Publishing scammers prey on newbies and seasoned pros alike
by Anne R. Allen
2020 was a terrible year in so many ways. But one group seems to have thrived: the scammer community.
Publishing scammers are everywhere now. I hear about new ones every week, each more heartbreaking than the one before. And more outrageous.
Phishing Scammers Are Stealing Manuscripts
Yes. This is happening. It’s a bizarre and complicated scam targeting traditionally published authors, often famous ones. But unknowns have been hit too.
Authors will get an email that appears to be from their agent or editor, asking for the latest draft of the WIP.
But it’s not from the agent. It’s from a scammer. The unsuspecting author doesn’t know that and sends off the new book manuscript to a total stranger. Nobody’s quite sure who these people are or what they want, but Nathan Bransford speculated it might be a rogue literary scout outfit, who are keeping their eyes on books coming down the pike for film studies. Others have suggested these are pirates readying the books for overseas markets where copyright is hard to track down.
In any case, if your agent sends a request for a copy of your WIP, you might avoid hitting “reply” and send a new email instead. You might just get an email back from your agent saying “that’s not from me.”
How to Stay Safe
Plenty of scammers show up in my own inbox. I usually know enough to send them directly to spam, but I know some writers will be caught by them. And it only takes a few successful hits to keep these crooks going.
Here are some basic things you need to know to stay safe. And so does your sweet next door neighbor who’s got a half-finished memoir and claims she’s been approached by a publisher who promises her a million dollars for her book—If she just pays this little sign-up fee….
Never Pay an Agent an Upfront Fee.
I thought fee-charging scam agents disappeared a decade ago, but they’re ba-a-a-ck.
The old-school scammers set up “agencies” that either charged reading fees and “copying and postage” fees, or they had cozy relationships with “editing” companies and demanded the author pay a hefty fee for a bad edit.
The contemporary scammers are much bolder. They often impersonate well-known agents, or claim to be from big agencies (who have never heard of them, of course.) Then they say they “know” publishers who are interested in your work and are ready to give you a big advance, if you just pay this signup fee….
Once you pay, you can be sure the “agent” will disappear into the ether. If you call the agency, you will run into a befuddled receptionist or the real agent who’s been impersonated. Either one will shatter your dreams.
Legit agents do not charge a “sign-up fee.”
I’ve seen new writers on social media say they feel forced to self-publish because they can’t afford to pay an agent. They have been so bamboozled by scammers they don’t have a clue how the business works.
So here’s the skinny: agents get paid with commissions on your advance and royalties—after they’ve got you that advance.
Also, to be respected in the publishing community, agents need to adhere to a strict code of ethics. Any agent who charges an upfront fee of any kind is not part of the legit publishing industry and won’t be able to sell your book to a legit publisher.
That’s not to say that self-publishing isn’t an excellent alternative to the agent route, but nobody should self-publish if they feel “forced” to.
Real Publishers Don’t Make Offers on Books they Haven’t Read.
If the only reason a company contacts you is that you put the word “writer” in your profile, then be prepared to meet a publishing scammer.
I saw a sad little post on Facebook a few months ago from an author who was over the moon because a publisher had approached her saying they were interested in “her book.” She was surprised they didn’t know it was a book of poetry, but they said they loved her work and knew it could make millions.
I didn’t rain on her parade, since she didn’t know me, and might have thought I was a troll. But I certainly hope some trusted friend offered her a reality check before she gave those people her money.
I’ve had emails from some of these scammers myself. They say they “love” my book (just the one, unnamed), and “stumbled on my profile.” Then they go into an elaborate pitch for money either for marketing or “publication fees”.
Traditional Publishers Aren’t Paid by Authors; Authors Are Paid by Publishers.
Yes. We live in the age of self-publishing and “hybrid publishing.” Unfortunately, a lot of iffy presses pose as “self-publishing assistants” or “hybrid publishers” when they’re just overpriced vanity publishers.
There are some very good companies that offer self-publishing services. Companies like BookBaby and Lulu offer excellent formatters and designers. You can go with a package or choose services a la carte. These companies usually offer distribution to the usual online retailers and book distributors.
But they don’t claim to be publishers. They do not vet their customers or pretend to be anything but a self-publishing service. They also don’t usually offer marketing plans and try to hard-sell them to clients. That’s where the vanity presses make a good deal of their money—with overpriced, useless “marketing.”
If a self-publishing service claims to be a publisher, don’t go there. They’re waving a red flag.
I’d also be wary of “hybrid publishers” these days. Because so many vanity presses claim to be “hybrid” I’m not able to recommend that route unless you have a personal recommendation from an author you know and trust.
A true hybrid publisher is a real publisher, who will vet submissions and edit each ms. before sending it into the marketplace. The “hybrid” part is they ask for an upfront payment for cover design, formatting and printing like a self-publishing service.
Unfortunately, this business model doesn’t seem to have worked very well. I don’t know of any bestsellers that have emerged from these presses.
But if any reader has had good experience with a hybrid publisher, do let me know in the comments.
Million-Dollar Advances Mostly go to A-List Celebrities
If anybody approaches you with promises of an advance with more than three zeros after it, do some serious investigating. Especially if you don’t have an agent. Memoirs especially don’t tend to sell in large numbers, so unless your book is a high-concept novel or a biography of a major celebrity, be very wary.
Some of these scammers are promising unsuspecting newbies millions of dollars in “advances” from Big Five publishers.
So it’s important to know that unless you’re a former First Lady, a Rolling Stone, or Bigfoot, you’re not going to get an advance of millions. I’ve now heard of two different writers who have been scammed by outfits promising them a fortune for a memoir.
One poor woman was so taken in by these crooks that she put a down payment on a house, expecting that “advance” to materialize momentarily. (Not the brightest of bulbs, that poor dear.)
The truth is that advances have been shrinking in recent years. Even established, bestselling authors don’t get that kind of money up front.
An “advance” is exactly that. It’s money a publisher pays a writer before publication in anticipation of big royalties.
Big royalties come from big sales. Memoirs by unknowns don’t usually make big sales
Agents Rarely Solicit Unpublished Authors
Yes, I do know of authors who have been solicited by legit agents, but they were journalists or well-known short story or essay writers who were multi-published in venues other than books. They were not newbies.
Victoria Strauss of Writer Beware warned us in December about one of the current scams that snags the dewy-eyed newbies. They approach a writer out of the blue, and the pitch goes like this:
I’m from Authors Legacy, a literary agency founded by the Big 5. Each traditional publishers have shown interest in offering you a contract paying from $200,000 to $500,000 TITLE ACQUISITION FEE.
Needless to say, there is no such thing as a “title acquisition fee,” the Big 5 do not run literary agencies, and nobody is going to pay a penny for an unknown book, sight unseen.
This “literary agency” doesn’t even have a website. Google has never heard of them. And they have a strange lack of knowledge of English grammar.
For more on this audacious scam go to Writer Beware,
Book Review Scams are Everywhere
Authors are obsessed with book reviews, especially on Amazon. That’s probably why solicitations by paid book review services are the most common scams I find in my inbox.
Most of the contemporary scammers have the sense not to promise Amazon reviews any more, because Amazon now has fierce penalties for paid reader reviews. (Paid and exchanged reviews are absolutely verboten on Amazon.)
So instead these companies promise a review on their website that you can quote in the Amazon “editorial review” section of your buy page.
These reviews cost $50-$500 and are simply not worth it. A review by a respected book blogger does not cost anything and gives much more prestige.
If you pay for an “editorial review” make sure the reviewer has some standing in the community. Quotes from random 3rd world readers are not going to help much with sales.
And never, never pay anyone to write an Amazon reader review for you. Amazon will come down on you with draconian punishments.
Save your pennies and buy an ad in a bargain newsletter.
Beware Junk Marketing Packages
These have been around for at least a decade, and they’re still going strong.
(Edit 2/5/21: a reader recently reported a nasty junk marketing company called Book Writing Hub. Our reader paid over $5000 for “marketing” that was not only junk, but nearly non-existent.)
There was a time when Tweeting your book title might grab the attention of a possible reader or two, but mass-Tweeting a book simply has no effect on sales anymore.
So don’t pay anybody to Tweet your book for you.
I did an experiment last year–joining a group of mystery authors who Tweeted each others’ books to a huge number of followers. The day I had over 40 authors Tweet my book, I had no sales of that title. Not one.
Junk marketing includes: mass-mailed press releases, book fair exhibits, most book trailers, catalog listings, Hollywood book-to-screen packages, fake social media followers, and endless Tweets by Tweet-bots.
There really isn’t a shortcut to a social media presence for an author. You need to be on Twitter, Facebook, and/or Instagram and interact with possible readers in a real way. Hiring somebody to do this for you is not going to have the same effect on sales.
And especially do not engage an agent who promises to do this kind of marketing for you. Agents are not marketers. Agents who promise to market your book are publishing scammers.
Warn Newbie Friends about Publishing Scammers
Please do tell that nice next door neighbor with the memoir that she’s in danger of being scammed. And spread the word to your writing group and social media followers. These scammers only survive because of ignorance. The more we talk about this stuff, the safer writers will be.
Tell your friend to always check with Writer Beware for the latest info on scams and Alli (The Alliance of Independent Authors) for vetted lists of self-publishing services.
For solid information on all aspects of publishing, check out Jane Friedman’s blog. Here’s her overview of the different types of publishing available to us these days.
by Anne R. Allen (@annerallen) January 10, 2021
What about you, scriveners? Have you been taken in by any of these scams? Do you know anybody who has? How do you handle it when you suspect an acquaintance is being scammed?
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Anne—Aaaargh. Thanks for a valuable post. Welcome (not) to a new year with old scams.
Writer, beware. Pay attention to Anne. Save your money and your sanity.
Ruth–Thanks! Same old scams, but with new and bolder twists. It’s scary out there.
Hi Anne,
I am a newbie writer to the extent I have not tried to self-publish yet. I haven’t for a number of reasons:
1) I was acutely aware of my lack of education in publishing.
2) I wanted to write without the weight of publishing.
3) I choose to self publish because because I want full control of my work.
So, this is what I have done and discovered – maybe someone will find it helpful?:
First, I concentrated on writing and created a series of 6 finished books with the help of an excellent professional editor. And now, I have an arsenal to launch.
Second, I created a team of professionals to handle complex business issues:
This includes a CPA to review financial structures and create earnings spreadsheets to discover the most profitable markets), an entertainment attorney to review contracts, a media liaison studio to act as a go-between between me and potential candidate distributors (This seriously worked! I’d be in on conference calls, but only listened, allowing my rep’s to handle the detailed questioning) and finally, a publicist to manage marketing on a professional level.
Lest this all sounds expensive, my team is volunteer, recruited from friends, family, referrals and connections. I viewed the time it took to ‘pitch’ them to me as a serious investment in myself and my work. With professionals on my side, I was now protected.
.
Third, I also researched and learned. I saw the pitfalls were many and the scams were massive. I learned it is critical to obtain Terms of Service Agreements UP FRONT before handing over a manuscript. I did this with iUniverse (owned by Author Solutions) and promptly handed the TSA to my attorney.
She found: the iUniverse agreement contained a clause allowing them [the right] to do spin-offs of my characters. What? No! While iUniverse swore they’d never do such a thing, they refused to put it into writing. (Details like this are why it’s critical to have a lawyer read the contracts.)
I studiously avoided Dorrance publishing. They didn’t know me, but they wanted my manuscript immediately. DON’T DO THIS!
Fourth, I got my books copyrighted.
Fifth, I found beta-readers.They had to sign NDA’s – none minded. But I finally had real opinions.THIS was exciting!
Now, I am set up with both education and an expanding team to include a website, artists and more. All of this gave me time to learn, get to know more people and most of all, be at peace that I was launching my series correctly.
Scams are awful, but doing the work, being patient, recruiting professional assistance and pursuing extensive research is the best way to avoid them.
Before I close, a note on recruiting professional assistance. First, you must complete a comprehensive analysis of your work to present. (Yup, real work!) Second, you must believe in yourself. (Yup, shameless promotion takes guts.) Third, you have to find them. You might be surprised by who you know and DO ask others for connections as well.
I have found a genuine excitement from the people assisting me. I was terrified to approach strangers & pitch them. But all my ‘prep’ for this was well received. It can be for other new authors too. And again, gathering such knowledge on your behalf is worth it.
I FINALLY feel steered straight and steadied by my team. I can launch now. And will soon. But wow, what a journey it’s been to get to this point!
Thanks so much for your article, Anne! Much appreciation and great job!
Pavane
Pavane–I wouldn’t worry about somebody stealing your unpublished books. Yes, this new scam does involve unpublished books but the authors are mostly famous and all are well established. Work by unknown authors simply isn’t worth much in the marketplace. So that’s one thing you can be at ease about.
Here’s a comment from Frances Caballo that the WordPress elves won’t post for some reason. (grrr)
Thanks, Anne, for this post. I’ve been reading about this happening but I didn’t understand exactly how this was occurring. Your post succinctly explains the issue and helps authors avoid the scams. Kudos to you!
That’s a lot of scammers to keep up with. Posing as one’s agent or publisher – ouch. I do have an author friend who runs a hybrid publishing company, Acorn Publishing. They do seem to have a lot of books that sell well, but it’s probably the exception to the rule.
Alex–Thanks for the recommendation of Acorn Publishing! It’s good to hear there are some real hybrids that are doing well. It’s a good concept, when it’s not being hijacked by vanity presses.
Hey Anne,
It’s so painfully clear that people have a little too much time on their hands, eh? Nefarious people. What a crying shame people put their energy into these sorts of things.
CS–I don’t think these scammers have time on their hands. I think they’re busy little worker bees. In a lot of 3rd world countries scamming pays better than legit work, unfortunately.
Agreed. These 3rd world scammers also are in the business of selling “plargiarism-free” papers to college students. (Don’t get me started.)
Liz–Those college paper creeps are everywhere. They’re constantly trying to get on the blog with phony guest posts and links in spam. It’s such a dreadful “industry” in the first place. With what college costs these days, why would somebody work so hard to avoid learning anything?
I’m still fuming that I had to devote a whole week of instruction in a seven-week writing course to plagiarism.
Liz–Wow. What a shame. You’d think it would be pretty self-evident. “Don’t steal other people’s work.” Sigh.
In a discussion of the larger implications of plagiarism (individual student, higher education in general, the student’s industry/profession), one student called for changing the definition of plagiarism to align with the practice of copying and pasting from the internet as a matter of course.
Anyone who buys a paper, ‘plagiarism-free’ or otherwise is cheating. They are getting their degree, diploma, or whatever on false pretences. They should be stripped of their qualifications if found out.
Not that is any excuse for the scammers!
V.M. I agree. The fact these college paper outfits are so blatant about what they do is disheartening. They’re helping people to cheat. Why anybody would pay good money to go to college and not want to learn anything is beyond me.
Great advice. Too many new writers don’t take the time to study the “business” end of being a writer.
D.D. That’s exactly the problem. New writers often treat writing as an extension of school class work, where you get a gold star for effort. They don’t realize that in business, there are no gold stars.
I am “super new” and just made my first blog post. I’ve been reading a ton on your page and am so grateful. Thank-you. I am currently writing poetry.
Donna R Hedges
https://risingsunrisingmoon.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-suns-lament-to-moon.html
Donna–As a newbie poet, you’ll want to avoid those poetry anthology scams somebody mentioned here in the comments. Most poetry anthologies are scams, so stay away, unless it’s an anthology put together by group of poets whose work you know and admire. For help with getting your blog going, most writers find my book “The Author Blog: Easy Blogging for Busy Authors” saves them a lot of time and energy. I think it’s only $2.99 for the ebook. Best of luck!
I’ve seen some pretty slick Amazon book review scams come across my email–and many that are not so slick. (No, ESL dude, I am not going to send you my book and pay you $10 to review it.)
Liz–Aren’t the ESL guys hilarious? Sure I want somebody to review my book who obviously can’t read it. But you’re right that some of the scammers are pretty slick. They send you articles about the importance of reviews and talk as if buying reviews is the normal way to sell books. Infuriating.
Thanks, Anne, for hitting this topic again and renewed! It’s going to all my new clients, who are already asking for help in publishing, still holding many of the incorrect ideas/perceptions of that industry. Writing the book is one effort. Selling the book is another, totally different effort. As my Harvard grad dad used to say: everything takes work. I apply this to writing, as it’s a wonderful, passionate effort, but if I really want to share it, I will have to do the drudge work of selling it.
Also, it’s great to ‘see’ you here and going strong! :O)
Maria–Writing a book is work and selling a book is work. Two different types of work, but both essential Unfortunately people who offer an easy path to publication can entice a lot of newbies.
It is also a good idea to search the internet for the name of the reviewer and see if they have a history of reviewing. Some just get books with no intention of actually reviewing the books. They flip them at used book stores and on eBay and elsewhere to pocket the money.
Kevin–That’s a great tip! Whether you’re paying for an editorial review, or just giving a copy of your book to a book blogger, do a search of the name. I have long advised authors not to do Goodreads giveaways for reviews, because GR is notoriously full of scammers who just take the book and sell it the next day.
Sadly, twice. Once to the Eaton Literary Agency (HAH!!!!!). We won’t really go there and delve what I did wrong (even after getting advice from a cousin who is a lawyer, which I decided to ignore); Second was ASI, and no we go there either.
However, I did find that after I had retired on November 1st, all those nasty vanity press solicitation calls magically stopped. And how did I accomplish these feat? Well, ASI was selling my work number as a contact number for all those scammers to bother me about a book I did through ASI (yeah, we won’t go there), so after November 1st, no more active phone number.
G. B. It sounds as if you got scammed by some of the best. 🙂 Two of the biggest players of the last decade. So sorry you had to go through that. Good to know you finally shook the Author Solutions guys with a change of phone number. But sheesh! It’s so awful they kept harassing you.
Oh, man, is this a really helpful post. So many of us have had experiences with this stuff and it’s good to pass this information to anybody and everybody who writes books. One quick question: what do you think of review sites where they have a group of reviewers who review books for free (though the author pays to have their book on the “to be reviewed list”…. and the more books a reviewer reviews, then they are, for example, given a $25 Amazon gift card or something for whoever writes the most reviews for that month…or something like that. There is no “payment” exchanged for any review or for the reviewer. The author is the one paying for the opportunity to have their book reviewed – or not.
Patricia–Those group review sites are fine as far as I know. I haven’t tried them myself, but I haven’t heard of Amazon cracking down on them Since the reviewers aren’t paid directly, I think it’s okay.
Thank you so much!
I’m with a hybrid publisher now, for the first time. Will report on the experience once the book is published. So far, so good, but who knows?
Clifford–Best of luck to you! I hope it turns out to be a great partnership. Do let us know if there are problems.
An excellent wrap up of the unscrupulous types who prey on writers. It must be a lucrative endeavor or there wouldn’t be so many scammers doing it. But with posts like this, awareness is raised and we can all be on our guard. Thanks again, Anne, for helping us learn the business of being a successful writer. And welcome back!!
Carmen–Thanks! Do spread the word. You’re right that this has to be a lucrative business or they wouldn’t keep at it.
Some of the scam/vanity sites are so clever it’s hard even for me to distinguish them from the real deal. A friend asked me to check out a “publisher” who’d approached her. I surfed their site and the “rare cases” where the writer had to pay (because new, needed more editing, whatever) was their norm. Suggested she enter some legit competitions as an alternative. I’ve since met several “authors” delighted to be with that same vanity press. I smile and take a step away. One possible new scam may be that vanity books have hidden stuff in the manuscript making it near impossible to republish elsewhere. Stil checking this one out,.
Valerie–Vanity presses do have their place. People use them for poetry books and memoirs meant for friends and family. But it’s sad when people think they’re being legitimately published. I hadn’t heard about the “hidden” stuff that keeps you from republishing. But I do know some of them have draconian contracts that tie up your book for years.
Makes me so angry sometimes. Anne, if these dopes want money, why not be tough guys and try to go scam folks mining Bitcoin? Scammers- I mean it’s like an industry of scammers- picking on indy authors when maybe one in a thousand of us make any kind of serious living?
I’m coming to the conclusion that with my lifestyle, other jobs, lack of technical skill etc. I’m simply a part-time author and that’s it. If an agent came to me from the blue and said “I want to sign you, three novels in the next three years” I’d probably have to say no. If I took one of these reputable courses on how to market your books, what would it do for me- I’d either write OR market, the rest of the time is just gone.
I’m very happy writing when I can, and whenever I see a new, legitimate little wrinkle I can try, I generally do. But these pirates and other scum have been out there since I started, parasites on young animals too small to feed them anyway, it can be very dispiriting.
Excellent warnings and I like the last advice the best. Shout it from the rooftops: the stuff that’s too good to be true should be IN your book, not about it.
Will–Almost all authors are “part-time” if you think about it. Most famous literary authors also teach at the university level. Wallace Stevens worked in insurance. A lot of authors go on speaking tours that pay the bills.
But you’re right that these scammers prey on newbies. Anyone who doesn’t know the business is easy prey. Spread the word!
Thanks for this important look at the seedy side of the book biz, Anne. I’d like to raise a scam angle I’m currently experiencing. Last year (whose name shall not be mentioned) I ventured into m…m…m…marketing. I bought ads on some discount email list sites like EReader News Today, Bargain Booksy, Free Booksy, Fussy Librarian, Robin Reads, and Book Gorilla as well as a few other legitimate paid promoters. I can vouch for these names, and overall it was well worth the money spent upfront because my book sales increased enormously. I’m now convinced you got to pay to play in advertising, as long as you pay honorable outfits.
However, the scammers showed up. I began getting emails from unknown “ad platforms” who promised to distribute my book(s) on their lists that contained “hundreds of thousands of subscribers” as well as to more Twitter followers than Trump once had. Their fee, payable to some cart provider, was under what I was paying at the top dog sites, but I smelled a skunk down that hole. A little diligence by Googling and sniffing for non-existent web and SM sites found them to be SCAMS.
I’d name the names of these scammers if I could, but I sent them to spam hell. I’m sure they got on to me by watching who was advertising on the legitimate sites and then targeting authors who were on a paid advertising roll. I had about 6 or 7 of these frauds with the last one coming in in the past two weeks. Anyways, heads-up to others if you start to get unsolicited emails offering paid ad services on their “mailing lists” and “social media platforms”. As the man said, “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t”. Caveat Emptor – Buyer Beware.
Garry–I get those “junk marketing” offers all the time, too. They claim they have a huge following and yet Google has never heard of them. They’ll tweet your book 4 times a day and promote your book on their cheesy website. Which will all sell zero books Stay far, far away.
I’m glad to hear you had good results with the bargain newsletters. To me, they offer the best bang for your buck.
Thank you, thank you, thank you, Anne, for this post. Scammers keep reinventing themselves with new twists to disguise their real intent.
Many people who recently lost their jobs now have time to write the novel they always dreamed would become a bestseller. Those naive dreams make them ripe for predators.
Scammers multiply like cockroaches when economic times are bad. I’ve seen these cycles before. Every recession there’s a whole new crop of new writers and an even bigger crop of new scammers.
That’s why we have to keep shouting these warnings from the rooftop.
Debbie–Keep shouting. It’s all we can do. New writers can be such easy prey.
Thank you so much for your hard work in tracking down these scammers, Anne. I picture you in a cape doing battle for authors–and author hopefuls–everywhere. (Sorry, tired writer’s brain). I will do my part to promote this article.
Leanne–Haha. 🙂 It’s hilarious to think of me in a superhero outfit! I do keep trying to keep writers safe, though. Thanks for spreading the word!
Timely reminder, thank you.
Gail–Thanks for stopping by!
Hi Anne,
Add my name to your appreciation list. This article is an eye-opener. I self-published my first book about a year ago through Xlibris and was quite pleased with their help. They did everything they had promised but this being my first book, I had nothing for comparison, so I don’t know if I got the best deal. The book hasn’t done well because I haven’t done the legwork to sell it.
That’s where I am now and I’ve received a number of calls and emails about my book being well received and to return their call or reply to their email for more information. I haven’t contacted any of them and probably won’t based on this article, at least until I’ve done some research. What’s not clear to me is the distinction between a hybrid press and a vanity press. I thought the company I published through was a vanity press, now I’m not so sure.
Anyway, I will be diligent in my research and stay vigilant for these freeloaders. I have a friend who is thinking of writing a book. I sent him a link to this article. I’ll pass it along to my writing group as well.
Thanks for the information. Stay well.
F William–XLibris is owned by Author Solutions, a notorious vanity press. The calls and emails you’re getting are part of the scam. They’re trying to sell you overpriced “junk marketing.” That’s where they make a lot of their money. As I said above, the line between “hybrid” and a vanity press can be pretty blurry right now, so I don’t recommend them. But you’ll see some people in the thread here say they’ve had good experiences. The biggest problem with publishing through a vanity press is that bookstores won’t carry the books and they tend to be priced very high compared with similar books from trad publishers. Self-publishers make most of their money from ebooks, so your book needs to be promoted online, and that’s not something Author Solutions does very well.
Thanks, Anne.
I checked out the links for Writer Beware and the Alliance of Independent Authors and found the Best and Worst list on the latter’s website. Right there among the worst was Xlibris. I am humbled and but better armed. I’ve been looking around and have been working with Reedsy out of London and they are at the top of the list of the best sites. I have learned my lesson and am passing your blog around to all my fellow writers. Thanks and keep up the good work.
I am so not surprised at these scams, but still appalling how greed and evil seep through the universe. Thanks Anne. Shared. 🙂
DG–People who prey on other people’s dreams are pretty despicable, aren’t they?
Understatement my friend! 🙂
I’m not surprised this goes on. These greedy people prey on the gullible and the desperate. People sometimes want to believe so much and the parasites are there to separate them from their money . Thank you Anne for reminding us all to be vigilant. Duly noted!
Kenneth–So many people don’t understand how the publishing industry works that it’s easy to take advantage of them. We hear about celebrities and politicians getting millions for their books and newbies think they can get that kind of money too. The reality is very different. Writing is one of the most underpaid professions out there.
Extremely helpful post
Thoughts–Thanks for stopping by!
Thank you for the warnings, Anne. They will save a lot of people from spending money on false promises.
I never spend money on people who solicit me, but I was caught by someone who promised to review my book. I sent her a copy of the manuscript, but that was the last I heard of her.
Looking back, I foolishly didn’t note the alarm bells from the fact that she did not mention the name of my book. I only hope she’s not going to plagiarise it! She’s not got any money from it.
VM–I haven’t heard of this particular scam, so thanks for sharing! I know a lot of “reviewers” on Goodreads and other sites are just getting books to sell on ebay, but I haven’t seen a direct solicitation from them. It’s much more likely she’s just selling books, not plagiarizing them.
Anne, excellent article. Newbie authors are getting screwed left and right. May I repost in FB and LinkedIn? I have been editing fiction for over 10 years and have done some marketing research so I am quite aware of all the crap that goes on to bilk writers out of millions od dollars (Tate for example). We must do everything we can to spread the word. Thank you for a very insightful article.
Dennis @ Moneysaver Editing
PS Chris The Story Reading Ape is also doing a fantastic job. He even interviewed me.
Dennis–Sorry I skipped you here. I have to write replies in the “backstage” of the blog and sometimes miss people. (I have an ongoing battle with the WP elves) You may of course repost this piece to your social media. We love to reach new readers.
I like Chris’s blog, too. 🙂
MWA sent an email about the new scam plaguing trad-pubbed authors. Horrifying!
Last week, a “screenwriter for film” private messaged me on Twitter with the usual spiel (loved your book, blah, blah, blah). Then came his pitch. The dude wanted me to pay him to turn one of my novels into a screenplay for the “big screen.” I laughed and said, “You’ve got that backward, buddy. You pay me for the film rights, not the other way around.” After he ghosted me, I couldn’t help but wonder how many times his scam worked on writers who don’t know any better.
Sue–That scammer went after the wrong author! They hit pros like you as well as newbies. Because it’s all random. They just find a book and the author’s name and go for the pitch. That “book to film” scam was very big last year and it seems to be going strong. I got a few of them. As I said last year, if you pay somebody to write a spec script from your book, what you’ve got is a spec script. Like every waiter and retail clerk in Hollywood. Sigh.
Thanks, Anne. Wishing you a healthy and fulfilling new year.
Cynthia–Many thanks!
Hello Anne, I was emailed twice just before Christmas by some company with roots in China. The email said my book had come to this company’s attention because of my large sales presence on Smashwords. Two problems. First, In place of my book title that supposedly drew so much attention, there were two commas. That’s all. No tilted. Second, I don’t have a significant sales presence on Smashwords. I hit delete and had a good laugh!
Lamport–Haha! Leaving the name of your book off the email is hilarious. I haven’t heard about the Smashwords scam, but it fits the pattern. They’re looking for unsuccessfully self-published authors who are vulnerable and gullible. Luckily it sounds as if you’re not either.
And excellent update on what is going on out there, Anne – thank you! I shall pass on to my new workshop students tomorrow, and encourage them to follow you.
Melodie–Thanks for spreading the word. Your students would be tempting targets for these creeps.
I’ve noticed a lot of “Book Reviewers” from India are popping up on Instagram who have website and will review you book. They appear to be reviewing books, but I wonder if they’re colleting manuscripts to republish? I sent one of the “book reviewers” a link to an ARC ebook through my bookfunnel, but they said that wouldn’t work, they wanted me to send a PDF. That seemed like a red flag for me?
Have you or has anyone else experience with these India book reviewers?
Tam–That’s interesting that these reviewers ask for .pdfs. As I said, I don’t recommend these 3rd world review sites because the reviews have no clout. But I don’t know why they’d want a .pdf. Reading on a phone or other device, you’d want an epub file. So yeah, that sounds fishy. PDFs are pretty old school right now.
The Cambridge Hall of Poetry Journal will give you so much praise for your Poem and won’t charge you. However, if you buy ($20) a copy (where your Poem is published), you will discover that your name is spelt wrong and too, your Poem is laid out incorrectly; so read in the wrong manner. The journal itself is just printed matter on paper, easily torn.
Cambridge…..NOT England but I believe Canada.
You live and learn.
So sad.
But thanks for this article.
Sarah–Sorry you learned the hard way. The poetry anthology is probably the oldest writing scam out there. It’s been around since the 1920s. They solicit poems from unsuspecting newbies, praise the poem to the skies and put it into an anthology. Which they then try to sell back to the participants at an outrageous price. The poems are unvetted and often crowded together on the page. Even if they do get your name right, your poem may be on a page with embarrassingly bad poetry. Heartbreaking.
I love the content that has been printed here. You have done a really amazing thing by describing an example of publishing scams that certain people try to do by sending solicited emails to writers, those beginning literary careers and ones who have already been widely known authors. The comment posted about people on GoodReads trying to do this kind of con trick caught my attention because most of the people I generally encounter there are proper serious authors normally.
James–I think Goodreads cleaned up its act a bit by booting out some of the worst scammers. If you’re communicating mostly with other authors on GR, you’re fine. But there’s a big anti-author contingent who think scamming authors is a good way to let us know they don’t want us on Goodreads.
Per your request I’m adding this comment here:
I’ve been contacted numerous times by Branding Nemo, a few times in 2020, and then just today, and today the hard sell for a “discounted” $2,500 promotion scheme was so bad that I wound up shouting at the woman on the phone – and I never yell at people on the phone. I demanded (for the second time) that they remove my phone number from their calling list (I’m on the national do not call registry and have an unlisted number), and then I had to tell her no several times, and finally hung up on her. It’s an amazingly hard sell for a ridiculously expensive program, and they are calling me about a book that was first self-published 20 years ago. So it’s not like it’s a new book I’m trying to launch and promote. It took a lot of persistence for me to get her to even tell me what they charge for what she was selling. She did not want to put that up front. I smell a scam, and I told her so.
Barbara–Many Thanks for posting here! “Branding Nemo” sounds like one of the scam companies that broke off from Author Solutions a couple of years ago, when Author Solutions was finally outed as a scam. These tactics you’re describing are the type they learned at Author Solutions. They phoned me with this kind of hard-sell nonsense about a book published in 2003. I had to hang up on them. I hope writers will take heed. Do Not do business with this company. You’ll get junk marketing for a super-inflated price.
Anne — I’m a small-press guy who also, on occasion, self-publishes. I agree with 90% of your comments, but have three points to make.
1. I have a hybrid contract with WiDo Publishing and it has worked out fine. My latest book has just been published with a handsome cover, and even before release there are two paperback sales and two e-book sales. The contract tells me exactly what services to expect, and I am getting them.
2. I pay for editorial reviews from known outfits — Reader Views, Readers’ Favorite, Bestsellers World — and feel it’s worth it. Readers want to see lots of reviews, don’t know one reviewer from another, but these I trust. Kirkus is a literary whore, now selling its reviews at an outrageous price; I did it once, but never again.
3. For an unknown author like myself, book fairs are useful. They are fun, and you learn who your readers are. It’s exciting to meet people who will actually buy your books and read them. But no fairs now, because of the pandemic. Virtual fairs don’t interest me; I want direct contact with buyers.
I love your posts. They. are informative; I learn lots. — Clifford Browder
Cliff–WiDo has an excellent reputation. I thought they were a small press, not a hybrid publisher. I’m happy to hear about a hybrid publisher that is successful. Thanks! If your paid reviews are “editorial” reviews, and they have a good readership, I can imagine that’s money well spent. (I warn against paid reader reviews, because they can put you in deep Amazon do-do.)
The kind of book fairs you’re talking about are very different from the big Book Expo and Frankfurt events. Those are for booksellers and publishers, not ordinary readers. Those are the ones the scammers ask for big money to “show” your book at, but there’s no benefit to you. Publishers and booksellers are talking to the big guys, not looking at random self-pubbed books. Small book fairs can be lots of fun, if you can actually talk with readers. You probably won’t make money, but you can schmooze. If you can break even, you’re doing pretty well.
Anne, I am embarrassed to say how many times I have been scammed. I thank you for this great blog and I would like to communicate with you privately.
Thanks again Anne
Abner–I’m sorry to hear these crooks got their hooks into you. You can contact me through our “contact us” page.
I really appreciate this blog and the comments too! Recently, I had a run in withYellow Bird Press in Summerville, SC. The publisher claims that publishing contracts are non-negotiable and that “when a book offer is made, that is the offer” and that “it should be respected.” She went on to say that my refusal to sign showed a lack of team work and bad attitude—making us not a good fit.
The contract she sent was a boilerplate apparently taken from another publisher now defunct. It included restrictive stipulations not required by established book publishers and had terms that AuthorsAlliance warns against.
If pressed, she’ll admit to having published no books other than her own and to having just one writer under her wing.
“I know this business,” she wrote in an email, “I have been published (novels, magazine articles, anthologies); I have had high-powered NYC-based agents; I was President of The South Carolina Writer’s Association. I have toured with writing conferences critiquing authors and guiding them. I have spoken on the subject throughout The Southeast.”
To tell aspiring writers that publishing contracts are NOT open to negotiation is pure bs. It conflicts with 1) having been published, 2) the experiences of my published writing pals, 3) and what is said by literary agents, writer advocacy groups such as AuthorsAlliance and AuthorsGuild, plus Writers Digest and even Forbes magazine.
There were some other red flags leading up to this point and luckily I’d been around the block enough to recognize them.
Tim–Very smart for you to do your homework on contracts. We’re going to have an IP lawyer here in August with a post on things authors need to know about contracts. Just the fact this woman bragged about herself instead of discussing the dodgy clauses shows she’s either a scammer or a clueless newbie. It doesn’t matter if she toured with writers conferences or the Rolling Stones. 🙂 If she just cut and pasted an old contract without understanding what it meant, she’s in the wrong business. Congrats on staying away from that one.
Very interesting topic I had a book printed only got $5 in royalties they really did scam me for much money. They got it selling on Amazon. I’m now a senior citizen and can’t afford to do anything about this book it has errors which they never fixed. It hurts me to know my ideas is out there, and I can’t afford to fix t problems. Much publishers have been calling me to republish book but I feel reluctant plus I can’t afford but on reading your article it’s an eye opening for me.
Angela–Those “publishers” who are calling you about republishing your book are scammers. Here’s my most recent post about them. https://selfpublishingsites.com/2021/09/publishing-scammers-how-to-stay-safe/ Because you have been scammed before, they have your number and pass it around to all their friends. I’m so sorry you’ve been a victim of this kind of fraud.
I’m curious what you think about She Writes Press, a curated hybrid “indie” publisher. It costs a minimum of 7k to publish with them and this doesn’t include copy editing, PR, marketing. They do have a traditional distribution through Ingram and give writers all royalties. They’ve become even more selective recently in accepting submissions. Any thoughts?
Goode Read–She Writes Press has a good reputation for taking care of their authors. Since they are selective, they are NOT a vanity press. They are a true hybrid press that seems to be working. If you don’t want to go the agent/trad pub route, they might be for you..
Is it possible to email you privately to tell you my story. I don’t want to do it on here. It’s … dreadful doesn’t even come close.
Tracy–Please do. My email address is on the contact us page. Since I’m being sued by a dodgy publisher who didn’t like a comment about them on this blog, it’s better that we discuss these predators in private. I look forward to hearing your story. So sorry you’ve been through what sounds like a terrible ordeal.