Victoria Strauss
@victoriastrauss.com
Author of novels fantastical & historical, avid gardener, co-founder of SFWA's pub industry watchdog Writer Beware. Casting a small light in a wilderness of writing scams (plus an occasional cat pic)
https://writerbeware.blog
https://victoriastrauss.com
https://writerbeware.blog
https://victoriastrauss.com
Agree--it's a fantastic movie. I saw it in a theater when it came out.
January 16, 2026 at 2:24 AM
Agree--it's a fantastic movie. I saw it in a theater when it came out.
I don’t disagree. Esp. on the environment. Nevertheless, the practical reality is that people will use it. Disclosure is better than lying, and even if it wouldn’t stop all lying, a rational and easy to use disclosure scheme might help keep lying to a minimum
January 14, 2026 at 4:59 PM
I don’t disagree. Esp. on the environment. Nevertheless, the practical reality is that people will use it. Disclosure is better than lying, and even if it wouldn’t stop all lying, a rational and easy to use disclosure scheme might help keep lying to a minimum
Pls don’t flame me for reposting this article. I do so not to endorse any of these methods but because it’s an interesting thought experiment about AI use disclosure. Like other authentication methods, tho, its fatal flaw is that it depends on people being honest
Because AI is such a divisive topic, many individuals and businesses aren't transparent about such use. But hiding use is typically worse for everyone involved.
Poet Dave Malone proposes a transparency statement for those using AI as part of the creative process.
Poet Dave Malone proposes a transparency statement for those using AI as part of the creative process.
Writers and Artists Need a Way to Label AI Use: Here’s What That Could Look Like | Jane Friedman
To encourage transparency among creators and audience, one writer suggests a simple, two-category system for labeling AI use in works of art.
janefriedman.com
January 14, 2026 at 4:31 PM
Pls don’t flame me for reposting this article. I do so not to endorse any of these methods but because it’s an interesting thought experiment about AI use disclosure. Like other authentication methods, tho, its fatal flaw is that it depends on people being honest
Email me: beware@sfwa.org
January 13, 2026 at 12:59 AM
Email me: beware@sfwa.org
Reposted by Victoria Strauss
Things in publishing are taking longer than ever, and I updated my post on when to follow up with agents accordingly. But you should still follow up, unless otherwise specified:
How often to follow up with a literary agent
Most literary agents appreciate a timely and extremely polite nudge. But when do you follow up with a literary agent and how often? In this post I'll give you some guidelines on when and when not to f...
nathanbransford.com
January 12, 2026 at 9:01 PM
Things in publishing are taking longer than ever, and I updated my post on when to follow up with agents accordingly. But you should still follow up, unless otherwise specified:
Reposted by Victoria Strauss
It's been a long ten years and I finally get to talk publicly about what happened behind closed doors.
Please take the time to read this letter and please avoid working with these people. You are more valuable than an opportunity for people like them to use you as cash cow for your work. 🧵
Please take the time to read this letter and please avoid working with these people. You are more valuable than an opportunity for people like them to use you as cash cow for your work. 🧵
The Hiveworks Artist Guild has released a public statement alleging years of labor abuses, financial mismanagement, and misconduct at Hiveworks at the hands of Xellette “Xel” Velamist and Isabelle “Isa” Melançon. Read their full statement at:
cartoonist.coop/hiveworks-gu...
cartoonist.coop/hiveworks-gu...
January 12, 2026 at 4:58 PM
It's been a long ten years and I finally get to talk publicly about what happened behind closed doors.
Please take the time to read this letter and please avoid working with these people. You are more valuable than an opportunity for people like them to use you as cash cow for your work. 🧵
Please take the time to read this letter and please avoid working with these people. You are more valuable than an opportunity for people like them to use you as cash cow for your work. 🧵
Reposted by Victoria Strauss
The New York Public Library is offering a very cool creative writing opportunity for NYC teens: www.nypl.org/spotlight/us...
www.nypl.org
January 12, 2026 at 6:51 PM
The New York Public Library is offering a very cool creative writing opportunity for NYC teens: www.nypl.org/spotlight/us...
I fear that an unintended side effect of anti-AI feeling in creative industries (which I share and support) will be to drive AI use further underground--people will use it, but they won't confess it or will lie about it. That's the futility of rules excluding it & also of self-authentication efforts
January 12, 2026 at 6:39 PM
I fear that an unintended side effect of anti-AI feeling in creative industries (which I share and support) will be to drive AI use further underground--people will use it, but they won't confess it or will lie about it. That's the futility of rules excluding it & also of self-authentication efforts
Agreed. And those moments where you do break through, or something totally unexpected falls perfectly into place, are the very best parts of writing.
January 12, 2026 at 6:29 PM
Agreed. And those moments where you do break through, or something totally unexpected falls perfectly into place, are the very best parts of writing.
Disturbing but not surprising—more confirmation that LLMs are copying machines
We extracted (parts of) 12 books in experiments with 4 frontier-lab, production LLMs.
We prompted the LLMs with a short prefix of a book and asked them to complete the rest. For Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, we extracted 95.8% of the book from jailbroken Claude 3.7 Sonnet.
We prompted the LLMs with a short prefix of a book and asked them to complete the rest. For Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, we extracted 95.8% of the book from jailbroken Claude 3.7 Sonnet.
January 12, 2026 at 4:39 PM
Disturbing but not surprising—more confirmation that LLMs are copying machines
Heads up
Heads up #writers and #literaryagents, Writing Day Workshops is now actively promoting the use of AI in their programming.
January 12, 2026 at 4:37 PM
Heads up
Thx—I will re-post
January 12, 2026 at 4:37 PM
Thx—I will re-post
I just donated.
We’ve been able to send $800 for groceries and needs of activists. We’re about to drop another $300 on printing signs that say immigration enforcement is prohibited on premises.
Know that whatever you send me and @mostlybree.kitrocha.com, it’s going to go out to the people before it reaches us
Know that whatever you send me and @mostlybree.kitrocha.com, it’s going to go out to the people before it reaches us
Donate to Support Whistle Distribution in Chicago and Beyond!, organized by Emily Hilleren
Since late September, I’ve been organizing whistle kit assembly par… Emily Hilleren needs your support for Support Whistle Distribution in Chicago and Beyond!
www.gofundme.com
January 12, 2026 at 12:25 AM
I just donated.
ICE OUT in Northampton MA today. Several thousand marchers and one lonely Trumper
January 11, 2026 at 9:05 PM
ICE OUT in Northampton MA today. Several thousand marchers and one lonely Trumper
I signed up for this — it’s free
Free webinar explaining Anthropic copyright settlement with the Authors Guild and the law firm involved. Learn, whether your books are involved or not. us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
January 11, 2026 at 4:47 PM
I signed up for this — it’s free
Same for my two—they cuddled all the time when they were young but no longer do. Don’t hate each other, more a thin level of mutual tolerance. I miss the cuddle days
January 11, 2026 at 4:43 PM
Same for my two—they cuddled all the time when they were young but no longer do. Don’t hate each other, more a thin level of mutual tolerance. I miss the cuddle days
Emily likes to help with the unboxing of the Vitacost order
January 11, 2026 at 4:10 PM
Emily likes to help with the unboxing of the Vitacost order
I can imagine! Sure seems like something the MSWL coordinator should know, but the only contact info is an X handle
January 11, 2026 at 12:54 AM
I can imagine! Sure seems like something the MSWL coordinator should know, but the only contact info is an X handle
Relevant if you're a textbook or university press author w/ works in the Anthropic settlement--interesting survey responses plus helpful answers to some complex questions. IMO, responses suggest that the final # of claimed works will fall considerably short of the eligible total
In addition sharing the results of our recent survey about authors' experiences filing claims in the landmark Bartz v. Anthropic settlement, TAA provides a list of all the questions respondents had about the process — along with our answers. bit.ly/4juH6i4 #AcWri #AI
TAA Shares Results of Survey Seeking Authors’ Experiences Filing Claims in Bartz v. Anthropic Settlement » Abstract
Between December 2025 and early January 2026, the Textbook & Academic Authors Association conducted a survey seeking authors’ experiences filing claims in the landmark Bartz v. Anthropic settlement. T...
bit.ly
January 10, 2026 at 8:01 PM
Relevant if you're a textbook or university press author w/ works in the Anthropic settlement--interesting survey responses plus helpful answers to some complex questions. IMO, responses suggest that the final # of claimed works will fall considerably short of the eligible total
Warning about writing scams seems kind of beside the point right now...but a scam is still a scam. Scammer posing as a literary agent on MSWL & falsely claiming association w/ the Ampersand Agency. Her website is full of lies & a "team" of AI people patchenlucillen.wixsite.com/patche-n/about
January 10, 2026 at 7:50 PM
Warning about writing scams seems kind of beside the point right now...but a scam is still a scam. Scammer posing as a literary agent on MSWL & falsely claiming association w/ the Ampersand Agency. Her website is full of lies & a "team" of AI people patchenlucillen.wixsite.com/patche-n/about
Or email me: beware@sfwa.org
January 10, 2026 at 3:14 AM
Or email me: beware@sfwa.org
If you have a reversion letter from the publisher, you're the sole rights owner and can claim 100% of the settlement amount.
January 10, 2026 at 2:22 AM
If you have a reversion letter from the publisher, you're the sole rights owner and can claim 100% of the settlement amount.
Not sure I understand your question, but...there's no legal rationale for a publisher to claim copyright on edits--that doesn't stop them from doing so but there's no basis & it's not standard practice. It's generally understood that when rights revert, they revert to the final version of the book
January 10, 2026 at 2:21 AM
Not sure I understand your question, but...there's no legal rationale for a publisher to claim copyright on edits--that doesn't stop them from doing so but there's no basis & it's not standard practice. It's generally understood that when rights revert, they revert to the final version of the book
Judge Alsup retired at the end of December.
January 9, 2026 at 7:36 PM
Judge Alsup retired at the end of December.