04/21/why-people-hate-self-publi...
Reasons not to self-publish.
I know that everyone has their own opinions about the best ways to write and publish, but I had some problems with that last one - partially because some of the ranting back and forth quite literally made me sick to my stomach, but mainly because it's outdated. The self-publishing they were talking about at the time was POD (often scammy and low-quality, yes), and e-books were pretty much still a niche market. But that was pre-Kindle, pre-Sony, pre-Nook. Self-publishing has changed considerably in the past couple of years thanks to the growing market for digital books. And the POD process may be about to change thanks to improvements in technology allowing digital books to be quickly and cheaply printed on-demand:
http://cbs11tv.com/technology/Google.Digital.Books.2.1189791.html .
(really hoping that technology for cheap, rapid printing and binding catches on, it could be a wonderful thing)
Wikipedia has a nice entry about self-publishing, without all the ranting back and forth and stomach-knotting, indy writer-discouraging negativity:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self_publishing
4,263 / 50,000
Nov 3, 2009 - 00 42
Good topic, great information. Thanks.
----------NaNo '08 – Untitled – around 15,000/50,000 (Trashed it and vowed to never try this again... *shake a fist*)
NaNo '09 – Dynamo: Layers – See the blue bar (Got nothing better to do, unless I actually get a callback *insane laughter*)
(I actually start
2,186 / 50,000
Nov 8, 2009 - 16 47
The Publish America link is a dead link - PublishAmerica - http://writing.articlesarchive.net/5-reasons-to-avoid-publishamerica.htm...
Cheers,
Vikram
www.bookbuzzr.com
Free, Online Book-Marketing Technology for Authors
53,395 / 50,000
Nov 8, 2009 - 19 41
Ah, thank you. I found a mirror. :)
----------Heather Dudley
Forums Moderator
Liquid Story Binder, on sale for 50% off during November!
A Dragon Writes
66,949 / 50,000
Nov 12, 2009 - 12 07
I know this is kind of after the fact considering the post dates, but I wanted to add a few cents.
Cent 1: Sadly, I used to work at PublishAmerica.
Cent 2: There are FAR more than 5 reasons not to publish with them. I can think of at least fifteen off the top of my head.