24 thoughts on “5 SCAMS THAT TARGET NEW WRITERS AND HOW TO SPOT THEM…”
that list was really great = and so is that site
my fav takeaway:
“If you write nonfiction, yes, you need to submit a book proposal, but you don’t need an expensive service to write it for you. Buy a book on the subject, or Google “how to write a book proposal” and read advice from reputable agents. Here’s a great post on book proposals from former Writer’s Digest editor Jane Friedman. The bible for nonfiction book proposals is agent Michael Larson’s How to Write a Book Proposal now in its fourth edition.”
Reblogged this on Writer's Treasure Chest and commented:
Chris, The Story Reading Ape found a blog post, written by Anne R. Allen which is a very useful warning for authors in general. Thank you very much, Anne.
Some poetry contests are a scam in the sense they are in book selling business. You may be a winner but 400 people also “win” and naturally you pay $60 for a copy to see your poem in print. Then you buy extras to send to friends. Well you are indeed published but they gotta be making $50 a book. Other packages are also offered.
They also hook you by putting your poem on the first page as they do for everyone in the anthology. I paid for 3 anthologies but don’t participate any more. I have several of my cute religion cartoons published in my church bulletin and the pastor will use others that may coincide with her particular sermon’s theme in the future. Getting published by God is the best reward ever !
Thanks for this and the comment on my blog Carl. Today I list 6 More Scams that Target New Writers and I include this one. It’s been around a long time, but they are still scamming new writers with this. One of my neighbors got taken in just this month.
Reblogged this on Just Can't Help Writing and commented:
This incredibly helpful piece came through The Story Reading Ape. All of us need to collect as much information as we can on how to make smart choices. A must read!
Hi, Chris. I posted the following comment at Anne R. Allen’s blog:
Hi. This is my first post to your blog–hope it goes through.
This information is incredibly useful. I’ve republished previously published novels as e-books with Smashwords and Amazon and am slowly trying to learn how to make good marketing decisions. Info like this helps a lot. Thanks for the warning about book fairs. I was starting to feel I ought to be digging into that option. Maybe later. My literary suspense novel is working its way through agent rejections and will probably end up in the small-press environment, so your advice will be useful there.
I have three WP.com blogs, using their basic technology. Obviously the dot-com option would not work for you, but I have been very satisfied. I do pay for “premium” status on two of the three. The staff have always been prompt and helpful, though I did run into confusion the other day trying to insert anchors and links into a page (I will have to go back to my HTML manual, I fear, but this snafu is an exception).
Like Chris Graham above, I’d really love a reblog button. Without one, I can only share on my blogs by posting a link. You may prefer that we use that option. I’m not sure of the pros and cons to having a reblog button. Some bloggers do seem to avoid including one, but I don’t know why.
Best of luck at WP!
About reblog buttons Virginia – the WordPress powered sites (self hosted) don’t have them, only WordPress direct sites like mine. However, I have seen self hosted sites with sharing options that include sharing with WordPress blogs in a simplified version of a reblogged post, like Nicholas Rossis’ blog for example. 🐵
Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog 
that list was really great = and so is that site
my fav takeaway:
“If you write nonfiction, yes, you need to submit a book proposal, but you don’t need an expensive service to write it for you. Buy a book on the subject, or Google “how to write a book proposal” and read advice from reputable agents. Here’s a great post on book proposals from former Writer’s Digest editor Jane Friedman. The bible for nonfiction book proposals is agent Michael Larson’s How to Write a Book Proposal now in its fourth edition.”
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Glad you enjoyed it, Yvette 😎
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🙂
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Thanks, Anne and Chris, for this vital information. 🙂 — Suzanne
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Reblogged this on Writer's Treasure Chest and commented:
Chris, The Story Reading Ape found a blog post, written by Anne R. Allen which is a very useful warning for authors in general. Thank you very much, Anne.
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Thanks for sharing Aurora 😀
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I’m honored to do so.
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Reblogged this on Kim's Author Support Blog.
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Thanks for spreading the word Kim 😀
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Some poetry contests are a scam in the sense they are in book selling business. You may be a winner but 400 people also “win” and naturally you pay $60 for a copy to see your poem in print. Then you buy extras to send to friends. Well you are indeed published but they gotta be making $50 a book. Other packages are also offered.
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Thanks for that information Carl 👍😃
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They also hook you by putting your poem on the first page as they do for everyone in the anthology. I paid for 3 anthologies but don’t participate any more. I have several of my cute religion cartoons published in my church bulletin and the pastor will use others that may coincide with her particular sermon’s theme in the future. Getting published by God is the best reward ever !
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks for this and the comment on my blog Carl. Today I list 6 More Scams that Target New Writers and I include this one. It’s been around a long time, but they are still scamming new writers with this. One of my neighbors got taken in just this month.
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I’ve just published a linking post to those 6 more scams Anne 👍😃
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Thanks, Chris!
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Welcome Anne 👍😃
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Reblogged to Just Can’t Help Writing!
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Reblogged this on Just Can't Help Writing and commented:
This incredibly helpful piece came through The Story Reading Ape. All of us need to collect as much information as we can on how to make smart choices. A must read!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks for sharing Virginia 👍😃
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Hi, Chris. I posted the following comment at Anne R. Allen’s blog:
Hi. This is my first post to your blog–hope it goes through.
This information is incredibly useful. I’ve republished previously published novels as e-books with Smashwords and Amazon and am slowly trying to learn how to make good marketing decisions. Info like this helps a lot. Thanks for the warning about book fairs. I was starting to feel I ought to be digging into that option. Maybe later. My literary suspense novel is working its way through agent rejections and will probably end up in the small-press environment, so your advice will be useful there.
I have three WP.com blogs, using their basic technology. Obviously the dot-com option would not work for you, but I have been very satisfied. I do pay for “premium” status on two of the three. The staff have always been prompt and helpful, though I did run into confusion the other day trying to insert anchors and links into a page (I will have to go back to my HTML manual, I fear, but this snafu is an exception).
Like Chris Graham above, I’d really love a reblog button. Without one, I can only share on my blogs by posting a link. You may prefer that we use that option. I’m not sure of the pros and cons to having a reblog button. Some bloggers do seem to avoid including one, but I don’t know why.
Best of luck at WP!
LikeLiked by 2 people
About reblog buttons Virginia – the WordPress powered sites (self hosted) don’t have them, only WordPress direct sites like mine. However, I have seen self hosted sites with sharing options that include sharing with WordPress blogs in a simplified version of a reblogged post, like Nicholas Rossis’ blog for example. 🐵
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Good advice…
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Got to try keeping everyone alert Jack 🙂
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Good for you mate 😀
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