Key Points for Writers to Consider Before Submitting Material

Writers of every age or profession look forward to the day when they will see their name in print whether it is on a book, short story, poem, article or so on. Many novice writers, after they’re finished writing a project, immediately jump onto the internet and begin the long and grieving task of searching for the right publisher for their work. What they don’t realize is that a general search on the internet can lead to overwhelming results and big problems. There are so many companies out there looking for writers to submit their work. This is not the best way to go about searching as the results you will find on a webpage may be out to scam you. They may appear to be legitimate and sound professional but there is a handful of sure signs to help the budding writer figure out if the company they are thinking of contacting is a fraud. Here are a few key points to look for:

1. Charge a Fee

Look at the company’s submission policy. If they charge a fee, the number one thing to do is not to submit to them. No legitimate literary agent or publisher will charge an up front fee to see your work. They make money off commission on the amount of books you sell.

2. Not Willing To Share Their Track Record

Another point to look out for is companies who will not provide a track record of their clients and amount of books sold. If they fail to do this, they are probably hiding something. Normally, these companies would be happy to provide the writer with these records.

As far as agents go, writers need this information to let them know if the agent is successful in their job. The information given to author also lets them know if the agent has expertise in a given genre. Agents who don’t share this form of advertising are likely to be hiding something.

3. In The Case of Book Doctors

Warning signs here are more subtle. You should be suspicious if you are referred by an agent or publisher. Book doctors may tell you that your book won’t be accepted by a publishing company because it has been professionally edited first. That is a lie. Many publishing companies have their own editors.

A reputable book doctor will have professional credentials such as being an editor for a publishing company, or as a commercially published author. They should have no quarrel in sharing this relevant information, but if they put up a fight that’s a good indicator that something is not right.

4. What To Do NextWarn every writer who cross your path whether you know them or not!!! You can start doing this by writing down the agent’s or publisher’s name and contact information. (You can do the same for editors or book doctors who have scammed you.) You can report a company, or companies anywhere online where you find writers, like at forums, chat rooms, message boards, or websites where they keep track of fraudulent companies.

There are plenty of useful websites available to writers that will keep you updated on the scams aimed at such creative souls. At many of the sites I will list, you can warn other writers about these scams and direct them to these websites. You can also submit a report on the fraudulent companies that you have personally dealt with. Here are some sites you can start with:

Science Fiction Writers of – www.sfwa.org/beware

National Writers Union – www.nwu.org

Periodical Writer’s Association of Canada (PWAC) – www.pwac.ca >>Look for their bulletins page.

American Society of Journalists and Authors (contract watch)- http://www.asja.org/cw/cw.ph

Poetry Scams – http://www.poetryscams.com

Absolute.com – http://www.absolute.com/forums/index

Speculations.com – http://www.speculations.com/rumormill/?z=68528

Author’s Lawyer – http://authorslawyer.com/l-publishers.shtml#pa

Victoria Strauss’ Blog – http://accrispin.blogspot.com/

Prededitors and Editors – http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/pubwarn.htm

Elite Skills – http://www.eliteskills.com/writing_scams/

Writer’s Weekly – http://www.writersweekly.com/whispers_and_warnings.php

WRITING FORUMS (These are good sites to warn fellow writers about scammers.)

Writing Forums – http://www.writingforums.com

Writers Beat – http://www.writersbeat.com/forum.php

Absolute Write – http://absolutewrite.com/forums/index.php?

Every Author – http://www.everyauthor.com/forum

Freelance Talk – http://www.freelancetalk.com/

Writers Weekly – http://forums.writersweekly.com/viewforum.php?f=15

Writer Magazine – http://www.writermag.com/wrt/CS/forums/

The Next Big Writer – http://www.thenextbigwriter.com/forum/index.php

Just Goat – http://www.justgoat.com/index2.php

Spoiled Ink – http://www.spoiledink.com/Forum

Writers Wall – http://www.writerswall.com/forum/index.php

You can also find other places to warn writers by doing a search on Yahoo, Google, MSN or other search engines, for writer’s groups.

5. Good Sites for Writers to Find Legitimate Companies

The links below are good sources in finding out if an agency, publishing company, and editors are legit in their claims.

Writer’s Market – http://www.writersmarket.com

Agent Search – http://www.agentsearch.com

Association of Author’s Representatives – http://www.aar-online.org/mc/page.do

Book Publishers – http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/peba.htm

Preditors and Editors – http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/peba.htm

There are other sites out there that could prove helpful to the budding writer trying to find a home for their work. Doing a search for writer beware sites is not a bad idea. Another good idea for authors to do is start a website of their own, journalizing their experience with scam artists in the creative field. The more writers who are aware of the companies who are out to scam them the more power they will have in dealing with such companies.