Bogus agents are impersonating real agents
by Anne R. Allen
Bogus agents are ba-a-ack. Once upon a time, in the long-ago era when I was querying, fee-charging agencies and in-house editorial services were the problem. Their scams usually involved charging a “reading fee” (a no-no for legit agents) or referring writers to editorial services and vanity presses they themselves owned.
They also added to their coffers by charging “mailing and copying” fees. This was the pre-Internet age when we had to send manuscripts in hard copy. Those manuscripts needed Xeroxing and postage for expensive snails. Bogus agents overcharged writers for those fees.
These old-school bogus agents targeted unpublished authors who didn’t know how the process worked. In one of my very first blogposts, 13 years ago, I warned writers about these bogus agents., who had scammed a number of my friends. Much of the advice is still true.
But the new bogus agents are more brazen. And they mostly target published authors who have self-published or published with small presses without much financial success.
The New Bogus Agents Impersonate Real, Well-Known Agents
Victoria Strauss at Writer Beware reports that phony agents are cold-calling or emailing self-published authors and offering a range of scammy services, all of which are pricey, although they claim to work only on commission like real literary agents. But in the next sentence they will ask big bux for their other “services,” like:
- Republishing your book to send to “investors” or “get you a traditional publishing contract.”
- Filming a pricey book trailer
- Book-to-Film “licensing” (See my post on this heartbreaking scam And here’s Alli’s warning, including business names the book-to-film scammers use.) I hear from people every day who have been snagged by this scam.
- High-ticket, useless marketing services.
- Buying you an interview on a podcast or radio show nobody listens to.
The new wrinkle is the bogus agents pose as real, well-known literary agents. Essentially, they’re catfishing. They put out a mass-mailing to all the writers they can find, and paste in the bio and history of the real agent. They may even link to the real agency’s website. The phone number and email belong to the scammer, but the fact the agent is real can bamboozle a lot of writers.
However, if you pay attention, you’ll see some obvious red flags:
- Bogus agents don’t understand what real agents do — represent unpublished books to editors at big publishing houses.
- They don’t know the difference between a royalty and an advance.
- And assume a literary agent is a book marketer.
- Plus they make lots of grammatical oopsies.
A simple rule is: even if you’ve heard of the agency, and there’s a link to a real website, if an “agent” contacts you out of the blue, it’s a scam. Real agents have plenty of work plowing through the slush piles they already have.
Don’t Pay to Join Phony Communities
Recently, I’ve seen random ads for newly-formed “writing communities.” And I’ve had a whole bunch of questions from readers who’ve had invitations to join them. The companies behind some of these “communities” are vanity publishers who snag new writers with promises of mutual “support” and later sell them hugely expensive self-publishing packages. Others provide ghostwriting, editing, or other writing services. Some are bogus agents. They all say they provide a “community” where writers can help each other reach their goals — for a fee.
One Facebook page promised a “seven figure income” if a writer paid the monthly fee and learned their secret “tips” for becoming a successful author.
So if this no-name Facebook advertiser knows how to make a seven figure income writing books, why isn’t she writing them?
Maybe she’s making more scamming writers?
Some of these communities charge more than $100 a month to join. They promise “support” and “encouragement” in unspecific ways. Are you willing to pay that much to have other newbies critique your work?
And good luck trying to get your money back. Reports are that phone numbers will suddenly be out of service and emails will go unanswered.
Here’s the thing: if you want to join a community that will encourage you to achieve your writing goals, there are some wonderful FREE ones full of helpful people who are actually getting published.
A sampling of some great FREE communities:
- Kristen Lamb’s enthusiastic WANA (We Are Not Alone) Tribe has been going strong for years.
- Nathan Bransford’s forums provide communication and feedback from fellow writers, as well as Nathan’s excellent advice.
- The Gutsy Great Novelist Studio is new to me, but it looks like a fun, active group that will push you to finish that novel, and comes with C. Hope Clark’s approval.
- The Insecure Writers Support Group is a loosely knit, truly supportive community that has had the blessings of Writer’s Digest for years.
- NaNoWriMo — it’s not just for November anymore. Camp NaNoWriMo runs in April and July. And the Young Writers program works all year.
- CritiqueCircle.com — it’s one of the largest and longest-running writing support groups on the Web.
You can get all the benefits of advice from seasoned authors as well as your peers for no money whatsoever, why pay $1200 a year to an unknown, self-styled “guru” to encourage you to write?
Pay-to-Play Anthologies: New Variations on an Old Scam
I have written that getting into anthologies can be good for a writer’s career. But not if you have to pay to be in them!
I’ve now heard from several unpublished writers who have had offers to publish their work in pay-to-play anthologies and wanted to know if I advised them to take the offer.
Short answer for unpublished writers: NO!
Writers should get paid for their work, not the other way around. There’s no way these writers will ever get their money back. Two different writers I know were asked to pay over $1000 to publish a 2000-word short story. Outrageous.
Here’s the thing: if a bunch of authors who are not ready for prime time are published in this book, who’s going to read it? Do you personally want to read a bunch of beginning writers’ stories? Ask a writing teacher how much fun that is.
This is a variation on the venerable poetry anthology scam, which is over 100 years old. These used to be promoted by tiny ads in the backs of magazines. Everybody was invited to submit a poem, and everybody’s poem was accepted. The publisher crammed the unvetted verses into a big, fat book that contributors could buy for an exorbitant fee. They spent big $$ for a book full of truly bad poetry “to gift to friends and family.”
Anthologies are mostly useful for marketing,
Anthologies don’t generate much direct revenue. But if you’re a newly published author and can get a piece in an anthology that includes some successful authors in your genre, you’re getting some fantastic advertising. In this case, paying for a share of printing and marketing costs is an excellent investment. Often these are charity projects where the proceeds go to a designated charity, which simplifies the bookkeeping. So no, you don’t get royalties, but you get some great targeted advertising for a relatively low price
Contest anthologies can be good too.
The Insecure Writers Support Group runs a highly recommended anthology contest. Each year it has a different theme and genre. Well known agents and publishers judge the contest, so you might snag a contract here as well as a get chance to be published alongside established authors. It’s traditionally published, so you’re not expected to pay for publishing or marketing costs.
Fake Conferences: A New Scam
I recently heard from one of these. You get invited to speak at a virtual conference for a big honorarium. Yay! But you have to pay a hefty fee upfront for “visual equipment.” You pay the “fee” and everything disappears. There’s no such conference and the person who contacted you never existed.
Bogus Agents and other Scammers Are Always Out There
I strongly recommend subscribing to the Writer Beware blog to keep up to date on the latest scams, including bad contracts, bad marketing schemes, and phony publishers. Also check Alli’s Watchdog Alerts from John Doppler.
When you see a newbie falling for this stuff, say something.
Do keep in mind that if any offer sounds too good to be true, it is. Run away fast. Even if they’re saying the flattering stuff about you and your book that you’ve been longing to hear.
Next week Ruth Harris will be writing about Imposter Syndrome, and how it can actually help a writer in some instances. But one way it doesn’t help is that it leaves a writer open to scammers like these. If you think you’re a fraud, these liars will make you feel you can become truly “legit” if you join in their scam. Don’t fall for it.
by Anne R. Allen (@annerallen) August 21, 2022.
What about you, scriveners? Have you run into any bogus agents recently? How about offers for pay-to-play anthologies and phony groups? Any invitations to speak at non-existent conferences? Do you have friends who have been scammed by these people? Have you run into any new scams recently? Do you have suggestions for other free online support groups for writers?
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Anne, Many, many thanks for another crucially important post. IME the bottom line is:
“The writer GETS paid. The writer DOES NOT pay.” Keep that scam proofing rule in mind to help ensure Writer Safety And Security. Simple to remember, but it works.
Ruth–That rule seems simple enough. But I think the rise of “hybrid” publishing has writers confused. My advice to newbies is to avoid hybrid publishers. They may be legit, but you need to be savvy to negotiate with them. So follow Ruth’s rule here: Get paid, or get out. 🙂
ALWAYS such great advice. And it’s so sad that there are so many people out there trying to make a buck by lying to authors. It really hurts my heart to know authors are being taken advantage of when it’s difficult enough to “put yourself out there” in the first place. Thank you for this post and thank you for the advice on which writing groups are valid and worthy to join.
Patricia–Scamming writers has been big business for at least a century. We make easy targets because, exactly as you say, we’re putting ourselves out there. We’ve got our “armor” off. That’s why I keep reporting this stuff, hoping I’ll reach some potential victims. And yes, I heartily recommend those groups. Being a member of a group can protect you. If you’re being scammed, somebody in the group will let you know.
I like those movies where the clever, slightly-immoral but amusing guy scams the rich established dopes. THAT would be fine. But scammers here, as usual, are coming after the weak and uncertain folks. It’s as wretched as littering. Stay safe out there folks!
Will–I do too. In fact, when I was about 10 I had a fantasy about growing up to be a cat burglar–only stealing jewels from the rich and snotty, of course. 🙂 But these criminals target the innocent, poor, and vulnerable. It’s heartbreaking.
Thanks for mention the IWSG!
You’re right – if the writer know how to make millions writing books, wouldn’t that make more money than charging people for the secret?
I’ve gotten one request to pay to be in an anthology, long time ago. Fortunately, that was the only one.
Alex–Thanks again for running the IWSG. It’s an easy, supportive community that can benefit authors at all stages of their careers. People can warn each other of scams and other dangers.
Yeah, bogus anthologies have been around for a while. I had a few offers back in the day. Now these people have Facebook pages. 🙁
Great post! We all have to stay vigilant. Thank you for the reminder.
Brad–These people are very sophisticated these days. They are tech-savvy and know how to do all the things that make them look legit. So we have to look very carefully for those red flags.
Thank goodness I haven’t run into any scammers, lately, Anne. And thank you for helping to keep my writing safe.
I must add that I appreciate authors who mention their literary agents in the acknowledgement section of their books.
Leanne–Congrats on staying scammer-free. 🙂
Authors who mention their agents do help other authors to know the names of agents in their genres. But these scammers pretend to be these very agents and just hijack their names and identity. Really nasty.
Hi Anne!
Thanks for the heads up on all these new/old reinvented scams. Thankfully, I am aware of many of them and stayed CLEAR AWAY from these “too good to be true” scams.
Newbie writers definitely need to be aware… Luckily, when I started writing and then blogging back in 2009 there were so many GREAT and WONDERFUL blogger who helped me through so much. I miss those days, but I am still friendly with many of them. Sadly, blogging is not what it used to be, so I am VERY GRATEFUL that you still blog and inform writers in all walks of life…
I am new to your series, and I will definitely be picking up a copy of your prequel. That time period is THE BEST…it will be like going home for me. LOL
Michael–Thanks for picking up a copy of The Best Revenge. It was my second novel, and not intended as part of a series. It was written as more of a comedy and less of a mystery, which some mystery fans object to. I do understand. Once my publishers decided they wanted a mystery series to come out of it, I got much better at keeping the mystery center stage.
I miss that big dynamic blogging community too. So many of the great bloggers just disappeared. A lot of them stopped writing altogether. I’m not sure why. But blogging does take a lot of time without much immediate remuneration, and after the initial “Kindle revolution” a lot of writers weren’t making enough money to keep going.
But keep blogging! It’s still a great way to get Google to remember who you are.
Thank you, Anne, for this post. It’s difficult enough to write those books, get the agent, find a publisher etc without having to be hyper vigilant about all those tempting emails. These scammers are like the wolf in little red riding hood. Beware of the wolf!
Tanya–They are wolves indeed. In fact I think I used an illustration from Little Red Riding Hood in my first post about publishing scams. These people are predators with no empathy and no remorse.
Anne, you and Victoria Strauss are the patron saints who watch over writers. I hope there’s a special place in hell for scammers who prey on trusting souls and a special place in heaven for guardian angels like you two.
Debbie–Every time a scammer goes to jail, an angel gets its wings. 🙂
Now here’s a comment from Debby Gies, who has been shut out by the rude elves who also don’t let me leave a new comment on my own blog. “”Thanks for always keeping us abreast of the latest scams Anne. I will add something I’ve been noticing a lot lately – tons of emails offering to review my books. Is this new? Of course there’s always a catch. And as most of us diligent writers know, if the Zon finds out reviews were bought, it only means trouble. I’ll share this article in my September blog round-up.
Replying to Debby Gies: Yes, I’ve talked about these paid review scammers in my last few scam posts, but they’re getting worse. NEVER pay for an Amazon review. It’s 100% verboten! You will be caught, and you’ll be kicked off Amazon FOR LIFE!! No matter how many “reviewers” fill your inbox, they can’t change the rules of the Mighty Zon.
Oy gevalt! It’s a brave new world.
CS–And a %&*! scary one. Predators abound.
Thanks for this update, Anne – Again (and how many times have you and I written about this) I am blown away by the creativity shown by scammers. Will be sharing this link to my writer friends and students.
Melodie–That’s so true! So much energy and creativity goes into these scams. Think how much good these people could do if they did art instead of crimes
Anne hi there – *such* a timely post. This just happened to us – a firm (Pearson Media Group) was pretending to be Author Marketing Experts – some guy sent them $7000 and didn’t realize he’d been scammed till he saw the name on his credit card statement. I just dedicated one of my podcast episodes to this, if it’s ok to share it in the comments let me know. But we’re sharing this post because WOW – the threat is so real. There needs to be a panel at a writer’s conference discussing this, what to look for, etc.
Penny–Wow! This explains so much. I’ve had several complaints from a reader who said AME is a scam outfit. He was out several thousand dollars and not one of his books ever sold. I said there had to be a miscommunication because you are a reputable, well-respected marketer. Now I know–it wasn’t you!! I’d heard of these people impersonating agents and Netflix employees, but this is the first I’ve heard of them impersonating a marketer. But it makes sense. If you want to sell junk marketing packages, how better than to hijack the reputation of a real marketer. Please do let us have that link to your podcast. And what a good idea to have a “scam protection” panel at Writers’ Conferences!
Great post, Anne! Pretty scary to learn about the bogus agents impersonating the real ones. Another great free writing group to join is The Creative Academy for Writers (https://creativeacademyforwriters.com). I’ve used their Resources section, their Writing Room and have been checking out their critique group. So far, so good.
Linda–Many thanks for the tip. There are some great writers communities out there. It’s good to hear about another one.