Author Joanne Harris posted up a list of 10 of these on Twitter:
Joanne Harris (@Joannechocolat) | Twitter
1. Dodgy editorial services. Freelance editors are not all equal. Check their credentials and their claims.
2. People who charge for reviews. Not all reviewers are equal, either. No-one believes a paid-for review.
3. People who try to charge authors to adapt their books for the screen. That's NOT how adaptations work.
4. Dodgy "marketing packages". There are lots of these about. Make sure you know what you're paying for.
5. Dodgy online writing courses that guarantee publication. (No-one honest can *guarantee* you anything.)
6. "Agents" who charge their authors reading or copying fees, postage, etc. (They're not really agents.)
7. (a) Contracts that give universal rights to a single publisher.
7 (b). If you don't have an agent who can help, run your contract past the @Soc_of_Authors before you sign.
8. Publishers who rely on "gentlemen's agreements" rather than contracts. Most of these are NOT gentlemen.
9. Literary festivals who expect you to pay them, and not the other way around.
10. Bloggers who expect you to pay them for interviewing you. These are NOT the bloggers you're looking for.
Joanne Harris (@Joannechocolat) | Twitter
1. Dodgy editorial services. Freelance editors are not all equal. Check their credentials and their claims.
2. People who charge for reviews. Not all reviewers are equal, either. No-one believes a paid-for review.
3. People who try to charge authors to adapt their books for the screen. That's NOT how adaptations work.
4. Dodgy "marketing packages". There are lots of these about. Make sure you know what you're paying for.
5. Dodgy online writing courses that guarantee publication. (No-one honest can *guarantee* you anything.)
6. "Agents" who charge their authors reading or copying fees, postage, etc. (They're not really agents.)
7. (a) Contracts that give universal rights to a single publisher.
7 (b). If you don't have an agent who can help, run your contract past the @Soc_of_Authors before you sign.
8. Publishers who rely on "gentlemen's agreements" rather than contracts. Most of these are NOT gentlemen.
9. Literary festivals who expect you to pay them, and not the other way around.
10. Bloggers who expect you to pay them for interviewing you. These are NOT the bloggers you're looking for.
