Writers spend their careers spotting a good story, so why are so many of us fooled by a bad one? From fake literary agents demanding “reading fees” to predatory publishing contracts dressed up as standard boilerplate, scammers have built an entire playbook around exploiting the hopes of authors at every career stage. In this session, author Mary Keane — speaking not as an outside expert but as a fellow writer who’s navigated this terrain — breaks down the most common illegal and pseudo-legal schemes targeting writers today: how to recognize the warning signs before you sign anything, what legitimate agents and publishers will (and won’t) ask of you, and where to go for help if something’s already gone wrong. Whether you’re querying your first manuscript or negotiating your fifth contract, you’ll leave with a practical checklist for protecting your work and yourself.