It has been a long time since I’ve written about author scams and so here I am with a recent experience that left me compelled to put a new post together. I’m proud to say I’ve never been fully scammed in the near decade I’ve been published. But there does appear to be an epidemic of potential scams out there right now. From the promise of TikTok fame to having your work exposed to big-time book clubs all the way to the coveted movie option – I’ve had many an offer like this hit my inbox in recent times. This post will hopefully serve as a kind of guide to avoiding the deluge of potential scams and what I have learned in the very few potential scam encounters I’ve experienced.

This post first premiered via my Patreon which is packed with resources for fellow writers. More information about it can be found here.

Exploitation of Dreams

Many of us who are in the indie author realm would be prepared to go to quite some lengths in order to get our work out there in front of readers. Our collective dream is to be read and see our work purchased, enjoyed and even reviewed. With the rise in popularity of self publishing, this has dragged out some rather unscrupulous folk who are more than prepared to try and exploit that. Ambitious author seeks lots of sales, recognition and more – without sounding crude, there is a market for that and every day I see it being exploited. From rather random social media accounts claiming to be ‘marketing experts’ to those who take more effort in saying so by directly messaging you or filling your junk inbox with their correspondences.

My very first tip and my approach to identifying and then avoiding author scams on a basic level is to be hyper aware that your dream can be exploited. A simple unsolicited direct message or email with some blanket complimentary terminology about you or your work can be an immediate red flag. This isn’t always the case and I have had plenty of readers simply telling me they enjoyed my work but the common thing with all these messages is the concept of a compliment and then an offer.

The Compliment Offer Sandwich That Has No Real Specifics

This leads us into the next red flag. As a rather unknown indie author, my eyes used to light up when an unsolicited message or email would come through from someone complimenting ‘my book’. Now I simply frown at the concept of trying to decipher where they got my email address from… Most of these messages seem low effort and are never specific about a certain title which would lead me to pretty much nail the fact that they had no real care for my work and that they were just trying to sell me something. Then comes the offer which is normally to ‘help’ get my book noticed in some way without any real detail.

If I were to approach a fellow author with a view to promote their work or help them with marketing, I would at least do some level of research to suggest I had some kind of interest while also being rather upfront about what I can do. Afterall, marketing someone’s book or offering that service is pretty much like applying for a job. If I really wanted to get through to an author I would also take the effort to come across as genuine. If I really was Steven Spielberg looking to option an awesome indie book, I’d take great care in proving that I wasn’t just some scammer with a rather empty attempt at getting an author’s attention.

They Approach You

This is linked to the red flag above but many of the reputable service providers out there are always busy. From marketing agencies to even influencers, most work on a basis where you are supposed to approach them and use reputable channels to apply for their services. It can sometimes be difficult to wade through the compliment offer sandwich because lets face it, most of us are starved for any positive attention for our work, but most reputable service providers in this world are busy providing a service.

As for me, it can be quite difficult to attract Patrons for my Patreon because of the current state of things out there but my process is quite simple and that is to simply try my best to get noticed across socials and hope that others share my content.

Too Good To Be True

In theory, let us say we have had our interest piqued via an unsolicited email offering to promote our book with an incredible sounding deal and if we are feeling really ambitious, we have replied asking for more information. What will generally follow is something along the lines of promising results that are pretty much too good to be true. They are too good to be true for a reason and this because they won’t happen. Now I am being rather cynical in my approach here, but ten plus years of these ‘offers’ will do that to an author.

Research is Key

Usually I would skip the idea of replying to any correspondence because this part really is the most important but if you do. Like any product or service out there that promises to deliver, there will be some level of paper trail about it. Google is your friend here and it really does help. But, sometimes there are some services who may be less known meaning there isn’t a huge paper trail. My advice would be to follow the research until it leads you somewhere that can verify if the service provider is genuine. If this cannot be achieved then unfortunately I would simply avoid the situation. This is the main reason why my book promotion efforts have landed on Book Promotion sites habitually because many of them like BookBub are genuine.

Don’t Be Afraid to Ask for Verification – Recent Experience

On a simple level, if you have doubts about someone approaching you with a good looking service or deal, it is more than reasonable to ask them to prove their identity. Any Gmail account can say they are someone prominent (no offence if you have Gmail) but going a step further to actually verify that is a sure fire way of identifying a reputable person, but how?

Very recently I was approached by a book influencer with an offer to promote one of my works. This person approached me and their initial correspondence didn’t feel like a scam. And with my desire to pursue newer book promotional channels, I really considered using their services which involved a hefty cost. Before I proceeded any further with any correspondence, I simply asked them to prove it really was them. Their various social media profiles had a high following and I simply asked them to like one of my posts to prove it was them. They were unable to and gave some convoluted excuse, so eventually and unfortunately I left it.

I did a lot of research on this influencer who had several different social accounts and multiple email addresses which didn’t seem right to me. It might not have even been the person they were posing as.

If it doesn’t feel right, then don’t pursue it.

This apparent influencer if they are legit should really consider how they approach authors in the future without appearing as a scam. I won’t name this person but they did mention some key words that felt very much like it had a potential to be a scam.

An Unfortunate Outlook

Because of the sheer volume of potential scams out there, it can be incredibly difficult to decipher a genuine one. My Patreon is incredibly hard to market because of that and there are so many others out there who really don’t want to be tarnished with the scammer tittle. But it is also up to us to break the mould and help those who do help others in marketing a better name. A lot of this stuff can be fairly obvious but reputable people can be found in reputable places.

Writer Beware is a popular site that reports scams at all levels and is always worth a look when conducting research.

Below is a quick fire check list with a hope it helps with identifying potential scams. Thanks for reading and be careful out there.

Quick Fire Scam Identifying Check List

Does the account or email address reaching out to you appear legit? (lots of scammers use Gmail unfortunately, social accounts with a few followers is a red flag)

Does the message you receive read like a generic form with no specifics?

Does the message sign off with a clear indication of who the person is?

Can you find this person through research online?

Do they have any socials that appear legit?

Can the service they are providing be paid for using a traceable payment platform like PayPal? (these can be great for pursuing refunds if you are scammed)

This post first premiered via my Patreon which is packed with resources for fellow writers. More information about it can be found here.