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You are here: Home / gardening / Q is for Queen Anne’s Lace and Questionable Publishing Opportunities #AtoZChallenge

Q is for Queen Anne’s Lace and Questionable Publishing Opportunities #AtoZChallenge

April 20, 2015 by admin

We’re headed into the home stretch of the AtoZ Blogging Challenge. I’m posting early because I am traveling Monday morning, back to hearth and home after a visit to The Big Apple. Besides, it’s Monday somewhere!

***

Sometimes things are not what they seem.

We had finished our terracing and had all our plants installed. They were growing beautifully. However, so were the weeds. With other projects, such as a major remodel, we were overwhelmed, so I didn’t get outside to weed as much as I should. By the time I did, it was hard to tell which were plants and which were weeds.

When life settled down, our landscaper walked the property with me to help me sort out my dilemma. Having moved from Houston, these plants were new to me. I had, and still have, a lot to learn. My enthusiasm for gardening far outstrips my skill.

Anyway, one tall, leafy plant caught our eye. “That’s a weed,” he said.

“Can we eat it?” If you’ve followed me at all this month, my question will not surprise you.

“I’m not sure.”

Afterwards, I did my research. One possibility? Queen Anne’s Lace, also known as wild carrot. It is highly edible, and one can use the roots, leaves, and flowers in soups, stews, and teas.

The more I read, though, the more convinced I became that I this was not the lovely and nutritious Queen Anne’s Lace, but the deadly Poison Hemlock, which has a similar appearance. Turns out PH is a noxious weed in Western Washington. I don’t know for sure, but I wasn’t going to take any chances. Much as I enjoy my food adventures, I’m not totally nuts.

I removed it carefully while wearing long sleeves and gloves, and had to throw it out in the trash instead of the yard waste. Afterwards, the gloves went straight into the wash.

This reminded me of the many publishing scams that exist. There are predators out there who just love seeing new, naive authors who want so badly to publish a book that they don’t bother to read the fine print.

When I was shopping When a Grandchild Dies, I queried publishers listed in The Writer’s Market. I was piling up the rejection letters when I received one that expressed glowing interest in my work. Naturally, I was thrilled! I mailed the manuscript out immediately.

Some time later, I received an equally glowing acceptance letter…and if I would pay them $6,500, they would publish my book.

Nowhere in their information did they mention being a vanity press. I said no to the deal, but I was crushed.

I wrote to The Writer’s Market and alerted them to the scam. They, too, were unaware, and thanked me for letting them know.

A few years ago, one of my online writer friends got caught up in a different sort of scam. The company published her book but priced it so high no one would buy it. She was able to buy her rights back…for a hefty fee, of course.

These days we have websites such as Predators and Editors to help protect us, but new authors are still getting scammed.

Word to the wise: wear your gloves when weeding so you don’t accidentally poison yourself…and wear your emotional gloves when querying publishers, too. Queen Anne’s Lace is lovely and nutritious. Poison Hemlock will kill you.

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Filed Under: gardening, writing

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gwynnrogers
gwynnrogers
7 years ago

Wow! An interesting story. Heck, I have never even heard of Queen Anne’s Lace and I’m a native. I haven’t run into Poison Hemlock either. Great point about scams. I didn’t know they existed in the publishing world either. Thanks for educating me.

Now, the funny part is that I wrote on the word “Queen.” Welcome home. The weather should be nice for a couple more days before the rain returns.

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admin
Author
admin
7 years ago
Reply to  gwynnrogers

Thanks for the welcome home! The weather is bad in NYC, so instead of getting to Seattle at 4:50 p.m., we’re now scheduled for 7:00. Hopefully I’ll get there tonight!

The Q entries are fun today. Looking forward to reading yours.

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Anabel Marsh
Anabel Marsh
7 years ago

So glad you weren’t taken in – by the plant or the scam!

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admin
Author
admin
7 years ago
Reply to  Anabel Marsh

Me, too! Usually I garden without gloves, but I somehow knew this one was different. Same thing with the scam, I guess!

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Deb Atwood
Deb Atwood
7 years ago

Good advice. It is amazing how these scams slip through reputable organizations. I listened to an audio of something called The Barefoot Writers Club for twenty minutes before doing an internet search on them. It was a basic pyramid scheme writing junk mail letters…and it came through Writers Digest.

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admin
Author
admin
7 years ago
Reply to  Deb Atwood

Boo! That’s frustrating. Thanks for sharing this with us.

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Majanka Verstraete (@iheartreads)
Majanka Verstraete (@iheartreads)
7 years ago

I’m sorry to hear you had to go through that. There are so many publishing scams out there. It’s depressing to think about.

My latest post in the Blogging A to Z Challenge.

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admin
Author
admin
7 years ago
Reply to  Majanka Verstraete (@iheartreads)

Oh, I’m okay. I didn’t lose any money, unlike my friend. I self-published that book in the old way (before digital publishing) and sold out the print run. It all worked out!

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Patricia Lynne (@plynne_writes)
Patricia Lynne (@plynne_writes)
7 years ago

A cautionary tale for sure. At least you didn’t let yourself get scammed. I always feel for the people who don’t walk away and get burned.

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admin
Author
admin
7 years ago
Reply to  Patricia Lynne (@plynne_writes)

I do, too. It breaks my heart when someone gets taken, especially another writer.

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Barbara In Caneyhead
Barbara In Caneyhead
7 years ago

Great tie in! Enjoyed this post and it may serve someone well,
Visit me at: Life & Faith in Caneyhead
I am Ensign B of Tremps’ Troops
with the A to Z Challenge

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admin
Author
admin
7 years ago
Reply to  Barbara In Caneyhead

I hope so, Barbara. P.S. Don’t know why I have to keep approving your comments…once you are approved the first time, you’re supposed to be automatically approved. I will try to look into this. I’m so grateful you keep coming back to visit!

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Mary Aalgaard
Mary Aalgaard
7 years ago

Excellent.post. Thanks for letting Writer’s Market know about the scam. I’ll keep my gloves on in both cases!
Play off the Page

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admin
Author
admin
7 years ago
Reply to  Mary Aalgaard

Thanks, Mary! I agree, let’s keep the gloves on.

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Teresa Cypher (@Teresa_Cypher)
Teresa Cypher (@Teresa_Cypher)
7 years ago

I like the analogy! Cow parsnip is also toxic and resembles Queen Anne’s Lace and PH. Both umbelliferae family members. I agree that Predators can closely resemble legitimate publishers, too. Thanks goodness for the Ps and Es website. 🙂 Great post!

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admin
Author
admin
7 years ago
Reply to  Teresa Cypher (@Teresa_Cypher)

Thanks! I hadn’t heard of cow parsnip. Interesting.

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Kern Windwraith
Kern Windwraith
7 years ago

Good for you for not gobbling down a pot of boiled Queen Anne’s Lace only to find out it was hemlock. Yikes.
Those publishing scams are reprehensible. I can just image how thrilled you must have been when you started reading and the crushing disappointment when you realized it was just someone trying to pick your pocket. Must have made you want to send them some hemlock lozenges. 🙂
Love how you tied the two topics together–very clever.

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admin
Author
admin
7 years ago
Reply to  Kern Windwraith

I wish I would have thought of the fantasy of sending those people hemlock lozenges! That would have tied the two together even better. Love the creativity of the visitors to my blog this month!

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