by Anne R. Allen
This week I’ve had a record number of blog comments and emails from authors who have been victims or near-victims of publishing scammers. So I thought I should update my scam warnings.
The Times Square Billboard Scam
The most popular new con seems to be the Times Square Billboard scam. Rachel Thompson warned us about it in her post from May 3rd
Here’s what Rachel said:
“A “PR firm” recently contacted me offering Times Square billboard ads, a NY Times book review, and other costly options for the low, low price of only $500.
Sounds like a great deal, right? Nope. No website, no discernible online presence, and an invoice I didn’t pay to a company based in India (no offense to India). Plus, logic would dictate that a NY Times billboard ad would cost far more than the price they quoted.”
Note: The $500 would buy 15 seconds on a Times Square billboard. One day would run more like $5000.
Yes, Times Square’s electronic billboards do sometimes promote books, but they are books published by the big houses, not indies. My friend Catherine Ryan Hyde’s latest was on a billboard in Times Square this week, but it shared the space with all of her publishers’ new releases.
Marketing scams seem to be very lucrative for the publishing scammers these days. Assume any marketer who cold-calls or sends an unsolicited email is a scammer. Follow Rachel’s Substack for the latest news from the phony marketing world.
And always check Writer Beware for the latest news about publishing scammers.
That Pricey L**** C******* Interview
EDIT: I have heard from Deborah Jay and these crooks haven’t hacked her blog, but threatened her with a lawsuit, which is why she had to take her page down. They don’t have a chance of winning the suit, but they can make a writer’s life hell, so I’ve eliminated the name of the actor involved.
I warned writers about the L**** C******* interview people back in 2023, and they’re still going strong. It seems to be a big money-maker.
Here’s what I said back then:
“Authors are getting phone calls from charming people with Filipino accents who tell them an Emmy-award winning actor loves their book and wants to interview them — for the small fee of $1000+.
L**** C******* is a real American actor. But even when on strike, I doubt anybody could read as many books as this man has supposedly read.
He apparently does interview authors, and his interviews appear on some free streaming services like Roku TV. But this is not like being on NPR, network TV or the big streamers. The interview isn’t likely to be seen by 1000 people who read books, much less generate the money to cover the cost of the interview.
You can read all the details from people who have been approached by the interview sellers on author Deborah Jay’s blog and in the comment thread. It makes fascinating reading.”
You can read the whole thing at my 2023 blogpost, The Latest Writing Scams. But back then, I thought this thing was overpriced but probably legit.
This week, I changed my mind. If you click on the link above, you may see why. Google has labeled my post “suspicious.”
If They Need to Sabotage a Friendly Warning—They’re Scammers
A potential victim contacted me this week about the interview scam through that 2023 blogpost. I told him to click on the link above to Deborah Jay’s blog.
But her blogpost was gone. The link goes to “Page Not Found.”
When I searched her blog, I couldn’t find the page at all. So I went back to the email notices of comments I’ve saved from Deborah Jay’s blogpost (where new victims and potential victims post nearly every week.)
Yup. Page Not Found.
So I decided to return to my own blogpost, and that’s when Chrome told me that my own blogpost “looked suspicious” and advised me not to go there. I checked other links to my blog. They were fine. But some creepy scammer had obviously been doing a search for people mentioning L**** C******* and eliminating or downgrading the posts.
That kind of cyber-manipulation is way above my pay grade, so don’t ask me how they did it. But anybody who would go to that kind of trouble is obviously running a scam. So these interviews aren’t only overpriced. They’re also bogus.
Unless the actor is Oprah or Reese Witherspoon, don’t go there! You shouldn’t have to pay for an interview.
Predatory Vanity Presses are Still the Major Publishing Scammers.
I need to warn new writers again about the danger of vanity presses. They may seem like a pricey, but easy path to publication. But forget about the “easy” part. They may give you a nice book, with a pretty cover and good interior design. But it will come at a price that’s higher than the $5000+ they charge for printing your book and maybe distributing it to a few retailers.
That price is your sanity. I have a writer friend who was lured into working with a vanity press because they were associated with a well-known traditional publishing house. They bullied her into doing dozens of podcasts and radio interviews that no one will ever hear. Then they insisted she put on a lavish launch, giving away pricey merch including tee-shirts, pens, bookmarks, and hats. The day of the launch, her eyes were hollow and dead-looking and she kept shaking. Her friends wondered if we should take her to the hospital.
She disappeared after that and told us three months later that she didn’t remember a thing about the launch, and she’d been bullied into a complete breakdown.
And the publishing scammers were not done with her. Not by a long shot. They still phone her, day and night, trying to con her into buying junk marketing packages at hugely inflated prices. When she blocks one phone number, they use another.
Publishing scammers are cruel as well as crooked. If you’re paying for publication, do your homework. Any company that promises the world and piles on lavish praise is scamming you.
How to Avoid Publishing Scammers
If you’re not techy and want to pay for an easier path to self-publishing, there are self-publishing assistants, like Book Baby, Draft2Digital, Lulu, and Street Lib, who will produce a lovely book—and distribute it—for a reasonable price.
Check with the Alliance of Independent Authors (Alli) for other vetted companies, and always check Writer Beware to make sure there’s no hidden scamming going on with nasty contracts.
More Info on Publishing Scammers
I have written dozens of posts about Publishing Scammers over the years. Here are some of the most popular.
They’re (NOT) Going to Put You in the Movies. https://annerallen.com/2022/06/book-to-film-scams/
How to Tell Legit Publishers from the Bad Guys https://annerallen.com/2018/10/legitimate-publishers-or-bad-guys/
Friends don’t let Friends Fall For Publishing Scams https://annerallen.com/2021/05/publishing-scams-look-for-these-signs/
6 New Writing Scams to Look Out for in 2018 https://annerallen.com/2018/06/new-writing-scams/
Writing Scams to Look Out for in 2019 https://annerallen.com/2019/01/new-writing-scams-2019/’
10 New Publishing Scams to Watch Out for in 2020 https://annerallen.com/2020/02/new-publishing-scams-2020/
Publishing Scammers to Watch Out for in 2021 https://annerallen.com/2021/01/publishing-scammers-2021/
The #1 Mistake New Writers Make that Leaves them Vulnerable to Scammers https://annerallen.com/2019/06/1-mistake-vulnerable-publishing-scams/
Don’t Fall Prey to Publishing Scams https://annerallen.com/2017/09/publishing-scams-7-new-writer-mistakes/
You Won’t See This New Publishing Scam Coming https://annerallen.com/2021/09/warning-to-writers-new-publishing-scam/
Publishing Scammers are Proliferating like Tribbles. https://annerallen.com/2021/09/publishing-scammers-how-to-stay-safe/
5 Scams that Target New Writers https://annerallen.com/2015/12/5-scams-target-new-writers-spot/
6 More Scams that Target New Writers https://annerallen.com/2015/12/6-more-scams-that-target-new-writers/
***
What about you, scriveners? Have you been approached by any of these publishing scammers? Have you been victimized by them? Were you able to get any of your money back?
by Anne R. Allen (@annerallen, @annerallen.bsky.social) June 1, 2025
Book of the Week
Romance scams are even more plentiful than writing scams. In this Camilla Randall mystery, a romance scam leads to murder, and it’s up to Camilla, her cat Buckingham, and two ‘tween Nancy Drew wannabes to find the killer.
Book available in ebook and paperback at Amazon and Barnes and Noble
and your local bookstore can order it through Ingram
***
Featured image: Patricia Hansen for Unsplash
Posts like this are not only helpful, but essential. There is so much scamming going on.
It’s easy to see how people fall for them, though. There’s always the hope you’ll get a lucrative deal and make it big.
I would give two simple rules: If you are cold-called it’s probably a scam.
And, If they are asking for money, it’s probably a scam.
Vivienne–Exactly. Those are the two biggest red flags. But it’s amazing how people forget this when they’re overwhelmed with flattery and cheerful lies.
Wow, they took down one of your own pages? Creepy.
Alex–Not my page–Deborah Jay’s. What they did with mine was report it as “suspicious” to Google, so now people get a warning that page might not be safe. It will be interesting to see if this one gets reported, too.
I remember that Debrah Jay post. A lot of what she writes is helpful. Thanks for this summary.
Jacqui–Deborah’s post is very helpful, and reading the comments is enlightening. I hope it reappears at some point.
Thanks for always keeping us updated, Anne.
Kathy–I hope I can keep a few writers from being victimized by these creeps.
I feel fortunate to be such small potatoes that I’m not worth scamming. Don’t you wonder how these people live with themselves?
CS–I read a book by a Nigerian who had been part of a “Nigerian Prince” scam in the early days of the Internet. She said that these people were told that the US government reimbursed crime victims, so this was a “victimless” crime and the money was there for the taking. Also the scammers were the richest people in the village, so they got a lot of prestige by joining in.
Wow! That is the first I’ve heard of that, Anne – and isn’t it evil. Conning the people doing the crime… thanks for this insight. And for this column! Again, right on the mark.
Melodie–Yes, in a way the scammers are being scammed too. Well, at least some of them. The book is called “We Do Not Come to You By Chance” and it’s a fascinating read.
Hey Anne,
the scammers are eveywhere. for some reason writers appear to be favored prey. many of them populate writer groups on facebook and other social media sites, where they pretend to be fellow authors, consultants, editors, etc. unfortunately, maybe writers fall for the act. now with the addition of ai as a tool, the scams have become ever more clever and enticing. being a natural cynic i rarely believe things that seem too good to be true but i’ve been fooled as well. i guess the lesson is to keep your guard up and ask lots of questions until you drive them away or they prove they are who they say they are? couldn’t hoit.
Anita–I think self-publishing and the Internet provide these people with uninformed writers who are ripe for the picking. And now AI is making it worse. You’re right that social media groups are hotbeds for scammers. I must get at least two “marketers” a week who use FB messaging to pretend to want interviews or just to ask about my books when what they want is to con me with bogus marketing schemes. The only way to fight them is to spread the word and try to inform new writers to be wary. Yes, ask lots of questions. If they refuse to answer–block them.
Unfortunately this week I have had to pull the scam posts on my blog due to aggressive legal threats from the company offering the interviews with Logan Crawford. I plan on looking further into this, but don’t have the time available just now or the inclination to risk being sued for libel.
They say they are also going after Victoria Strauss of Writer Beware, so that’s to be my first port of call when I have a moment, to find out if they are actually doing so, or just going after a one man band like me.
They even made me take down a 1* review on Trustpilot. tTey are pretty nasty and I don’t take kindly to bullies, so will be pursuing it later.
Deborah–Oh, my! So you weren’t hacked, but threatened. Well, damn. I guess now I’d better be prepared for that to happen to me, too. These people are good at intimidation tactics. I just heard on FB from a writer in Australia who has been approached, so they’re branching out all over the world. Crawford must be a hell of a frequent flier! I know Victoria has been threatened with lawsuits by various scammers, so she knows which ones have legit law firms behind the threats. I was approached by the lawyer from one unhinged micro-publisher who objected to a comment on one of my blogposts. Victoria told me the firm was legit, so I should do what they asked. But I have a lot of lawyers in my family who said they didn’t have a legal leg to stand on. However, libel laws are very different in the UK from ours in the US. I hope you’ve heard the last from them. It’s a shame you lost that post, because it was enlightening. Hang in there!
Good Lord. I’m so sorry that’s happening to you, Deborah.
Jenny–It’s so unfair that criminals can get away with this kind of behavior!
As always, so important to warn newer writers about! Thanks!
Traci–Spread the word. We can all help get this information to new writers!
I would like to offer my soon-to-be-discontinued two cents worth and state quite a few of them have Facebook pages that range from one month to several months old; have tens of thousands of followers (likely bought) and those page admins are mostly based in Pakistan and/or India. Heck, I’m pretty sure that 98% of the comments praising them are bogus. Very rarely are any of those legit. in fact the only legit thing about them is the mid-four digit cost of their “packages”.