The Impersonation List

199 Comments

1. A very important and well-researched post — thank you for raising awareness and protecting writers through this valuable information.

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2. This post is such an important and eye-opening resource for writers. I truly appreciate the effort you put into protecting authors by raising awareness about impersonation scams. Your dedication to the writing community is remarkable. Thank you for doing this work!

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3. Hello,
   I have a feeling I know the answer already, but do you know anything about Top Three Solutions LLC? My mother has paid them many thousands of dollars for various services to promote her book to publishers and movie producers. Their domain is only 9 months old, and all the red flags are there. Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

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4. Nice try with the top tier literary agents who tried to scam me with their three-month-old website. inkreelmedia.com surely a great scam from the Philippines!

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5. Hello,

   I am currently working on getting my very first novel published and this company reached out to me via messenger FB.

   http://www.inkspirebookpublishers.com/

   Any Intel on them?
   Scam?
   Real deal?

   Thanks In Advance 🙂

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6. Do you know of Ebony CNTV that supposedly posts on ROKU? I don’t use ROKU.
   I don’t know how they found me, but they want to do an author interview with me.
   I was connected by host, Gary Atencio: producer@cntvnation.com
   Producers and sponsors cover the production cost. but they want me to pay $295–a drop-down amount for a considerable sum, negotiating down to $195.
   Do you know if they are legitimate?
   Janet

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   1. Reputable interview hosts or programs don’t charge fees to their guests. I haven’t heard of CNTV, but looking at its website, it looks like pretty typical pay-to-play online broadcasting, simlar to Logan Crawford’s Spotlight TV (which also sells–and allows multiple scammers to re-sell–interview services). See my blog post for why this isn’t really a good use of money: https://writerbeware.blog/2023/10/13/vanity-radio-and-tv-think-twice-before-paying-for-interviews/

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7. Thank you so much for this Victoria. I found your post yesterday (10 September 2025) when researching
   Timothy Williams of Film Directors – twilliams.filmdirectors@gmail.com
   who sent me a flattering but ultimately ludicrous email comparing my 2014 novel The Dance of Love with Dirty Dancing and Save the Last Dance (the only thing they have in common is the word ‘Dance’). He wrote that my novel was a ‘standout property’ that producers and production companies would love (he also mentioned publishers would feel the same … even though the novel is already published!)
   But even I, ancient as I am, felt a thrill – for a brief moment – that my novel might have been chosen for film adaptation until I realised the idiotic film comparisons. And then I began internet searching and found you.
   I’m very grateful to you and this site for your research, for all the comments, and for the ability to list yet another scammer here. Thank you, Angela

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   1. The gmail address is a dead giveaway but well done on spotting the scam. So many don’t.

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8. Victoria….your expertise is incredibly valuable. Thank you for this! I just received this one, purportedly from screenwriter Alan Roth. I am fairly confident this is a scam. I am certain that screenwriters don’t send out random solicitations for books they have not read. But what makes this pitch different from others I have received is that they offer a Zoom meeting. I am curious as to who would show up at the Zoom meeting, if I scheduled it.

   -I hope you’re doing well! My name is Sarah, and I work with Alan Roth. Alan is an award-winning screenwriter and Fellow of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences who’s passionate about building community and connecting with authors who have compelling stories to share.

   I understand that authors like yourself are often inundated with various types of communication, so I want to be clear about our intentions. This email isn’t about optioning your novel, nor have we read it in full (though we’ve carefully reviewed your author website and book synopsis for The Gift). The purpose of reaching out is purely to network and connect. Alan deeply values building industry relationships.

   He loves meeting storytellers with fresh perspectives and unique narratives—and he’s also enthusiastic about helping authors explore ways to get their work in front of producers, if that’s an avenue of interest. Alan is a fantastic resource and a great person to chat with about all things storytelling.

   If you’re interested in connecting, I’d be happy to help coordinate a phone call or Zoom meeting.

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   1. Hi Victoria…..I did accept the invite from Alan for a Zoom call and had a lovely conversation with him today, so I can confidently say that his email was not a scam. I think it might be best to just delete this entire thread, but can’t see how to do that. Can you delete this? I wouldn’t want your visitors to see a post that suggests that Alan Roth is being impersonated. Thanks so much.

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      1. I’m going to leave all of these comments up so people can see them and decide for themselves.

         As Aaron Ryan says, Alan Roth really is a screenwriter with genuine credits. However, I do have concerns about these latest pitches for his services. Such emails have been going out for some time, but earlier emails came from a differently-named assisstant (not Sarah Miller), who I was able to confirm is a real person. Also, the earlier solicitations varied–they weren’t the same email pasted in over and over.

         The Sarah Miller emails, on the other hand, come from a different (and suspicious, given that it’s Gmail) email address; also, the emails from the first assistant were pretty straightforward pitches for screenplay writing services, but Sarah’s are vague, and also all the ones I’ve seen are identical–which is typical of many scam solicitations. So I’ve been concerned that the Sarah Miller solicitations may not be legit, though I haven’t been able to say for sure.

         Regardless, spending money on having someone write a screenplay for you may not be a good investment, even if they give you ownership of the copyright. Production companies prefer to hire their own screenwriters to adapt books.

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      2. Please, just don’t do it. They’ve got you a good one. If you really, really want a screenplay, just read Story by Scott McKee and write the thing yourself.

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   2. Alan and Act II Media are most definitely legit. I secured his services for my screenplay and it’s one of the best things I ever did.

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9. Victoria, I was recently contacted by a Stephanie Lewis. I did extensive checking and found she is connected to one scam and then, another…one a literary scam and the other, a pharmacy scam. She claims to be a “book endorser,” literary agent, and book broker, out of Irvine, CA. She has a profile on About.me that looks professional and who appears very attractive along the lines of a professional model. She called me but I
   didn’t get a sense she was genuine. She asked to represent one of my books through a contact with the
   Library of Congress. She says she can market my book to a major publisher who will pay me $50k-$150K
   in advance royalties ostensibly for a first edition…at no cost to me save a 12% commission fee. Then, the “kick in the head” occurs with the following:

   “If a manuscript needs editorial development or marketing strategy work before pitching, I partner with experienced professionals. Any such services are fully optional, discussed transparently, and only pursued if mutually agreed upon.”

   My limited experience tells me that this is an open-ended invitation to garner funds for so-called “editorial development.”

   Please advise…Many thanks.

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   1. “Book endorser” and “book broker” are not terms used by people in the real publishing industry (though they are commonly used by scammers). Also, real agents rarely reach out to authors directly–and when they do, it’s not because they were just trawling through Library of Congress control numbers. The 12% commission is not normal–15% is standard for domestic sales. And there’s no trace online of any literary agent named Stephanie Lewis (though there is a Stephanie Lewis who’s a real estate agent).

      All of these things together wave a big red SCAM flag, even before the pitch for services. You can bet that these are not, in fact, optional: convincing you to pay for them is the entire purpose of the contact.

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      1. Her name was Samantha Lewis…sorry…

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10. Beware of Excel Book Writing which claims to be based out of Chicago, Illinois. They are taking anywhere between hundreds of dollars to as much as tens of thousands of dollars promising editorial services, marketing, print and digital media, legal assistance for authors, distribution, video documentary, and other goods and services. They will demand payment via cash or money order and then refuse to answer questions. The editorial manager on the project is then changed out repeatedly with vague excuses as to why the project is not making any progress, no progress reports, and no marketable products. They took approximately $38,000 from me. Other authors are complaining on Trust Pilot. It is happening to a lot of people.

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    1. I just wanted to add the company ceased to communicate with me when I requested a refund or that they furnish any of the promised goods or services. They appear to be operating a large call center. I found them via a google search. I am now having to hire an attorney to sue them. I reported them to the IC3, BBB, Trust Pilot, and others. Dozens if not hundreds of aspiring authors have been deceived by this criminal organization. This is their website. Warn others, please. https://excelbookwriting.com/

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       1. I’m sorry for your experience with Excel Book Writing. It’s one of a very large number of ghostwriting scams, operating from overseas, mostly in Pakistan. I’ve written about these scams, and the markers that identify them, here: https://writerbeware.blog/2022/01/24/how-to-spot-a-ghostwriting-scam/ . I’ve heard from scores of writers who’ve had experiences similar to yours, and lost large amounts of money.

          Thank you for reporting them, which is something I always urge scam victims to do. For any bank or credit card information you gave them, I’d strongly advise you to contact your bank and/or credit card company and ask for a fraud alert to be placed on your account; I’d also recommend you contact any one of the three credit bureaus — Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion–to place a fraud alert on your credit report: https://www.identitytheft.gov/#/CreditBureauContacts . You don’t have to contact all three–the credit bureau you contact must alert the other two.

          Last but not least…Trustpilot is NOT a reliable source of reviews for publishing companies or publishing-related services. Not only is it very easy to buy fake four- and five-star reviews on Fiverr and similar sites (something that scammers make full use of), it’s also fairly easy for them to get negative reviews removed.

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11. Is Nathan Bransford a scammer? nathan@nathanbransford.com

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    1. The real Nathan Bransford is not a scammer. But there are a lot of impersonations scams around. If someone purporting to be Nathan Bransford contacted you out of the blue, it’s probably someone impersonating him.

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12. There’s this guy who goes by the name of Sky Ledger from Wallace and Griffin, he told me that he submitted an endorsement letter to Hollywood production companies, but I need to pay him first, which I already did for $3,500 and then he asked for another $10,000 for a film pitch deck. Now, I’m just curious because I haven’t even spoken to any representative from any Hollywood Production Companies he told me and I didn’t see any paperworks

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    1. You got scammed for $13,500

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    2. I’m very sorry to tell you that this is a scam. Film rights to books sell via reputable agents, and there should never be any fees or purchases associated with that process. Offers like this–where supposedly you’ll be “endorsed” to Hollywood–are never legit, and the products you’re told are essential and that you must buy, such as screenplays, pitch decks, story boards, “cinematic trailers”, or anything else, won’t help you get any closer to a film deal, because production companies aren’t interested in them.

       My best advice, if you paid by credit card, is to dispute the charges and see if you can get your money back. Sorry to give you bad news.

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13. Hi Victoria!

    Please include Veritas Ink and Press, they made me pay for $20,000 for Hollywood Screenplay and they became unreachable all of a sudden.

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    1. Veritas Ink and Press is a new name for me–would you please email me (beware@sfwa.org) with the details of your experience, along with any emails, contracts, or other materials you received from Veritas? Thanks.

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       1. I haven’t received any contracts, just a verbal commitment that I will be receiving a million dollar contract offer from sony pictures but I need to purchase a hollywood screenplay first before moving forward

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          1. This is definitely a scam–not only is the promised dollar amount outlandish (a scam marker in itself) but if Sony really wanted your film rights, they’d option or buy them and then hire their own screenwriters. Production companies don’t want third party-created screenplays, which, beyond quality issues, can pose rights concerns. In this case, the promise of a movie deal is a lie to trick you into paying big money for something you don’t need and may not even receive.

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    2. I, too, recently lost money to Veritas Ink and Press. Mine was for “Book Returnability Insurance.”
       It was a small amount, compared to what you paid. I’m so sorry about your loss.
       I looked up Veritas Ink and Press before sending them money. They even have a website. I tried calling them, to verify that they knew the “Project Fulfillment Manager” that contacted me. The message I got was that their phone was “out of service” at this time.
       My payment was through PayPal. It bothered me that the money went to an individual-not a company. When I questioned the “Project Fulfillment Manager” about this, I was told that person was the “accountability manager.” Her answer was quick and sounded legit. Gullible me!

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       1. Have you tried disputing the charges through PayPal?

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14. Just wanted to add a new one. Apex Books is a site currently being praised/pushed by someone impersonating me online (author Luanne G. Smith). An indie writer who’d recently been solicited by them had the sense to get in touch through my website to see if they were really talking to me. They weren’t. The impersonation scams have dogged me for years. Every few months I get an email out of the blue from someone wanting to know if I’m really the person they’ve been chatting with about marketing. I’ve posted scam alerts all over my website, including a link to this post, to warn people. Not sure what else to do.

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    1. There are a number of publishing or publishing-related companies that use the Apex name. Do you have a URL you can share? Thanks.

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15. Has anyone here ever heard of Pageleaf Publishing or their creative director Ayyoub Benebri? Met them through a pitching event and I’m not sold that they are a legitimate/ethical publisher. I’ve done a lot of research and have found both red and green flags, not totally sure what to think about them. Thanks!

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    1. it’s a scam owned by filipino based in town called Dasmarinas

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17. Does anyone here know if the company Oxford Writers Club is legitimate? I am working with an author as part of a team to help get his book online. I’m a graphic designer and designed his book. Are ANY of these companies legitimate which claim to help your book gain more exposure on Amazon and help with SEO and market to bookstores? Someone else on the team pointed out many suspicious issues on their website. I keep telling the author that he can do everything for free himself on Amazon. He keeps insisting on trying to find one of these 3rd party companies to work with. We have already been scammed by one.

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    1. Based on what I see at Oxford Writers Club’s website, it’s a ghostwriting scam like the ones discussed here: https://writerbeware.blog/2022/01/24/how-to-spot-a-ghostwriting-scam/ . Many of the markers identified in my post are present, such as unverifiable claims of expertise, including the covers of trad-pubbed books on the homepage and elsewhere to falsely imply they had something to do with them, and falsehoods (their logo says “est’d 1993” but their web domain is less than two years old). I’ve heard from writers who used companies like this and received substandard services, no services, or were targeted for various kinds of fraud, such as book order scams involving large fees or demand to pay big sums of money for entirely fake Amazon “requirements”.

       If your client wants to work with a third party company, there are many perfectly legit ones that do charge fees but deliver quality services and won’t try to rip him off. Writer Beware’s Self-Publishing page has information and resources to help.

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18. Book Collaborators just called me about joining the AOC7 Book Fair this May.

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19. Can you tell me if the Codex Literary Agency was ever real? I checked it a month ago and it appeared to be a valid agency, but yesterday when I returned, it said the website had “expired.” I would appreciate knowing. Thnaks.

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    1. Hi, Amy,

       I responded in email, and I’m pasting my response in here, in case someone else has the same question. I got several questions about Codex last year, and honestly wasn’t sure what to make of it. On the one hand, the presence of Miriam Kriss suggested it was real, another new agency formed after the breakup of Irene Goodman; I also received no reports of solicitations or other questionable activity, which, with a fake agency, I usually do pretty promptly. On the other hand, there are so many impersonation scams now, and the other agent on the site, Isabelle Rader, had very little internet presence and her photo looked very AI-ish.

       I wasn’t aware the website had vanished. It’s still not clear to me what was going on–a real agency that never got off the ground, or an impersonation attempt–but the fact that it’s gone kind of makes the question moot. Isabelle Rader is on my radar now (sorry for the near-pun) so if she pops up again I’ll probably hear about it.

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       1. Victoria, yesterday on an impulse I tried that site again, and it has reappeared!! Exact same thing as near as I can tell. Very confusing. Just thought I would post this here just so you know.

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          1. Huh. The mystery deepens! Thanks for letting me know. (Another thing that’s odd about the Codex website: no list of clients or sales.)

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             1. Hello Victoria!

                Is there any further updates on Codex? I queried and now I wish I hadn’t! There’s a lot of discourse, though it more just seems that they aren’t responding to anyone as opposed to scamming people. Should I be concerned they have my pages and synopsis?

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                1. I haven’t heard anything new. No changes to the website since I first looked at it; no reported sales or even activity that I can find. Per comments on Miriam Kriss’s listing on QueryTracker, quite a few people have submitted to her/Codex, but several of them report no response, and a couple of people say they didn’t get an acknowledgment of their submission (even though after submitting there’s a popup that says to expect an acknowledgment email). Ditto for Isabelle Rader.

                   I ran Isabelle Rader’s (very AI-looking) photo through several AI detectors, and they all agree it’s AI-generated. Miriam Kriss has several online presences, including listings on LinkedIn and Reedsy, where she describes herself as President of Codex Literary; I guess someone could have created a bunch of fake profiles for her, but that seems awfully elaborate. But there is just so much oddness here that I”m now really suspicious that this agency is fake–though for what purpose, I don’t know. If it were an active scam, you’d expect that info to have emerged by now, either from QT or Reddit comments or from reports to me. But it hasn’t.

                   Theft of intellectual property at the pre-publication stage is really rare. My feeling is that most likely there’s nothing to worry about with them having your materials, but Codex is just such an oddity that I can’t say for sure.

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                   1. Hi guys, I’m a bit late, sorry.

                      I hired Miriam Kriss on Reedsy to review and edit my query letter (it was a lot of money, too…) and after two weeks, I received the edited letter.

                      It was completely different, which I guess is to be expected, but the use of unnecessary flowery adjectives and adverbs made me grimace a little bit, I had to remove most of them.

                      I didn’t fully suspect AI until I reviewed the new “sexier” titles she suggested for my book. Some had absolutely nothing to do with my story, some were incomplete, like “The Elf Prince’s [?]”, and some were so close to highly-known books or terms in the Fantasy genre, such as, “The Crown of Elfhame,” or “A Throne of Ruins and Rose,” which is outright unacceptable.

                      I was on QueryTracker today and saw her profile pop up and a few people mentioned their suspicions of her, naturally making me nervous…

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20. I recently received two unsolicited offers of huge option fees. Both offers impersonated real people – Daniel Preston at Lionsgate and Joshua Kornblit at Focus Features. Cell numbers were unregistered and email addresses were slight variations of real ones. I know major studios do not pay hundreds of thousands for options.

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21. Any information on AustinMacauley?

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    1. Vanity publisher. I’ve written several posts about it–plug the name into the search box on the homepage or click the magnifying glass icon in the header.

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22. I was recently contacted by KlickReel Media and found their services and offers appealing , looks like another scam. I wanted to see if they are legitimate

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    1. No, they are likely a scam. For example, they claim in phone solicitations to have been in business for 12 years but their website was only registered last October.

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23. I’ve recently self-published a book (which is my second). Today my wife received a call from a number she didn’t recognize, so she didn’t answer it. Then she received a text from the same number from someone named Rex Evans at Indie Lit Catalogue asking if I was the author associated with my most recent book. He has the right author and book, I’m just not sure why it rang through to my wife’s phone number. Any information on Indie Lit Catalogue? Thanks for the great work you’re doing!

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    1. I’ve gotten a couple of questions about it. On a websearch, a lot of people are asking about it, so clearly it’s doing cold-call solicitations, which are always a warning sign. I see warning signs at its website also (it’s a Wix site, and the custom domain name is less than a year old): there’s no info on who’s behind the company or how books actually get onto the site; plus the “smart bookstubs” it promotes are a copycat of an old Author Solutions junk marketing offering. I’m sure there are hefty fees associated with all of this.

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       1. Just got one myself, which is deeply baffling—both how they got the number and also the book was trade published?

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          1. As I understand it, among the ways scams get contacts is to buy leads from lead-generating companies that have access to this kind of information. So I don’t find it odd that they got your number–though it is odd that they targeted a trad-pubbed book. Maybe just ignorance? At any rate, sorry you’re being harassed.

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24. This one is very complicated. So my late-O’Pa’s cousin got contacted by someone who wanted to get in touch about my book. She’s not the one who published it. You know how family is when you make a book. Anyways, she must have posted about it or given it to a friend. The company that called is Simply Best Reads. I’ve checked their website. The number matches, but- The book’s only been out a couple of months, half a year next month. It’s only the first one.

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    1. Simply Best Reads is a paid shelf space physical bookstore run by ProIsle Publishing, a company that does business under multiple names and about which I’ve gotten complaints. I’m guessing the caller wanted to sell shelf space or an “event” at the store–or, possibly, to offer you a re-publication package (a very common scam). If you get any further contacts from them, would you email me? beware@sfwa.org

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25. Hello, is Word Alliance Literary Online legit? Thnk u

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27. Has anyone had any experiences with American Publishing Studios? Are they credible and worth working with? Any thoughts?

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    1. Based on what I see at its website, AMerican Publishing Studios is a ghostwriting scam, like the ones profiled in this blog post: https://writerbeware.blog/2022/01/24/how-to-spot-a-ghostwriting-scam/. My advice is to avoid.

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28. Does anyone know if The Literary Firm (theliteraryfirm.com) is a reliable literary agency? I want to ensure they’re credible before proceeding

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    1. The Literary Firm is a scam. It’s included on my Overseas Scams list (its parent company is based in the Philippines) and mentioned in this blog post: https://writerbeware.blog/2023/12/15/how-to-spot-a-fake-literary-agency/

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29. Thinking about using Book Publishing HQ, but I’m cautious. Can anyone confirm if they’re reputable or share any red flags to watch out for?

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    1. Based on what I see at its website, Book Publishing HQ is a ghostwriting scam, like the ones profiled in this blog post: https://writerbeware.blog/2022/01/24/how-to-spot-a-ghostwriting-scam/. My advice is to avoid.

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       1. I’m new here. An author, like me, led me to your site. Publisher name ‘Spines’ (or BooxAI) are they legit? Also, for movie producers: Call Sheet Media (CSM), they are based California, NY, and UK. Are they legit as well? Congrats on your success!

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30. Is Vella Publishing legit? Has anyone worked with them and can share their experience?

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    1. Based on what I see at its website, Vella Publishing is a ghostwriting scam, like the ones profiled in this blog post: https://writerbeware.blog/2022/01/24/how-to-spot-a-ghostwriting-scam/. My advice is to avoid.

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    2. Based on what I see at its website, Vella Publishing is a ghostwriting scam, like the ones profiled in this blog post: https://writerbeware.blog/2022/01/24/how-to-spot-a-ghostwriting-scam/

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31. Intermedia Films reached out to me, and I’m trying to determine if they’re legitimate. Has anyone else been contacted by them or worked with their team? Their website is https://internationalmediaag.com/, but I’d appreciate any feedback or experiences to help me make an informed decision.

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    1. Please check the list of impersonated companies above. Intermedia Films is on it, thanks to multiple reports I’ve received of this scam.

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32. Be careful, I got a letter from Gregory Lopez from IFC films NY. Requesting my author’s rights for a film. Thank God for this blog. Thank you 🙏. Robert

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33. I believe there is a new twist to impersonation scams. I was asked to be friends with Lee Child, the author of the very successful Jack Reacher series. The person engaged me within a few minutes of my accepting their request and sent me an email. We talked about our books, but they were mostly interested in how mine was doing and what strategies I am using. Near the end, I was told that I needed a publicist and was recommended to contact
    Elena Fischer
    @ElenaFisch83938
    I was told she was online and to contact her immediately, which I begged off saying I had to go to dinner. I have not received any other communication since, nor did I contact the publicist. I did a search for Lee Child and the account from the friend request came up-
    Lee Child
    @LeeChild356099
    However, another account with the name Lee Child on it came up and it was designated as the official Lee Child account. It had thousands of followers where the account that contacted me had considerably less.
    Am I being paranoid or is this a scam. It smells to me.

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34. west Harmony Productions contacted mr through Audible ACX. HSD A GOOD CHST, SEEMS LRGIT. Ipaid tominvedt withnthem and they will pitvh my book to thde big 5. website looks legit , emails all look legit. company is llc but i smell a rat??

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    1. You do indeed. I’ve just started hearing about solicitations from West Harmony Productions. They claim to have been in business for five years, but their web domain is just a few months old; they also claim credit for trad-pubbed books they had nothing to do with. Additionally, the solicitations I’ve seen, as well as services they offer, are typical of overseas-based scams.

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35. I wanted to bring up something concerning. I received a call from someone claiming to be Michael De Luca, a well-known producer in the film industry. They expressed interest in adapting my book into a film but requested upfront payments for services like screenplay development and marketing.
    The situation feels suspicious because it’s uncommon for someone of his stature to contact authors directly or to ask for money upfront. Have you heard of similar scams where scammers impersonate industry professionals like this?
    I’m sharing this as a heads-up to other authors who might encounter similar situations. Any advice on how to verify such claims would be greatly appreciated.

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    1. The Michael De Luca impersonation is pretty common at the moment; I’ve received multiple reports. The head of a major production company will never be contacting authors out of the blue–plus, required fees and/or purchases are never a part of the real rights acquisition process (it’s the other way around: they pay you). These two things are really the only evaluation tools you need: together, they reliably identify a scam.

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       1. My heart just dropped after reading these comments. My grandfather has a few books published and had Michael De Luca productions reach out to him. Like the comment above, they too wanted him to pay for screen play development and marketing. Unfortunately, I didn’t know about it until very recently. He has invested a large amount of money at this point. I am devastated to find out this is more than likely a scam. 😭

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36. Has anyone received an e-mail solicitation from Sarah Cameron asking about acquiring film rights for your novel? She contacted me through my Amazon book link, saying: “If you currently hold the rights, would you be open to discussing how much you would consider selling them for? My team and I at Open Road Films are actively purchasing the film rights for books to develop exciting new projects. Over the past six months, we’ve successfully acquired more than 30 projects, and 23 of them have already secured contracts with production companies.” I looked her up on social media and researched Open Road Films, figuring this is most likely a scam. I just wondered if anyone else had heard from her.

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    1. Hi, Lori,

       I’ve gotten multiple reports about these fake Open Road contacts, using various “agent” or “assistant” names. Open Road Films is a real company, but this is an impersonation scam: they’re using the carrot of a possible purchase order to draw you in so they can try and sell you something, such as a screenplay or a “cinematic trailer.”

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       1. Thank you for the info! I figured as much.

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          1. I just received a phonecall soliciting me to sell the book copyrights to Columbia Pictures Industries Inc. I asked them to email their details but the email doesn’t correspond with Columbia Pictures Industries Inc email. Should I respond?.

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             1. I think you’ve answered your own question: this is an impersonation scam. Major production companies don’t contact authors directly, in any case.

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37. I recently received a phone call from Golden Snake Solutions Inc. about publishing and marketing services. Has anyone worked with them before?

    Reply

38. I recently received a call from ILRGuild Magazine offering ad space in their upcoming issue. They pitched it as a great opportunity to showcase my book to a broader audience of readers and film companies.

    The representative was friendly and professional, explaining that their magazine has a substantial readership and a strong reputation in both literary and cinema world. They even offered to design the ad for me, which sounded appealing since I’m not a designer.

    However, I couldn’t shake off a few concerns. First, I wasn’t familiar with ILRGuild Magazine before their call, which made me hesitant. Second, the cost of the ad space seemed high, and I wasn’t sure if the investment would translate into actual book sales or exposure. Finally, I wanted to ensure that this wasn’t a rushed decision—I’d need time to research their audience and verify the magazine’s credibility.

    While I didn’t say yes right away, I promised to look into their magazine and get back to them. I’m still weighing my options and would love advice from fellow authors and you: Has anyone worked with ILRGuild Magazine before? Is it worth it to invest in ad space with them? Any tips or insights would be really helpful!

    Reply

    1. Hi, Sara, thanks for your comment. In response to another comment here about ILRGuild, I’ve looked at the website and I’m pretty certain it’s a scam. There are several false claims–for example, they say they’ve existed since before the turn of the century, but their website is less than two months old; they seem also to be claiming that author Hilary Mantel, who died a couple of years ago, is their president, and associating her with a non-existent literary agency. Stock photos on the website don’t show what the website claims. There’s also no independent evidence of their existence; they have zero web presence beyond their own website and a press release. Not what you’d expect from an organization supposedly decades old.

       IMO, this is yet another fee scam–not just membership fees, but the ad space they’re selling in their magazine (which as far as I can determine has never published a single issue). Selling ad space in proprietary magazines is a fairly common ploy for overseas publishing/marketing scams; usually this is in conjunction with a book fair where the magazine supposedly will be distributed, but in this case associated with what looks like a fake organization (I have several examples of scammers creating fake organizations in order to sell goods or services, so this too is something I’ve seen before).

       What kind of prices did they quote you? If they sent you materials via email, would you share that with me? beware@sfwa.org. Thanks.

       Reply

39. Has anyone worked with Reader’s Magnet before? I’m curious to know if they’re a legitimate and trustworthy company to publish with. Would love to hear your experiences—positive or negative—to help me decide!

    Reply

    1. Readers Magnet is on my Overseas Scams list–thanks to multiple reports and complaints about its solicitations, poor performance, and inflated fees.

       Reply

    2. I am VERY familiar with ReadersMagnet! I signed up for several of their “programs” such as publishing, interviews, marketing, et al. ALL of them were worthless and, after 2 years, they never sold a single book (all my book sales were through Amazon and Audible, which they were not a part of). At any rate, after 2 years, I canceled all contracts with them. They refuse to take down any books listing themselves as “publisher” on Amazon and other places, whcih means any royalties from any sales from those Amazon sites goes to them, not me. Liers, Cheats, and thieves. Stay away from them. Covenant Books is another scam site.

       Reply

40. Well, this is a new one on me. Just got it about an hour ago, but the bcc was the first tip off and the second was rolling my cursor over the link. They did a good job, I’ll give them that! If I wasn’t more savvy, I might have clicked that link and who knows what it looks like or what it collects… Pretty slick graphics too! Even has a pic of Laura next to the sender address.

    Review Invitation / Bid Proposal from Laura Bradford #Nov2024
    Inbox

    Laura Bradford
    8:45 AM (1 hour ago)
    to bcc: me

    Laura Bradford Shared Document
    Invitation / Bid Proposal Request

    Submitted on November 20th, 2024

    Kindly take a moment to review the bid proposal from Laura Bradford, which was uploaded to your dashboard on 11/20/2024. Should you have any questions or require further information after reviewing, please do not hesitate to get in touch.

    View Dashboard (active link that goes to https://kjnss-trendy-site.webflow.io/)

    Set Reminder (same active link)

    —
    Laura Bradford (she/her)
    Literary Agent
    Bradford Literary Agency
    619/521-1201 Office
    619/929-1633 Cell
    http://www.bradfordlit.com

    Reply

    1. I got this today also–also as a bcc. I’ve forwarded it to Laura Bradford so she’ll be aware.

       Reply

41. Independent Literary Recognition Guild reached out to me, and I’m trying to determine if they’re legitimate. Has anyone else been contacted by them or worked with their team? Their website is ilrguild.co.uk, but I’d appreciate any feedback or experiences to help me make an informed decision.

    Reply

    1. The Independent Literary Recognition Guild is a scam, and I’m thrilled you’ve drawn my attention to it so I can feature it in a blog post. Scam signs: multiple uncorrected typos, false claims (says it “opened its doors” in the 1990s, but its web domain is just 50 days old), poor written English, what looks like a claim that Hilary Mantel (who is dead) is not only the organization’s president but part of a non-existent literary agency…I could go on.

       If they sent you an email, would you share it with me, please? beware@sfwa.org. Thanks so much for commenting!

       Reply

42. I’m considering engaging with IRL Magazine and wanted to know if anyone has experience with them. Are they a reputable publication? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

    Reply

    1. Thanks for your comment, Vanessa. I’m researching IRL magazine, and I’d be interested to know more about how they contacted you and what they offered. Could you please email me? beware@sfwa.org. Thanks!

       Reply

43. Please report all here:

    https://www.ic3.gov/

    The Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) is the central hub for reporting cyber-enabled crime. It is run by the FBI, the lead federal agency for investigating crime.

    Reply
44. Pingback: One-on-One with Writer Beware's Victoria Strauss - Symposium, from Pipeline Artists

45. I’ve recently been contacted by George Watson from motionpictureliteraryagency.com about acquiring the motion picture rights for my novel. The website looks very sus, with squeaky clean photos and lots of mentions of “successfully secured major distribution deals for a wide range of independent films…etc” with no specific names of said films. Also claims to partner with Amazon, SONY Pictures, and Netflix. Scam?

    Reply

    1. I’ve gotten the same email. The sender’s email address is definitely fishy: Timothy James Macarasig . If this was legit, it would only have George Watson’s email. I did a search and this Timothy person is from the Philippines. This is no doubt a scam.

       Reply

       1. I got the same email. I felt in my gut that this was a scam. Promises of big money was a huge red flag. Then they were pushy saying they would cover $4000 of the $6000 trailer and that it needs to be done in December, with no actual date given.

          We had a couple of calls and the Timothy Michaels sounded the same as the Creative Trailer House person.

          Emails were things like “production@firstlookstudios.com” so it looked legist.

          Needless to say I am glad for sites like this that protect authors, so thank you!

          Reply

    2. I’ve gotten multiple reports of this scam (and it is a scam). The goal is to refer you to an outfit called Creative Trailer House to buy a video trailer, which they will claim is required by production companies as part of the book-to-film process (this is a lie: production companies have no interest in video trailers).

       Reply

    3. I was just contacted by from Anne Taylor from Motion Picture Literary, same kind of thing. Their address on their website doesn’t actually exist and the pictures look AI generated without much detail about each person. And the email address is from a gmail account.

       Reply

       1. Yes, the gmail address is always a tell–a real agent or publisher will be using their own domain name.

          Reply

46. Has anyone been contacted by a Jacob Smith, purporting to be with Peak Point Press, an imprint of Skyhorse Publishing? Also, has anyone been contacted by George Watson (motionpictureliteraryagency.com), working with Timothy Michaels of First Look Studios, and a man named Parker with Creative Trailer House wanting money for a video trailer so First Look/Luna Films could produce a book to movie film?

    Reply

    1. I just got contacted now, and I have my doubts about their legitimacy.

       Reply

    2. Hi, Alan,

       I’ve gotten multiple reports of the motionpictureliteraryagency.com solicitations, all working the same way: a contact from a purported agent, then an email from someone impersonating First Look Studios, and ultimately a referral to Creative Trailer House for the video. The entire scam is orchestrated to lead to that referral. Even if they don’t just take the money and run, and you actually get a produced trailer, it won’t be of any use to you: production companies (real ones, not impersonators) have no interest in video trailers.

       Is Jacob Smith with Brokers AB? I have multiple complaints of Brokers AB impersonating a different Skyhorse imprint. In any case, publishers like Skyhorse–which acquire mainly via reputable literary agents–rarely contact authors directly.

       Reply

47. Hi thank you so much for this website!!

    Anyone else have an email like this? Is this real? They do have a facebook page and website that looks legit. I did click on an ad for more info from them but I never told them my name….
    Hello (my real name),

    “PrimeSeven Media
    Good day!

    My name is Jimmy Miller, Title Executive, of Prime Seven Media.

    We have received an inquiry in our Facebook Advertisement about the publishing of your book.

    With that, we would like to know more about your book and we will surely guide and help you in materializing your craft.

    To further assist you, we would appreciate if you can provide us with some of the details below.

    What is your book about?
    Are you done working on it or you’re still writing it?
    How many pages do you have?
    Do you have any images on it?
    Do you need a professional editor?
    What is the main goal in writing your book?
    Do you have any idea on how to promote your book?
    Attached are some of the books published by Prime Seven Media.

    Amazon.com: Louise becomes Lizette: 9781959224051: Forsman, Malin Hl: Books

    Amazon.com: Individual Empowerment: A Way to A Better Economy eBook : Gribble, Eric: Kindle Store

    Amazon.com: Bad Habits Die Hard: 9781959224020: Forsman, Malin Hl: Books

    More Pockets, Please: Forgotten Dreams: Little, Ken: 9781959224075: Amazon.com: Books

    If you wish to know more about us, please visit the link below.

    https://primesevenmedia.com/

    https://primesevenmedia.co.uk/

    (name).
    Please do always take care and keep safe always, (name). Hope to hear from you soonest.

    Best regards,

    Jimmy Miller

    Title Executive

    Tel: (414)-454-9205

    jimmy.miller@primesevenmedia.com

    Website: https://primesevenmedia.com/”

    The reason I clicked on the ad was due to the local newspaper (run by a TV Channel here called Seven Media, otherwise known as SevenWest Media) calling out for emerging authors who want to be published at the time. I thought Seven Media and Prime Seven Media was the same thing, initially. I feel so stupid for not reading into it more. Being the mum of a young, new writer, I thought this might be great opportunity for my young daughter, but once I thought about it, I did not want to respond in case it wasn’t legitimate. It seems a bit odd.

    I have looked up many differing reviews. Some think its a scam, some give them 4 or 5 stars, so its hard to tell to this newbie.

    Has anyone else had this? Is it a scam? Thanks!!
    We truly appreciate your time and this blog! Scary to think so many people would try to trick others – it’s awful!

    Reply

48. Hi Victoria, this is James, I have had a book company approach me through email and I have never heard of him before. His name is John and he claims to be from a company called “Bright Books Studio” I did not see this name on your list. Could you please let me know if they are legit. Thank you again. I am so glad my caregiver found your blog. You have been very helpful.

    Reply

    1. Hi, James,

       Would you forward the email to me so I can take a look? Thanks. beware@sfwa.org

       The fact that they contacted you is a red flag for a scam. The most aggressive scams these days are direct-solicitation scams.

       Reply

       1. Victoria, I am sorry to send their email this way. However, I am having email issues. Here is the email address that they contacted me from. ” johnbarton@brightbooksstudio.com ” Thank you very much!

          Reply

49. What about Brokers AB. Is it a scam. Britanny Jones claims Ingram will work with Yucca to get my $3000 charge back… up to $300.000.
    Lola Christianson I need a quick answer.

    Reply

    1. That does seem like a scam to me. So horrible that people would try to do this. I looked up Brokers AB, they don’t seem to be quite right. A website called scam detector has them as a high risk. Definitely look further, research and take caution with this one!

       Reply

50. I received the same email mentioned earlier from Pamela Goldstein at Verve Agency, word for word. This was followed by a phone call from the Project Manager, Dale Miller. Because of his heavily accented Englsih, i couldn’t understand him. The result was an exchange of emails with some impressive figures. I know realise the first email was not from Pamela Goldstein.

    Reply

    1. That’s Michael Parker, by the way.

       Reply

51. here’s one for you, from what I can decipher she is a real person at least… thoughts?

    Dear Bekka,

    I hope you’re doing well.

    I’m Pamela Goldstein from the Verve Talent & Literary Agency in Los Angeles. I recently had the pleasure of diving into your book, and I must say, it left a lasting impression. I was impressed by the depth of your storytelling and the overall impact of your narrative. We believe your work has exceptional potential for a film adaptation.

    We’ve been in discussions with a group of investors who are actively looking for compelling stories to bring to the screen. They’re excited about the possibility of collaborating on projects that resonate deeply with audiences, and your book fits that vision perfectly.

    I would love to explore the opportunity to acquire the film rights and discuss an option agreement that could bring your story to life in a new way. If this piques your interest, please share the best phone number to reach you, along with a convenient time for us to chat.

    Thank you for considering this opportunity. I truly look forward to the chance to work together and help your vision find its place on the big screen.

    Warm regards,

    PAMELA GOLDSTEIN

    FILM AGENT | VERVE TALENT & LITERARY AGENCY

    “The magic of film lies in its ability to capture the essence of a book, to turn words into a vivid, emotional experience.”

    Confidentiality Notice: This email and attachment contain information that is personal and sensitive (FOUO). Unauthorized use or disclosure without authorized consent or as permitted by law is prohibited. Safe, secure, and confidential handling of information in this email and attachment must be observed in accordance with the Privacy Act, 5 USC 552(a) and its various regulations and provisions. If you have received this correspondence in error, please notify the sender at once and destroy any copies you have made.

    Reply

    1. Thanks for posting this, Bekka–it’s the second report I’ve gotten of this solicitation. I’ll add Verve to the list.

       Reply

52. Victoria,
    Thanks so much for this. I got an unsolicited email from a Pamela Goldstein at Verve Literary agency. However, the website was merely the definition of the word Verve and some “career” opportunities. Thanks to your post I checked the email address and it was indeed a gmail address. The person was listed on Linked In as an agent for “Verve” but had no posts or profile information. The URL to her profile took me to “LInk In” profile. I admit I was sucked in a bit, but just before I was going to talk with this person, I got Dave from Kindlepreneur’s email pointing me to your site. Somebody was watching over me.

    Reply
53. Pingback: Heed the “red flags”-part III – Melodie Tegay, Author

54. Hi Victoria, this is James Olds again. I am a quadriplegic so my caregiver is writing this for me. I have looked over your lists a few times and I do not see the latest name on here. However, they are bombarding me with calls and emails. They are “Pinnacle Hybrid Publishing”. Like I said in my last comment I am thinking about giving up on publishing my books. This makes me very upset considering the long period of time and effort I put into them. Could you please let me know about this latest company I did not see them on your lists. Also, if you could maybe lead me to a reputable company it would be greatly appreciated.

    Reply

    1. I responded today to your previous comment with info about Pinnacle Hybrid Publishing.

       Reply

       1. Victoria,

          I was contacted by Ruth Garcia from Fynest360, who presented herself as a literary agent. She promised that she could help me increase the rank of my book on Amazon, and I was initially convinced by her pitch. However, after further investigation, I found out that Ruth Garcia is actually a man from the Philippines who has been using a voice-altering application to impersonate a woman.

          Additionally, Fynest360 took my money for services they didn’t deliver. I’ve already contacted my bank and am in the process of recovering the funds, but I wanted to make sure you are aware of this situation.

          Please consider adding Fynest360 to any scam watchlists or directories you may be aware of, as they are operating deceitfully and preying on authors.

          Reply

          1. I’ve gotten several reports about solicitations by Fynest360, and it’s been added to my Overseas Scams List. Hope your bank is able to help you recover your money.

             Reply

          2. Hi Dale, I’m a reporter with Bloomberg Businessweek based in San Diego. I’m reporting a long story on book publishing scams based in the Philippines. Would love to hear more. Please email me at bcamcrane@gmail.com if you’re willing to share.
             Best,
             Brent Crane

             Reply

55. Victoria, could let me know if “Pinnacle hybrid publishing” is a scam? I have come across so many and have lost, lets just say a lot of money. Your website has everyone I have used so far. I am so wary I gave up on publishing my books.

    Reply

    1. Hi, James,

       It’s a new name for me, and I can’t say whether or not it’s a scam. I do, however, see a number of warning signs at its website: unverifiable claims of quality and expertise (since there’s zero meaningful info on staff and their qualifications, or the company itself); a large array of junk marketing services such as press releases and book trailers (junk marketing is marketing that’s cheap to provide, sold at a large markup, and of dubious value for book promotion); bogus services for sale (such as the “book return program”–a total scam); and no portfolio (such as a list of published books) so you have no way to assess quality.

       If you want to self-publish, there are better options. See the Self-Publishing page of Writer Beware: http://www.writerbeware.com/ . Also keep in mind that while there are some genuine hybrid publishers (publishers that charge a fee but add value equivalent to traditional publishing), most companies that call themselves hybrids are really just vanity publishers or self-publishing service providers trying to seem more reputable.

       Reply

       1. I’m glad I found this! An Amanda Wilson called from this company offering an opportunity for me as an Author. I got scammed as a young writer once and let’s just say I’m not willing to be scammed again.

          Reply

56. Dear K********,

    I hope this email finds you well. My name is Martin Devis, and I represent Motion Pictures. I recently came across your captivating story, “******” and after thorough consideration, we are interested in discussing the possibility of acquiring the film adaptation rights.

    We believe that your book possesses a unique and compelling narrative that has the potential to translate seamlessly onto the silver screen. The characters, storyline, and thematic elements align perfectly with our vision for creating impactful and engaging cinematic experiences.

    Our team has successfully brought several literary works to life on the big screen, and we are eager to explore the potential collaboration with you. We envision working closely with you to ensure the integrity of your story is maintained while adapting it to the visual medium.

    Here is a brief overview of our proposal:

    Acquisition of Film Rights: We propose acquiring the exclusive rights to adapt “*******” into a feature film.

    Collaborative Process: We value the creative input of authors and aim to involve you in the adaptation process. Your insights will be invaluable in preserving the essence of your work.

    Financial Terms: We are open to discussing mutually beneficial financial terms, including upfront payments, royalties, and potential participation in the film’s success.

    Marketing and Promotion: Our experienced marketing team will work diligently to ensure the film receives the attention it deserves, leveraging our established networks and promotional strategies.

    What we offer: Film rights will be $1.2 million dollars(negotiable), movie sales 8%(negotiable).

    We would be delighted to schedule a meeting at your earliest convenience to discuss this opportunity further. If you have any specific concerns or preferences, please feel free to share them with us. We respect the collaborative nature of such endeavors and are committed to fostering a positive and creative partnership.

    Thank you for considering our proposal. We look forward to the possibility of bringing your incredible story to a wider audience.

    Best regards,

    All the best,

    Martin Devis

    Motion Pictures Corporation of America, Vice President, Distribution

    martindevis@mpcafilmsla.com

    10635 Santa Monica Blvd, Suite 180

    Los Angeles, CA 90025

    Reply

57. I was just contacted by Open Road Films, and I suspect this was a scam. I looked at Openroadfilms.com and it seems legit, but I have to wonder, why my book? It hasn’t sold much lately, why focus in on my book?

    Reply

    1. I got an email from them today, about a book i pulled from the market in 2019. Seems like a scam to me.

       Reply

       1. Checked the email (martinmiller@openroadacquisition.com) and found that the domain was registered (on godaddy.com) in sept of this year. The domain points to https://www.openroadfilms.com/ when clicked but that trick is easy to do. Screams scam of this one…

          Reply
58. Pingback: The Impersonation List – Writers Beware – SelenasDevotionsandWriting

59. Who is Truman Press. Scam??????

    Reply

    1. Truman Press = lose money fast, fast, fast!

       Reply

60. 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

    Reply

    1. 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).

       Reply

61. 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.

    Reply

62. 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.

    Reply

63. 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

    Reply

    1. 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.

       Reply

64. 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?

    Reply

    1. 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!

       Reply

    2. 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.

       Reply

    3. 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.

       Reply

65. 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…

    Reply

    1. Thanks for your comment. I’ll add Carson Rice to the list.

       Reply

66. 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?

    Reply

    1. 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.

       Reply

67. 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.

    Reply

    1. 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.

       Reply

68. 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.

    Reply

    1. 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.

       Reply

69. 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

    Reply

    1. 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.

       Reply

70. 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.

    Reply

71. 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

    Reply

    1. 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.

       Reply

72. 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!

    Reply

73. 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

    Reply

74. 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.

    Reply

75. 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?

    Reply

    1. 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″

       Reply

    2. 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.

       Reply

       1. Dear Victoria Strauss,
          I appreciate your response. I will keep my distance!
          Kind regards,
          Harris

          Reply

76. 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.

    Reply

77. 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?

    Reply

    1. 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.

       Reply

78. 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?

    Reply

    1. 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.

       Reply

79. 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?

    Reply

80. 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.

    Reply

    1. 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).

       Reply

81. 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.

    Reply

    1. 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.

       Reply

       1. 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.

          Reply

          1. 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.

             Reply

             1. Thanks.

                Reply

                1. 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!

                   Reply

82. 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.

    Reply

    1. Thanks–I’ll respond via email.

       Reply

83. Thank you for these lists. It’s good to know about these scammers and what to watch out for.

    Reply

84. What is your opinion about the Agency Writersofusa? Mayuresh Kulkarni (email: mayureshkulkarni@hotmail.com)

    Reply

85. 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.

    Reply

    1. 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.

       Reply

86. I sent you a question about Trixie Summers of The Literary Firm, whom I have suspicions about.

    Reply

    1. 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?

       Reply

       1. 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.

          Reply

87. 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!

    Reply

    1. 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

       Reply

       1. That’s worrying if people are impersonating Writers Beware.

          Reply
88. Pingback: Avoid These Publishing Scams | Self-Publishing News (Mar. 18, 2024) - ebookpartners.com

89. I see Naomi Wilson as a name associated with Paramount Pictures. Is she a true Paramount person, or impersonating one?

    Thank you

    Reply
90. Pingback: Is Bookrix Worth It: KDP Alternatives No One Talks About - ebookpartners.com

91. 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,

    Reply

92. 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

    Reply

    1. 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.

       Reply

93. 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.

    Reply

    1. Please send it to me at beware@sfwa.org. Thanks!

       Reply
94. Pingback: Writing books you don't want your parents to read (This week in books) - Nathan Bransford | Writing, Book Editing, Publishing

95. 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.

    Reply