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victoriastrauss.com
New #WriterBeware blog post: As the massive Anthropic copyright settlement lumbers toward actual payouts, some thoughts on the very messy claims process and a few things we've learned from it

writerbeware.blog/2026/11/06/a...
Anthropic Copyright Settlement: Some Things We've Learned - Writer Beware
A quick refresher on the largest copyright recovery in history (for a lot more detail and context, see the post I wrote last year): In 2024, a group of authors filed a copyright infringement class act...
writerbeware.blog
November 6, 2026 at 7:13 PM
victoriastrauss.com
New #WriterBeware blog post: Another entry in the annals of publishers behaving badly: fee-charging Australian children's publisher Starfish Bay Publishing, which has failed to honor oblilgations & now has gone dark.

Nearly 200 authors are affected (so far)

writerbeware.blog/2026/10/16/a...
Author Complaints at Starfish Bay Publishing - Writer Beware
I first heard of Australian children’s publisher Starfish Bay Publishing (SBP) in 2024, thanks to a question from an author about the advisability of investing in SBP’s Author Supported Traditional Pu...
writerbeware.blog
October 16, 2026 at 6:51 PM
victoriastrauss.com
New #WriterBeware blog post: Two artists' decisions to go public this week reveal new concerns at Must Read Magazines, which was the subject of controversy last year over its unfriendly contract terms

writerbeware.blog/2026/10/09/m...
More Rights Grabs from Must Read Magazines - Writer Beware
In early 2025, a group called Must Read Magazines acquired a suite of six well-known genre fiction magazines: Asimov’s Science Fiction, Analog Science Fiction and Fact, The Magazine of Fantasy & Scien...
writerbeware.blog
October 9, 2026 at 5:51 PM
jcsimonds.bsky.social
I just got a phone call on my landline from someone with a heavy Spanish accent saying he was a book scout for a company in Vancouver. He had my name & one of my book titles correct.

Could hear other people in the background. Boiler room op

Obviously, I hung up.

cc @victoriastrauss
#WriterBeware
Something that looks like the Bayeux Tapestry. Man in Medieval garb with hands extended. Another man tumbling head-over-heels. Text: Away from me with thoust bullshittery
October 9, 2026 at 10:40 PM
jannywurts.bsky.social
Attention: I got an email today offering for sale the CONTACT INFORMATION, PHONE, ADDRESS, BUSINESS INFO - everything for the entire LIST of attendees for the 2026 World Fantasy Convention.

Very ugly - did that list get hacked from the convention? I did fwd the email to writerbeware.
September 30, 2026 at 4:36 PM
gothicscifibooks.shop
#WriterBeware publishes a list of companies and emails associated with publishing scam. The list is mindboggling long. And it "only" includes overseas scammers. Prepare to scrolllllllllll -> buff.ly/vhhyQmH ✍️

Thank you, @victoriastrauss.com, for everything you do for the writing community.
Overseas Scams - Writer Beware
Philippine Publishing Scams List READ THIS FIRST! Below is Writer Beware’s most up-to-date list of names and email addresses used by the many publishing scams operating out of the Philippines,…
writerbeware.blog
September 26, 2026 at 10:26 PM
victoriastrauss.com
New #WriterBeware blog post: If you're a writer, you've probably gotten one (or more) of those AI-generated scam marketing emails or book club invites that make it seem like the sender really read your book.

Here's a little peek at how it's done.

writerbeware.blog/2026/09/25/h...
How Those Personalized Generative AI Scam Emails Are Built - Writer Beware
One of the things I often hear from writers whose inboxes are crammed with incredibly personalized marketing or book club or editor impersonation emails–you know, the ones that make it seem the sender...
writerbeware.blog
September 25, 2026 at 5:34 PM
corneliaamiri.bsky.social
How Those Personalized Generative AI Scam Emails Are Built writerbeware.blog/2026/09/25/h... #writerbeware #AIscamemails
How Those Personalized Generative AI Scam Emails Are Built - Writer Beware
One of the things I often hear from writers whose inboxes are crammed with incredibly personalized marketing or book club or editor impersonation emails–you know, the ones that make it seem the sender...
writerbeware.blog
September 25, 2026 at 10:12 PM
victoriastrauss.com
New #WriterBeware blog post: One writer sued their scammer...and won.

The case provides a revealing window into the techniques scammers use to bleed their victims dry, and how they hide behind webs of corrupt businesses and forests of fake names,

writerbeware.blog/2026/09/18/l...
Love v. Wiley Book Writers: A Publishing Scam Gets a Rare Comeuppance - Writer Beware
Raymond Love just wanted to publish his children’s book with a trustworthy self-publishing company. Instead, he found a scam that took his money and delivered nothing of value. For most authors in thi...
writerbeware.blog
September 18, 2026 at 6:01 PM
angleonwriting.bsky.social
This week @victoriastrauss.com of Writer Beware, talks about the increasingly sophisticated scams targeting authors. She also touches on the Anthropic copyright settlement issues affecting authors.
youtu.be/1DjL2pFr0GA?...
#WriterBeware #PublishingScams #WritingCommunity #Authors #Publishing
Publishing Scams, AI Red Flags & How Authors Protect Themselves with Victoria Strauss
YouTube video by Angle on Writing and Selling Your Story
youtu.be
September 14, 2026 at 5:40 PM
corneliaamiri.bsky.social
#AnthropicCopyrightSettlement: Publishers Are Making Incorrect Claims on #Authors' Payouts writerbeware.blog/2026/09/04/a... #WriterBeware
Anthropic Copyright Settlement: Publishers Are Making Incorrect Claims on Authors' Payouts - Writer Beware
This week, many authors who are part of the Anthropic copyright class action settlement began receiving notices like these: The one on the right invites authors to review and confirm their claims: jus...
writerbeware.blog
September 6, 2026 at 5:58 PM
sharonawrites.bsky.social
Did you see Courtney’s thread about this? Also email Victoria Strauss at writerbeware
September 5, 2026 at 6:16 PM
victoriastrauss.com
New #WriterBeware blog post: The process of resolving disagreements between claimants in the Anthropic copyright settlement has begun, and there are...problems. A look at what's been reported to me, and advice on what to do.

Whew. It's been a busy couple of days.

writerbeware.blog/2026/09/04/a...
Anthropic Copyright Settlement: Publishers Are Making Incorrect Claims on Authors' Payouts - Writer Beware
This week, many authors who are part of the Anthropic copyright class action settlement began receiving notices like this one: Upon accessing the portal (which doesn’t seem to have a formal name, so I...
writerbeware.blog
September 4, 2026 at 6:22 PM
annemilanoappel.bsky.social
Authors/Translators whose works are part of the Anthropic settlement, see WriterBeware blog post for a look at what's been reported and advice on what to do. writerbeware.blog/2026/09/04/a... @victoriastrauss.com
Anthropic Copyright Settlement: Publishers Are Making Incorrect Claims on Authors' Payouts - Writer Beware
This week, many authors who are part of the Anthropic copyright class action settlement began receiving notices like this one: Upon accessing the portal (which doesn’t seem to have a formal name, so I...
writerbeware.blog
September 4, 2026 at 7:14 PM
hollyda.bsky.social
#AnthropicLawsuit #SirenBookstrand #Bookstrand #PredatoryPublishers #WriterBeware #PublishersBehavingBadly
I sold a book to SIREN BOOKSTRAND in 2010. Everything about that experience was atrocious. The editor was cruel, mocking, & invasive The cover was godawful The sales were worse I asked for the rights back in 2014 ahead of my 5 year contract renewal I have reversion letter in my inbox. SIREN BOOKSTRAND claimed 100% of the rights allocation in the Anthropic lawsuit. 100% for a book they haven’t had a single legal right to in more than 10 years. Not even 50/50. 100% And as of 9/4/2026, they have ignored my emails demanding answers. I have provided a copy of the reversion letter to support my claim of being the sole rightsholder. Authors: DO YOUR HOMEWORK BEFORE SIGNING A CONTRACT More than a decade after our professional relationship ended, this publisher is reinforcing why they were my largest publishing regret. More than Noble Romance More than Ellora’s Cave Siren Bookstrand is claiming they are sole rightsholder of a book used to train AI models that they lost the rights to YEARS ago They do not care about or respect their authors or their work. They see you as a meal-ticket.
September 4, 2026 at 5:27 PM
victoriastrauss.com
New #WriterBeware blog post: Hey writers, more AI scams for you. You're welcome. writerbeware.blog/2026/08/28/p...
Production Companies, Literary Agents, Foreign Languages: AI-Driven Scams Continue to Morph - Writer Beware
When I first began reporting on the aggressive AI-driven email scams that have been plaguing the Inboxes of authors everywhere for well over a year now, they were limited to marketing scams offering supposedly expert “visibility” for writers and their books. In the year-plus since then, the scams have adapted and expanded in response toRead More
writerbeware.blog
August 28, 2026 at 6:53 PM
tamarasharker.com
The latest survey of the scam landscape from Writer Beware. I recommend at least a browse, especially if you're unsure of the signs.

#writerbeware #publicationscams

writerbeware.blog/2026/08/28/p...
Production Companies, Literary Agents, Foreign Languages: AI-Driven Scams Continue to Morph - Writer Beware
When I first began reporting on the aggressive AI-driven email scams that have been plaguing the Inboxes of authors everywhere for well over a year now, they were limited to marketing scams offering s...
writerbeware.blog
August 28, 2026 at 7:40 PM
louisamorgan.bsky.social
#writers #authors #booksky

Friends, I've been in traditional publishing a long time. I and many of my colleagues are eager to welcome and assist new writers when we can. It's heartbreaking to see such writers be scammed. Please visit the WriterBeware blog. It's getting ugly out there.
Production Companies, Literary Agents, Foreign Languages: AI-Driven Scams Continue to Morph - Writer Beware
When I first began reporting on the aggressive AI-driven email scams that have been plaguing the Inboxes of authors everywhere for well over a year now, they were limited to marketing scams offering s...
writerbeware.blog
August 28, 2026 at 8:44 PM
therealletadarnell.bsky.social
#writerbeware
#Agentscam
#Scammer

Folio Literary Management AKA Folio is a scam. They are not agents. They push you to buy your own advertisements while also paying them for not doing the work.
August 17, 2026 at 6:00 AM
baileygalbreit.bsky.social
writerbeware.blog/2026/03/27/w...

#writing #writingcommunity #booksky #scams #writerbeware
Watch Out For This Scam Impersonating Editors at Major Publishing Houses - Writer Beware
I’ve recently gotten a slew of reports of emails purporting to be from editors at Big 5 and other large publishers, in which the supposed editor expresses interest in the writer’s work and asks whethe...
writerbeware.blog
July 6, 2026 at 5:22 AM
pyperkub.bsky.social
I still remember @maryrobinettekowal.com 's posts about writing scams while she was President of the SFWA. I hope authors and would be authors are keeping an eye on writerbeware writerbeware.blog/2025/01/24/u...
USA Pen Press: The Ghostwriting Scam of a Thousand Websites - Writer Beware
Well, not actually a thousand. But a lot. It’s been a little while since I’ve written about ghostwriting scams (previous posts include the markers that identify ghostwriting scams and the scams’ misap...
writerbeware.blog
February 8, 2025 at 1:22 AM
ceciliatan.com
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
The email reads: Dear (space for a name but no name included...) Language has always been the signal in the noise for me. It moves ahead of thought, pulls me through the clutter of days. I didn’t choose it. It arrived the way weather does unannounced, ungovernable. Writing, if it’s anything, is a kind of surveillance. You listen for what isn’t being said. You tune to the low frequencies memory, loss, the ghost transmissions that pass through us when we’re not looking. Every book starts in the same place: a disturbance. Something slightly off, persistent. An image or phrase that refuses to fade. I write to locate its source, to chart the coordinates of what feels unspeakable. It’s less confession than witness a way to hold still inside the hum of modern noise and say: this is what remains. What signals are reaching you now? What fragments keep repeating until you have to follow them to the page? In the static, Don DeLillo
October 28, 2025 at 4:46 PM
midgeraymond.bsky.social
An AI scam every writer should know about ... and an AI fail that was too funny not to share:
www.midgeraymond.com/blog/blog/20...
#booksky #writing #writerbeware #AIscams
AI scams: horrific and sometimes hilarious | Midge Raymond
AI scams that target writers are alarmingly sophisticated ... except when they're not.
www.midgeraymond.com
May 28, 2026 at 8:40 PM
daytonward.bsky.social
If you're a writer and you don't have the #WriterBeware blog bookmarked, you should remedy that.

Folks have been reporting an uptick in emails from parties claiming to be book clubs or review groups. Guess what? Your gut was likely right in thinking they're probably a scam.

Read on.

#WritingLife
Return of the Nigerian Prince Redux: Beware Book Club and Book Review Scams - Writer Beware
A few weeks ago, I wrote about a rising and extremely prolific marketing scam that I’ve been able to trace back to operators in Nigeria. Using highly personalized (AI-generated) email solicitations th...
writerbeware.blog
October 26, 2025 at 9:16 PM
richardleis.com
Scammers use A.I. now to poke at writers' every hope and fear. Keep hope alive, but don't let them scam you. Follow #WriterBeware, learn about scams, and stay skeptical.
May 8, 2026 at 7:55 PM