[ISBW] Scams, scams, and more scams!

**ISBW 22.14** The scammers are getting wilier, and we have to keep up, folks. They want you to pay to join book clubs, they catfish you to make you fire your agent and take theirs, and they are really into helping you promote a book you have forgotten about, and have zero control over because it was work for hire. **GLOSSARY:** *Work For Hire:* It is an exception to the general (copyright) rule that the person who actually creates a work is the legally-recognized author of that work. Meaning when Marvel* hires you to write Superman, Marvel owns the rights to everything and you get a check. The biggest thing we discuss is how to best battle these monsters. **The following help too:**  - Writer Beware - Preditors and Editors (They're moving to a new platform, so all that's there right now (July 2026)  is a Facebook link…) - Our own Discord server for Patreon supporters! This post went live for supporters on **July 22, 2026**. If you want early and ad-free episodes, support at Patreon! Remember you can join us on Thursdays, 3pm Eastern on Twitch! The next live episode is July 30! **Evergreen Links** - Like the podcast? Get the book! I Should Be Writing*.* - Socials: Bluesky, Instagram, YouTube, Focusmate - Theme by John Anealio - Support local book stores! Station Eternity, Six Wakes, Solo: A Star Wars Story: Expanded Edition and more! - OR Get **signed** books from my friendly local store, Flyleaf Books! \*Yes of course I know that DC owns and publishes Superman. But I bet someone out there is trying to scam people by inviting them to write Superman from a fake Marvel address. See, guys, I'm telling you, these scammers are WILEY. * * * ###### *Some of the links above may be affiliate, allowing you to support the show at* *no extra cost to you.* *You can also support by leaving a Spotify or Apple review!* ###### CREDITS Theme song by John Anealio, art by Numbers Ninja, and files hosted by Libsyn. Get archives of the show via Patreon. ###### July 24, 2026 | ISBW 22.14 | murverse.com "Scams scams scams!" by Mur Lafferty is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 ###### *In case it wasn't clear: Mur and this podcast are fully supportive of LGBTQ+ folks, believe that Black Lives Matter, and trans rights are human rights, despite which direction the political winds blow. If you do not agree, then there are plenty of other places to go on the Internet.*