There’s a devious web site called “I write like…” that is making the rounds — you paste in some of your text, and it claims to analyze it and tell you what famous writer you resemble. I, for instance, am a combination of Margaret Atwood, James Joyce, and HP Lovecraft. How flattering! Unfortunately, it’s garbage code that plucks out a few random parameters and hands you back a big name author.

Who would do such a thing, and why? You will not be surprised to learn that it is a front for a vanity publisher. Hey, you write like Shakespeare — give me money and we’ll publish your book!