If you’re a writer, especially an independent author, you’ve probably already dealt with at least some of the many writing scams today. From phone calls to emails, and even fake ‘author friends’ on social media, they’ll do everything except show up at your door and that’s probably only because they don’t have your address. Writing scams have taken off over the last few years and become more clever and insidious.
I started getting these calls a few years ago. They were always from the Philippines, with offers of marketing, republishing, and even creating a script for my books. They get writers desperate to get noticed in a very saturated publishing industry, which isn’t easy to do. Furthermore, they work on your ego; your book is the best they’ve ever read, they want so much to help you, they draw a picture of huge financial success, maybe even fame. They’re usually very excited to help you. And hey, the person on the other end of the phone may not know the difference. They might be merely doing a typical call center job and think they work for a legit company, or maybe they’re assholes too, I’m not sure. However, the calls always have a little ‘too good to be true’ vibe and that’s because they are a crock of shit. The company names change, the person calling you may have a different name, but they’re always scams. I tell authors or aspiring authors to check Writer Beware for information on all these scams, how they work, and a long list of fake companies.
With the calls, you’ll also get emails to correspond. My spam box is full of them every day.
Recently, I started to get fake friends on social media supposedly from other authors concerned with my marketing, asking about what I’m writing now, some AI-generated bullshit. The questions are always the same. Authors, real authors that is, are getting quite annoyed with the fake social media garbage and have been expressing it, especially on X.
What can be done? I’m not sure. I know there was an arrest around the holidays, you might want to read about it HERE. What frustrates me is the amount of money these snakes have scammed people out of; authors who worked hard to write their books, wanting to do whatever they can, to feel that all that work was justified. It isn’t even about the money, it’s about sharing your creation, and your heart with others, to feel that it was worth it. These scammers take advantage of this vulnerability, and for that reason, I hope the FBI makes many more arrests.
