Beware of Contests Offering Publishing Contracts

Even though words are our stock-and-trade, many writers are intimidated by contract wording. The pages look fuzzy and convoluted, like the remnant of some math-test nightmare from high school. Writers assume they won’t understand the contracts, so they close their eyes and click SUBMIT.

Nonsense. If you can write a book, then you can read a contract well enough to spot a bad deal. The trick is knowing where to look.

This post is the first of the Highlighter Series in which I will take actual co...