Literary Scams

Marcia Yudkin coaches writers on freelancing for magazines and preparing winning book proposals. In Literary Scams -- How to avoid them, she offers six key phrases that should set off suspicions, suggests some ways to investigate the source, including one I have not listed, the Nebraska Center for Writers, and provides six rules to protect yourself from falling prey to a scam agent or publisher. She has this advice about contests:

And what about entry fees for poetry contests? Ironically, these are considered acceptable in the literary world, as the $5 or $10 entry fees often support the judging and prizes. Before entering one of these contests, make sure that the prize includes publication in a periodical that has a history, a reputation or a significant circulation.

I would differ from Marcia in calling all the schemes she covers "literary". Not all writing is literary, as we all know from one of the LitBlog's editors, "we know it when we see it." [writing scams]

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