Victoria Strauss

It can be hard to say if someone has a deliberate intent to defraud or if they are just really, really bad at their business. But even if people are unpublishable, it doesn't mean they should be ripped off.

Is it ever worthwhile to buy a review? Not in my opinion. With independent paid review services, quality can be a problem; plus, there are plenty of non-professional book review venues out there that will review for free.

Many of Judy Blume's books - which I devoured when I was growing up and where I found characters that were believable because they were a lot like me - caused considerable consternation when they were first published, but now they're widely accepted as an essential part of the children's literary canon.