Writer Beware

by Victoria Strauss

There are sharks out there in the literary waters. Literary deceptions abound, from fee-charging agents to dishonest editors to fraudulent vanity publishers to fake contests. The good news is that you can protect yourself, with a little information and a healthy dose of caution. Below are some tips and resources to help you do so.

When You Should be Cautious

If a literary agent requires an upfront fee.

Reputable literary agents derive their income from commissions on the sale of literary properties.

Asking for money upfront violates the basic premise of the author-agent relationship: a shared financial interest in the sale of the author's manuscript. An agent who profits only when the author does is highly motivated not just to place a manuscript with a paying publisher, but to obtain the best possible deal. An agent who makes money right off the bat has already made a profit, diminishing the incentive to submit to legitimate publishers. In fact, many fee-charging agents, some of whom have hundreds of paying clients, never bother to send out their clients' work at all.

There are three kinds of upfront fee you may encounter. The first is the reading fee: a request for money just to read your manuscript. It's not hard to imagine how this practice can be abused, which is why the Association of Authors' Representatives (the professional trade group for US-based literary agents) prohibits its members from charging reading fees. No reputable agent charges reading fees--in fact, they're so discredited that very few fraudulent agents charge them either.

The second kind of upfront fee is the evaluation fee. Agents who charge evaluation fees promise not just to read your manuscript, but to provide a written critique. But evaluation fees are as easy to abuse as reading fees--which is why they too are proscribed by the AAR.

The third (and by far the most common) kind of upfront fee is the "marketing" or "submission" or "administrative" or "handling" or "retainer" fee--supposedly, a share of the expense of marketing a manuscript. Confusion arises here, because most reputable agents do expect clients to bear some of the cost of submission. However, it's typical practice among reputable agents to pass on only unusual expenses related to the marketing of a manuscript (expenses incurred on the client's behalf over and above the ordinary cost of doing business, such as photocopying, postage, long-distance calls, Fed Ex, etc.), and to either deduct the expenses from the author's advance, or to bill them only after they’re incurred. Questionable agents, by contrast, want expense money right away--usually as a lump sum on contract signing, but sometimes as a monthly or quarterly allowance, or a per-submission charge. They may also expect clients to pay not just for the unusual expenses described above, but for every file folder, envelope, and paper clip, or for unnecessary extras--photos, business cards, marketing plans, fancy bindings.

Some agents who charge marketing fees are con artists. Most, however, are simply inept, and can't keep their businesses afloat without asking their clients for money. Either way, a marketing fee, like a reading or evaluation fee, is a warning sign--if not of outright dishonesty, then of an unsuccessful business.

For a much more detailed discussion of literary agent fees, including the gray area of pre-sale billing, see "Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Fees" on the Writer Beware website.

If a publisher offers a contract that requires you to pay for publication.

Such publishers are variously known as vanity, subsidy, joint-venture, co-op, or partner publishers. Often, you're told that what you're paying is only a portion of the publication cost, with the publisher kicking in the rest or providing additional services of substantial value.

In reality, most pay-to-publish ventures charge inflated prices that not only cover the whole cost of production, but generate fat profits for the publisher. There are vanity publishers that will deliver what they promise, but many are dishonest, concealing their fees, advertising services they don't provide, lying about print runs (you may have paid for 2,500 books, but only the 100 copies you were given to distribute to friends and reviewers were ever printed), failing to pay royalties owed...the list goes on. Plus, because vanity publishers will publish nearly anyone who can write a check, books from such publishers tend to be avoided by readers, booksellers, and reviewers.

Vanity publishers frequently pitch themselves to new writers by saying that the risk involved in publishing an unknown makes cost-sharing necessary, or that making an "investment" in your book proves you're serious about a writing career, or that it's normal for new writers to get their start this way. Don't believe it. The publisher is just trying to make you feel better about handing over a large amount of cash.

(Note that the above does not apply to self-publishing companies such as Lulu.com, which offer a publishing option that’s a cross between vanity publishing and true self-publishing. These companies typically charge a fraction of what vanity presses do, and provide a straightforward, generally reliable service. You'll face the same difficulties, however, with marketing, recognition, and respect.)

For more on vanity publishers, see the Vanity and Subsidy Publishers page of Writer Beware.

For more on print-on-demand self-publishing services, see the Print on Demand page of Writer Beware.

If an agent or publisher wants you to pay for something other than printing and binding.

One of the objects of getting published is for you to earn money. If instead you find yourself reaching for your wallet, something isn't right.

If you're referred to a specific outside service--such as a publicist or independent editor--it's possible that a kickback arrangement is involved. The agent or publisher may have been promised a finder's fee for successful referrals, or a percentage of whatever you wind up paying for the service. Some vanity publishers also engage in kickback schemes, offering agents a bonus for each client they persuade to accept a pay-to-publish contract.

Alternatively, the agency or publisher may own the service (often under a different name, so you won't spot the connection). A publisher might run a fee-charging literary agency, and recommend it to writers who submit manuscripts. A literary agency might have a separate editing branch, and require writers to obtain a critique as a condition of representation (this is a serious conflict of interest: if the recommendation to edit can make a profit for the agent, how can the writer trust that the recommendation is in his/her best interest?). An agency might even own a vanity publishing company, into which clients are funneled once they've racked up enough rejections to become desperate.

There are times when a reputable agent may suggest that a writer hire an independent editor--for instance, for a salable project that needs developmental work that the author, in the agent's judgment, can't provide. Such recommendations can be perfectly legitimate--though a writer should do some careful thinking before deciding to go this often very expensive route. But questionable editing schemes are extremely common, and receiving an editing referral should always make you wary.

If you're asked to buy something as a condition of publication.

An increasing number of vanity publishers are trying to dodge the vanity label by shifting their charges to some aspect of publication other than printing and binding. Instead of asking you to pay to print your book, they ask you to buy goods or services.

You may be asked to purchase editing, or to fund a publicity campaign for your book, or to hire the company's own artistic or design staff. You may have to agree to buy a large number of your own books, or to become a salesperson and sell your books prior to publication. You may be asked to buy or sell ads for your book, or to pay to attend the publisher's expensive conferences, or to purchase a certain number of the publisher's other books. No matter what the item, the bottom line is that you're paying money to see your work in print.

There are also many poetry and short story anthologies that require or pressure writers to buy the anthology in which they're included. Vanity anthology companies often solicit business via a fake contest, offering publication to everyone who submits. Vanity anthologizers may also bombard writers with solicitations to buy other things--their poem mounted on a plaque, their story made into an audiotape, membership in an authors' registry maintained by the company, attendance at a writers' conference hosted by the company. Writer Beware has heard from writers who've wound up spending thousands of dollars this way.

Because vanity anthologies employ no editorial screening and offer publication to anyone who enters their "contests", they aren't considered a genuine literary market. As with a vanity-published book, inclusion in one of these anthologies will not count as a professional writing credit.

For more on vanity anthologies, see the Contests and Vanity Anthologies page of Writer Beware.

If an independent editor claims a manuscript must be professionally edited in order to have a chance with a publisher or agent.

Dishonest and/or ignorant independent editors often prey on the anxieties of aspiring writers by saying that publishers won't look at manuscripts unless they've been professionally edited. In-house editors, they say, no longer have the time to edit--they want books that are picture-perfect and ready to publish.

Not so. It's true that in today's world of big publishing conglomerates, editors can rarely afford to invest months working with an author to shape a promising-but-not-quite-ready work. But it's false to say that in-house editors don't edit (they do), or that professional editing is a prerequisite for publication (it isn't), or even that the name of an editing service on a manuscript will make a publisher more likely to read it (it won't). Agents and in-house editors know the limitations of editing; they're also well aware of how many underqualified and unscrupulous independent editors there are. Typing "professionally edited" on the title page of your manuscript, or mentioning it in a cover letter, will not improve your chances.

Your manuscript needs to be as perfect as you can make it--finished, polished, and properly presented. But it’s perfectly fine if you accomplish this yourself--as indeed you should be able to. Self-editing is an essential part of the writer’s craft.

For more on independent editors, see the Independent Editors page of Writer Beware.

If you're solicited.

Reputable agents and publishers will sometimes reach out to writers whose blogs they’ve read, or whose articles or stories they’ve seen. In general, though, anyone who solicits you probably wants your money.

Some questionable agents and publishers purchase subscription lists from writers' magazines. Others solicit writers who register their copyrights. Still others cruise online writers' forums and bulletin boards.

On a related note: reputable agents and publishers often maintain websites, but they rarely advertise. Beware of the literary agent or publisher ads you find the backs of writers' magazines, or see online. And remember, Google is not always your friend. Typing “literary agent” or “book publisher” into a search engine is guaranteed to turn up a scammer.

If reasonable requests for information are refused.

It's your right to ask an agent or publisher or independent editor about track record, contract terms, commissions, marketing, distribution, and so on. If they're reputable, they should be glad to answer. Questionable agents and publishers and editors, on the other hand, are often very reluctant to provide information--for good reason.

Be especially wary of an agent who tells you that his/her sales list is confidential. Reputable agents won't always be willing to reveal their entire client list, but they shouldn't have a problem telling you about recent sales (if they have a website or other online listing, the information should be available there). An agent who won't provide this information may be trying to conceal a poor track record.

If there's a double standard or a special deal.

An agent may tell you that she usually charges a reading fee, but because your query is so terrific she'll read your manuscript for free. Or a publisher may claim that while it usually offers advances, for new authors there's a special "joint venture" deal. Or an independent editor may say that he usually charges $5.00 per page, but if you send in your manuscript right away he'll give you a 20% discount.

Don't be fooled. You aren't receiving special treatment, just a calculated marketing pitch. The agent hopes that if you think you're getting a freebie on the reading, you'll be more willing to pay the $500 marketing fee she plans to ask for later on. The publisher wants you to believe it's a “real” publisher, when in fact expensive vanity contracts are probably the only kind it offers. The editor thinks that if he can convince you that you're getting a bargain, you'll be more likely to buy his services.

If an offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

And be wary if you encounter any of the following:

• Rudeness or chastisement, especially in response to reasonable requests for information. Questionable literary agents especially are fond of browbeating writers who ask too many questions.


• Exravagant praise, promises of best-sellerdom, and the like. Reputable agents, publishers, and independent editors don't indulge in hyperbole--at least not to unknown authors--and they know better than to make guarantees.


• A claim to specialize in new or unpublished writers. There are exceptions, but agents and publishers who are actively searching for new writers are usually doing so because new writers' inexperience makes them easier to defraud. Established agents' and publishers' lists typically include only a small percentage of new writers.


• Correspondence and other official documents with numerous typos and grammatical errors. A publishing professional should be able to write and spell correctly. It's amazing how many questionable agents, publishers, and editors send out correspondence or maintain websites full of such mistakes.


• For agents: dire warnings about how hard it is for new writers to make it in today's marketplace. This is usually just an advance rationale for why the agent will never manage to get you published. A reputable agent or publisher isn't going to take you on unless she feels she has a good chance of selling your manuscript.


• For independent editors: one size fits all editing, all comers accepted. Most good independent editors have areas of specialization that reflect their expertise. The skills required to edit a romance novel, for instance, are quite different from those required to edit a work of narrative nonfiction. That's not to say a single editor won't possess both skill sets--but it's unlikely that one person will be able to edit any and all subjects or genres with equal effectiveness. Also, within the basic scope of services he provides, a good editor will tailor each editing job to the client. Standardized editing services and a lack of specialization suggest an amateur or inexperienced editor.


• For publishers: a reading or submission fee. No reputable publisher will ask for money to read or submit your manuscript. (Note: this doesn't include the contests that are sometimes conducted by reputable publishers, which may require a handling or submission fee.)

Last but not least: remember the cardinal rule of writing. Money flows toward the writer. The only place you should ever sign a check is on the back!

Resources To Help You Protect Yourself

Copyright Victoria Strauss

Victoria Strauss is the author of seven fantasy novels, including The Burning Land and The Awakened City. She has written hundreds of book reviews for magazines and ezines, including SF Site, and her articles on writing have appeared in Writer’s Digest and elsewhere. In 2006, she served as a judge for the World Fantasy Awards. An active member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Victoria is co-founder and Vice-Chair of Writer Beware, a publishing industry watchdog group that tracks and warns about literary schemes, scams, and pitfalls. She maintains the popular Writer Beware website (www.writerbeware.org) and blog (www.accrispin.blogspot.com). For this work, she received the Service to SFWA Award in 2009. She welcomes visitors to her own website: www.victoriastrauss.com.

This article may be reproduced, with permission and without alteration, for distribution to writers' groups. Contact Victoria


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