Who Are We?
Writer Beware is the public face of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America's Committee on Writing Scams. Like many genre-focused professional writers' groups, SFWA is concerned not just with issues that affect professional authors, but with the problems and pitfalls that face aspiring writers. The Committee on Writing Scams, and the Writer Beware website, founded in 1998, reflect that concern.
Although SFWA is a USA-based organization of science fiction and fantasy writers, the Committee's efforts aren't limited by country or genre. We've designed the Writer Beware website so it can be used by any writer, regardless of subject, style, genre, or nationality.
Like the Committee, Writer Beware is a volunteer effort. Our staff:
A.C. Crispin
A.C. Crispin, founder and Chair of SFWA's Committee on Writing Scams, has been active in SFWA since 1983. She served as Eastern Regional Director for almost ten years, and as Vice-President for two more. Her more than twenty novels include the bestselling Han Solo Trilogy; top-selling Star Trek novels Yesterday's Son, Time for Yesterday, The Eyes of the Beholders, and Sarek; and, most recently, the original fantasy novel Storms of Destiny. She also has many freelance credits, including articles in Writer's Digest and the SFWA Bulletin.
Victoria Strauss
Victoria Strauss, co-founder and Vice-Chair of SFWA's Committee on Writing Scams, is the author of seven fantasy novels, including The Burning Land and The Awakened City. She’s a regular book reviewer for a number of publications, including Fantasy magazine and 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. She's the webmistress of the Writer Beware website, which she also created, and maintains the Writer Beware database.
Richard C. White
Richard C. White is the author of a fantasy novel, Gauntlet Dark Legacy: Paths of Evil, as well as several short stories and novellas, and an original comic series that's currently being marketed to publishers. Among other interesting jobs, he has worked as a journalist, a substitute teacher, an independent comics publisher, an analyst for the military, and, currently, as a technical writer. Rich is an active member of SFWA.
What Does Writer Beware Do?
Writer Beware conducts a variety of activities revolving around the effort to raise awareness of the prevalence of literary fraud.
tiny arrow We maintain and continually update the Writer Beware website with the latest information on literary schemes and frauds, and the most up-to-date information on what writers can do to protect themselves.
tiny arrowTo complement the general advice and warnings on the Writer Beware website, Writer Beware's popular blog provides up-to-the-minute information on specific scams and schemes--along with advice for writers, industry news, and a special focus on the weird and wacky stuff that happens at the fringes of the publishing world.
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tiny arrow We constantly research the problems we discuss, reading trade publications, newspapers, and other sources, and subscribing to professional newsletters and mailing lists in order to keep current with issues and changes in the publishing industry. We're in regular touch with legitimate agents and editors, so we can better contrast their business practices to the nonstandard practices we warn against.
tiny arrowWe maintain an extensive database of questionable literary agents, publishers, independent editors, writers' services, contests, publicity services, and others. This database has been assembled thanks to the hundreds of writers and publishing professionals who have contacted us to share their experiences and to provide us with documentation. Our database is the most complete of its kind in the world.
To give an idea of the scale of our data collection: When Writer Beware was founded in 1998, we had just under 100 names in our database. We now have more than 600, and add a new one, on average, every two weeks.
tiny arrowWe offer a free research service for writers with questions about agents, publishers, and others (e-mail us at beware@sfwa.org). The information we provide on questionable agents and publishers is supported by multiple similar advisories and complaints from writers, by documentation, or, in most cases, by both.
tiny arrow We assist law enforcement agencies with investigations of questionable agents, publishers, and others.
tiny arrow We help build public awareness of literary fraud by writing articles (our work has appeared in the SFWA Bulletin and Writers' Digest, among others), appearing at writers' conventions, conducting workshops and classes, and participating in online writers' discussion groups and message boards.
