Victoria Strauss

Novelist, co-founder of SFWA's pub industry watchdog Writer Beware. To follow or contact Writer Beware, find me at @victoriastrauss.bsky.social

[Victoria Strauss @victoriastrauss]

🧵 As of 1/1/24, I'm mostly off X, & am transferring my social media activity to Bluesky and Threads, where I have the same username, @victoriastrauss , and am posting the same #WriterBeware content (plus the occasional cat pic or garden photo) 1/

[Victoria Strauss @victoriastrauss]

New at #WriterBeware: in-depth look at problematic publishing contract from Shadow Light Press. It's more than just a publisher "beware": exposing bad contract language helps writers understand not just what they should avoid, but what they should demand. https://t.co/joiGHY75k2

[Victoria Strauss @victoriastrauss]

New #WriterBeware blog post: per a report by @publisherslunch, Amazon's new gen AI-powered "Ask This Book" feature for Kindle is, in effect, an "in-book chatbot" https://t.co/F3zY980yVy

[Victoria Strauss @victoriastrauss]

This account, based in Nigeria, appears to be impersonating author Penelope Sky, and is fake-referring writers to a fake literary agent who then tricks them into paying for marketing or editing

[Victoria Strauss @victoriastrauss]

This account, based in Africa, is impersonating author Deanna Chase and fake-referring writers to a fake literary agent who then tricks them into paying for marketing or editing

[Victoria Strauss @victoriastrauss]

This account, based in Nigeria, is impersonating author Julia Quinn (of Bridgerton fame) and fake-referring writers to a fake literary agent who then tricks them into paying for marketing or editing

[Victoria Strauss @victoriastrauss]

New #WriterBeware blog post: Among the most frequent publisher complaints I receive: non-payment of royalties & failure to provide sales reports. A look at three recent offenders, who collectively owe thousands https://t.co/1U5egrWecv

[Victoria Strauss @victoriastrauss]

New #WriterBeware blog post: Yet another in the growing catalog of AI-driven writing scams from Nigeria: a multi-layered marketing/editing referral scheme that begins with a message or email from someone purporting to be a well-known author https://t.co/3QIyTk9hI5

[Victoria Strauss @victoriastrauss]

New #WriterBeware blog post: the minute the humongous Anthropic copyright settlement was announced, it became inevitable that unrelated third parties would seek to benefit...in this case, by convincing authors to opt out https://t.co/hft2jfXwfn

[Victoria Strauss @victoriastrauss]

New #WriterBeware blog post: An army of bots on Discord, flashier websites, impersonations: the Nigerian marketing scams are not just proliferating, but morphing. I've never seen anything like it. https://t.co/y37y4EpGO2

[Victoria Strauss @victoriastrauss]

New #WriterBeware blog post: An update on the historic Bartz v. Anthropic settlement. It's been preliminarily approved by the court, but many questions remain about the claims process, the timeline, and exactly which works are included https://t.co/XEqrCheoDX

[Victoria Strauss @victoriastrauss]

Beware two new PR scams originating from Nigeria: book club impersonation scams and private book review community scams https://t.co/yX5ti8EbXJ

[Victoria Strauss @victoriastrauss]

Does your publishing contract require your publisher to register your copyright? Don't assume they did. https://t.co/cmcuReJKWa

[Victoria Strauss @victoriastrauss]

New #WriterBeware blog post: this story of complaints & conflicts of interest at UK publisher Fortis Publishing highlights how important it is for there to be firewalls between agenting, publishing, & adjunct services, when offered by one person or company https://t.co/icQ1zd9ihz

[Victoria Strauss @victoriastrauss]

New #WriterBeware blog post: Brief backgrounder on authors' class action lawsuit against Anthropic for unauthorized AI training, plus how you can find out if your books may be included & how to add yourself to a contact list for class action notices https://t.co/yYqEjRpR6Q

[Victoria Strauss @victoriastrauss]

New at #WriterBeware: a new & very aggressive marketing scam from overseas. Many writers will already be familiar w/ the highly personalized solicitations typical of this scam; they also illustrate how essential gen AI has become to publishing fraudsters https://t.co/VPNWQvDmlb

[Victoria Strauss @victoriastrauss]

New at #WriterBeware: In Feb, Must Read Magazines acquired 5 well-known genre magazines. A look at the concern and controversy created by the group's new contracts, & how advocacy by the SF/F community may lead to change https://t.co/TIrpTjWgfB

[Victoria Strauss @victoriastrauss]

New #WriterBeware blog post: When an Interview Isn't Exactly What It Seems: NewYox Media and its Suite of Magazines #WritingCommunity #paytoplay https://t.co/Ot4z6BAodC

[Victoria Strauss @victoriastrauss]

New Writer Beware blog post (at Writer Unboxed): in light of recent publisher bankruptcies, a look at why you shouldn't count on the bankruptcy clause in your publishing contract when your publisher goes under https://t.co/N17e8oUu6q

[Victoria Strauss @victoriastrauss]

New #WriterBeware blog post: Bankruptcies of Unbound and Albert Whitman & Co Put Authors Between a Rock and a Hard Place #WritingCommunity https://t.co/3Qe75I2g7l

[Victoria Strauss @victoriastrauss]

New #WriterBeware blog post: in the ever-evolving world of writing scams, there's always something new. Two I'm noticing more these days: book order scams and fake book reviews. What they look like, how they'll rip you off: as always, I bring the receipts https://t.co/S3dzfhRamf