Contests and calls for submissions have recently become a favored technique for a variety of scams. Certainly, there are legitimate writing contests and legitimate agents who may put out a broad request for materials as a way of priming the pump, especially if they are just starting out and are eager to build their client base. But these methods are often used by dubious people and companies to separate writers from their cash.

“Contest” Scams

Contest scams are most prevalent in the poetry and short story fields. They may look legitimate on the surface, and they aren't generally illegal, but they can lead to disappointment — not to mention wasted money — all the same. Usually, these contests will be advertised in writers' magazines or on writers' Web sites. To the winners, they may offer cash prizes and/or publication in a magazine or anthology.

The disappointment comes after you've entered the contest. You receive a letter or e-mail praising your work and saying that, although it didn't win a prize, it does merit inclusion in the published collection. However, to guarantee publication of your story or poem, you need to purchase a copy of the book. That's your tipoff that this isn't a genuine contest driven by the quality of the submitted work. Anyone who forks over the cash can get his poem or story “published.” But this is vanity publishing, and it doesn't count as a real publishing credit for legitimate agents and editors. Worse, using this “achievement” in your author bio may brand you as hopelessly naive.

Legitimate contests do often charge nominal entry fees — generally between $5 and $15 per submission. These fees are used to cover the contest's expenses and to create the prize pool. An entry fee doesn't automatically identify a contest as a scam. The scam comes in when you're asked to pay an additional fee for your work to be included in the published version. When you consider entering a contest, find out first if your work will be published in a known and respected periodical; if the publication is a book, find out who the publisher is and whether the book will be available in libraries and bookstores. If not, you're better off applying the entry fee toward the cost of mailing your proposal to agents and editors.

Writers who are desperate to get published are easy prey for scam artists. While it's impossible to tell how many would-be authors get fleeced, one estimate from the Science Fiction Writers of America puts the tally at 10,000 victims, who shell out as much as $50 million each year to bogus agents, publishers, book doctors, and other scam artists.

“We're Looking For …”

Sometimes you'll run across advertisements in writers' magazines and on various Web sites posted by literary agents who are seeking submissions. Not all of these ads are scams, but you should exercise reasonable care in responding to them. The main element in distinguishing a potential scam is the kind of material requested.

Beginning agents might ask for proposals or manuscripts for romance novels, nonfiction, or whatever their specialty is. But no reputable agent will ask for anything other than book-length work. Legitimate agents don't handle short stories, magazine articles, or poetry, especially for new clients, because the pay rates for these things are too low to make the commission worth the agent's time. Be wary of anyone claiming to be an agent who wants to see your short stories, poems, or nonfiction magazine articles.

Be suspicious of any agent, book doctor, or publisher who solicits you via a mass mailing, spam e-mail, or canned phone campaign. Scam artists often search for victims by purchasing mailing lists from writers' magazines, trolling writers' Web sites and message boards, even tracking copyright registrations. A legitimate agent or editor may contact you if they've read an article of yours, for example, but generic solicitations usually signal a scam.