Mastodawn

Victoria Strauss of Writer Beware has documented a lawsuit filed by BattleTech and Shadowrun authors and their estates against the Topps Company, alleging that royalties for 2022, 2023, and 2024 have gone unpaid despite repeated demands. The case raises broader questions about work-for-hire contracts and what happens to authors' rights when intellectual property passes through multiple corporate owners.
#WritingCommunity #Publishing #Authors #WriterBeware #WorkForHire
https://writerbeware.blog/2026/02/20/authors-and-authors-estates-sue-the-topps-company-for-unpaid-royalties/

Authors and Authors' Estates Sue The Topps Company for Unpaid Royalties - Writer Beware

This is yet another Writer Beware post about allegations of royalties long left unpaid. But it’s also about the challenges of work-for-hire arrangements, and what can potentially go wrong when intellectual property repeatedly changes hands. The Complicated Background The BattleTech and Shadowrun franchises–which included both games and novels–were originally developed and published in the 1980sRead More

Writer Beware

Dylan Madeley Mar 9

Scam of the day. East London Book Club of Wanstead had probably never heard of me until I inquired with one of their admins to verify that this email was not really from them.

Just as well, because as my Amazon author bio states, I live "in Mimico on the shores of Lake Ontario". I would have no means of affording a flight on or before 23rd March to "drop in" on a book club meetup anywhere.

#WriterBeware #scam

Angie Mangino Mar 4

Victoria Strauss of Writer Beware has documented two impersonation scams currently circulating in the writing community. Both use flattery, fake agent referrals, and AI-generated emails to steer writers toward fraudulent paid editing services. The post includes actual email examples, so writers know exactly what to look for. A must-read for anyone in the publishing world right now.
#WritingCommunity #PublishingScams #Authors #LiteraryScams #WriterBeware
https://writerbeware.blog/2026/01/30/two-new-impersonation-scams-to-watch-for/

Two New Impersonation Scams to Watch For - Writer Beware

Impersonation scams in publishing tend to be variations on a theme, since the goal is always the same: to sell you something. In that sense, the scams below, which are aimed at tricking writers into paying for editing, don’t break new ground. Still, the approaches are distinctive, and I’ve seen enough examples at this pointRead More

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Humphrey Archer Mar 3

ayup, and the second one just responded with a very floury email, containing this line: "There is a one time submission fee"

Yet another scam to rake money off indie #writers
This was "The Cambridge and Boston Book Club Spotlight"

#writerbeware

Humphrey Archer Mar 3

I am getting emails from people claiming to be the organizers of book clubs, and inviting me to have my latest book "spotlighted". The first one was quite upfront that there would be a $150 fee, the second one was fairly effusive about my book, and has so far not made any payment demands.

I am always a bit suspicious of highly complimentary emails.

Is this "author spotlight" thing always a scam, or do some book clubs actually do this?

#writingcommunity #writerbeware

Angie Mangino Feb 19

Writer Beware covers everything authors need to know about last year's scams and publishing challenges. Nigerian marketing scams exploded with AI-generated flattery. The Anthropic copyright settlement brought $1.5 billion for authors whose works were scraped from pirate sites. Publishers failed to pay royalties. Contracts contained dangerous clauses. Victoria Strauss documents it all.
#WritingCommunity #WriterBeware #PublishingScams #Copyright #Authors
https://writerbeware.blog/2026/01/16/best-of-writer-beware-2025-in-review/

Best of Writer Beware: 2025 in Review - Writer Beware

It’s been a busy year in writing scams (but then what year isn’t?). From the new AI marketing scams, to nasty contract clauses, to publishers behaving badly, to the biggest copyright infringement restitution in history, Writer Beware has been on the beat. If you missed any of our posts, here’s your chance to catch up.Read More

Writer Beware

Dylan Madeley Jan 30

One of the latest scam emails of its kind specifically claims to be from Sonja Heck. In my case it offered special feature treatment for "The Gift-Knight's Quest".

Which amused me slightly, because that book's been permanently delisted from sale. Apropos, you're free to read the definitive full rewrite called "The Last Gift-Knight" which is due for an April release.

I have enclosed the scam email for educational purposes.

#scam #WriterBeware #WritingCommunity

John M. Gamble Nov 16

Scammers gotta scam.

#WriterBeware #Writing #Writer

"This is a complicated, layered fraud, with two distinct versions and two different endpoints. But they both start the same way."

https://writerbeware.blog/2025/11/14/if-a-famous-author-calls-hang-up-anatomy-of-an-impersonation-scam/

If a Famous Author Calls, Hang Up: Anatomy of an Impersonation Scam - Writer Beware

You open your email program one morning. The usual work stuff. Some spam (annoying that it got past your filters!). A couple of newsletters (maybe later). You sip your coffee, scroll down. Wait. What’s this? An email from…Suzanne Collins? The Suzanne Collins? This can’t be real, you think. Why would Suzanne Collins be contacting youRead More

Writer Beware

Cecilia Tan Oct 28

Today in weird A.I., I got email pretending to be writerly correspondence from Don DeLillo? Except it's from "Delilo". Anyone know if this matches up to literary great Don DeLillo's actual essays or anything? Wild. #writerbeware

azteclady Sep 13, 2025

#Writing #Authors @bookstodon #WriterBeware
Via Victoria Strauss (on Bluesky), a writer beware thread:
1. Have you just received an email like the one below from Excalibre Writers' Hub, touting itself as a "learning platform" with webinars, workshops, and author services, inviting you to become a member? Here are some thoughts. (thread continues in images)

https://www.excalibrewritershub.com/