Today I’m blogging again over at Writer Unboxed.
Recently, a writer contacted me to ask about the legitimacy of an email they’d just received, from someone claiming to be a literary agent interested in representing them.
All by itself, the solicitation itself was a warning sign: reputable agents, who are drowning in submissions, have no need to drum up business and don’t typically cold-call writers to hawk their services. But I’d also gotten several complaints about this purported agent, so I knew for sure this was a “beware”.
I informed the writer–who had contacted me several times before to ask about what also turned out to be scams, and had themself been scammed by a predatory vanity publisher–and apologized for yet again being the bearer of bad news. “I guess everyone’s a bad guy,” the writer responded sadly, “and it’s pointless even to try.”
I understand this mindset. Especially for self-published authors, who are the primary target these days for the extremely numerous and highly aggressive solicitation scams I wrote about in my very first post for Writer Unboxed, it can certainly seem like publishing a book is equivalent to diving, unprotected, into a shark tank.
The reality, however, is not quite that awful. Yes, there are a lot of bad actors in and around publishing…not just scammers and predators, but people and companies who are well-intentioned but don’t have the skills to do the job (schmagents, unqualified freelance editors, amateur publishers). But that doesn’t mean there aren’t also plenty of reputable, competent people. They definitely exist. The constantly expanding universe of scams and pitfalls hasn’t changed that.
The writer’s response got me thinking, though. My standard advice for how to cope with the prevalence of scams is to educate yourself: learn as much as possible about publishing and self-publishing–and do it before you start trying to snag an agent, or querying publishers, or assessing self-publishing platforms and service providers. The more you know about how things should work, the easier it will be to recognize bad practice when you encounter it. (The Writer Beware website is a good place to start.)
But it’s not just about being prepared with adequate knowledge. Mindset is also important: your default assumptions about, and responses to, the people and situations you encounter along your publication journey. Such expectations can help you, or they can hinder you–like my writer friend, whose bad experiences caused them to conclude, falsely, that no one can be trusted.
Following are some of the common damaging mindsets I see in my work with Writer Beware, along with suggestions for, hopefully, shifting them.
DETAILED REPORTTO
FR: MICHAELENE D. CONNER
RE: FRAUD-SCAM
November 2024 I was leaving my name for a Penguin Publishing. Within a day
Thomas Marks from FRONT-LINE WRITERS sent me an email, asking me to call and that he was an arm of Penguin Publishing. I was interested. Mark was very personable and asked me to send my manuscript EMERALD: The Reset, and their team would do a review. He replied by sending me an EDITRIAL REVIEW REPORT. Mark proposed editing. He said it was an amazing world, and it seemed like the perfect manuscript for Penguin. He asked if FRONTLINE WRITERS could edit I first. As he said it would take minor editing and charged me $600.00. The money and promise seemed earnest.
CODEXLAB $600 NOVEMBER 18, 2024 INVOICE NO: 2718921
The manuscript was sent.
I had been working on another novel called THE PROTECTORS, which I wrote is a couple weeks. It was more of a movie, like taken, he was super excited and said again let’s do a team review, which I agreed. They provided a review, and he suggested let’s edit. I said “of course.” What was the worst that could happen. This time he charged me $1,200.00 for his teams editing service. (I still hadn’t seen anything from EMERALD, and Peter Davidson, my first contact, passed me off to Sarah Wilson, my project manager. I found out she was in charge of EMERALD as well.
CODEXLAB $1,200 DECEMBER 3, 2024 I HAVE NO INVOICE, but he sent a service agreement. COMPREHENSIVE editing package. Of which to date I have no manuscript but got one for review a couple weeks ago. It was unacceptable. EMERALD had been moving.
The editing was unacceptable. I talked with Sarah asked for her boss and her boss who I didn’t get her name, said she agreed and changed out the team (every time a team gets changed out it is because they don’t understand sci-fi or they could keep the characters straight, and more. Of which there was always a hold up than I would get to see it but again nothing was happening, and the manuscript was becoming a huge mess. I was managing NOT SARAH. We had three difficult conversations about EMERALD. At one point I said I can’t tell their edits at all (the tracking enable showed I was the editor for 98% of the manuscript. The process wasn’t unfolding.)
Sarah Wison called me o say they needed $1,000 to copy write my books. I asked why when nothing had been anywhere near completed. She wanted it ready go. I paid again.
CODEXLAB $1,000 JANUARY 30, 2025 INVOICE NO: 55455
ANNA PARKS, FRONTLINES distribution agent called while I was in LA. She said she had an opportunity that was needing immediate action. She had sent 50 of her new authors to Wiley and they had selected my manuscript.
QUOTE, “I TOLD WILEY ABOUT YOUR SCRIPT EMERALD AND THY SAW IT AN WANT IT.” BUT
SHE SAID, “THE WANT YOU TO PUT SOME SKIN IN THE GAME, AND THEY WILL REPAY IT.” Anna produced a contract from Wiley for the purchase and distribution of my manuscript. I wanted a guarantee that if they didn’t perform, that I would be fully reimbursed and she said, “FRONTLINE WRITERS will guarantee your money if Wiley didn’t perform.” I signed the contract for the FRONTED AMOUNT OF INVESTMENT OF $15,980.00 with a guarantee of a full refund or the agreed upon $48,980 to Author by end of August 2025.
The contract came from DAVID MORGAN of WILEY. I was unwilling to provide my banking information. Instead, I paid:
$5,980.00 by AMERICAN EXPRESS FEBRUARY 21, 2025 INVOICE 56715
Which included a WIRE TRANSFER THROUGH TRUIST BANK FOR $10.000
TRUIST OUTGOING DOMESTIC WIRE TRANSFER REQUEST AGREEMENT
FEBRUARY 24, 2025, CASEID: D-20250224-1303
SENT TO: BOOK PRINTING EXPESS LLC, ANEHEIM, CA ACCT NO: 325200483351
FRONTLINE WRITERS for WILEY BOOK.
I asked to talk to DAVID MORGAN, about marketing ASAP. Anna said not to worry she’d get us together. I asked for his email and direct line. She skirted the request every time I asked which was all the time. Anna finally said let’s wait till we get closer on the manuscript which had made no movement. (Marketing needs to be in place eight months prior to launch but not one seemed worried but me.)
SUMMARY
I was tired the CONSTANT LAG, no editing, team changes, then team members were in the hospital, Sarah Wilson. I eventually fired her end of June saying, nothing was happening, the editors couldn’t edit, I wanted out. That’s when PETER DAVIDSON came back on the scene. “We removed Sarah, and I will be handling your work exclusively.” They agreed it was a mess. He took it over and again nothing. He was in and out of the hospital supposedly and I would calls every other week. UPDATES. Weeks keep going by then I’d see the manuscript which I would painfully review with NO EDITS. HE FIRED THE TEAM AGAIN BECAUSE HE SAID THEY HAD BEEN GETTING LOTS OF COMPLAINTS. THE TEAM WAS USING AI which is why it wasn’t working.
I inquired with ANNA about WILEY saying, “you know they will need to pay me in August.” Her response was no worries. They would. They a couple weeks back after we had a argument about EMERALD. She assigned me a WILEY PROJECT manager not a literary agent. His name John Smith. He sent me a WELCOME EMAIL with a phone and email. I tried to connect with him yet no response to emails. Then one day it said THE NUMBER WAS NO LONGER IN SERVICE. I went crazy. I could get Perer, he was in the hospital, Anna was in the hospital for one day…. THAT WAS MY BREAKING POINT. I called them, texted and emailed with no success. I wanted guarantees with Wiley. Since I had no LITERARY AGENT, no contact with John Smith and still no conversation with David Morgan I wanted out. AGAIN, NO RESPONSE FOR A WEEK. So, I decided to take legal action.
I called FBI June 24, 2025
I filed wire fraud with Truist June 25, 2025
I called AMERICAN EXPRESS June 25, 2025
I called WILEY at their headquarters. I asked to be connected to David Morgan and John Smith. I chatted with an individual who had access to everyone in Wiley. She confirmed she couldn’t find their names anywhere. I emailed John Smith and strongly suggested he call. NOTHING.
MODAY JUNE 28, 2025, PETER DAVIDSON AND ANNA PARKS somehow decided to call attacking me asking why I was launching a law suit against Wiley. I told them in detail why. They then asked for a meeting, Peter was to arrange the meeting. I asked why I could have a zoom meeting. He said they were on Central Time. I challenged him asking didn’t they work at the corporate headquarters in NEW JERSEY.
Meeting was set Thursday July 31, 2025, 3:00EST – 2:00 CENTRAL TIME. I rearranged my work schedule. He texted 3:00pm the building was on fire. The meeting was cancelled. I said David and John could still talk. He said all files were destroyed, servers were melted. We agreed to meet and confirmed Friday August 1, 2025, 4:30 EST and again I rearranged my schedule. NO CALL…NO TEXT…NOT ABLE TO GET PETER DAVIDSON, COULDN’T GET ANNA PARKS, AND JOHN SMITH DIDN’T TEXT, EMAIL, OR CALL. I called and texted everyone except DAVID MORGAN which has to date never connected nor a literary agent.
I have keep most all emails and text threads through 2025, if needed. Including John Smiths one and only email.
peter davidson and anna parks and sarah wilson of FRONTLINE-WRITERS scammed me for approximately $20,000 DOLLARS
WILEY-CUST
to me, authorproposalsubmission@wiley.com
10:25 AM (1 hour ago) # 0:
Dear Michaelene,
Thank you for contacting Wiley.
Kindly note that we have received a response from our submission teams. They stated that wileybookwriter.com is a scam and to discontinue any contact with wileybookwriter.com and immediately reach out to them using the email authorproposalsubmission@wiley.com. They will guide you through the correct cost-free process.
We value your interest in our products. If you need further assistance, please respond to this email Monday through Friday, 8 AM to 8 PM EST.
Kind regards,
Carmita
Wiley Customer Service
WILEY
———– Original Message ———–=~-
From: AuthorProposalSubmission [authorproposalsubmission@wiley.com]
Sent: 8/4/2025, 8:00 AM
To: wileycustomer@wiley.com; authorproposalsubmission@wiley.com
Subject: Re: Verify information: Your case 26938726 [ref:!00Dd00eeku.1500WQOrqONt.ref]
Dear Carmita
This is a scam. Wiley will not demand money for submission of book proposals. I will escalate this to our Legal department.
Please ask Michael to discontinue contact with wileybookwriter.com and get in touch with me immediately via this mailbox. I’ll guide him through the correct cost-free process.
Thanks
Simon
Whether you are a good writer or a not-so-good writer, there are too many of us writing… and hardly anybody reads good quality books these days. As for crooks, their number keeps growing exponentially. Already about a hundred years ago, Max Ehrmann wrote the following in his Desiderata: “Exercise caution in your business affairs; for the world is full of trickery.” We know what the world with Internet and Social Media Networks is, so it’s good to be cautious. Of course, I don’t want to discourage anyone from writing. Our children, grandchildren, will probably want to know how we related to life.
Most informative comments. Thank you all for sharing .Received a letter from Michelle from Leap Write concerning my book featured on Amazon. In the final stages of this process, I needed to come up with $6K for a professional query letter and Global Press announcement. Almost duped! And on a personal note, I’m an ex-Marine, Vietnam veteran…shame on those who would take advantage of another human being. The LAW of KARMA is real!
Here is the complete email, out of the blue, I received today 26 June 2024 from Leapwrite Literary Agency.
Beware of scammers…it sounds sooooo enticing.
“Dear Matt Watters,
I hope this email finds you well.
My name is Rio Charles, and I am a Senior Literary Manager at LeapWrite Literary Agency. Our agency specializes in connecting talented authors, both newcomers and self-published, with key players in the industry for potential acquisition.
Recently, I had the pleasure of coming across a sample of your manuscript, which I obtained from the esteemed online bookstore, Powell’s Books. Having thoroughly reviewed your work, I am genuinely impressed with the quality and potential it holds for acquisition by major industry players. Your book “Dream Phaze – Germination” has the power to captivate both traditional publishers and Hollywood film production companies, who are keen to invest in promising works.
First and foremost, congratulations on crafting an exceptional masterpiece. Your choice of subject matter is compelling, and I commend you for your creative prowess. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would confidently rate your book at 8.98.
I am eager to represent your work to influential industry giants such as Celadon Books (https://celadonbooks.com/about-us/), a distinguished division of Macmillan, HarperCollins Publishers, a leading global Christian traditional publisher, Hachette Book Group, a New York-based publishing powerhouse and a division of Hachette Livre (https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/landing-page/about-hachette-book-group-2/), as well as Penguin Random House, one of the highly respected traditional publishers globally and part of the renowned “BIG 5” (https://publish.illinois.edu/englishadvising/big-five-publishers/).
But that’s not all. I am also excited about the prospect of reaching out to esteemed film production companies such as Participant Media (https://participant.com/films). Founded by Jeffrey Skoll, a Canadian engineer, billionaire, and the first president of eBay, Participant Media is known for producing groundbreaking films. I would love to have their pre-film production team evaluate your book and consider it for their next visionary movie project.
Allow me to clarify our representation agreement: Our arrangement is commission-based, with my fee set at 10% of the final book acquisition offer for traditional publishing houses and 5% for any upfront movie deals acquisition with additional of 2% for the production budget of the movie deal we secure for your book. I want to assure you that our focus is solely on finding the right publisher for your written work and exploring potential opportunities in the film industry.
Moreover, I want to emphasize that we do not engage in soliciting or selling publishing and marketing services. Our primary goal is to champion your manuscript and ensure it reaches its fullest potential through reputable channels.
I understand that this may be an important decision for you, and I am more than willing to address any questions or concerns you may have. Please feel free to reach out to me at your earliest convenience or if you prefer, we can continue our conversation via email.
Thank you for considering this opportunity, and I eagerly anticipate the possibility of collaborating with you to bring your literary vision to fruition.
Sincerely,
Rio Charles
Senior Literary Manager | LeapWrite Literary
M: +1 (336) 252-6885
E: rio.charles@leapwrite.com
W: http://www.leapwrite.com
A: PO Box 1670 Thomasville, NC 27361, USA”
This is a super-common scammer approach: generic praise, big promises, and an offer to rep on a commission basis only. That’s all just to draw you in, though; if you sign up, you’ll discover that you have to buy some product or service (such as the entirely fictional “book licensing”) in order for all the glowing promises to come true. (Also: email written by ChatGPT.)
Oh, my gosh. I just received the same email. Everything exactly the same except the name of the books. Even the rating was the same.
I received a call from leap write on Wednesday basically saying the same thing! I went to the website writer beware and sure enough their company is listed as fake! I emailed the woman about what I had found and she said of course they were legit! She keeps calling and emailing. I didn’t answer. I emailed her again about what I had found and she again responded with all kinds of answers to justify leap write.
I was contacted by Michelle from Leap Write Literary. She said she was a literary agent and wanted to represent my book to publishers. At first this seemed like the chance of a lifetime as I had tried unsuccessfully to get an agent before self publishing my books many years ago.
Approximately 2 days later she called back claiming she had submitted my book to 20 publishers, heard back from 12 and one was interested in acquiring my book. I was ecstatic. Later that day I was contacted by a man claiming to be Karl Burnett of Bloomsbury Publishing in Manhattan. He was very familiar with my book and praised its merits. He made an a lucrative advance offer for all 3 of my books. But he said there were 5 other authors being considered.
He called back today. Of course my book didn’t make the cut and he was proposing press releases etc they could prepare to make it better. I told him I had a better idea. I planned to write a book with the title Beware of Scammers that he may be interested in.
This man is impersonating Karl Burnett. They are outright scammers. Although, I am too aware to fall prey to their schemes, I want to prevent others from being scammed by these creeps.
After being caught in the old Publish America scam back in 2004, I have been wary. Though I was fortunate to get out of the contract without any added expense, I did spend a lot of money on the books and exorbitant shipping costs. I was able to sell most of the books and recoup my costs. Then I finally discovered KDP (or CreateSpace as it was originally called). Since I have published several books there, and am very satisfied with my experience, I have had numerous phone calls and e-mails wanting me to take those books and turn them over to their publishing company. Most of them I had never heard of, though Tate was one of them. I’m thankful for Writer Beware and the information you shared there which made me much more aware of these scams. Fortunately I’m not looking to sell tons of books so any “lure” to try to catch me on that count will never succeed. Thanks again for your faithfulness in warning authors about the dangers lurking in the publishing world, and also for letting people know there are still some “good guys” out there.
On the plus side, the emails I received from people who have already been defrauded have declined in number; the many scores of writer’s forums and publishing forums online have “stepped up their game” and when possible inoculate writers against the scam disease.
The issue, I presume to suggest, is that writers’ egos trump (frack! How i have learned to hate that word!) reason and skepticism.
Some of the on-line forums have had posts from people who shared their happy, amazing, wonderful, bright-future news that their manuscripts will soon be published, and only for $4,000 or so. This induced within me a silent, seething rage.
I have sent a query to KRQE News 13 regarding a public service announcement regarding predatory vanity presses.
I was a victim of Tate Publishing back in 2012-2013. I had two books published through Tate but would see none of the royalties. Also purchased a lifetime voucher for all future printing costs. Lost thousands as did many others. Received an email from LeapWrite Agency Rep regarding my book Invitation to Story Hour. Don’t trust anyone at this point in that business. They should change their name to Shark, Leach and Shark.