Scams Aimed At Writers

Guest post on duolit by Lila: 

Most authors want to make a profit on their books. Unfortunately, some people don’t care about books and simply want to make a profit from the authors. Here are five of the most common scams.

Scam 1: The Agent's Reading Fee
Lila writes:

What They’re Not Telling You:

When you send your manuscript, you’ll need to include a small reading fee. And is this your first draft? It’s going to need lots of editing. She’ll recommend one of her “professional connections” to edit your novel for only a few hundred (or thousand!) dollars. The promises will keep getting bigger as your bank account gets smaller. Every week, there will be some new service absolutely crucial to preparing your manuscript for submission to the Big Six publishers. In the best-case scenario, these people might do some decent work. More likely, they will lead you on a merry chase and disappear once the check clears.

Question Toolbox:

• Is she looking to make money with you, or first take money from you?
• Does she allow you to pick your services and providers, or does she force hers upon you? For example, can you pick your own editor, or does she demand you use the recommended editor if you want to keep her as an agent?
• If she’s an in-demand agent powerhouse, how does she have time to accept online submissions from strangers?

To read about the other four scams read Lila's entire article here: Five Common Writer Scams — Explained!

These days we need warnings about fraudsters. Lila has put together a great post I think ever writer should read.

Thanks to The Passive Voice Blog for mentioning Lila's article.

Photo credit: mark i geo