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Data Dump Territory for Writers!

Not for the faint of heart.

P.N. Elrod's gotten a lot of questions on writing over the years. 

Here's her take on a few aspects of the industry, including serious bewares concerning sharks in the publishing pool.

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How do I learn to write?

You read.

Seriously.

All writers are insatiable readers.

The 808 section of your library has LOTS of books on how to write.

And this is a helpful forum: http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/

Membership is free, though they can use donations.

 

 

How do I to find a publisher?

Go to a bookstore. Look inside the books similar to your work for the names and websites of their publishers. Read their submission guidelines.

You will not find any Publish America (they're a print mill, not a real publisher, so steer clear) or vanity press titles in the major chain stores.

If you see a "TESTIMONIALS" page anywhere on the site, leave. It will be a vanity press, print mill, or some other pay-to-publish operation with a "catch" that will be bad for writers.

Good guys or bad guys?

Check them out!

 

 

How do I find an agent?

Ask your favorite authors.

Most don't mind replying to a short polite e-mail asking who represents them. It's a good way to avoid scammers.

Make sure the author writes stuff similar to your own work.

I am delighted to be represented by Lucienne Diver of The Knight Literary agency.

Do NOT pay any agent who wants money before selling your book. They have no reason to sell your book if you're dim enough to pay them first. That's a good reason for them to not sell anything.

A legit agent makes money AFTER achieving a sale.

A helpful hint for SAFE agent-hunting.

Have doubts? Check them out.

Pitfalls can be avoided.

 

 

How much does it cost to get published?

Nothing.    Publishers pay YOU.

Don't let anyone tell you different.

Remember YOG'S LAW.  "Money flows toward the writer."

Its corollary:   "The only place a writer signs a check is on the back, when they endorse it."

 

Writer Beware -- When in doubt, check them out!

 

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FAQs on Fanfic, Writing, Publishing, and E-rips

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FAQS ON WRITING

 

You write too slow!  Can I do vampire stories myself?  I'm not doing it for money or anything like that....

Sure--so long as those stories have your OWN characters, not mine.

I'm asking fanfic writers, on-line RPG gamers, and bloggers to please include my work out of whatever creative writing you have in mind.

Using another writer's creations without permission--even when you are not making money on them--is called copyright infringement.

There are penalties for getting caught. 

The simple fact is that it's perfectly okay and legal for any writer to defend their copyright.

Most of the wonderful, wonderful people who love and write fanfic totally understand and respect this.

I hope you're one of this most cool crowd!

 

The Legalities: 

Here's the dish--I'm not being selfish or mean...it is to protect YOU!

(I have a special blog on it here)

In nearly ALL book contracts is a clause that states if I find anyone violating my copyright I am legally bound to take action.

If I don't, then my publishers would SUE me.  

Publishers are really hard-assed about it. They do NOT care if you're making no money from it and only do it for love. These are LAWYERS fer cryin' out loud!

This is why I'm humbly asking fan writers to please include me out because it keeps YOU safe.

I'm honored you like my work so much, but I DON'T want anyone to get into trouble over it!

THAT SAID--I'm also stating that I have nothing against fanfic!  A few people sitting in the back of some panel rooms misheard me on this point.  Put away the voodoo dolls and pins, you're scaring the children!

Other writers, TV shows, etc. don't mind fanfic on their works, and that's their business. I'm not going to condemn fic writers for enjoying themselves. Some of my writer buds (print published pros, yet!) write fic.  My 'tude is live & let live, and if a writer objects, just respect their view if they don't want to play. It's just being polite.

 

VERY IMPORTANT:

Do not copy pages of any author's books to put on websites or blogs.  

Even if you give the writer credit for the excerpt, doing so without permission is still copyright violation.

There is such a thing as "fair use" and using short quotes is okay, but copying whole pages of a book is copyright infringement. The fair use thing is for reviews and commentary, but don't abuse it.

I have seen whole sections of books posted by gamers who have them up as blogs for the characters they're role-playing. They also blog for the character. You guessed it, that's also copyright infringement if the character is owned by someone else.

And think--whatever is posted from a book could be a SPOILER!  

Maybe you really love a particular section of a favorite book, but fans who haven't read it yet won't thank you for spilling the beans on a key scene.  

Don't you just hate it when someone blurts out a spoiler?  I do.

Please, be polite and let other readers enjoy finding out those things in their own! 

 

Wait a sec--YOU wrote fanfic!

Indeed I did, a good 25+ years ago when I didn't know any better.  No one told me what a risk I was taking. No excuses, it was my bad. I even thought the "I mean no copyright infringement" statement would keep me safe. Not.

But I learned about copyright, and I don't write fic any more.  I was very, very  lucky. I didn't get sued, and I am extremely grateful for that.  

If I'd been prosecuted for it there would have been NO Vampire Files or any of the other books, because the publishers and agents would have heard about it and rejected my work as a legal liability.

That's why now I let new writers know what they're risking and encourage them to make up their own universes to write about.

 This lady decided to rewrite Star Wars.  It is a nasty cautionary tale. No biggie, lots of fans have done it.  But SHE decided to SELL her book via her own publishing house and put it up on Amazon.  Well, of course word got out and the all-seeing eyes of LucasFilm's lawyers turned her way.

Never mind the fact that everyone in the SW fanfic community is ready to nail her hide to the wall for terminal stupidity, she has lost ALL chance of ever becoming a professional writer.  It doesn't matter that she has her own publishing "house," these days anyone with the right software can set one up and the big guns know it.  Publishing is a small world, and the people that matter in it just love hanging at the bar and sharing stories. Word gets out.

 

That little disclaimer in the front of most zines "we intend no copyright infringement" cuts no ice with lawyers; it is their job to make your life a misery.  

I usually hear that as an automatic defense from fanzine writers/publishers and some actually believe it will protect them from prosecution.  But the hard truth is that the owners of any given copyright have a right to defend it.  If they ever decide to go after the violators, their writing career is over.  

 

It doesn't matter that you're doing it for love, not money.

Once you’ve been accused of plagiarism and/or copyright infringement NO legitimate publishing house or agent will want to see anything you write. 

A pen name won’t save you, nor will appeals about First Amendment Rights.  This is not about freedom of speech, it's about people using something that doesn't belong to them. There are whole sections on "intellectual properties" protected by copyright.

A writer friend of mine once got a letter from two fanfic writers asking to use her famous series character in a fan fiction they wanted to publish.  Some writers don't mind this sort of thing, but she is not one of them.  She said no, giving her answer in writing.  She kept copies of all their mails.

Not getting the answer they wanted, the fans went ahead and published anyway and hoped she wouldn't notice.

(D'oh!) 

My friend--who is not rich--was forced to sue.  She won her suit, but was close to flat broke after the lawyers were done.  Had she held off, her publishers would have bankrupted her by suing her.  Like me, she has that clause in all her contracts.

The fans had to gather and destroy all copies of their zine, so they got off light. In the meantime, my friend's life was badly disrupted, she fell behind in her work, and it didn't do her health any good having to deal with something so easily prevented had those fans simply shown common courtesy and respected her wishes.

Most fanfic writers are really fantastic, wonderful people who ARE totally polite and respecting of another's property.  They accept the other person's wishes and move on.  What's on this page has to do with that tiny fringe element found in any sub-culture.  We've all met them! 

 

On the professional level:  This extreme case cautionary tale is still going around about two women (Dawn & Susan Hartzell writing as Pauline Dunn) who ripped off Dean Koontz's Phantoms, lifting the plot and whole passages and putting them into their books, which they sold to Zebra back in the 90's.  They got caught. (Well, d'oh, again!)

They had to give back thousands in advance money and buy a full page ad (which costs thousands) in Publisher's Weekly to publicly apologize. (Trust me--they got off light.)  That was back in the 90's--in ALL that time I've not heard of them selling anything else ever again, at least to a professional print house under their pen name.  Now this was an over the top case  of "WHAT were they THINKING???" --- but you can see the consequences just ain't worth it!

So be safe.  Make up your own universe and play in it.  

It’s a LOT more fun than my or anyone else's used backyard. Write the kind of stories YOU  want to read. That’s how my career got started!

 

BE HONEST.

Remember young Kaavya Viswanathan whose book apparently plagiarized a number of other novels in the genre?  If she ever sells anything again I shall be very surprised.

Perhaps you heard of Cassie-Gate and the ferrets? Romance writer Cassie Edwards was finally busted. She'd been plagiarizing copyrighted works for decades.

Remember this idiocy? In this case the writer made up stuff, passed it off as a true story, and embarrassed the hell out of Oprah, who'd bought it as a real deal. Not smart in the age of Google.

 

All any writer has when they start their professional career is their good name.

So be smart and keep it!

Because of these scandals, publishers are taking out insurance riders to keep them safe from dishonest writers. I've had to sign such documents, swearing that the content of my books is my own, and not copied from another source. That's always been the case for me, and it sucks that we live in a world where such riders are required, but there it is.

 

 

 

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What about the Kolchak stuff?  And Quincey Morris?  Aren't those fan fics?

Kolchak's copyright is owned by writer Jeff Rice, but he granted permission to a professional publisher to allow other writers the use of his character.  I get paid for that writing, and Jeff Rice gets paid for the use of his character.  It's professional writing and legal since everyone agreed on the contracts.

 

The copyright on Dracula, etc. expired decades ago.  

It is in something called THE PUBLIC DOMAIN. Public Domain is a cool thing!

It is totally LEGAL to write a Dracula stories, film, novel, musical, and/or ballet, etc. if you want! 

Many other writers have written Dracula stories and novels before I took a turn.  

I'm sure Bram Stoker would be quite shocked that people still read him since the book was not successful during his lifetime.  

Copyright infringement might have annoyed him, too, though.  His widow sued a film maker for ripping off Dracula in the German film Nosferatu.  She won her suit and tons of copies were destroyed.  The film survived and is something of a classic now, but the guys who made it should have gotten permission from the start.  It must have been a horrible experience for Mrs. Stoker to have had to go through that.

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What's with that "don't sell your book on eBay" limit?  Sounds like a good idea to me!

 

Only if you're into wacky comedy relief.  

Editors and publishers NEVER cruise eBay listings looking for future best-sellers.  Trust me on this, they are steadily plowing through the manuscripts that have been sent to them by writers who are serious about getting published.    

I've seen a few of these idiotic and absolutely useless attempts.  NOT ONE of them ever resulted in a professional sale, but I bet they were contacted by plenty of scammers.

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How much does it cost to get a book published?

 

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!!  You pay for paper, postage, and photocopying of your manuscript before you send it to a publisher, but that's all.  

One more time:

THE PUBLISHER PAYS YOU!

Some self-labeled "publishing" houses--that are really print mills and subsidy publishers--give the impression that paying to get into print is the norm and how it's done, but those are vanity houses who put this LIE about so THEY can get your money. (More on this theme below....)  DON'T USE THEM!

You can tell who they are--they will ALL have a "TESTIMONIALS" page.

EVERY pay to pub site has one. RUN away.

 

Real Writers Don't EVER use Publish America.

This print mill is on SFWA's "not recommended" list.  With good reason.

Neos and others who don't bother to do research buy into this one's website promises, thinking "Hey, I get an advance, that makes me a pro, right?" 

Professional writing organizations do not recognize ANY PA title as a pro writing credit. Forget about joining MWA, SFWA, RWA, Author's Guild, etc.

You may be a "Published Author" on the PA website, but you are not a professional writer as defined by the pro writer organizations or their members.

 

The PA "advance" is ONE dollar. They send a check, knowing most writers won't cash it.  What joy. They call it symbolic. Well, you can enjoy the poverty of symbolism or you can get real money for your writing.

Your book is locked into a 7-year contract. It is NOT a writer-friendly

.

Most contracts with book publishers end when a book ceases to sell. The print rights return to the writer who may re-sell the rights elsewhere. A contract can expire in 1 year or 20 years depending on good or poor sales.

PA hangs onto your print rights for 7 long years, whether the book sells or not.

They charge writers who want out a hefty fee. For those 7 years they will do their best to get YOU to buy copies of your own book. Seriously. It's how they make their money.

After 7 years, PA automatically RENEWS the contract for another 7 years unless the writer sends in written notice they do not want a renewal. Make sure it's a certified letter that someone has to sign for, too.

PA's marketing plan is to sell your book back to YOU, your doting family, and friends. They demand a mailing list. You will get weekly e-mails urging you to "stock up" and to "have copies on hand."

Your book will NOT be placed in any bookstore as they have no distribution.

Your book will be listed on B&N and Amazon, but nearly every listing shows their titles are "Out of Stock."

Why is that?

Since PA is a Print On Demand operation  (which they deny--a lot)  they only print a book when it is ordered.

A reader will not buy a book that shows it is "Out of Stock." Result to the writer? NO SALES.

 

Another problem--no one will be able to find your book unless they specifically search for its correct title.

I tried to find a special PA book on Amazon I thought would be worth having, as the writer had other books published by real publishing houses. I put in his name.  But only those pro titles came up in my search--NOT the PA title!  I eventually found it, but by then I didn't want to buy it.

It cost too much.

PA books cost 30-50% MORE than similar sized books from other publishers. It costs them about 3.00 to print a 150-page trade paperback. Its retail price will be from 19-25.00 -- that's a hardcover price!

 

PA writers are expected to go into bookstores and beg for shelf space. This is what PA calls "promotion." Most stores will say no. They're well aware of PA's reputation.

They have no profit margin on a PA book. Stores usually buy books at 40% off cover price, and make their profit there. PA will sell them books at about 5% off cover price. It's simply NOT cost effective to stock them. 

You may buy a PA book through a store. Expect to pay for it in advance.

Again, PA says your book will be "available" --  but that's NOT the same as being shelved.

 

 But don't take my word for any of this.

Google "Publish America" + "Scam" and see for yourself.

Go to the Absolute Write's Bewares & Background Checks forum.

STAY SAFE!

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How much does it cost to get an agent?

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!!!  A reputable agent only gets paid AFTER the book has sold.  

NEVER USE a fee-charging agent!!  You want an agent out selling your book, not one sitting on his duff waiting for your check to clear and having a good laugh at the easy money he just got from you! (They will usually have a number of interesting excuses why your book's not selling.  More below!)

Many agents will have slick looking sites.  LOOK FOR agents who have sold books to print publishing houses.  Those books will have an ISBN number, be up on Amazon and have reviews in Publisher's Weekly.  

If the book has been printed through a POD, subsidy or vanity house--RUN AWAY.

If an agent asks for a "reading fee," --RUN AWAY.

If an agent asks for a "processing" fee, or up front money to cover postage and copying costs--RUN AWAY.

Those are scam artists.  You could be out thousands of dollars while they live it up and do NOTHING to sell your book.

A legit agent will NEVER ask you for money.  A legit agent takes her 10-15% cut only AFTER a book sells.

And some of these "agents" are real whack jobs.  

Check the Editors & Predators site for the woman who faked her death to get out of lawsuits from angry clients she robbed.  

A legit agent will be professional and polite.  It's a business and they're in it to make money by helping you make money.  They get paid only when you get paid!

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I’m writing this really good vampire book. Will you please read it and tell me what you think?

Sorry, no, that’s an editor’s job.

Absolutely do NOT send any professional writer anything you've written.  We're too busy!  Such things are deleted unread. (If you're lucky.  If not then we'll print it out and read the juicier passages aloud at convention panels for a laugh. I've seen it happen.)

If I said yes to everyone who wanted my feedback on their novel/short story/idea I would have no time to write my own, couldn’t pay my rent, then me and my dogs would be living in my car until it died, then we’d drag our starving bodies to your door and fall down gasping and ask if you could please spare us some food….you get the idea. It’s just too embarrassing. 

There are a number of ways to get feedback for free; honest friends who also write are your most valuable asset.  DO NOT send you book off to any freelance "book doctor" (see more below) or some website reader service offering critiques for money.  They're just looking for an easy way to get out of having a real job.

You CAN look into services offered by real print house publishers.  Harlequin Publishing will do this FOR A FEE, but at least you know whoever reads your work is in the real world publishing industry.  You can check the details at

http://www.eharlequin.com/cms/learntowrite/ltwSection.jhtml?itcType=critiqued   

Apparently your book doesn't have to be a romance, but that's the genre they're familiar with; you can check other publishing houses to see if they have a similar service.  Harlequin is very active in supporting new writers, more so than any other house I've seen.  They ain't perfect, but who is?  Check out their online writing course, it's free!  

http://www.eharlequin.com/cms/learntowrite/ltwToc.jhtml 

Yes, I know.  It's eHarlequin and I have a fine rant against e-books below.  However, this subsidiary is with a huge print publishing house, not some kitchen table production run by an inexperienced unpublished greedster looking to take your money.

I will give you a tip: Don’t give up your day job until you’re making a steady living at being a writer…and even then! (Writers rarely have benefits like health insurance, dental plans, etc. and they have to pay extra self-employment taxes and other fun stuff.)

If you meet a writer at a convention resist the temptation to tell her all about your book.  That writer would much rather be sitting in the bar visiting with friends.

 

Absolutely DO NOT send me your fanfic or any idea for a novel you think I should write, either!  I love, you, I really do, but I have plenty of ideas of my own, thank you.  Seriously, if I DO need an Idea, I'll ask for one on my blog.

 

DON'T put your book up on the web for all to see. There are thieves out there.

Posting your whole book online is seen by publishing houses as a "1st printing."  They won't be interested in buying your book then.

Avoid display sites like "Worthy of Publishing." They are linked to a vanity publishing company, which is a huge conflict of interest. They offer a BAD deal to publishers. Books on display just don't sell to legit publishing houses. Editors do not want a "2nd printing" nor do they cruise by there looking for new writers.  But I'm sure a number of WoP books were eventually vanity published!

Avoid Poetry-dot-com.  Your poem will "win" first place in some contest, then they will give it a special spot in a poetry book--which costs YOU about 100.00 to buy if you want to see your poem in print.  Each book has about 800 poems in it. Each poem a "winner" in the contest. It costs them 3.00 to print the book. You see where this is going?

Poetry-dot-org is where you should go instead. Non profit. REAL poets.

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How do I learn to be a writer? Do I have to take classes?  

www.sfwa.org/writing/

www.absolutewrite.com 

The sites above have EXCELLENT advice.  Go there.  Absorb.  Absolute Write has forums where you can post parts of your writing and get feedback.  Many pro writers post advice there or are moderators.  It is a safe, polite venue to help you sharpen your skills.

Becoming a writer is an individual journey, like becoming a painter.  Classes probably won't hurt, but you only use what works for you.

Read everything, especially read books OUTSIDE of the genre you want to write in.  That helps you develop your own "voice," and it makes you real, real smart.

Get a copy of Strunk and White's Elements of Style.  

It's a skinny book found on every writer's desk.  Read it and keep it on your desk. 

Read the 808 section of your library.  I did.

WRITE.  A lot.  Every day.  You don't get good at music unless you practice every day.  Same thing for writing.

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Hooray!  I just finished my novel and am posting it on the 'Net for a Big Time editor to spot!  

As my friend Rachel Caine says, "Posting your novel on the 'Net in the hopes that a big-time editor will see it is like writing the perfect resume and then tacking it to the front door of your house, hoping your future boss will walk by."

Reality check:  Big Time editors don't have TIME to surf the Net looking for talent.  The talent goes to them.  You wanna be published?  Go through the proper channels as outlined above.  It's the Way Things Work!

Besides--why should they buy the cow when you've already given the milk away? D'oh!

Another "D'oh" --  As we have sadly learned, there are thieves on the 'Net!  They might like your work so much that they copy it and claim it to be their own.  Heck, they could even send it in to a publisher with their name on it!

I got word from one of my long-time writer buds that an erstwhile fan scanned and copied portions of her novels, changed the characters' names, and put it up on a website, claiming authorship.  All I can think is that the fan was mental, because this writer is very well known and has many readers.  One of those fans--seeking reading material in the genre--found this rip-artist's site and passed the news to the writer's webmistress. She contacted the site's ISP server and got the thief shut down in an eye blink.  She does periodic searches in case this person tries to pull this stunt again.

Fandom is a very small community and fans tend to read the same things.  Sooner or later someone's going to spot a theft and report it.

In this age where piracy is just too easy, it is more important than ever that we respect copyrights.  

The ISP's and others fully understand this and go after violators to protect themselves from prosecution.  But there's virtually no protection against you getting ripped off by some thief.  Some of these disputes devolve into pointless "she-said/she-said" sniping matches.  Don't kid yourself, there are a lot of strange people out there who see nothing wrong in copying stuff off the Net, so be smart about how you get your feedback, then send your book to a check-writing editor at a print house.

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What do you think of E-Publishing?

The money sucks. I don't bother with them.

Some are better than others. If you choose to go with an e-house, be sure to check them out first:

http://anotherealm.com/prededitors/

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=22

http://www.brendahiatt.com/id2.html  E-book earnings vs print book earnings

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What's POD, and why are you so down on them?

POD stands for Print On Demand, which means a machine spits out one book at a time every three minutes for a base cost of about three bucks.

Publish America uses this, reselling the books to their writers for a huge profit.  (REAL publishers use big offset presses and print thousands of copies an hour.)

 

POD technology is a good idea.  It means the publisher only prints a book that has actually been bought and paid for by a single reader.  This means no warehouses of unsold books and no huge investment for the publisher.  I think it's great to save the trees this way, but too often POD books just aren't up to snuff.

Many do not have proper editing. PublishAmerica books, for example, are run through a spell check as "editing" which puts in new errors!

The fact is, the customers some POD (and fee-charging e-houses) target are the new/inexperienced writers eager to get published who are intimidated by or ignorant of the professional publishing process. 

The POD and subsidy houses play on that insecurity, and they are getting filthy rich from it.

 

Let's talk royalties again. 

A royalty is a percentage of the book's cover price or sometimes wholesale price. Example: a 21.00 print hardcover with a 12% royalty means 2.52 goes to the writer for each one sold.

A 6.99 paperback with a 6% royalty = .41 for each and so on.

So this POD house gives a 25% royalty for trade paperbacks sold from their site.  They give 10% on books sold through a bookseller--who's most unlikely to carry a POD book anyway, so I'm assuming this might be through a seller like Amazon.  E-books are sold for a flat 8.00 and you get to keep 4.00 of that.  If you sell any.  Assume you won't. 

This "publisher's" standard royalty is around 5.50.  Sounds great, it means if you sell 411 copies you've made a profit!! 

But most vanity, POD, and self-published books never sell more than 10-15 copies.

With FEW exceptions, the only one who makes money at it is the POD publisher--busily collecting as much cash as you care to send him.

 

I heard it's a good idea to take a larger royalty percentage instead of a large advance. I heard you can make MORE money that way!

So have I. It stinks.

Short answer why? The advance check may be the only money the writer will ever get for a title. The writer is not in charge of print run numbers or sales--her publisher is.

A publisher may print enough books to achieve a profit for them, but not enough to generate a royalty for the writer.

If it takes the sale of 6,000 copies to pay back the advance and start sending royalty checks to a writer, then the publisher might print/sell only 5,000 copies.  They will make money on it and the writer only has the advance check.

Is this a bad deal for the writer? Yes, but at least she got the advance money.

Forgoing a good advance in favor of large royalties is a stupid move for a commercial writer.

GET ADVANCE MONEY. WRITE A NEW BOOK. RINSE, REPEAT.

 

Yes, there are exceptions:

If the writer is a regular on the NYTimes bestseller lists with 100's of thousands of sales this could happen. But it won't. Those writers have smart agents who will ask for and get a huge advance. Agents will bet on a writer's future, but they ALWAYS get the advance first.

If the writer wants to place a niche-market piece in an E-house like Ellora's Cave. In that case, 37% royalties can be had--but you won't sell as many copies as a comparable print house would. (Show Me the Money proves this.)

 

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What would you do to make E-publishing more acceptable?

Have them pay writers a real advance and hire talented, experienced editors. 

When a house has money invested in a writer it sends a message to the potential book-buyer that a novel is likely worth reading!  They know the book has gone through a proper editing process and that the publisher is willing to risk money on this writer in the hope of making a profit and earning prestige for their discovery of a new writing talent.

Unfortunately for many would-be writers, (and readers!) the E-publishers know they can turn a profit by accepting any and all material coming their way.  The lion's share of sales money goes to them, which easily covers the yearly cost of maintaining a website and buying the right kind of software to download books.  

Just about anyone with basic computer skills can open a "Publishing House" on the Net.  Writers who are more anxious to get their name on a book cover than in writing something worth a print publisher's money will always find a home with them and don't those e-houses know it.

 

Remember, ANYONE can open an on-line publishing house for the price of the software and website space.  

Just like anyone can hold a garage sale.

And what do you find at garage sales?

The crap no one else wants.  

 

Treasures are the exception not the rule.  Investigate a few dozen of these sites and see what they have in common that send up your red alert flags. (Charging reading fees, holding contests where YOU pay THEM money, charging editing fees, no editing at all, etc.)  You don't want to deal with them.

I periodically browse the larger, long-established houses, checking to see if things are improving.  But when I read cover blurbs (uncorrected by the indifferent publisher) that are full of typos, word repetitions, clumsy sentence structure, basic punctuation and grammatical errors, and just plain stinky writing, I am NOT inclined to read farther unless in a masochistic mood.  

I printed a sample page from one book for my writer's group as an example of how NOT to write!  That publisher just proved to me they're in it for the money and don't care a hoot about their product, whether it's any good, or helping writers improve their skills.  You send them the ingredient list off a bottle of catsup as your new "novel" and they'll put it into print.

Check out the now famous "Atlanta Nights" incident, where 20+ writers each wrote a novel chapter (purposely trying to be as bad as possible) then sent the lot in to PublishAmerica, unedited.  The book was initially accepted and the writer, "Travis Tea" (say it fast) was about to sign a contract and get a ONE DOLLAR as an advance!  

Oops! PA found out about the hoax and canceled everything.  Read for yourself--it's a hoot! 

http://critters.critique.org/sting/     

http://www.travistea.com/ 

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/1/prweb202277.htm

http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/006032.html 

Don't send anything to a "publisher" who promises to "respect" your manuscript.  This translates as no editing at all!

Every writer needs editing, because you can never catch all the typos and goofs or anything else that can go wrong. Again, the publisher is either incompetent or lazy, doesn't really care about helping your career, and can't wait for your next check to clear.  Again, they make much of their money off of writers who order copies of their own books. (See the above rant on POD houses.)

And we've all seen the IBM commercial where the stodgy professor is one-upped by the earnest student who tells him that thanks to Print on Demand technology *everyone* can get published!

Think about it. Everyone-can-get-published. That can be a remarkably bad idea. I'm all in favor of free speech, but raise your hand if you've ever read a laughably gawdawful book?  Hmm.  That's all of you.  Yup.  Uh-huh.  My point exactly.  I weep for the slaughtered trees.

And again, STAY AWAY FROM PUBLISH AMERICA.

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Woo hoo!  I found an agent willing to read my book. 

But he wants a reading fee.  Is this normal?

Yes--for rip-off artists!  Run away from this one.  Fast!  Warn off your friends!

NEVER, EVER PAY an agent to read your book. A legitimate literary agent will charge you a fee—usually 10 - 15% of the advance—only AFTER they’ve sold your novel.

Fee-charging agents are to be avoided at all times! The general scam—and it is a scam—is to tell writers "You’re good, but your book needs polishing, I know a "Book Doctor" who can fix you right up." Then you pay THIS person a fee—it can run into the thousands, more than any advance you'd get—to "fix" your book. THEN the " agent" might say afterwards that he can’t sell the book and offer a number of creative excuses.

 In the meantime he and the "doctor" have split your money and are having a nice vacation. There are several horror stories--all true--on the SFWA website listed below.  Think it won't happen to you?  Think again.  One of these bottom feeders scammed over 5 million from eager wannabe writers who didn't know any better!  Don't be a victim!

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What IS a book doctor, anyway? 

(More info at http://www.sfwa.org/for-authors/writer-beware/

He or she is a person supposedly experienced in multi-levels of publishing and editing who can read and proof your book, offer a critique, basic feedback or even a whole re-write. 

They charge a fee for this, anywhere from several hundred to several thousand dollars.  The latter amount will likely far exceed any advance you could expect from a publisher.  The fairest rate I've seen was a dollar per page.

There are legit book doctors, but check their credentials. 

Many of are NOT published! 

Or they might have one POD book or an E-book out and be claiming to know-all about the world of publishing.  Or they sold one obscure title a dozen years ago.  You don't want to deal with them.  They just want your autograph on a big check.  

I saw a sad case once--the "writer" had a single E-book up at a site, and now considered himself to be such a seasoned professional that he'd set up his very own "manuscript services site," which included book doctoring for a hefty fee.  He might have a thriving business going, I don't know.  I had a grim laugh over the painfully glaring grammatical errors in the ad-copy--not to mention the ones in the book! (I read from the sample chapter on the e-book site and winced.) Oh, yeah the victims, I mean, customers of this "writer/editor" were also e-published.  Talk about the blind leading the blind!  I doubt he ever heard of The Elements of Style, or if he had, then the book was limited to being  decorating ambiance for the old office.

Think I'm being harsh?  Hardly.  I just hate seeing a rip-off in progress.  I AM being kind by not dropping the address of this site.

One thing to remember is that a good, experienced writer who is qualified to be a book doctor will be busy WRITING, not trying to fix other people's works!  

Ditto for a good editor.

Some legitimate, trained, successful writers and editors might free-lance as book doctors, in which case they will let potential clients KNOW about their list of credentials and references and published titles. ("Jane Smith worked five years as assistant editor for Random House and served a two-year apprenticeship at Tor..."  "John Jones has 22 mystery novels in print with Mystery Ink....")  

A "doctor" with a business degree from Harvard who took Composition 101 in his freshman year is not qualified for the job. Ditto for anyone with the nicely vague "has an English degree from Whosis College."  I know someone who teaches college English, but he doesn't know how to edit.

Beware of "doctors" who tell you you're the next John Grisham.  Even editors who have been in the business for decades can't predict that sort of thing!  Excessive praise usually means a scam is running and you're the mark!

It is up to you to CHECK credentials.  Call up the references in question and ask if they know who the book doctor is.  Oh, yeah--get the contact number from the house's site, not the book doctor's or you could be talking to a shill.  

Beware of helpful editing services that omit the editor's credentials.  There's usually a reason for this.  There aren't any!

A legit editor or agent won't be afraid to steer you toward success stories of writers who got print published with his or her help. Those names will be writers you can contact and you can ask how they liked the doctor's help. 

If their titles are all E-published, from a vanity press, or POD, then give the "doctor" a pass. You want someone who actually got PAID for their writing!

I didn't know about book doctors when I started out.  I couldn't have afforded one, anyway!  In seeking feedback for myself, I asked friends (and they were VERY brave) to read and comment on my first novel.  Several picked out the same weakness each time, so I fixed the problem, then started sending the MS off.  It worked out.

You can also try a local writers group for feedback.  It helps if there are at least a few print-published writers in the group!  Beware of touchy-feely groups who LOVE everything or shark tanks with critics who delight in shredding stuff to make themselves look clever.

A good critique is more than "Yuk, I hated that!"  It will offer an explanation of why something didn't work, then a possible solution.  ("You know, Mr. Dickens, chopping off the hero's head in the first paragraph just didn't work for me. I think it needs more of a dramatic build, then slam dunk the whole guillotine thing home at the END of the book!  What d'ya think?")

 

Again--if they're so good at writing, why didn't they make a sale to a print house? (Brace yourself, some of the reasons cited are usually way more entertaining than their book!)

If you want the whole low-down on all levels of E-publishing go to the SWFA (Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America) website. Especially THIS section: http://www.sfwa.org/for-authors/writer-beware/  

You will learn a LOT!  Not all E-houses or book doctors are bad, but there are enough rip-off places in the industry to make it seem so. Tread carefully!  Always read the fine print at least five times.  Then get a friend to read it.  Then send to a print house first.

If you think it's tough to break in, you're right, but it's not impossible.  My first novel was sold right off Ace's slush pile.

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Aren't "slush piles" just that?  After all, it's just a matter of luck. Sooner or later someone wins the lottery.

What an incredibly STUPID way to run a multi-million dollar business.  Just pluck any old manuscript out of the pile that week and send it to press and hope the readers buy it.  

Not.  

No publisher leaves the expenditure of that much money and effort to "luck."  This is a business, and they want to make money. 

There is NO "quota" of slush books they're supposed to meet.  They are honestly looking for the next bestseller. It's a big prestige thing for them if they discover a new Rowling, Clancy, King or Steel.

Sounds to me like you tried and got rejected and this is the old sour grapes violin singing away.  Well, too bad, try again.  You think I dashed off Bloodlist in my spare time and kicked back waiting for the check?  It took over TWO YEARS and 25+ rewrites to sell that first book, but it was worth it for the learning curve. I had to WORK to get published!

What's the matter?  Afraid to play with the big kids?  Think talent doesn't have anything to do with it?  The slush pile is the most honest sink or swim in the industry.  If you're good enough and stubborn enough and can come back fighting after getting a bloody nose from rejection letters and still don't give up, you will get published.

Think of the worst professionally published book you ever read.  That writer got paid to kill trees. 

Think you can do better?  Do you KNOW you can do better??  Then get off your duff and write your book. 

I had a great teacher who taught that "People who are good at excuses are good at very little else."  So don't waste time coming up with excuses over why you're not in print. 

Get to work and finish something and send it out and work on something else and don't stop and don't go all chicken on yourself. 

DO IT!

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WRITER BEWARE'S 20 THUMB'S

DOWN AGENTS LIST

complied by Victoria Strauss and A.C. Crispin, 

as seen on Miss Snark's blog

Below is a list of 20 agents about which Writer Beware has received the greatest number of advisories/complaints during the past several years.

None have a significant track record of sales to commercial (advance-paying) publishers, and most have virtually no documented and verified sales at all (many sales claimed by these agents turn out to be vanity publishers). All charge clients before a sale is made, whether directly, by charging fees such as reading or administrative fees, or indirectly, for "editing services."

If you have been defrauded contact WRITER BEWARE AND REPORT IT!!

Steer clear of the following: And keep in mind these are only 20 out of 100's of scammers.  

Rule of thumb for any agent:

If they want money from you before selling a book--RUN AWAY!

*The Abacus Group Literary Agency
*Allred and Allred Literary Agents (refers clients to "book doctor" Victor West of Pacific Literary Services)
*Capital Literary Agency (formerly *American Literary Agents of Washington, Inc.)

*Barbara Bauer Literary Agency -- This person has sent abusive mails telling me to remove this list.  Since she continues to charge fees this list stays UP.  More on this bit of lunacy may be found on my blog.  And there is the musical--  "Bye-Bye Barbara!"

*Benedict & Associates (also d/b/a B.A. Literary Agency)
*Sherwood Broome, Inc.
*Desert Rose Literary Agency
*Arthur Fleming Associates
*Finesse Literary Agency (Karen Carr)
*Brock Gannon Literary Agency
*Harris Literary Agency
*The Literary Agency Group, which includes the following:

-Children's Literary Agency
-Christian Literary Agency
-New York Literary Agency
-Poets Literary Agency
-The Screenplay Agency
-Stylus Literary Agency (formerly ST Literary Agency)
-Writers Literary & Publishing Services Company (the editing arm of the above-mentioned agencies)

Run by Robert Fletcher, called "Bouncing Bobby" by some, because as soon as one of his ventures is shown to be a fee-charging site, he registers a new business name and starts up again. Currently being investigated by the Florida State Attorney General's office.

*Martin-McLean Literary Associates
*Mocknick Productions Literary Agency, Inc.
*B.K. Nelson, Inc.
*The Robins Agency (Cris Robins)
*Michelle Rooney Literary Agency (also d.b.a Creative Literary Agency and Simply Nonfiction)
*Southeast Literary Agency
*Mark Sullivan Associates
*West Coast Literary Associates (also d.b.a California Literary Services)

Lee Shore Literary Agency -- No. 21 Honorary Runner Up mention

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© Copyright 2010 P.N. Elrod