Anne R. Allen's Blog... with Ruth Harris
Writing about writing. Mostly.
by Anne R. Allen If you’re like a lot of authors, you’re starting to feel annoyed at the number of “publicists” filling your email inbox with sugary messages about your brilliant talent. The headers are usually quotes from your Amazon reviews, something like: Fast, Funny, and Fair, Delivering a Twist-filled Mystery…that’s Ignored […]
by Anne R. Allen I wrote a post three weeks ago about the barrage of spam emails I’ve been getting from scammy publicists, bogus book marketers, and various other con-persons — sometimes 100 a day. I’m still getting them, but luckily a good chunk are captured by my anti-spam elves, now they know what […]
by Anne R. Allen This week I’ve been hit hard by signs that publishing industry bloggers are disappearing into the Substack world of “become a paid subscriber to continue reading this article.” But it’s also obvious the publishing world still needs us! How do I know? This week, I’ve been buried in emails from book […]
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 […]
by Rachel Thompson BadRedhead Media, LLC. I have written many posts about the various scams targeting authors. Here are snippets from each one, specifics to look out for, and examples of these scams. My Substack is free, so you can click on each link to read more if you’d like. PR Scams Marketing and […]
By Anne R. Allen Recently an article in The Cut by finance writer Charlotte Cowles shocked her readers with the story of how she was robbed by a gang of con artists. She admitted she ended up giving these crooks $50,000 in cash in a shoe box. Like many other readers, I wondered how […]
by Anne R. Allen A lot of people hope to write a book when they retire. And that’s a great plan. Late blooming writers can do very well for themselves if they learn to write well and have something unique to say. Some writers who became successful authors in their later years were Laura Ingalls […]
by Anne R. Allen Writing scams aren’t just for newbies anymore. A few weeks ago, publishing guru Jane Friedman discovered unfamiliar books on her Goodreads author page. She also found them on Amazon — published in her name. She realized they were probably AI written and very low quality. At first Amazon refused to […]
by Anne R. Allen With the self-publishing revolution, we were warned of a “tsunami of crap,” but the real problem is the tsunami of scammers. They seem to invent a new way to scam writers every day. Not just indies, but the traditionally published as well. Unfortunately, there are plenty of uninformed wannabe writers […]
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 […]
by Anne R. Allen Internet trolls and other masters of malice we meet on the Web can ruin a writing day — and even a career. We all know we shouldn’t “feed” the trolls, but that’s easier said than done. Especially if the trolls are telling lies about you or attacking your readers and […]
by Anne R. Allen For the past couple of years, streaming services like Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, etc. have been gobbling up literary properties to make into films and TV series. So I guess it was inevitable that scammers would find a way to exploit the phenomenon. Here’s a 2019 article from Publishers Weekly about […]
by Anne R. Allen Bad marketing is worse than none. And I’ve seen some breathtakingly bad marketing strategies recently. I assume authors are hiring cut-rate online marketers who have more experience selling real estate in Mumbai and knock-off designer sunglasses than books. Do I need to say this is a bad idea? Being annoying may […]
