I don't know how many of you have tried to get your work published and then found out the company you are working with is actually fraudulent. There are some literary agencies, publishers, book doctors and editors out there looking for writers just to make money off them and in turn ruining their trust and setting the author back from reaching his/her goal. I have been one to run into such companies and I would like to take the time and post and article that may help other writers become aware of what scams are out their in the literary world. I hope this helps.



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. 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 one sure sign to figure out if the company is a fraud. Look at their 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 by commission on the amount of books you sell.
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.
In the case of a book doctor, however, warning signs are more subtle. You should be suspicious if you are referred by an agent or publisher. A few lines you may hear to scare you into searching out a book doctor are: “Publishers don’t accept manuscripts that haven’t been in the hands of a professional editor first”, or “A manuscript that has been professionally edited, stands a far better chance of landing an agent.” These claims are not true!
A reputable book doctor will have professional credentials such as being an editor for a publishing company, or as a commercially published author. The book doctor should have no quarrel in sharing this relevant information.
In these cases, the next thing you should do is write 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 a handful 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.

Science Fiction Writers of America - 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
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. The more writers warned about these scam artists, the stronger defense they will have in facing such 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

There are probably 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. Every step taken to warn other writers of the scams lurking around the better defense they will have when they come across such illegitimate literary agencies or publishers.