So, if you pay a little attention to what’s going on in the writing/publishing community, you may have become aware of the current kerfuffle involving the sites Writer Beware and The Write Agenda.
Before I go into this, let me be clear. I have no personal stake in either site. I’m not associated with either. I have not (to my knowledge, at the time of this writing) been singled out by either, positively or negatively. The closest connection I have is that I happen to be a member of the Science Fiction Writers of America, many other members of which are involved in Writer Beware. But I’m not a very active member, and I know few of these individuals personally.
All that said, I do have an interest inasmuch as I want to see the community thrive, and I want to see new writers have a fair shot without being taken advantage of.
So let me be clear, for those who might not know. This is not a situation of "two sides each having their fair points." This is not a misunderstanding. This is not open to interpretation by anyone who actually has the facts.
What this is, is one long-running and well respected resource whose sole purpose is to warn authors away from scammers, cheaters, thieves, and the like–that would be Writer Beware–and a dishonest, ugly, blatantly lying, and potentially libelous site put together for the sole purpose of casting doubt on the first site, in hopes of making people more likely to trust the scammers. That would be the Write Agenda.
No shades of gray. No differences of opinion. This is one of those rare cases where the lines are clear, and there’s a blatant bad guy.
Writer Beware is a resource that every writer–published or otherwise–should have in their bookmarks. The Write Agenda–who I refuse to even link to, as I will not be responsible for getting them even a single click–should be treated with the same respect you’d give breaking news of alien vampire baby politicians in your average supermarket tabloid. Actually less, since at least the tabloid isn’t actively trying to assist scammers.