Name This Scam

THMeeks · #1 03-10-2002, 02:49 AM

OK, I thought I had heard of all the current writing scams, but I think I may have stumbled onto a new one.

So I'm at the hair dresser today and she tells me, "Oh, I have another client who does the same thing you do."

Me: "Oh, she does commerical writing too?"

Hair Dresser: "I really don't know. But she said there's this test you take and then publishers just start sending you work to do."

Me: "Oh, thanks, be sure and let me know about that when you get the info." Then I politely changed the topic.

Does this sound familiar to anyone?

kurt_messick · #2 03-10-2002, 10:32 AM

Sounds like the old art school marketing ploys...

'Can you draw this picture?' Send your drawing in for an evaluation.

Guess what? You're an artist! You just need to take this correspondence course now, and you'll develop your skills so you can become a professional.

Sounds similar to me.

Guess what? You're a writer! You just need to ...

THMeeks · #3 03-10-2002, 06:20 PM

Yes, that's what I thought, too. The old "For only $79.95 we can help you develop your talent!" Just hadn't heard this particular twist yet.

The whole conversation reminded me of the "are you a real writer" thread. It's a shame, but whenever I hear someone say, "Oh I know someone who's a writer, too," my first thought is always something like sure they are.

Terrisa

sylvanb · #4 03-10-2002, 06:23 PM

Send us your poem. Oh, it's great. Send us $79.95 and we'll send you a copy of the book we're putting it in.

**pluckyduck** · #5 03-10-2002, 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by THMeeks
Yes, that's what I thought, too. The old "For only $79.95 we can help you develop your talent!" Just hadn't heard this particular twist yet.

The whole conversation reminded me of the "are you a real writer" thread. It's a shame, but whenever I hear someone say, "Oh I know someone who's a writer, too," my first thought is always something like sure they are.

Terrisa

Extend that to all of the folks who have published books!

Anybody tells me they have published a book, have a book "contract" whatever, I just assume they've done one of those self publish deals. People who pay to have their stuff published seem to flaunt it more than people who are actually paid, you know?

I just roll my eyes and smile.

Andrea

kurt_messick · #6 03-10-2002, 06:50 PM

Hey, I had a book published! :p

**pluckyduck** · #7 03-10-2002, 08:10 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by kurt_messick
Hey, I had a book published! :p

Really, how much did it cost you?

I'm just kidding.

Andrea

kurt_messick · #8 03-10-2002, 08:12 PM

You're lucky I'm a priest... :p

**pluckyduck** · #9 03-10-2002, 09:31 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by kurt_messick
You're lucky I'm a priest... :p

I know. I'm counting on that communion wine!

Andrea

THMeeks · #10 03-11-2002, 02:27 AM

Did you know there's a lawyer pursuing a class action lawsuit against poetry.com (I think that was the site's name, although I'm not 100% sure) for fraudulent practices? They were the leaders in Oh, we just love your poetry! for the mere $50.00 price of a book, which you can't even find at a book store...

I have a neighbor who allegedly is going on a book tour and I believe her book was self-published.... I never got the details, left that up to my husband. I vaguely remember that something he told me set off my "self-published" radar. Although I must say a heck of a lot of people are going that route these days. Writer's Digest even has an annual competition for self-published books.

Even better than the "I'm a writer, too" is the "Would you mind taking a look at my work?" Yikes. I've handed out a lot of comments along the lines of I see you've really worked hard on this. Have you thought about taking a creative writing class? Not that Random House is knocking down my door or anything, but at least I do get that pesky noun/verb agreement thing right. I is a former college student, you know.

Terrisa

**pluckyduck** · #11 03-11-2002, 08:22 AM

Let the record show that I may very well decide to self publish a book myself someday. Nothing wrong with it.

It's not expensive any more, and you can get your titles listed on Amazon. I actually bought a self published book on Amazon, not realizing it was self published until I received it. (Book was of limited value, but that could have happened no matter the publishing channels.)

The freedom of self publishing is very appealing to me...the same way self publishing at Epinions appeals to me and trying to submit articles for acceptance doesn't.

I just promise....if I ever self publish, I'll be sure to tell everybody I self published, ya know?

Andrea

adonna · #12 03-23-2002, 08:57 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by pluckyduck
Let the record show that I may very well decide to self publish a book myself someday. Nothing wrong with it.

Andrea

I've been thinking of self publishing a book of candy recipes. My grandmother supported her family during the depression by creating and selling candies, you know, bon bons, good stuff covered in chocolate, etc. When she died, she left me the recipes and a metal box filled with oil paints. Well, I finally figured out how to get my scanner to do the OCR thing on really old writings, so I can scan the parts that are typewritten, and type in the parts that are handwritten.

Then, make up samples of each treat, photograph them, slap them and the candy recipes on nice little cdroms, and there you go.

I've been hankering to try mail order and that would just about fit the bill for that.

As for self publishing my own stuff, I think I better get it out of my head and onto the paper before I even think of that.

CANS4US · #13 03-23-2002, 09:06 PM

Hope this isn't off topic but.........................

How DO you publish a book? Or have a publisher look at it? A few years ago our family experienced several deaths and my (then 4 yr old) son wanted to "write a book.........Actually he DICTATED and I WROTE! LOL

But anyway....I have had several people.........preschool teachers, ministers, funeral home directors/death counselors read them and they think they fill a need for small children. I have NO idea how to go about this.......

Any ideas? I am SERIOUS here........even though I have taken MANY writing courses I have NO idea what to do with my son's work.........

thanks for the help......and for NOT laughing at hme!

Susan

adonna · #14 03-23-2002, 09:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by CANS4US
Hope this isn't off topic but.........................

How DO you publish a book? Or have a publisher look at it? A few years ago our family experienced several deaths and my (then 4 yr old) son wanted to "write a book.........Actually he DICTATED and I WROTE! LOL

But anyway....I have had several people.........preschool teachers, ministers, funeral home directors/death counselors read them and they think they fill a need for small children. I have NO idea how to go about this.......

Any ideas? I am SERIOUS here........even though I have taken MANY writing courses I have NO idea what to do with my son's work.........

thanks for the help......and for NOT laughing at hme!

Susan

To get a publisher to look at the book, consult a source like Writer's Digest, or their annual book, look for children's markets, contact them, either with the book itself, or a query, depending on what they say.

Or, you could look for an agent. A friend of mine who was marketing a book a while ago said that you don't get anywhere without an agent. So, I think the same source (the annual book from Writer's digest) lists literary agents.

To self publish, depends on what kind of publishing you want. If you just want softcover booklet style, it can be done as simply as working the layout on your computer, and printing it. Or you can hire a publisher.

Sounds like you've gotten good feedback on it, so might be worth doing. (And unlike a lot of other types of books, Children's books can go on forever, which means royalties could last till the kid's in college. Not bad.)

THMeeks · #15 04-05-2002, 01:56 AM

CANS4US, I think the idea to self-publish your son's book is a great idea and would be helpful to many children! You might check around for prices locally - check your yellow pages, or even a place like Kinkos. If none of those produce a product you're happy with, then you could check the larger national houses like Xlibris. Some of the larger self-publishing houses will even list you on Amazon. With that info, you could then decide how many you can afford to get printed up, which will determine the price you'll need to charge, and then contact the places that have expressed an interest to (hopefully) get orders.

If you do go with selling it to a publisher instead of self-publishing, I agree that you'll want to seek out an agent.

I really think you have something that would be of value to many. I still vividly remember explaining to my then two year old that Pawpaw had died. That was two years ago and he still asks questions about it.

Keeping my fingers crossed for you.

Terrisa