The Street Smart Writer: Self Defense Against Sharks and Scams in the Writing World
Here's a welcome flip side to those how-to-be-a-writer books that either ignore or barely mention the dark side of writing for hire. The authors--respectively, the founder of absolutewrite.com and a lawyer specializing in publishing-related matters--give readers the skinny on such matters as agents (how can you tell the good from the bad?); writing contests (how to spot the scams); vanity presses and other pay-for-publish schemes (not all of them are rip-offs); and other potentially shady elements of the business of writing. The book offers a number of revelations--you don't need an agent to get published, despite what nearly everybody seems to tell you--and it contains such a large amount of essential information that it should be required reading for anyone with a story to sell. It's also worth noting that, overall, the authors take an optimistic stance: the business of writing, they say, is full of honorable people genuinely interested in seeing writers succeed. But there are also charlatans, too, and this guide tells you where to look for them.David PittCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved