Page updated/links checked 12/17/23 Predatory Contests and Awards Contest and Award Profiteers Is It Worth It? Assessing Contests and Awards Resources There are hundreds of literary contests and awards. Many are real; some are prestigious. But others are either exploitative or pointless. And some are outright scams. Predatory Contests and Awards Predatory contests and awards […]

Mystery Writers of America (MWA) will co-sponsor the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA) Writer Beware program, which exposes publishing scams, educates writers on how to protect themselves from fraud, and maintains a massive database on their website of questionable literary agents, publishers, editorial services, and literary contests.

• Where is scientific and/or magical research done — universities, private labs, under the auspices of the ruler/government, etc.?
• Does it require a license to be a wizard? If so, is it more like a driver’s license (something nearly everyone in our culture gets upon coming of age) or like a doctor’s license (something only a small percentage of the population will ever get)? Who certifies wizards: government, wizard’s guild/AMA, local priests?

This document has been endorsed by the Romance Writers of America (RWA), Novelists, Inc., Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc. (SFWA), and Western Writers of America, Inc. (WWA), representing a total of nearly 11,000 writers. Ratified version (2002) While affirming the freedom of every writer to negotiate in his or her own best […]

The words “online marketing” are fairly generic, since there are quite a few components involved with this business practice. Marketers (like myself) often utilize web analytics, social media, blogging, natural and paid search, online advertising, etc. For authors, online marketing may be a little more targeted to our writing and publishing efforts via social media and blogging platforms.

When attending a social function–whether it’s a small gathering at someone’s home, or a political fundraiser, or a room party at a convention–you are being gifted with the opportunity to meet, mingle, and make contact with a wide variety of people. What I intend to do here is give some pointers on how to get the most out of any social gathering, whether you’re there for business or for pleasure.

So here it is. You’re a fairly “new” writer, or at least new to the convention scene, and you desperately want to make some industry contacts in the hopes that it will make it easier to get an agent/sell your work/quit your day job and hire a cabana boy/any of the above. You decide to go to a convention, perhaps picking one of the “big” ones such as WorldCon, or World Fantasy, because you’ve heard that editors and agents are absolutely spilling out the doors.

Here are some guidelines/rules/suggestions to go by:

Has your writing career stalled (or died) in mid-stream? John Betancourt offers some timely advice on how to jump back into the publishing boat.

This contract was written under the direction of the SFWA® Contracts Committee. The model or sample contracts have been written as a guide to writers in understanding common publishing contracts and to help them negotiate better contracts. They are not intended to be used as boilerplate contracts by publishers, writers, or agents, nor should such […]

This contract was written under the direction of the SFWA® Contracts Committee. The model or sample contracts have been written as a guide to writers in understanding common publishing contracts and to help them negotiate better contracts. They are not intended to be used as boilerplate contracts by publishers, writers, or agents, nor should such […]