When those “dreams come true” are publishing scams…
by Anne R. Allen
Because I have a lot of articles out there on publishing scams, I get frequent messages from writers who fear they’ve been ensnared by a scammer.
I hear even more often from their friends. These friends or relatives see something iffy going on, but don’t want to be the Debbie Downer who brings unnecessary negativity into a hopeful writer’s life.
The friend usually has a reason for being suspicious. Whether the “dream project” is a dodgy anthology, an overpriced no-name contest, a vanity press masquerading as a real publisher, or a junk marketing scheme, a lot of people will have a feeling the project isn’t passing the smell test.
But if they don’t know much about the publishing industry themselves, they hesitate to rain on a newbie writer’s publishing-fantasy parade.
Their writer friend is happy for the first time in forever, floating around on Cloud Nine, sure they’re about to realize their life-long goal of being a successful writer.
So the friend emails me and asks — what should a friend do?
I say if you’re close enough to that person to have their trust, then you need to tell them about your doubts. If you don’t think they’ll believe you, a mutual friend might help you convey the message.
You also can break it to them gently by urging them to do some research on their own. Here are some things you can suggest. Remember Google (or your favorite search engine) is your friend. ????
Google the Company
It’s amazing how many people don’t do a simple web search of a company before forking over their money (and their dreams) to unknown, unvetted people.
So put the company’s name in the search window. Do you find any search results that aren’t their own website or social media pages? No? You’re probably in publishing scam territory. A legit company will have links from other companies. And there will be links from the blogs, websites and social media of successfully published authors with good sales and reviews.
“But they’re a brand new company” your writer friend says. “They just started up two months ago. That’s why they’re inviting authors to get big discounts and join them on the ground floor.”
Signing with a new company with no track record is never a good idea in publishing. There’s a very small profit margin, and a lot of legit start-ups don’t make it. (I’ve had two of my publishers go under.) But chances are good they’re an old scam with a new name and new branding.
And if there are “discounts,” that means there are fees. If there are upfront fees, you are likely to be in scam territory. (Not always. Legit hybrid publishers do ask you to pay up front. But hybrid publishers must be carefully vetted.)
If You can Find Names Associated with the Company, Google Them.
Often the same person will move from scam to scam. As I said above, a “brand-new company” may be perpetrating a very old scam, only with a different name. There may be a slightly different cast of characters, but the head honcho will probably be the same.
Google the Company with Words like “Scam” and “Bogus”
This seems like a no-brainer, but when a person is in that blissed-out zone where they think somebody loves their work and they’re on the threshold of fame and fortune, they don’t want to invite that kind of “negativity.”
So you might have to do it on your own. And don’t stop at the first page of search results. Especially if the first page consists entirely of sponsored links to the company’s own website.
If the company is listed at Writer Beware, Reedsy, or Alli as “not recommended,” get out now. These industry watchdogs make it their business to vet all sorts of publishing industry outfits. If they find a company has a number of legitimate complaints, they add it to their “beware” lists.
You may also find links to forums on Reddit or Absolute Write (once AW is back up on its new platform) or another writerly forum where unhappy authors register their complaints. A complaint doesn’t equal guilt of course, and people on these sites can be whiny and alarmist, but they’re worth checking out.
Also, I’ve been surprised at how many publishing scams get the okay from the Better Business Bureau, so don’t consider their endorsement a safe recommendation.
Is the Website Professional?
- Is there an “about us” page? One with real people listed as members of staff with photos and bios? A legitimate publisher, marketing company, or literary agency is going to be run by actual human beings, who will be proud of their resumes and their work record. (Unfortunately, some scammers have bogus “about us” information full of lies and stock photos, but it’s still worthwhile to look.) You do NOT want to get involved with a company who won’t even tell you who they are.
- Do they advertise books by their successful clients? Successful publishers, marketers, and agents do.
- Does the website look like an ad for a fad diet instead of a publishing professional? Do they have “testimonials” from “happy” authors who talk about how nice the book looks instead of sales? Major red flag. No real agent or publisher needs testimonials. Good reviews and great sales are all the recommendations they need.
- Do they tell you they’re not like other outfits who are just out for money and they want to help you because…art? Um, said no real publishing professional ever. Nobody goes into business to lose money.
Be Aware of the Most Common Publishing Scams
Some of these scams have been around since Gutenberg. They constantly reappear, with techy variations.
1) Anthology Scams
These have been around for at least a hundred years. Since the 1920s, scam poetry anthologies have run little ads in the backs of magazines.
a) The Poetry Anthology
I almost got taken in by this one when I was 12. I sent them a poem and they LOVED it. They were going to put it in a book! Luckily my mom explained how these anthologies work: everybody gets an acceptance, no matter how awful their attempts at verse. Then all the “poems” get printed in a huge anthology and every participant is urged to buy the vastly overpriced copies. (Makes a great gift!) Nobody else will buy the books of course, because bookstores don’t sell overpriced collections of bad poetry.
The saddest thing is this scam is still going strong. Recently I heard about a neighbor who fell for it and was proudly crowing about being a “published poet.” Nobody wanted to burst her bubble.
There’s probably no point in telling a friend they’ve been scammed this way after the fact. Unless they’re likely to do it again.
Lots of variations of this venerable con have proliferated in the Internet age. In the late ‘90s the “Poetry dot Com” scam was a biggie. Not only were all “winning” contributors offered a chance to buy a ridiculously overpriced book, but they could get mugs, tee-shirts and tote bags crowing about their “win.” Ca-ching, ca-ching.
b) The Inspirational Anthology
There are many wonderful charity anthologies out there with great writing that benefits a good cause. I’ve participated in several myself. But heartless scammers are mimicking them and pocketing the money.
A charity anthology is a personal essay anthology, usually with an inspirational “Chicken Soup” type of theme. The authors contribute a piece free of charge, promote it to their readers, and the proceeds go to charity. The authors get exposed to each other’s fan base, plus they’re contributing to a good cause.
Not so with the scam charity anthology. With a bona fide charity anthology, authors may be asked to contribute to cover art and self-publishing costs, but the contribution won’t be more than 50 dollars or so—after all, self-publishing doesn’t cost much in the days of Kindle and POD.
But with a scam anthology, the “contribution” will be hundreds. That’s how the scammers make their money. They’ll also depend on the authors to buy copies and do the promotion. If the contributors are newbies, the book probably won’t sell enough to be much help to the charity.
But the organizer pockets a bundle.
c) The Boxed Set
Again, this scam has been hijacked from a legitimate type of promotion. The organizer will invite authors to contribute novels to a themed “boxed set,” like witchy paranormal cozies, vampire romances, women sleuths, or whatever. As a collective, the authors will be expected to chip in for the publication and promotion costs. These costs are usually covered by the first month’s royalties.
Sometimes these boxed sets, if priced cheaply, can reach the bestseller lists, and many indie authors have become “USA Today bestsellers” via a well-promoted boxed set.
Enter the scammers. They put together as many as 15 or 20 authors into these boxed sets, often “guaranteeing” USA Today bestseller status. But the “buy-in” to join in this set is exorbitant — often into the high thousands. And the authors don’t see a penny in royalties (because all the proceeds need to go to promotion, sez the organizer) And usually nobody gets onto that coveted USA Today bestseller list.
2) Overpriced No-Name Contests
These have been around a long time, too, but they’re bigger and more profitable in the age of self-publishing.
You pay $20 to enter a poem in a contest and if you win, the prize is $50. Your big triumph is announced in a newsletter that goes out to the 200 people who entered. Nobody else. Somebody’s making money ($3950) and it’s not you.
The worst of these are the self-published book contests. Yes, you have a good chance of winning a prize if the entry fee is $200 and the prize is $500. Only a handful of authors will enter with such a puny prize.
But hey, if you win, you get a shiny gold sticker you can put on your book cover that says. “Winner of the Hieronymus P. Snively Memorial Book Award.”
Save yourself a lot of money and make your own sticker. 🙂
3) The Bogus Agent or Fake “Literary Scout.”
This one has been around since the 1980s at least. Anybody can call themselves a “literary agent.” There’s no degree. Good agents get their training by interning at successful agencies.
But bogus agents just hang out a shingle. Thing is, they have no contacts in the business, so they’re very unlikely to be able to sell your book. Instead they make their money by charging a “reading fee,” charging for “incidental fees: — which used to be postage and copying — but now are even murkier. They also may offer pricey “editing services.”
This scam faded with the self-publishing revolution, but it’s making a comeback. The new scams are even more outrageous than the old ones.
Some scammers even impersonate well known literary agents or claim they’re “scouting” for Big Five publishers. Be very, very wary of a self-styled “literary scout.” Especially if you’re not already a wildly successful indie author. (In which case, why would you need this person?) And never, ever pay one up front.
An agent who charges a fee is bogus. Agents make their money when they sell your book to a publisher. Full stop.
4) The Vanity Press Masquerading as Something Else
Scammy vanity presses are everywhere right now — masquerading as traditional publishers, “hybrid” presses, or “self-publishing assistants.”
The main thing they have in common is that their services are overpriced, and so are the books. They cost so much more than traditionally published or self-published books that nobody but your Aunt Susie will buy them.
They may offer to copyright your manuscript for a ridiculous fee (It only costs $40 to copyright a ms. in the US.) They’ll offer you hugely expensive editing (often simply a pass through spellcheck and grammar-check software) and they may give you a cover that makes you cry. They’ll tell you they’ll “make your book available on Amazon” as if that isn’t a simple thing to do yourself in the age of KDP.
a) You Probably Don’t Need Pricey Assistance to Self-Publish.
Even cybermoron Boomers like me can self-publish their own books. There are plenty of inexpensive sources of information. I recommend David Gaughran’s book Let’s Get Digital, which he offers free on his website. You don’t need to pay an overpriced vanity press to help you self-publish. Just read a few books and follow people like Mr. Gaughran.
b) Don’t get Bullied into Self-publishing if You Want a Traditional Career.
The vanity press scammers love to tell you “nobody” can get a traditional Big 5 publishing contract these days. But the truth is plenty of new writers are landing agents, signing nice deals, and making the bestseller lists. Look at Delia Owens with Where the Crawdads Sing, which was her first novel.
There are wonderful small presses, too. If you’re interested in a small traditional press, I suggest you subscribe to the Authors Publish online magazine. It’s FREE and full of info on publishers who don’t require an agent.
c) Not all Vanity Presses are Scams
Not all vanity presses pass themselves off as anything but what they are. Some people like to use a vanity press for a personal keepsake book. It can be a good choice for a collection of recipes or family history to gift to relatives and friends, a collection of poetry or reminiscences, or a memoir that doesn’t have a big audience outside the family. They often produce beautiful books that will be treasured.
d) But if you Want a Professional Career, Stay Away
If you’re in the writing business to make money, you never want to use a vanity press. The books are priced so much higher than traditionally published books that bookstores won’t carry them.
Plus most of the bogus publishers will keep your information and harass you for years trying to get you to buy some of their junk marketing packages (see below).
5) The Junk Marketing Scheme
This is where the big money is in the age of self-publishing. So if you’re an indie author, these are people to watch out for. I find them in my inbox every week. You’ll also see their ads all over social media. And many will cold-call any indie or small press author whose phone number is available to them (And most of our phone numbers are out there. Thanks, Mr. Zuckerberg.)
These companies charge huge fees for sending Tweets about your book. (Tweeting hasn’t sold books since about 2011.) Plus they will advertise it on their website — a website which is only visited by other victims of their schemes. Or they may sell you an ad in a magazine that is read by nobody.
a) Conference and Book Fair Scams
Junk marketers and vanity publishers often offer ridiculously expensive spots in their booths at book fairs and conferences. You pay $1000s and maybe sell three books. Plus you have your travel and lodging expenses. A very bad business model. (Luckily the pandemic has put that one on hold.)
But there are new, COVID-era publishing scams soliciting writers for virtual conferences. Conferences that don’t exist. What the scammers really want is your personal information, including your bank information (so they can “pay” you for your participation.)
If you haven’t heard of the conference and can’t find it with a Google search, report the solicitation as spam.
b) Paid Review Scams
Never pay for an Amazon book review. If you do, not only will the review be removed, but you may very well be kicked off Amazon…for life. Other paid reviews often only appear on the review company’s website, where nobody will see it.
And there’s a new horrible scam just reported by Victoria Strauss at Writer Beware: criminals are extorting writers by sending obscenity-laced messages threatening to give your book 1000s of one-star bad reviews if you don’t pay them for good reviews. This is apparently happening at Goodreads right now. Another reason for authors to give Goodreads a wide berth.
Good marketing is a hands-on project. Your marketer will work with you to help you connect with readers, but you must participate. Mindless spam and fakery don’t sell books.
c) We’re Gonna Put You in the Movies!
There are any number of Hollywood scams. The most recent has been the one where you’re asked to pay big bux for a screenwriter to turn your book into a screenplay. Some of these junk marketing outfits offer this “Hollywood option.”
Paying somebody to write a screenplay based on your book “on spec”— that is, without a contract with an actual filmmaker — is absurd. This service costs around $15,000 and does absolutely nothing to get your book made into a film.
Every restaurant server and parking lot attendant in Southern California has a screenplay. Having somebody write one for you doesn’t give you any more chances than these folks have in selling it to a studio.
Was the Writer Solicited by the Company, Either by Email, Phone, or Through a Social Media Group?
Legitimate publishers and literary agents don’t cold-call unknown writers or send mass-emails.
And good marketers should know how to market themselves.
If they’re contacting you in a spammy, sleazy way, is it likely they’ll be classy or clever when selling your book? Unfortunately the cold-call phone solicitation is back in style for a lot of publishing scams these days. Especially junk marketers. I’ve had some of them phone me. They can be pretty hilarious. But I’m sure they can be convincing to a newbie.
If you want to hire a marketer, ask around in writer groups. Hire the one who’s made lots of money FOR the author, not FROM the author. Which leads me to…
The Most Important Thing to Keep in Mind: Real publishing professionals make money FOR their clients. Publishing scams make money FROM their clients.
by Anne R. Allen (@annerallen) May 16, 2021
UPDATE: “Rose Ankh Publishing” was mentioned as a vanity press in one of the comments on this post. That was in error. Rose Ankh Publishing is a legitimate small independent press and NOT a vanity press. We apologize for the confusion.
What about you, scriveners? Have you ever fallen for any of these publishing scams? Do you wish a friend had warned you? Has any of these scammers approached you recently? Have you had to tell a friend that their “dream come true” was probably a scam?
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Anne—Thanks for an excellent, sobering post. Lots of publishing pros refer to these scams as the “second oldest profession.” Or maybe even the first. 😉
In any event, caveat emptor always applies. Including—and maybe even especially—to publishing.
Completely agree that David Gaughran is reliable. In addition, I suggest Jane Friedman and Dave Chesson who also offer free, credible publishing information.
Ruth–Absolutely! Jane Friedman and Dave Chesson are wonderful sources for consistently reliable advice. Jane is my go-to authority on book publishing of all types and Dave is a fantastic resource for indie book marketing.
What a scary read. I don’t know what is worse, that scammers do this or that people fall for these scams. Thanks for warning us, Anne.
Ingmar–I didn’t mean to scare people. but I guess it is frightening to know how many crooks are out there.
This kind of column should be at least an annual tradition, Anne, like watching “Die Hard” before Christmas. SO MANY SCAMS. It’s just disheartening, really.
I used to rate internet ads for a little side money and the number of writing scams out there just stunned me. Huge promises, no details, more hype than if crack cocaine had a cheerleading squad. I never did find out what a marketing funnel was…
And you’re also spot-on about the movie-hook. I’ve seen several companies that ask for your book (and I presume all rights to it) just so it can go into a database that screenwriters of unknown provenance can pick through. We all can see our story as a movie…
Will–I didn’t know about this particular movie scam. They put your book in a database so screenwriters can use your material? I guess I can see how that would appeal. And also how abusive it could be. Wow.
As far as those writing scam ads–that’s why we decided not to monetize this blog. Half the advertisers who wanted to sponsor us were crooks.
I’ve been contacted about scam anthologies before. Most sound really off though. Of course, a new writer might not have a clue. Thus, this great warning for them!
Alex–So much online stuff is driven by keywords, so I suppose the fact you edit real anthologies would make you a target. Which is so dumb. Maybe it’s good they’re giving you an inadvertent heads-up, so you can warn your readers and the Insecure Writers Support Group.
Great warnings! If only these people could spend all the energy for something positive instead of trying to scam people!
Jemi–Isn’t that the truth! All this ingenuity going into nasty little scams–imagine what they could do if the tried to do good instead of evil.
“The Most Important Thing to Keep in Mind: Real publishing professionals make money FOR their clients. Publishing scams make money FROM their clients.” This advice is so valuable, Anne, that you should be paid for it. Your post today is so, so right on. Hopefully it prevents someone, somewhere, from being ripped off.
I’d just like to put my two cents in about what’s legitimately working for me out there in the book m…m…m…marketing world. Paid ads in discount newsletters, and I’ll name the ones I’ve tried with great success. First is BookBub which is 100% legit. Expensive, but legit. Next is EReader News Today (ENT). One $150 ENT ad got me 2700 downloads. Then there’s Written Word Media (BargainBooksy and FreeBooksy) Great people with great return. You can also trust Fussy Librarian, RobinReads, BookGorilla, and BookDoggy. Even BookRunes got me some traffic.
While we’re talking David Gaughran (that crazy Irishman banished to Portugal), this guy is The Man when it comes to book marketing legitimacy. Here’s David’s link to credible book promo sites: https://davidgaughran.com/best-promo-sites-books/
And on a sad note, I was very sorry to hear Joel Friedlander (The Book Designer) passed away 🙁
Garry–Good advice–one of the best ways to market your book is through bargain newsletters like Bookbub and ENT. I’m glad to hear you had success with them too. I hadn’t heard of BookRunes. I’ll check them out. Good to hear your endorsement of Written Word. And thanks for your link to David’s list of good newsletters.
Yes, it was devastating to hear about Joel. He was such a great helper and supporter of indie authors.
That was a shock to hear Joel is gone .- yes he was most generous with his help, I remember him from my self-publishing days (long gone now, basically I stopped pursuing a self-pub career in 2012).
And thank you Anne for an excellent post that I’m sure will be very useful for a lot of people!
Claude–It’s tragic that we lost Joel. A powerful voice in the indie publishing community, and a guy who knew everything about book cover art.
At some point I’d like to talk to you about your experience as an indie author and why you decided to change course. Those days between 2009-2012 were so intense. Indie publishing was going to change the world. I’m not sure it did, but a lot of authors made some real money. Then things started to fizzle with Amazon’s change of focus to their own imprints.
Thanks for your relentless warnings about publishing scams. I know a few people who got taken, and it made me furious. When someone convinces a newbie that they have tremendous writing talent, no one can convince them otherwise. And it’s so difficult to tell someone the truth because you don’t want to burst their bubble. They can get very defensive, even angry when you’re just trying to help. I told one person, “I’m not going to lie to you just to make you feel better. I respect you enough to tell you the truth.” Gotta share this on my page. Thanks again!
Bonnie–You’ve pinpointed the problem with breaking the news to friend. Thanks! When people are being conned by these flatterers, they can’t admit there’s anything wrong, because then all the flattering stuff the scammers said might not be true. So to protect their egos, they defend the scammers. Their own self-protection instinct is what sets them up to be scammed.
Hi, Anne,
There’s one more that you didn’t mention–it’s the company that doesn’t know what they’re doing.
I submitted to one at the start of COVID-19, a flash fiction piece. It was to a publishing company, non-paying. I probably should have passed on it for that reason, but it was right at the beginning of COVID-19, and everyone was looking for stories to help people through. It was also posted to a Facebook group I trust absolutely.
The story got accepted, and the editor sent me the contract. I read the contract thoroughly, and ad to come back to it overnight to make sure I wasn’t missing something. It didn’t mention what rights he was buying.
So I asked. The publisher kind of did a hand-wavy thing and I knew instantly he didn’t know what he was doing. He said he wasn’t buying any rights. He was just going to publish it online. I thought about it a day, mostly to get any emotional reaction settled, and then politely withdrew the story from consideration.
Always, always read the contract. Make sure you understand everything in it and know what you’re signing up for. If a publisher does a hand-wavy thing, do not let your excitement at being published override your common sense. You might be signing around the rights for that story forever.
Linda–Thanks for bringing this up! Not everybody who’s stealing your work is a scammer. Sometimes they’re just clueless. Rights grabs are a big subject I didn’t have room to get into, but it’s a huge problem. I ditto your warning to read contracts very, very carefully.
Okay, I admit…I was going to pass this article thinking, after all these years I was aware of the all the scams out there. BUT…..you brought to light a few new ones about anthologies, book collections, and poetry I hadn’t really paid attention to. Way to go of bringing new information to us old writers!
Elizabeth–And alas, I didn’t even go into the ones some of our commenters have mentioned that target established authors. There’s an epidemic right now of people trying to get hold of your unpublished work so they can pirate it overseas. A US copyright gives no protection.
I did not know that about overseas copyright. Thank you, again.
A US copyright is valid everywhere, but there’s no way to enforce it in a lot of countries.
Anne, you always have your finger on the pulse of what is happening in the publishing world–although in this case it’s more like the lunatic fringes. As authors get more and more savvy, scammers get more and more creative.
I get emails every day from book promoters, virtual assistant types,and wanna-be beta readers who “need” a copy of my book. Given the amount of piracy out there, why would I want to send manuscripts to strangers?
But yes, these offers can look soooo legit, but if it ties up your intellectual property rights, costs money out of your pocket, hands over your hard-earned content with no contract, or a little due diligence turns up funky results, go with your gut and say “no thanks.” That’s the only thing that will keep the scammers from multiplying like roaches.
Read any contract with an attitude. No one else will protect your intellectual property rights. Somebody wants you to write a podcast or a new story? What happens if it doesn’t get taped/published? Do you still own the rights to it? To those characters? Be your own best advocate.
And if authors wonder if turning down these opportunities is a mistake, don’t worry. Such opportunities are like buses. There will be another one coming along soon.
Yes, I’m feeling feisty today!
Carmen–Thanks for bringing this up. As I said to Elizabeth above, there wasn’t room to talk about the epidemic of scams targeting established authors. They’re trying to pirate our unpublished work to publish it in countries where a US copyright doesn’t hold any power. I get their emails, too. So we have to be very, very careful who we allow to beta read for us. And I would advise writers never to do business with somebody who cold-calls or sends unsolicited email.
I think I’ve been sent most, if not all, of these scams over the years. A couple years ago, I had to break it to a children’s author that traditional publishers pay us, we don’t pay them. She didn’t take it well. In fact, I bumped into her months later and she was working on a sequel for the vanity press. Guess she didn’t believe me, or didn’t care. Sad.
Hope you and Ruth are enjoying your weekend!
Sue–Children’s picture books are tough, because books with illustrations don’t sell well as ebooks (yet) so self-publishing can be expensive. But it’s going to be more expensive if you use a vanity press. I guess this woman you tried to warn believed that paying a company in order to see her work in print was worth it, even though she’d never make any money. Sigh.
The vanity press she used also forced her to buy business cards, banners, and book bling that they probably ordered from Vistaprint. Plus, she had to buy x-amount of books. She spent THOUSANDS and was complaining about getting another bill, which is the only reason why I opened my mouth in the first place. Crazy. It would’ve been cheaper to hire an illustrator.
Sue–Oh my. That’s not just a vanity press, but a junk marketing scam. Those people are the worst. I’ve heard they’ve started requiring authors to buy a huge quantity of their own books, which is so slimy. You were right to speak up. She was being scammed, and I’m sure she’s still being scammed if she didn’t listen to you. I know that the people at iUniverse harassed a writer night and day trying to bully her into junk marketing schemes that cost 1000s and sell no books. That’s one time when you need to rain on a writer’s parade.
GB–Thanks for the heads-up about Rose Ankh Publishing. You make an important point about Facebook groups. That’s where a lot of scamming goes on. I see ads for vanity presses in my feed all the time. And yes, those are the ridiculous prices they charge. Some try to make it seem like one big happy family where all their authors get positive messages and encouragement every day, so it’s like having a free book coach. Um, it’s not free, people. 🙁
Such valuable warnings, Anne. I can’t count the newbie writers I know who fell for such scams. Unfortunately, I usually didn’t learn about it until AFTER they’d already invested thousands. Makes me sick. I always recommend they check Writer Beware. 99 times out of 100, the too-good-to-be-true publisher is on Victoria’s sh*t list.
Debbie==Victoria Strauss at Writer Beware is THE person to listen to when it comes to scams. But you’re right. Most people don’t hear about Writer Beware until AFTER they’ve been scammed. It’s heartbreaking.
Hi Anne,
At times it’s a gift to be “pre-published” — so glad to be not dealing with all this.
Thanks for another fine post.
CS–Actually, taking some time to be “pre-published” is an excellent career move. You’ll know too much for the scammers to con you.
Haven’t begun querying yet partly because of this, but I will. I think (hope) I know enough now to be careful.
Rich–Fear of scammers shouldn’t keep you from querying. Most of the scammers here “reach out” to writers. If you use QueryTracker, all the agents are vetted, so it’s unlikely you’ll be queyring any scammers.
That overpriced poetry anthology when you were 12? That still happens – and they hit up the parents for money of course. They accepted one of my daughter’s poems last year when she was 11. I went ahead and ordered a copy, and, well, it was about what you’d expect from poems written by kids aged 6-12. Oh well. It’s kind of like a yearbook I guess, you buy it for sentimental reasons, not because it’s gonna change your life, lol.
Jen–I’m so sorry to hear that scamming kids that way is still going on. I tried to remember where I first saw the ad when I was 12, and I’m pretty sure it was in American Girl magazine, which was aimed at tweens. So of course it was targeting the parents. But you’re right that it’s like a yearbook. Stupidly expensive, but everybody buys one as a keepsake. And I guess that’s why this scam isn’t illegal.
Anne, what an absolute gem of a post. I’m sharing this with some writers who I was on a Zoom call with over the weekend. Two of them told us they had been offered contracts for their books. One sounded good, but the other sounded a scam.
Can I also add that bloggers also get these types of scams usually from companies and individuals who promise to get you and your blog thousands of new readers and visitors. I get contacted weekly by these companies with promises if I give them some money, they will make my posts go viral. Some also manage to get themselves (with links to their dodgy sites) in the comments section of some blog posts so that readers of those blogs can see them and click on those dodgy links So, bloggers beware too, because these companies are also out there to get your and your readers’ money.
I was surprised by what you said about Goodreads. Maybe I should think about deleting them from my list of social media accounts? I take it you’re not a fan of Goodreads?
Hugh–Thanks for the heads-up! I knew bloggers were being targeted, but not to that extent. I’ve had people offer to sell me followers, but the whole idea is so ludicrous I just sent them to spam. But this blog isn’t monetized. I guess you can get more advertising revenue if you have more followers, so fake followers might be of some value. It’s probably monetized blogs that are targeted.
Dodgy links on old posts are as old as blogging. I used to have to scroll through looking for them. But these days the WordPress spam elves seem to catch them all. But I guess some can sneak through the most vigilant spam filters.
As far as Goodreads go, I dislike the cruelty and bullying. I call it “Lord of the Flies meets Mean Girls.” I had an agent who told me the only way to deal with Goodreads is “Go there. Put up a profile. Link to your blog, and never, ever go back.” After some horrific experiences, including death and rape threats and swarms of one-star reviews, I took her advice. Recently I heard from an author who had been getting one stars and death threats on his phone as well as social media from a “rival” thriller writer he met on Goodreads. My advice is stay away.
Thanks, Anne. I don’t tend to use Goodreads much, but I’m taking your advice and staying away from it. I’ll also remove links to it from my future blog posts. It’s horrendous to think that other authors would step so low in threatening other writers with death, rape and one-star reviews. Fortunately, most of the people I come across in the world of blogging are genuine, friendly and supportive. But the spammers and scammers are a problem. Posts like this one will go a long way in helping all of us.
Once again, thank you.
I agree that bloggers are some of the most friendly and supportive people on the Web. That’s why I’m a big fan of the author blog. As far as Goodreads, your mileage may vary. Some people love it and manage to find groups that are well-moderated, helpful, and troll-free. That has not been my experience.
I would most definitely tell a friend. People need to get over the fear of admitting they got scammed. Some of these scammers are good at what they do. I’ve received a few of these phone calls. Each time I asked them to repeat who they were with and Googled them immediately afterward to find many complaints against them. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
A plethora of information. Thanks.
The other scam, is all the emails I get from the same person (with different email addresses) claiming to be a reviewer.:
“I hope you are well. I am a 23 year old student of English literature. I love reading new and exciting books. Right now I am on a break from college so I am accepting book review requests. I read all genres. If you want to get your book reviews please contact me.”
“I love reading new and exciting books. Right now I am on a break from college so I am accepting book review requests. I read all genres. If you want to get your book reviews please contact me.”
“I have been in love with books since I was a kid. I read books of all genres. If you are looking for a review on Amazon or Goodreads, please contact me. ”
I found a group on Goodreads that has a section “Book marketing sites that actually work” where authors share their results of different promotions they have done.
Leon–There’s a whole industry focused on scamming established authors, especially indies. I didn’t have room to go into them here. I get these same emails. Amazon punishes paid reviews, but Goodreads doesn’t. In fact, nobody is in charge at Goodreads, which is why I avoid it. But yeah, this “guy” who is certainly some boiler room in a third world country, seems to be everywhere.
I’m sure there are stats somewhere, but who makes more money, the indie writers or the services (and scams) that are out there? I suspect, like in the gold rush days, the people who supplied the miners made more money than 90% of the miners.
Leon–I’m sure the scammers make more. You’re right that it’s like the gold rush suppliers, who made way more money than the miners.
Great article Anne and so very helpful. I’d heard of most of these scams but not all. As a trad and self published author I have ‘fallen’ for a couple of these over the years, one very recently. It’s my own fault, I assumed it was for charity, but when I questioned this, sure enough on one of the attachments it stated all royalties would go to ‘finance’ the next book. This author has collected first time self pubbed authors and apparently we will be able to buy a copy for ourselves when it’s out. and we would be expected to spread the word too. It’s the last time I’ll ever, ever contribute to a compendium.
Lucinda–So sorry you got scammed by the oldest publishing scam around. Anthologies can be great if they’re run in an ethical way. Charity anthologies are win-win for everybody. But if the proceeds aren’t donated, the authors are just giving away money to the anthology editor.
I’ve seen many of those, Anne, and read of other people who’ve fallen victims to one or another. Thanks for the warning and for spreading the word.
What are your feelings on a Kirkus review?
Daniel–This gets debated ad infinitum in writing forums. Are paid reviews unethical? Only if they’re dishonest and mass-produced, IMO. (And of course if they’re posted on Amazon as “customer reviews”–a major no-no.) But reviewers have been paid for centuries. Personally, I wouldn’t pay for a Kirkus review, but I don’t think they’re a scam. Kirkus has prestige and long-established cred. Paying for a review from them is like paying for an ad in an expensive magazine–it will probably increase your sales. But I’d rather pay for a BookBub ad–more bang for your buck.
Thank you! I, too, see Kirk’s more as an ad and it can act as a bit of a tie-breaker. But I hadn’t thought about Book-Bud like that. Thanks!