For many people who’ve always dreamt of writing, one of the dreams is to see that writing in print (or, equally these days, in a digital format) to share it with the world. I remember the feeling in my early writing days of looking forward to having that physical book in my hand—of being able to share my writing with readers who might somehow be moved by it. And because that drive is so powerful, it can blind writers to situations that they should avoid.
With the advent of digital publishing, more and more scammers have come out of the woodwork. There is a plethora of cottage industries that have sprung up around writers, and it can be overwhelming when you’re just getting started. So, how can you avoid falling into a scammer’s clutches?
First, know this above all: If a “publisher” approaches you, this is not a legitimate publisher unless you’ve already had several bestsellers via traditional publishing contracts or have won a major (authentic) national or international writing award (not an award created by an organization for the purposes of making money). Publishers do not approach unknown authors. Now that we have that out of the way and your ego has been deflated, let’s look at a few other keys to avoiding scammers.
If a publisher offers you a contract and asks for a fee, they are not a traditional publisher. A traditional publisher will never ask you to pay to have your book published. This is what has traditionally been viewed as a vanity publisher. It can be argued that anyone who self-publishes pays the whole bill and thus is vanity publishing. However, the term is a pejorative one and refers to publishers masquerading as traditional publishers.
If you want to vanity publish, by all means, go ahead. But just know that this is what you’re doing.
And what about literary agents? A literary agent contacting you out of the blue offering deals―either book publishing deals or sales of film rights―is not a legitimate literary agent. Just as traditional publishers don’t do this, neither do agents.
I regularly get emails from “agents” who are offering to take on a specific novel that was published some years ago and sell the film rights for me. And isn’t it tempting? Isn’t it a bit of a boost to a writer’s ego? Yes, but it’s illegitimate. All you have to do is take a deep dive into Google or your other favourite search engine to find out that this agent isn’t the kind you want to work with. Ever.
Agents these days have so many submissions that they do not ever go looking for clients unless you are already a legitimately bestselling writer. And by legitimately bestselling, I don’t mean that you finessed an Amazon logarithm to have your book a bestseller in a tiny, obscure niche.
And while we’re on the topic of literary agents, any agent who requests a reading fee or any fee beyond their percentage after signing is to be avoided at all costs. Agents who charge fees are barred from belonging to their professional associations for a reason. If an agent is making money from reading fees, this is their business model. They have no need to find a publisher for your book to make money. You do not want this literary agent.
Another scam that you, as a writer, need to avoid relates to copyright. New writers are so ill-informed about copyright and so frightened of having their work ripped off that this is a scam that they often fall victim to. If someone offers to obtain the copyright for your book for a fee, just say no.
New writers often think that people are going to steal their work or even their ideas. They seem to believe that they need to do something proactive about making sure they own the copyright to their work. The truth is that the minute you create a piece of work, the copyright is vested in you as the creator. You do not need to register the copyright. Believe it or not, no one is going to steal your book, but if they steal an idea, you’re out of luck. Ideas are not subject to copyright. (See my previous post about copyright.)
If you’re writing a screenplay, that’s a slightly different beast since there is so much more money involved. You can copyright your work by sealing it in an envelope and mailing it to yourself. When it arrives, file it without opening it. If there is ever a dispute, you will have it with a date-stamped mailing label.
A bonus, related tip: never buy an ISBN from a third party. If you live in a country where you have to pay for an ISBN (we don’t have to here in Canada), get it yourself.
Finally, if anyone —ANYONE—offers sales guarantees, avoid them like the plague. One thing we all know to be true about book publishing is that there are no guarantees. No one can predict sales―not publishers of any stripe, not agents and certainly not writers.
If you think a scammer might have contacted you, visit the Authors Guild scam page[1] at authorsguild.org and search for a scam alert.
And don’t forget to do your own due diligence. Search online for the name of the company or the part of the email address that looks like a legitimate business name. It’s amazing what you can find.
[1] https://authorsguild.org/resource/publishing-scam-alerts/
It is titled The Awful Truth About Publishing: Why they always reject your manuscript – and what you can do about it. In spite of its age (it was published in 1986 by Warner Books), and the concomitant fact that it was published long before the advent of the eBook era and the avalanche of self-publishing, it remains one of the best reads to help a writer with her head in the clouds to keep her feet on the ground – which is the only place to be if any real success is to follow.
Patricia J. Parsons 