The most pernicious scams focused on English-speaking writers these days come from overseas: publishing/marketing/fake literary agency scams from the Philippines, and ghostwriting/editing/marketing scams from Pakistan and India.
That’s not to say there aren’t plenty of scammers in the USA, Canada, UK, and Australia. And scams aren’t all you need to watch out for: inexperienced literary agents (aka schmagents) and incompetent publishers can also hijack your work and create major problems for you. Right now, though, overseas scams are the ones you’re most likely to encounter, and they are the most predatory.
An increasingly frequent fraudulent tactic, used primarily by the Philippine scammers, is impersonation: of reputable literary agents, major publishers, renowned movie production companies, even bookstores and organizations like the American Booksellers Association. The aim is to convince you that you’re on the cusp of real, reputable representation, publication, immortality on the silver screen, books on shelves nationwide…there’s just something you have to pay for first (a screenplay, a “cinematic trailer”, an IP lawyer to handle contracts, “book licensing”, a “book returnability program“…the list is endless). Once the scammer gets you on board, it’s open season on your bank account: you will be heavily pressured to spend more and yet more money on goods and services that may be hugely overpriced, entirely fictional, never actually delivered, or all three.
For a more detailed overview of where these scams come from, why there are so many of them, and the most common types you may encounter, see my blog post Imposter Syndrome: The Rise of Impersonation Scams.
Below, you’ll find a list of all of the companies and organizations I know of that have been, and are currently being, impersonated, along with the names associated with them. If you need to check the authenticity of an email or phone call, this is where you can do so (I’ve added the list to the menu at the top of the blog to make it easier to find). I’ll be updating the list on a regular basis.
But first…
HOW TO RECOGNIZE IMPERSONATION (AND OTHER) SCAMS
These warning signs are common; many of them may be present at once. Don’t ignore them.
- Solicitation. Reputable literary agents, major publishers, producers, and production companies do not generally contact authors out of the blue. That’s not to say it absolutely never happens, but it’s definitely the exception. For scammers, on the other hand, it’s their main way of acquiring clients. Solicitation scams are so common that ANY publishing- or movie rights-related phone call or email that you can’t directly trace to a submission or contact you yourself made should be assumed to be fraudulent, unless you can definitely determine otherwise.
- Fees or purchase requirements. There should never be a cost associated with representation or rights acquisition. Reputable agents, publishers, and production companies will never charge you any kind of upfront fee, try to sell you any type of service, or refer you to a third-party company or provider you have to pay.
- Suspicious email addresses. An established literary agent, or the head of a major production company, will not be using a gmail or Outlook email address. By the same token, the email address may look authentic (for example, @macmillanacquisitions.com or @barnesandnoble.club) but may be a domain registered specifically for sending out scam emails. Check the company’s website to see if the email address matches; scammers often incorporate small discrepancies that can easily be missed, such as an extra “s” or transposed letters. Check domain registration info (you can do that here); if it’s a well-known agency or large publisher or major production company, it’s not very plausible that its email domain was only registered in the last two months.
- Mass emails. Are the “from” and “to” lines in the email header the same? Or is there no “to” line at all? It’s a mass email sent to a laundry list of authors just like you.
- Your name and/or book title in a different font from the body of the email. This suggests that they’ve been pasted into a template.
- Phone numbers that don’t match the location of company the caller claims to be from. Scammers use spoofed phone numbers, so mismatches are common. Sure, there are a lot of remote workers these days–but if the company is based in California and the area code says Nebraska, it’s at least a caution sign.
- Lack of personalization. In the rare event of a genuine contact about your book, the email will mention your name and book title, and the caller will know who you are and something about your work. Scammers, on the other hand, use email templates and call scripts to blast out solicitations, and may get your information wrong, or not mention it at all.
- Inflated promises. To tempt their victims, fraudsters promise riches: book advances of $500,000. Similarly enormous option fees. A percentage of movie revenue. Even most successful authors don’t get such lucrative terms. If the amount on offer makes your eyes bug out, it’s a marker for a scam.
- Over-the-top, yet completely generic, flattery and flowery praise. “Your ability to weave a captivating narrative has truly left an impact.” “We are humbled by your remarkable talent as an author.” “We are passionately impressed by your unique voice, captivating storytelling, and ability to connect with readers on a profound level.” These phrases (all from email solicitations authors have shared with me) are designed to appeal to your ego so you hopefully won’t notice that they could apply to any person or any book. (A rare, genuine contact may offer praise, but it will recognizably relate to you and your work.)
- Use of the term “traditional publisher” or “traditional publishing”. A real literary agent will never use these terms; they don’t need to, since it’s a given that’s the only kind of publisher they work with. Nor will a major publisher identify itself as a traditional publisher: they assume you already know.
- Goofy first lines. “I hope this email finds you in good health and high spirits.” “We hope this letter finds you well and thriving in your personal journey.” “Discover the perfect blend of talent and success!” Again, these are all from actual email solicitations I’ve seen. You may have seen them too; because fraudsters use them a lot, for all different kinds of scams and fake offers. They are an infallible marker of a scam.
- Poor English in emails; heavily accented callers. Impersonation scams are staffed by people for whom English is a second language. The use of generative AI has made grammar and syntax lapses much less common in emails than they used to be (in fact one marker of a ChatGPT-created email is excessively formal language), but they may show up if the scammer goes off script, and you can’t hide an accent. Many authors ignore these markers, but they shouldn’t.
AGENTS AND AGENCIES
Related blog posts:
– A New “Beware”: Scammers Impersonating Reputable Literary Agents
– Dissecting a Scam: The Literary Scout Impersonator
– Impersonating Agents: A New Face for an Old Scam
– How to Spot a Fake Literary Agency
Many of the companies below have added warnings to their websites.
Aevitas Creative Management (Michael Signorelli)
Ayesha Pande Literary (Ayesha Pande)
Bent Agency (James Marcos / Jenny Bent)
Bradford Literary Agency (Hillary Fazzari / Rebecca Matte)
Book Group, The (Elisabeth Weed / Jamie Carr / Nicole Cunningham)
Donald Maass Literary Agency (Jennifer Jackson)
Don Congdon Associates (Susan Ramer)
Dunow, Carlson & Lerner Agency (Jennifer Carlson)
Fletcher & Co (Christie Fletcher / Peter Steinberg)
Folio Literary Management (Steve Troha)
Frances Goldin Literary Agency (Sam Stoloff)
Fuse Literary (Connor Goldsmith / Laurie McLean / Tricia Skinner)
Gary Heidt
Georges Borchardt, Inc. (Caelus Megh / Richvan Press)
Harvey Klinger Literary Agency (David Dunton)
Inkwell Management (David Hale Smith)
Irene Goodman Literary Agency (Jade Kavan / Victoria Marini / Whitney Ross)
Janklow & Nesbit (Kirby Kim)
Kimberley Cameron & Associates (Lisa Aballera)
Knight Agency, The (Lucienne Diver)
Larry Weissman Literary (Larry Weissman)
Liza Dawson Associates (Caitlin Blasdell / Tom Miller / Rachel Beck)
Maria B. Campbell Associates (Clare Richardson)
Martin Literary Management (Rick Lewis)
Mushens Entertainment (Damon Green)
Nelson Literary Agency (Kristen Nelson / Danielle Burby)
Nicole Aragi
Root Literary
Steve Ross Agency (Steve Ross)
Talcott Notch Literary (Amy Collins)
Tobias Agency, The (Jacqueline Lipton / Lane Heymont / Matt Belford / Stefanie Rossitto)
Trellis Literary Management (Allison Malecha / Danya Kukafka / Dana Murphy / Natalie Edwards)
Underline Literary Agency (Robbie Guillory)
United Talent Agency (Luke Mitchell)
Victoria Sanders and Associates (Victoria Sanders)
Wolf Literary Services (Rach Crawford)
Writers House (Alexandra Levick / Daniel Conaway / Rebecca Sherman)
EDITORS
Amanda Lewis Creative Inc. (Amanda Lewis)
PUBLISHERS AND IMPRINTS
Related blog posts:
– Alert: Scammers Impersonating Major Publishing Houses
– Peak Fake: A Scam Website Impersonating Macmillan Publishers
– The Latest Impersonation Scams
Most of the names associated with the publishers and imprints below are those of real editors and other staff and executives. A few are the aliases of the sales reps who pitch the scam (for example, William Robert and Pamela Smith of Macmillan, Benjamin Esther of Simon & Schuster). For reasons I’ve yet to fathom, Macmillan is the main target of publisher impersonation scams. Macmillan, Harper, PRH, and Hachette all have posted scam warnings on their websites, but you have to dig to find them.
Astra Publishing House (Jamie Parker)
Bloomsbury (Kathleen Farrar)
Celadon Books (imprint of Macmillan) (Bill Hamilton)
Chronicle Books (Tom Fernald)
Ecco (imprint of HarperCollins)
Hachette (Michael Barrs / Royal Oak Advertising Services claims to be a “Global Division”)
HarperCollins (Charlie Redmayne / Daniel Duval / Ed Spade / Jason Hernandez / Joseph Adams / Sarah Haugen)
Inklore Books (imprint of PRH) (James Henry)
Macmillan (Gracie Mercado / Jonathan Yaged / Kristen Pecci / Mark Frobose / Melissa Read / Nicole Pearson / Pamela Smith / Sara Castillo / Sean Roberts / William Robert)
Penguin Random House (Jeff Abraham / Manuel Sansigre / Regina Smith / Sanyu Dillon)
Picador (imprint of Pan Macmillan)
Putnam (imprint of PRH) (Sally Kim)
Riverhead Books (imprint of Penguin Random House) (Rebecca Saletan)
Simon & Schuster (Benjamin Esther / Stephen Bedford)
Titan Books (James Henry)
Yucca Publishing (imprint of Skyhorse Publishing)
Zondervan (imprint of HarperCollins) (Kent Hendricks)
MOVIE COMPANIES, DIRECTORS, AND PRODUCERS
Related blog posts:
– Alert: Scammer Page Turner Press and Media is Impersonating Major Motion Picture Studios
– Scam Alert: TransMedia Agency / New Leaf Media LLC Impersonating Major Film Producers
– The “Mexican Film Director” Scam
– Guest Post: How a Book Really Becomes a Movie
Many of the names associated with the companies below are those of real founders, executives, and other staff (for example, Jason Blum really is the founder of Blumhouse Productions, and Brian Burk really is the founder of Bad Robot)–but others are the aliases of the sales reps who pitch the scams (for example, all of the names associated with Sony Pictures).
20th Century Fox (Steve Asbell)
A24 Films (Ari Handel)
Alfonso Cuaron
Amat Escalante
Amazon Prime/Prime Video (Anthony Garcia / Bob Sanchez / David Murphy / George Russell / Jack Andrews / Jennifer Barany / John R. Holmes / John Yarber / Kate Anderson / Kyle Reeves / Seth Gross)
Amazon Studios (Bianca Grace / John Carter / Michael Luke / Mike Hopkins / Tony Adams)
Atlas Entertainment
Bad Hat Harry Productions (Richard Martin)
Bad Robot (Brian Burk)
Bluegrass Films (Scott Stuber)
Blumhouse Productions (Jason Blum)
CBS Studios (Leslie Moonves / Rhiley Roads)
Carlos Bolado
Castle Rock Entertainment (Jonathan Fuhrman)
Columbia Pictures (Chris Gaffney / Rhiley Roads / Samuel Wilson / Sanford Panitch)
David Ellison Productions
Dreamworks(Rhiley Roads / Stephen Spielberg)
Diego Luna
HBO
Fine Line Features (Anthony Rothstein)
Focus Features (Jason Cassidy)
Gracie Films (Dillon Kennedy)
Guillermo del Toro
HyperObject Industries (Adam McKay / Rhiley Roads)
Icon Productions (Mark Gooder / Mel Gibson / Rhiley Roads)
Intermedia Films (Ben Brandt)
Jon Casey
Legendary Entertainment (Cale Boyter / Jen Roskind)
Lionsgate (Lexie Smith / Rhiley Roads / Sandra Torres / Stephen Shellen)
MGM Entertainment / MGM Studios (Jay Lucas / Jennifer Salke / Stephen Bruno)
Matt Tolmach Productions (Laurene White)
Michael De Luca Productions (Michael De Luca)
Miramax (Jean McDowell)
Neil Marshall Productions
Netflix (Audrey Gardner / Isabella Castillo / Ivana Alvarez / James Dean / Maria Ferreras)
New Line Cinemas (Nicholas Pappas)
Paramount Pictures (Brian Robbins / Naomi Wilson)
Parkes/Macdonald (Anthony Devera)
Roth-Kirshenbaum Films
STX Entertainment (Robert Simonds)
Screen Media (Christine Watson / John Barr)
Skydance Media (Bonnie Curtis)
Sony Pictures / Sony Pictures Entertainment (Mark Brando / Mike Marshall / Sam Miller / Julia Robin / Michael Page / Nate Rogers)
Todd Peters (Todd Peters)
Todd Phillips Productions (Todd Phillips)
Todd Williams
TriStar Pictures (Arthur White / Victor Kaufman / Kyle Peterson / Rhiley Roads / Timothy Parker)
Universal Pictures (Allison Gray / Carson Rice)
Vertigo Entertainment (Roy Lee)
Village Roadshow Pictures (Bruce Berman)
Warner Bros/Warner Media (Alex Miller / Kate Avila)
XYZ Films (Nick Spicer)
BOOKSTORES
Related blog posts:
– Scam Alert: Scammers Impersonating the Strand Bookstore
Barnes & Noble (Allen W. Lindstrom / Angel Smith / James Daunt / Mark Kupferberg)
Books Inc. (Anita Levin)
City Lights Books (Stacey Lewis)
Indigo / Chapters (Kate Gregory)
Strand Bookstore (Carson Moss / Daniel Whitney / Laura Ravo / Meagan Henry)
Waterstones (Ezra Kupor)
MEDIA COMPANIES
Related blog posts:
– Alert: Scammers Impersonating Video Streaming Services With Fake Job Offers
– Scam Alert: Scammers Impersonating Acorn TV
Acorn TV
Minno
Hayu
ORGANIZATIONS AND COMPANIES
Related blog posts:
– How Scammers Are Using Amazon and Amazon Trademarks to Rip Writers Off
Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (Luke Cooper)
Amazon
American Booksellers Association (Charles Clement N. Johnson / Mary Lee)
American Council of the Blind (Dan Lewis)
Bookpage
Ingram Content Group/IngramSpark (Steve Marshall)
Luminare Press (self-publishing service provider) (Caitlin McCrum)
fWhiting Foundation (Daniel Reid)
Who is Truman Press. Scam??????
I wrote a children’s book and got it published through Austin Macauley. They charged a price, but pretty much did what they said. It is for sale on Amazon and Barnes and Noble, but it is not in any book stores. My local book store cannot even afford to stock it, once they add the enormous shipping charges. They really have not done any marketing, as promised. This week I got a phone call, probably a scam. His name is Mike Lee, claims to be literary agent. Knew my name and my book name. His said his book scout,Stacy Williams brought it to his attention. They want to get publishing rights and pay me between $150,000 and $450,00. He left the voicemail and asked me to call him back. The number was from Los Angelous CA. Give me advice, please
Barbara, you left this same comment on a different post. I responded to you there; here’s a cut-and-paste.
Such solicitations–whether by phone or email–are always scams. Reputable literary agents and publishers simply don’t reach out in this way. Whether they disclose it initially or not, the aim of such contacts is money: they want to convince you to pay for some (possibly entirely bogus) good or service.
Other warning signs: book scouts typically scout subsidiary rights (translation, film/TV) rather than simple re-publication. Nor do agencies (I assume “Mike Lee” presented himself as an agent) field offers for authors they don’t already represent. Nor do most books get advances anywhere close to $450,000 (as a first-time trad-pubbed author, you’d likely be more in the $4,500 range).
I hope this message finds you well. My name is Ben Brandt, and I represent Intermedia Films, a renowned film production company known for producing iconic movies such as “The Terminator: Rise of the Machines” and “The Aviator” starring Leonardo DiCaprio.
I’m reaching out to you as we recently received an enthusiastic endorsement from Vincent Sabian regarding the potential movie adaptation of your published book “Nile Sunrise”. We are truly excited about the possibility of collaborating with you on bringing your captivating story to the silver screen. We were trying to reach you out, but for some reason the call automatically routed to voicemail. Please provide us your best contact number so we can schedule an appointment for a quick interview.
You can visit our direct website internationalmediaag.com for further verification of our endorsement and to explore more about our company.
Please feel free to click on the links provided in this email for more detailed information. We look forward to the opportunity of working together to bring your book “Nile Sunrise” to audiences worldwide.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intermedia_(company)
https://pro.imdb.com/company/co0010183/
Warm Regards,
Ben Brandt
Senior Acquisition Officer
phone: +1 845 477 5327
mobile: +1 209 800 1031
email: info@internationalmediaag.com
10960 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 700, Los Angeles, California, Usa, 90024,
The content of this email is confidential and intended for the recipient specified in message only. It is strictly forbidden to share any part of this message with any third party, without a written consent of the sender. If you received this message by mistake, please reply to this message and follow with its deletion, so that we can ensure such a mistake does not occur in the future.
I’ve been self-publishing at Amazon for a decade and not been reached out to once by any of these too common scammers.
It may help that
I write using a pseudonym
That I operate as an S corp
and
The only contact information I give out is a PO Box
None of the above means I am totally untraceable but I seem to think scammers don’t want to do too much homework when looking for writers to con.
I was approached by Jordan Branch. He claims to be a senior literary agent for lever page media. All my research came out inconclusive. Does anybody has deal with him or is there any history with this company. Please email me at lzaensi@aol.com
I haven’t heard about solicitations from Lever Page Media, and can’t find anything about it online. But putting that together with the fact that he contacted you, this is almost certainly a scam. Reputable literary agencies have a findable online footprint, and rarely contact authors out of the blue to offer their services.
I have been contacted by someone claiming to be Kathleen Anderson from Anderson Literary Management. They have not requested any money yet…claim to work based on commission. Although said they couldn’t talk until we had a deal on the table. Several things seem suspicious here. Have you heard of this one?
No, but it wouldn’t surprise me, given how many reputable agents are already being impersonated. If the contact was via email, would you forward it to me? beware@sfwa.org Thanks!
I received the same email. I forwarded on to Victoria, but the short of it is the email was clear bunk. It was filled with mistakes, lies, and misinformation.
I too received a letter 6/28/24 from Kathleen Anderson indicating she received an endorsement from Athena Ortiz, an esteemed third party author liaison on my book. They didn’t ask for money, spoke about representation. I didn’t see the email nor respond for a month because I had been travelling and didn’t have access to that account. I’ve received several dozen emails from fake movie companies and publishers asking for money this one didn’t or at least yet, just representation.
Another to add: I got a call from “Carson Rice at Universal Pictures” offering $300,000 for an option to my self-pubbed book. Unfortunately for the caller, I’ve been a screenwriter and I know the going rate for an option is faaaar below that. Carson is indeed on LinkedIn as a Universal Pictures creative content manager, adding to the illusion, but the follow-up email was from @mail.com instead of @nbcuni.com. Try again.
I really want to start quizzing these jerks about my book and seeing if I can get them to buy a copy to commit to the bit and get “further” in their scam of me. I’m indie and could use the sales…
Thanks for your comment. I’ll add Carson Rice to the list.
This week, I have received no less then 4 calls per day from “Page Click” Chris Mendez, Bradford Literary House (Dee Lopez), Scryptor (?sp) (Connie Parker); Jack Manning (my agent from StoneAge Media Solutions who promised not to charge me anything but then someone from supposedly Simon and Schuster called with an No Caller ID and indicated they had been trying to get hold of him about my book and needing a 10,000 dollar international Seal. I am so overwhelmed I don’t even read my emails, voicemails, or phone calls. Thank you so much for your list. I would really like to know the right way to go about approaching a traditional publishing company. WestBow Press published the original books (all but one). I you can be of help in guiding me, When I first began writing , you sent a chapter and a QUERY letter with a return envelope. Do they still do that?
I’m really sorry you’re being bombarded, Rosa. These solicitation scams really are a plague.
Technology has changed the way you query–everything is email now, no more snail mail and SASEs. Otherwise the process is pretty much the same. There are two ways you can go with traditional publishing: the agent-to-big-publisher route (i.e., HarperCollins, Penguin Random House) or the small press route. There’s extensive information about both paths on the Writer Beware website, along with cautions about scams and resources to help you research: http://writerbeware.com/
I also highly recommend Jane Frieman’s website. There’s information there about every aspect of publishing.
Victoria, you can add Fuse Literary to your list of agencies and agents being impersonated by scammers. Three of our agents (so far), Laurie McLean, Connor Goldsmith, and Tricia Skinner, have been impersonated. We have information on our website alerting writers about impersonation scams by these thieves.
Laurie, thanks for letting me know, and I’m so sorry the agency/agents are being targeted. I’ll do you the very dubious honor of adding you all to the list. Thanks again.
I recently received an email from theliteraryfirm.com stating that Simon and Schuster wants to publish my book. I was excited at first them I began to regurgitate the offer and go through it with a fine tooth comb. I’m beginning to feel uneasy about this. I would like to share the email with you.
Please email it to me: beware@sfwa.org.
The Literary Firm is a scam: See my blog post on how to identify fake agencies, which mentions The Literary Firm: https://writerbeware.blog/2023/12/15/how-to-spot-a-fake-literary-agency/
Two things to remember: reputable literary agents RARELY contact authors out of the blue (for scammers, on the other hand, it’s their main way of recruiting clients), and they submit the books of writers they don’t represent. Both are nearly infallible signs of a scam.
So, here I go. I was recently contacted by JT Crowley of WebTalk Radio, TalkingBooks Podcast. I vetted him enough ( listening to multiple podcasts on archive with WebTalk, but found little more to go on than his site bio. This was my initial contact over LinkedIn:
JUN 17
John Crowley sent the following message at 10:53 AM
View John’s profile John Crowley
John Crowley (He/Him) 10:53 AM
👏
👍
😊
Hi Thomas,
It’s been some time since we connected. How have you been?
I’m John the host of TalkingBooks show on Webtalkradio.net. I would warmly welcome the opportunity to interview you about The Archives of Atlanteas series.
The podcast interview is distributed to all the major podcast platforms and the streaming channels Roku and Amazon Fire TV. A 30 secs – 1 min reel is produced so that you can upload on to reel platforms.
Let me know if this appeals to you. So that you can get a feel for the podcast head to Webtalkradio.net Talking Books show and there you’ll see all the the interviews that I have done.
Thanks
John
Talking Books Host
Webtallradio.net
So, he got the series name correct, which led to prominent streaming services, and wants to interview me on his podcast, everything a writer with a great series idea but little exposure could hope from being “discovered.”
There was just one little flaw; no mention of the $699 fee to have WebTalk and Scout Media Strategies do this wonderful promotion. Instantly took me down to a customer rather than a guest. I spent the last five hours searching everything Google can find, and there are no mentions, comments, or reddits about them.
This screams scam to me. What say you valued writers and experienced commenters?
Tom Ray
Author of the 10-book series Archives of Atlanteas
Experienced Scam Victim in the Past
The host/program names vary, but I’ve seen a bunch of similar solicitations recently, and they all wind up asking for money. Reputable interviewers/shows don’t charge fees to their guests.
I have received many voicemails from people who want to adapt my book into a movie. They even mention the name but they can’t even pronounce it. The trouble is, the book is non-fiction and can in no way be adapted into a movie. I know that have not even troubled themselves to see what my book is about.
Hi, I have been talking with Jack Jordan, says he is an agent with Leapwrite agency, from North Carolina, USA. His photo looks like a model. Philippine accent. I have already paid him 1500.00 for the republication of a book I had on Amazon, originally from Tate publishing. It went out of print. He consistently mispronounces the name of my novel, another of my works. I want to know about them, but can’t find reliable info. What do I do? Kitty
I’m sorry to tell you that Leapwrite is a scam. I’ve gotten multiple reports of its deceptive solicitations, as well as false claims of big publishing house and film studio interest.
If you paid by credit card, and are within the window of time to dispute the charges, I’d encourage you to do that. I’ve heard from writers who’ve been able to get their money back that way.
You can add Jenny Laurer to the list of impersonators, or people who don’t even exist: https://theliteraryfirm.com/?page_id=795
She tried scamming me for WEEKS, with some degree of charm despite the accent. She was incredibly personable, easy to talk to and had much more patience than most scammers do. I was hesitant to drop a dime on their “book license” scam for a long time until I realized it was a scam, but it’s interesting to note she was beyond patient with me in working with me. Of course, it was an all act but for someone to do this over the phone for so long with a level of rapport was shocking to me. Even when I confronted her about my suspicions about them being a fraud, she stuck to her method acting and never broke character, calling me offensive for accusing her of being a scam lol. Points for the commitment I guess? I’m just glad I wised up to it!
Do you know anything about John Griffin at Script Marker? They sent me details of my book and why it would appeal. They want to market my book. Is this legit? I appreciate your site!! anita dennis
I just received a call from a company, OUR FILM AGENCY claiming that HBO is offering me $300,000 for the rights to my book. 213 area code. I’ll bet I’ve received at least 50 calls from many claiming to take my book to the next level of stardom, lol. All foreign accents.
Dear Victoria Strauss,
I found the name and CV of Linda Langdon on Linked-In. She seemed legit from what I read. I wrote to her through Linked-In, explained that I had a book that I had self published several years ago and was looking to for an agent or adviser to promote sales of my book. She answered that publishing and promotion would cost me $5,500. I wrote back explaining that I didn’t need rewrites or a new cover, my book is on Amazon etc, all I need is an agent or help in promoting my book. She responded that I should send my print ready files to her company (centralparksouthpublishing@gmail.com) and we might be able to work things out. I sent her my cover file, .epub, .mobi and .pdf files. I am now waiting for a reply. Hopefully I haven’t made a mistake sending the files?
This is Harris Freedman with an update:
I just received the following email from Linda Langdon’s assistant, which convinces me that I was mistaken for being suspicious. My apologies.
Harris
“Dear Harris,
We hope you are well.
Thank you very much for sending “.
To clarify, are you interested in publishing with Central Park South Publishing which is a hybrid publisher? Please let us know and we are very much looking forward to helping you.
Please note as a hybrid publisher, there would be a small cost involved.
However if you are looking for a literary agent, we can help you through langtonsinterntional@gmail.com, if your book is ready for the commercial publishers.
We look forward to hearing from you and helping you.
Best wishes,
Lindsay
Assistant to;
Linda Langton, President
Central Park South Publishing
40 Central Park South, #14E
New York, NY 10019″
Linda Langton does have sales to reputable publishers, especially if you look back to 2015 and earlier. More recently, however, she has made a sizeable number of questionable placements, including multiple books with Black Rose Writing (which has nonstandard business practices, including selling marketing services to its authors). She has also placed at least one book with predatory vanity publisher Austin Macauley.
Langton has a long history of paid editing referrals, either to her own editing service (Book Marketing International, which doesn’t appear to be in business any longer)–a clear conflict of interest–or to editors she specifically recommends, incentivizing these referrals by inviting authors to re-submit once editing was complete (I’ve heard from writers who did re-submit, and were again rejected). She also owns Central Park South Publishing, a fee-charging publisher. Monetizing rejections by referring rejected submissions to a self-owned pay-to-play publisher–as in your case–is also a conflict of interest and not reputable business practice.
Finally, I’ve heard from three former clients who took Langton to court for non-performance, either because of editing paid for but not received, or failure to market manuscripts as promised. All won either judgments or settlements in their favor.
Dear Victoria Strauss,
I appreciate your response. I will keep my distance!
Kind regards,
Harris
I own a a book trailer production company called Film 14. This year we’ve received emails from at least ten authors claiming Amazon or some branch of Amazon is interested in adapting their books to film or series and demands they produce a cinematic book trailer. While we produce these types of trailers and love what we do, there is no production company on earth that would demand this or even ask for a trailer as a prerequisite to optioning your work. One of these fraudulent entities even has a bunch of our trailers listed on their site as their own productions. They’re called writerboxstudio and if you go to their portfolio page, every trailer you see is ours. As a rule, anyone asking you to spend money in order to have them consider optioning or adapting your work to film or series is suspect.
I just received a phone call from a woman with a Filipino accent offering me a TV interview with Logan Crawford. I checked him out and he seems legit. I was told he’d received my book “Kick the Thinking Habit” through an Amazon press release, loved it and wanted to interview me. The only thing is my book is not listed on Amazon. I then received a phone call from Keren at Prime Seven Media saying they wanted to publish my book “Awaken the Happy You”, a different book from the one Logan read and liked. She said they will publish and distribute my book worldwide and that I will get 100% of the royalties. I asked what’s in it for them and they said publicity through the TV show which will be seen by millions. She said there is no cost for publishing and that all I have to pay is £650 for book registration. She was quite pushy for me to make a decision there and then but I said I need to check them out first. What’s confusing me is that primesevenmedia.com has got pretty good reviews on TrustPilot. 46 reviews and a rating of 4.1 What do you reckon?
TrustPilot isn’t a reliable source–fake reviews can easily be purchased on Fiverr and elsewhere. Scam and otherwise questionable companies make major use of this.
Prime Seven Media is a scam–I’ve gotten multiple reports, including of the kind of solicitation you describe. See the info here: https://writerbeware.blog/scam-archive/
Logan Crawford is an actor and TV host who sells interview services online via the Spotlight Network, and allows multiple scam companies to re-sell his services at a substantial markup (four figures as opposed to the $450 you’d pay if you hired him directly from his listing on Fiverr). For the money, you get a video clip you can use on your own website or social media; it’s also posted on various streaming platforms such as YouTube, but is not promoted in any meaningful way and shares company with thousands of similar interviews and video clips–so there is no guarantee that anyone will see it. In other words, it does not provide you or your book with significant exposure.
Though I do get inundated with all manner of scammers by email or phone (whereupon, I am tempted to ask them how the weather is in Manila today), occasionally, I will get an actual phone message from someone that sounds like he’s sitting at a rooftop pool in West Hollywood. Such was the case with this guy, claiming to be a James Anderson of Tri Star/ Sony, on the hunt for material for HBO Max. He promised the obligatory $300k and even left a number with an L.A. prefix: 310-933-4179.
Interesting, no?
No. This is a typical impersonation scam. Major production companies don’t contact authors out of the blue by phone (plus, the HBO Max name has been retired–it’s now just Max, news that doesn’t seem to have reached the Philippines, since I see this mistake all the time in scam solicitation). They use spoofed phone numbers, so they can make them seem like they’re coming from anywhere they want.
I was recently contacted about my book that is going to be adapted for a movie. The person sending it was bruceberman.villageroadshowpic@gmail.com. He also gave me a contact to do the adaption which is michael,rodriquez@astutelitery.com. Never asked for any money from me. After doing some research it certainly looks like a scam. What do you think?
I recently received an email from Amazon Prime Video, signed by Stephen Bruno, where they recommended WriterBoxStudio to create a cinematic trailer.
I’m curious to know if WriterBoxStudio is somehow affiliated with Amazon Prime Video. Is there any partnership or connection between them?
I would appreciate any information you could provide on this matter.
Thank you very much for your assistance.
The Amazon Prime solicitation is an impersonation scam; I’ve gotten many reports. Also, no real production company is interested in a “cinematic trailer”, and rights acquisition should never be contingent on you having to pay anything or buy anything. (For more info about how film rights to books are really acquired, see the most recent guest post: How a Book Really Becomes a Movie.)
The purpose of an impersonation scam is to get you excited about what seems like a great opportunity, and then lower the boom, moneywise. WHatever company you’re referred to for the service you’re supposed to buy is part of the scheme. There are multiple scam signs on Writer Box Studio’s website, including false claims (they say they’ve been in business for 5 years but their domain registration is just 51 days old as of this writing), claims of expertise and success that can’t be verified because there are no specifics that would allow you to do so, and first-name-only “testimonials” (again, unverifiable).
It looks like I got scammed. Got an email from John R. Holmes from Amazon Prime Video. I paid $2,500 for a trailer, so I am not out too much, but I must admit, this was a very sophisticated scam. Beware out there.
Sorry to hear it. If you paid by credit card, you can dispute the charges as long as you’re within the window to do so–I’ve heard from people who’ve been able to get some or all of their money back that way.
Do you think I can still get my money back if they actually prpduced a trailer, which they did? It’s a bit hokey and over the top, but it is a trailer.
Unfortunately I think it’s unlikely. A credit card company is likely to see the fact that you got something for your money–even if it’s not great quality–as indication that there was no malfeasance. I wouldn’t discourage you from trying, though–you don’t know unless you do.
Thanks.
Ultimately my credit card company would not credit me for the cost of the trailer, which I accept. I got a trailer after all, although it’s amusing at best. I have to admit, these guys are good. They knew my book’s title and my name in the solicitation, and when I saw that John R. Holmes actually worked for Amazon Prime I thought it was legit. The guy on the phone did not have an accent and was calling from a Los Angeles area code. Nevertheless, I should have been more suspect when they did not know my book had won honorable mention in a book award contest. (Bulldog won Honorable Mention by Readers Views in 2019 for the teen submission. Yes, I am bragging, but hey, shouldn’t I get something out of this?) This is a good, if not expensive lesson: There are a lot of very sophisticated scammers out there: Investment scams, scams on dating sights, etc. Due diligence requires more than just checking things out. It requires real in depth research. And I am a lawyer!
I was contacted by Clock Tower Publishing which is an imprant of Sweet Cherry Publishing in the UK. I sent you a DM on Twitter/X with screenshots.
Thanks–I’ll respond via email.
Thank you for these lists. It’s good to know about these scammers and what to watch out for.
What is your opinion about the Agency Writersofusa? Mayuresh Kulkarni (email: mayureshkulkarni@hotmail.com)
What about Rebel Entertainment in Los Angeles? Also Todd Peters, who is listed on IMBD as a producer, actor, and model? I’ve been contacted by both recently.
Todd Peters should have been on the list–I’ve seen a bunch of impersonation emails. Thanks for the reminder. I’ve added him.
Rebel Entertainment is a fake agency (I’ve seen several examples of its solicitations). It uses stolen photos on its “Meet the Team” page–for example, the photo of “John Collins” actually belongs to Adam Eaglin of The Cheney Agency.
I sent you a question about Trixie Summers of The Literary Firm, whom I have suspicions about.
Hello Daniel,
I too have had some contact with Trixie Summers from The Literary Firm. Recently I began to question the legitimacy of Ms. Summers and the company she represents. Would you mind sharing your experience?
Keith, The Literary Firm is a scam–I’ve gotten many reports. Its agents are fake (the Trixie Summers persona is inhabited by a sales rep in the Philippines), its claims to represent traditionally-published books are false, and its author testimonials are false as well (confirmed by one of the authors on social media). Please have a look at my blog post on how to spot a fake literary agency: there are several mentions of The Literary Firm.
As of this moment, I’m in a worry some situation. I’ve written 3 children’s books. I was very ‘green’ when I started looking for publishers and decided to self-publish. I had many rejections until one co. ‘took pity on me’! This co. ‘took’ me for$56000 with no returns ! I found out and pulled my books out of that after I found out the co were in litigation and sent them an e-mail demanding money back and got $8000. Another co. have been ‘handling’ my books and now I found out that this co. are scammers from a person from Writers Beware by the name of Ben Carter!
There’s no one named Ben Carter who is associated with Writer Beware. I’m concerned that someone is falsely claiming to represent us—can you tell me more about Ben Carter and how you encountered him? Email if you prefer: beware@sfwa.org
That’s worrying if people are impersonating Writers Beware.
I see Naomi Wilson as a name associated with Paramount Pictures. Is she a true Paramount person, or impersonating one?
Thank you
Whew! . . . glad I’m not published . . . or solicited . . . or identified as a potential target (not that it would work).
There’s a benefit to being under everyone’s radar,
Thank you for you valuable and helpful advice: Reference your Related blog posts:
Alert: Scammer Page Turner Press and Media is Impersonating Major Motion Picture Studios
PAGETURNER published my book, “Deliver us from Evil, (Sing to the Lord and dance with the Devil).” They bled me for money. I was their meal ticket. They have paid no royalties to me even though I know of many people who bought the book. Then they sent me two film offers – Metro Films and Paramount both fake email addresses. I even checked with Paramount in Dublin and was told that it was a scam. Pageturner demanded that I paid them circa $158,000 up front for the Writers Guild of America and sent me a dummy invoice. Your Title is correct, “WRITER BEWARE. The old adage has never been more truthful, “Caveat emptor is a Latin term that means “let the buyer beware.” Every Blessing to you struggling authors – keep at it and don’t give up.
Paul Adrian McGowan, County Wexford, Ireland
I’m so sorry to hear about your experience with Page Turner, Paul. They are one of the most active (and most predatory) of all the Philippine scams.
If you still have the dummy invoice and other materials associated with the Metro Films/Paramount scam, would you forward them to me? My email is beware@sfwa.org . Thanks.
I have an email from Harper-Collins that I would like to share with you. I’m sure it was a scam. They offered $132,000 for the movie rights. I only had to pay one of their accredited screen writers to transfer it from a novel to a screen play.
Please send it to me at beware@sfwa.org. Thanks!
One small addition, you might also check the last two or three letters of the url (the Top Level Domain). Is it .com or .net or .edu or .biz–or is it a country code like .ru (Russia) or .io (Indian Ocean). If it is a country code, beware.