Advice for Writers

In today's blog I've decided to give some advice and warning to any writer's who are interested.
First of all, it's important for every writer to get his or her work copyrighted before sending it off to a publisher. If you're going the traditional route with publishing it would be best to get your work copyrighted once it's finished, proofread, and edited. You can do this while querying agents since it's impossible to get published after the first query letter.
Be wary of some vanity publishers and self publishing companies. Some are better than others. Look for online reviews to find out which self publishers have good reviews. Some self publishers are there to legally rip off new writers who are desperate to get published. Some can charge criminally insane fees upwards of $10,000 or more. They start out charging around $1,000 for a contract and the fees just keep piling up from there. Stay away from these vanity presses and self publishers that have a gained bad reputation in online reviews.
Also, a site I came across years ago as an aspiring writer was Preditors and Editors: A guide to publishers and publishing services for serious writers. As you can see there's a play on words in the title there. This website at ped-ed.com will tell you all about the low fee of copyrighting your book which is only around $65.00 or 10 bucks cheaper in the United States if you opt to submit your copyright electronically. You're going to want to mail the best copy of your manuscript along with the cash or check to the U.S. Copyright Office if you reside in the United States--I imagine the copyright fees don't vary much country to country.
But Editors and Preditors also advises people to keep copies of rejection letters or emails received along with Copyright for additional protection of your work. It all depends on how soon your work will be published. pred-ed has more information on the do's and don't of publishing. Go to pred-ed.com for more info.
Even if you opt to self publish a novel or book you've written it's always best to have a copyright so that nobody steals your work in my opinion. This is the Oracle of Writing. Blog you next time!