Scammers flourish in places where art and business intersect, because too many artists (including writers) don’t learn to protect themselves and their rights. The best way to protect yourself as an author is to learn as much as possible about the publishing industry, including how to identify the warning signs of predatory publishing deals. Today, we’re kicking off a mini-series on scam avoidance with a look at predatory “pay to play” publishing contracts. Industry standard publishing contracts: — Do not require the author to pay for anything up front, including publishing costs. — Do not allow the publisher to deduct the costs of publication from
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What The Author Pays For–And What (S)he Doesn’t
New authors–and sometimes experienced ones–may be uncertain about which parts of the publishing process the author “normally” pays for. What the author pays for differs, depending on the publishing path. Smart authors should know the standards for the choice they make, and be aware of how the other options function also. Now that the publishing industry offers multiple paths to publication, savvy authors should learn about all of the available options–regardless of the path they plan to take. Understanding all of the publishing options makes authors better able to choose among them, and less likely to misunderstand the offers they receive. Let’s review the various industry
Read moreHow to Avoid Unscrupulous Publishers
*I’m in Raleigh, NC, this week attending Bouchercon, so today’s post is focusing on publisher scams…our discussion of author email and marketing will continue next week. With the explosion of small and micro-presses in the United States (and abroad), authors sometimes have trouble telling the legitimate presses (and offers) from scams. In light of that, let’s spend a little time discussing how to recognize–and avoid–an unscrupulous publisher. 1. Legitimate traditional publishers never require writers to pay money out-of-pocket for (or as part of ) a publishing deal. In a traditional publishing arrangement, the author pays nothing out of pocket, and any permitted deductions from
Read moreAvoiding Subsidy Publishing “Scams”
The autumn scam avoidance series continues today with a look at subsidy publishing. Not all subsidy publishing is a scam–but in today’s publishing world, “vanity press”-style subsidy publishing is a terrible deal for the author. Legitimate self-publishing options have eliminated authors’ need to pay exorbitant fees to see their work in published formats. There’s no longer any need to pay a vanity press unreasonable fees to publish (or market) your work–so don’t do it. Let’s look at some tips for identifying (and avoiding) “vanity presses” and unreasonable subsidy publishing deals. 1. Legitimate presses almost never approach an author directly. Yes, exceptions do exist, but a publisher approaching
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