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