In mid-2016, I wrote about YA publisher Month9 Books' abrupt decision to scale back its list, reverting rights to as many as 50 authors across all its imprints. Explaining the culling, Month9 founder and CEO Georgia McBride cited her own health problems, along with staffing issues and the company's "substantial growing pains" over the past six to nine months.

McBride's announcement triggered a surge of complaints from Month9 authors, who described a host of serious problems at the company, including late or missing payments (for staff as well as authors), problems with royalty accounting, delayed pub dates, broken marketing promises, overcrowded publication schedules, communications breakdowns, and harsh treatment and bullying by McBride.

According to authors and staff, these problems were not new or even recent, but had been ongoing for a long time. Why had authors kept silent? Almost every writer who contacted me mentioned their fear of retaliation--along with the draconian NDA included in Month9's contracts. I've rarely encountered a situation where authors seemed so fearful of their publisher.

Things quieted down after the initial flood of revelations, as they often do. Month9 survived and kept on publishing, though its list continued to shrink: between a high point in 2016 and now, the number of titles appears to have fallen about 50%. Apart from a handful of additional complaints in late 2016 and early 2017 (similar to this one), I didn't hear much about Month9 in the years following.

Until now. Over the past few weeks, I've been contacted by multiple writers who say they are still suffering from the same problems that surfaced in 2016: primarily, late (sometimes very late) royalty and subrights advance payments and statements (in many cases received only after persistent prodding by authors and their agents), and allegations of irregularities in royalty reporting.

The intimidation level, too, seems not to have changed. Most of the authors told me that they feared reprisal for coming forward, and asked me specifically not to mention their names or book titles. (Writer Beware never reveals names or other unique identifying information, unless we receive specific permission from the individual. That disclaimer is included on our website and in our correspondence.)

If you've been following the recent ChiZine scandal, you may be feeling some deja vu--notably, in the alleged existence of a toxic culture within the publisher that makes authors fearful and and helps to keep them silent. It's disappointing to learn that even if the issues that thrust Month9 into the spotlight three years ago have gone quiet, they don't seem to have eased. Writers be warned.


I wrote about Black Rose Writing in 2009, in connection with its requirement that authors buy their own books. Writers who submitted were asked how many of their own books they planned to buy; their response was then written into their contracts. (Book purchase requirements are back-end vanity publishing: even if writers aren't being asked to pay for production and distribution, they still must hand over money in order to see their work in print.)

Black Rose got rid of the book purchase requirement a few years later, and claimed to be a completely fee-free publisher. I had my suspicions that money might still somehow be involved, though...and as it turns out, I wasn't wrong.

I've recently learned that new Black Rose authors receive a Cooperative Marketing Catalog that sells a range of pay-to-play marketing and promotional services, with costs ranging from a few hundred dollars to four figures. For instance:


It's true that purchase is optional (though I would guess that authors are heavily solicited to buy). But reputable publishers don't sell marketing services to their authors--and in any case, much of what's on offer are things that other publishers, even very small ones, do for their authors free of charge, as part of the publication process.

That's not the only way in which Black Rose authors are encouraged to pay their publisher. Owner Reagan Rothe is a self-described "financial partner" in two additional businesses: the Maxy Awards, a high entry fee book competition that donates "a large part of every entry" to a charity (how large? No idea; that information is not provided); and Sublime Book Review, a paid review service.

Though Mr. Rothe's financial interest in these businesses is not disclosed on the business's websites, both businesses are clearly energetically promoted to Black Rose authors. On Sublime's website, nineteen of the first 20 book reviews are for Black Rose books. There's also this, from the marketing catalog (note the lack of disclaimer):


As for the Maxys, thirteen of the 17 winners and runners-up for 2019 are Black Rose books.

Mr. Rothe does admit his relationship with the businesses in this recent email to Black Rose authors--though only to afford them yet another opportunity to give him money:

Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware®

On Sunday morning, I woke up (late, I admit) to a flurry of emails about an website I'd never heard of before: Pressfuls.

The writers who contacted me reported that they'd entered a free short story contest this past September.


As you can see, pretty minimal information. At the end of October, they received a mass email (which, curiously, cc'd all the recipients instead of bcc'ing them, so that all email addresses were visible to everyone), announcing the winner:


Although the contest entry info hadn't mentioned that the winner would be published, the writers thought they were done and moved on. Some submitted their contest stories elsewhere. Some of those stories got accepted.

Then, just a few days ago, on December 19--surprise!

Writers were shocked. As far as they knew, they had never granted permission for their stories to be published or turned into audio versions--much less made part of some sort of pay-per-view subscription service. As for the request for PayPal information, that sounded really scammy. Writers who emailed Pressfuls to ask questions or emphasize that they hadn't granted publication rights received a non-responsive response reiterating that their story was going to be published, and that "We will give you more details about it in short time [sic]."

So what is Pressfuls? With a web domain registered just six months ago, its current website (which writers tell me has been overhauled since the contest) presents as a short fiction subscription service, with a bizarrely large variety of paid subscription plans. There is no information whatever about staff, owners, the company, or, on the submission page, payment structure and publishing rights.

There's also a couple of new short story contests with 2020 entry deadlines. And that brings me to my main reason for writing this post. Beyond the questionable happenings in this particular case, Pressfuls is like an archetypal object lesson on the kinds of contests you want to avoid.

Count the red flags:

- No rules or guidelines. The page for the September contest is gone, but writers who contacted me say that there were no posted rules or guidelines--and certainly there are none for the current contests. Bad contest rules are a red flag...but no rules at all is a giant, klaxon-blaring, run-away-now warning sign. Pressfuls' attempt to monetize entries it was never authorized to publish in the first place illustrates why.

Never, never, NEVER enter a contest if you can't find, read, and/or understand the rules.

- No information about rights or payment. Plenty of contests have unfriendly rights demands. For instance, you may have to grant publication rights simply by entering, and the contest sponsor may never release them. At least when that info is present on the sponsor's website, you can't say you weren't warned. But if there's no rights or payment information whatsoever, you are really setting yourself up for the possibility of a nasty surprise...like finding out your entry has been included in a subscription service with a sketchy payment plan.

- No information about the company. Do you seriously want to enter a contest whose organizers or sponsors you know absolutely nothing about--not even where they're located or how long they've been around? I'll give you a hint: No. If you can't confirm who's running the contest, don't enter.

- No information about judges. Part of the prestige of a contest (if it has any--and most contests don't) depends on who is doing the judging. Reputable contests disclose their judges.Otherwise, you have no guarantee the contest isn't just pulling names out of a hat.

- English-language errors. Sure, anyone can make mistakes or typos (although you have to wonder about the professionalism of a contest sponsor that isn't capable of proofing its own website). But if it's an English-language contest, and you see errors or odd syntax that suggest the website has been created by people whose first language is not English, be wary. A lot of scams these days are coming from overseas. The Pressfuls website isn't as bad as many I've seen, but there are enough lapses (dropped plurals, missing articles, mis-spellings--for instance, in several locations "Fantasy" is spelled "Fanstasy") to prompt caution. (Pressfuls' emails provide much clearer examples.)

So what is Pressfuls, really? A phishing scheme? A sleazy way to acquire and monetize content? A clueless would-be publisher with no idea how things should be done? I really can't tell. But none of these possibilities are good ones.

A couple of the writers who contacted me told me that Pressfuls complied (though without any acknowledgment) when they demanded that their stories be taken down. However, another writer said that they tried several times and their story is still online.

Since Pressfuls has no real "contact us" option on its website, my suggestion is to send a DMCA takedown notice to its email address (shortstorycontest@pressfuls.com) or, if that yields no response, to the email address of its web host (abuse@in2net.com). You can find out more about DMCA notices (which are legal notices demanding removal of infringed material from the internet) here. SFWA offers a handy DMCA notice generator.

For more information and cautions about contests, see Writer Beware's Contests and Awards page. I've also written a blog post that covers some of the same ground: Some Tips on Evaluating Writing Contests.

UPDATE 12/24/19: Since I put this post online yesterday, Pressfuls has amended the descriptions on its contests. Originally they looked like the description for the original contest (see above). Now they look like this:


This is not an improvement, since there's still nothing about publication or rights. Also, the copyright info is ignorant on multiple levels. WGA and WGC registrations (which are primarily for screenwriters) are not legally equivalent to US copyright registration--and they don't prove anything anyway, since the author already owns copyright, by law, as soon as the words are written down.

I shouldn't need to say that you really want your publisher to have an accurate understanding of copyright.

Writers tell me that Pressfuls sent out another mass email with instructions on how to have content removed, so it seems they're paying attention. We shall see.

What started as a passion project for Aamir Khan in 2017, has grown into an initiative that is changing the landscape for budding writers in the Indian film industry. The second edition of Cinestaan India's Storytellers Script Contest, a nationwide hunt for scripts where the five winners take home a total cash prize of Rs 50 lakh, was launched this February. Over the past three months, the four-member jury — consisting of Khan, Anjum Rajabali, Juhi Chaturvedi and Rajkumar Hirani — sifted through numerous entries to choose five compelling stories that can be taken to the screen. While the on-ground event to announce the winners has been cancelled due to the current scenario, the superstar will unveil the new talent on social media today.

Excited to be part of an endeavour that celebrates screenwriting — an aspect he considers the backbone of every successful film — Khan urges budding writers to not let the prevailing situation dampen their creativity. "Budding scriptwriters should continue writing with more enthusiasm, especially during these times. Every filmmaker needs a good script," says the actor.

California-based NRI Sejal Pachisia has bagged the top prize of a whopping Rs 25 lakh for her story, On the Boundary. The second and third prizes have been won by Digant Patil and Soumil Shukla for Guilt and Laakh Maavla respectively. The prize is financed by Cinestaan Digital, an internet media firm focussed on building cinema-related products for Indian audiences. The chosen scripts will become part of its story incubator programme.

Screenwriters Anjum Rajabali and Juhi Chaturvedi

Rajabali, jury chairperson, says the contest was designed to provide a platform to new talent, thus helping deserving outsiders to gain a toehold in the industry.

"It's important that we raise the standard of our scriptwriting so that the quality of our cinema improves," he states.

Catch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here. Also, download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps.

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Rushabh Shah and Srishti Doshy

Meet Srishti Doshy and Rushabh Shah. The Mumbai-based couple, in their early 20s, has been dating for six years. She is bold, and more expressive, while Rushabh believes in creating the right first impression. Srishti may not be able to face reality sometimes, whereas Rushabh is practical. What makes them click: similar traits, especially the way both want to preserve memories and find solace in being together.

Rushabh Shah and Srishti Doshy; their handwriting samples

It didn't take a heart-to-heart chat with the duo for Chetna Teckchandani to learn that they are, indeed, compatible. All she did was analyse scans of their handwriting scribbled on an unruled sheet of paper. "Your handwriting is like your DNA sample. It reveals your personality, behaviour and approach to the future. Graphology is an in-depth science, which can be used to discover yourself, as a hiring tool for corporates, and, gauge a couple's compatibility. Unfortunately, it isn't given its due in India," shares the 29-year-old handwriting analyst and graphotherapist. She learnt the science from expert graphologists Milind Rajore and Naviin Thantrii, and has been practising it professionally for the past one year.

If you're eager to discover your compatibility quotient with your partner, or learn ways to improve your marriage and relationship, get your handwriting analysed at a coffee meet that she will host tomorrow. The session, titled, One Write Stand With Your Date, presented by dating app ASAP (Astro Science Align People) and Soul Flower, is open to married and unmarried couples, and even singles who might be looking for a partner.

Teckchandani uses a combination of Gestalt and Trait methods to conduct the analysis. This includes the size of letters, pressure put into writing and each letter's knots and curves. "In graphology, each letter is assigned a meaning. Y is the letter for sex. A 'y' written without looping the end or squeezing the loop may indicate intimacy issues. On the other hand, a 'y' with a bigger-than-usual loop may mean a voracious sexual appetite," she states matter-of-factly.

Chetna Teckchandani

How your handwriting tilts also helps Teckchandani peep into your soul. For instance, she realised a client had undergone abuse when she saw that her words had a backward slant (tilted towards left). "Backward slant isn't natural, and usually, develops when you have seen something terrible, specifically from a male figure, and you take a step back. However, you cannot jump to conclusions only by assessing one element of handwriting. You need to use various permutations and combinations," shares the expert, who prepares meticulous compatibility reports jointly with Dr Anandd Manocha. She also offers grapho-therapy sessions, suggesting certain handwriting exercises or patterns to heal a person, which can be combined with counselling and positive reaffirmations.

Company: Job Shop
Experience: 1 to 9
Salary: 1.50 to 5.00
location: Bengaluru / Bangalore
Ref: 24825385
Summary: Here's an awesome opportunity for the Residential/Pre Underwriting/Loan processing/Closing/Retail Processing/Wholesale Closing(US Mortgage).Call/whatsapp HR SUZAN@ 9538987000 Sal 5L

Company: RM Infotech
Qualification: Bachelor of Arts (B.A), Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch), Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A), Bachelor Of Computer Application (B.C.A), Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com), Bachelor Of Technology (B.Tech/B.E), Bachelor of Education (B.Ed), Bachelor in Hotel Management (B.H.M),....

Company: RM Infotech
Qualification: Bachelor of Arts (B.A), Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch), Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A), Bachelor Of Computer Application (B.C.A), Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com), Bachelor Of Technology (B.Tech/B.E), Bachelor of Education (B.Ed), Bachelor in Hotel Management (B.H.M),....

Company: RM Infotech
Qualification: Bachelor of Arts (B.A), Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch), Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A), Bachelor Of Computer Application (B.C.A), Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com), Bachelor Of Technology (B.Tech/B.E), Bachelor of Education (B.Ed), Bachelor in Hotel Management (B.H.M),....

Company: RM Infotech
Qualification: Bachelor of Arts (B.A), Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch), Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A), Bachelor Of Computer Application (B.C.A), Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com), Bachelor Of Technology (B.Tech/B.E), Bachelor of Education (B.Ed), Bachelor in Hotel Management (B.H.M),....

Company: RM Infotech
Qualification: Bachelor of Arts (B.A), Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch), Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A), Bachelor Of Computer Application (B.C.A), Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com), Bachelor Of Technology (B.Tech/B.E), Bachelor of Education (B.Ed), Bachelor in Hotel Management (B.H.M),....

Company: RM Infotech
Qualification: Bachelor of Arts (B.A), Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch), Bachelor of Business Administration (B.B.A), Bachelor Of Computer Application (B.C.A), Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com), Bachelor Of Technology (B.Tech/B.E), Bachelor of Education (B.Ed), Bachelor in Hotel Management (B.H.M),....

Company: Sellcraft Global Solutions Private Limited
Experience: 1 to 6
location: Chennai
Ref: 24827602
Summary: Job Description Hiring forUnderwriting - Commercial/Residential (US Only) in Chennai Location Exp - 1 to 10 yrs location Chennai Excellent communication skills. Notice period should be less than 30 days. Skills - US ....

From Dickens’ London to Wordsworth’s Lakes via the painter George Shaw’s suburban “edgelands”, the British landscape has long permeated writing and visual art. On the opening of the British Library’s exhibition Writing Britain: Wastelands to Wonderlands, Jan Dalley talks to the poet Owen Sheers; the exhibition’s curator Jamie Andrews; and FT art critic Jackie Wullschlager. The travel writer Robert Macfarlane is on the line. Plus, Faber's 1998 recording of Harold Pinter reading his poem “Joseph Brearley 1909-1977” © Faber & Faber Produced by Griselda Murray Brown  

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15 years after Friday Night Lights first hit the big screen, Universal Pictures is moving forward with a new adaptation.

Ex-San Francisco 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick has announced the release of a memoir on his 'political awakening,' as well as the formation of his new publishing house aimed at promoting diversity.

Alexis Dent is a freelance writer based in upstate New York whose company, XO Juliet, offers custom wedding vow writing services.By mid-March, her business all but dried up as spring and summer weddings began getting canceled because of the pandemic.Dent recognized there was a new need for eulogies to meet the rising number of funerals for people who passed away from COVID-19. "When I get a new order, I take a moment of silence," says Dent. "Every order for the past month has been a notification that someone is gone too soon."Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.One afternoon in February, I was staring out the window, experiencing writer's block after getting off the phone with a client who'd ordered wedding vows. It had been a long afternoon of writing, and I needed a change

Disney fired the 52-year-old filmmaker in July after offensive tweets he wrote between 2008-2012 joking about rape, child abuse, and pedophilia

'During a visit to One25, a charity which helps female sex workers in Bristol, Meghan did something very strange indeed. On each banana, she carefully inked a self-help message,' writes Jones.

British-Iranian biographer and journalist Omid Scobie (pictured) planted his flag firmly in Meghan's camp soon after she became linked to Harry.

J. David Patterson penned the op-ed in 2017, days after an ISIS inspired attack. 'Multiculturalism is the antithesis of what the United States stands for', he wrote.

President Trump wrote a birthday note to Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu telling him that 'there are many more victories to come'. He also added 'you are great!' in black Sharpie.

Etiquette expert William Hanson said senders should cut out the waffle and keep messages as clear as possible. He also believes people should not bother with 'hopeless chase ups'.

Janet Street-Porter, 72, revealed on Loose Women that former Prime Minister David Cameron had asked her for writing advice at a party, after struggling to find his 'voice', while writing his memoirs.

The hit film Bridesmaids, written by Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig, was released on 2011. And Kristen's Where'd You Go, Bernadette co-star Cate Blanchett joked she's writing her a part.

Wayne Rooney has revealed the circumstances of handing in his transfer request to leave Everton for Manchester United back in 2004. 

Professional resume writer and employment coach Adrienne Tom, from Alberta in western Canada, shared 10 simple steps to help you stand out from the crowd in a fiercely competitive job market.

The new calls are gaining such popularity they threaten to take over from time-honoured favourites across bingo halls up and down the UK.

As the massive disaster in flood-stricken Uttarakhand unfolds, Himanshu Upadhyaya draws attention to the glaring inadequacies in disaster management preparedness and risk reduction in the state, as well as the nation, as exposed by recent audits.

The Telangana State Council of Higher Education (TSCHE) has announced the 'Connect Chancellor' programme, which is a platform to bring out creativity, innovation and novel ideas - an opportunity to the students of state universities to write articles, stories and poems,

New York, NY : Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.

New York, NY : Oxford University Press, 2020.

Cham : Palgrave Macmillan, c2019.

Dewey Library - HC260.P6 K56 2019

My first glimpse into the craft of physician-writers did not come through Anton Chekhov, Walker Percy, or William Carlos Williams, whose works I only came to after medical school. As a schoolboy, I loved W. Somerset Maugham, although he never practiced medicine, and his craft had little to do with his medical degree. My introduction to physicians as writers came through my textbooks. Boyd’s Pathology made me aware of literary voice, the ability of authors to place themselves in the text, let their personality come through, and subtly become a character in the reading experience. On the topic of defining the moment of death, Boyd in his single-author text wrote, “It was the author of the book of Ecclesiastes who said, ‘There is a time to be born, and a time to die.’ Fortunately it is the clinician, not the pathologist, who has to make this difficult decision. Sometimes, however, the kindly doctor may find himself murmuring those moving lines from the last act of King Lear: O let him pass! He hates him/That would upon the rack of this tough world/Stretch him out longer.”

Arnold, George T

Mencher, Melvin, author

The summary is your hook to get readers to click on your article. Think of the summary as the hot fudge to your article titles ice cream. You can give a headline that states Ice Cream and it may be enough to turn a few heads, but not likely. Add a quick summary that describes the ice cream in more depth – such as the promise of a creamy, chocolate, mouthwatering, hot-fudge sundae – and you are far more likely to get the attraction you want and need.

complete article

Writing sells.

You don’t have to be the worlds foremost wordsmith to produce effective content, but improving your writing will make you more successful at work.

Here are some tips:

1. Know your audience.

You are not just writing for yourself, are you? You should be creating content for others, and it’s imperative to understand the people you are writing for. Whats useful for them? What might help them in their jobs?

complete article

Dewey Library - HF5721.O53 2016

Dewey Library - HF5718.3.B765 2019

Online Resource

Rotch Library - N7445.2.S35 2019

Rotch Library - N6853.G34 G63 2019

Hayden Library - PQ8497.V35 A2 2015