Just last week, I began getting questions about email solicitations from a website I wasn’t familiar with called The Literary Reporter (TLR).
The (extremely verbose–more on that below) emails offer authors placement for their books on the TLR website, plus promotion to “supported book groups” (none named) and a listing in the TLR newsletter, which claims a subscribership of 25,000. For this “unmatched exposure”, writers only have to pay a one-time fee of $75.
Worth it? the authors who’d been solicited wanted to know. So I did some research.
At first glance, the TLR website looks flashy and professional, with lots of current book listings (here’s an example), as well as what appears to be original content in the form of blog posts, and a News page where you can read about books and authors and cast a vote for your favorite mystery novel.
Zoom in closer, though, and things start to seem…weird.
TLR’s domain name was registered in 2019, but the Wayback Machine hasn’t archived it and Google didn’t index it until July 2024. Along with the sudden flurry of solicitations, a complete lack of web presence other than its own website, and the provenance of the blog posts–all of which were published between June 25 and July 30–this suggests that TLR is a very new site…which raises the question of how it could already boast a newsletter subscribership of 25,000, not to mention have become “a trusted resource for publishers, retailers, agents, libraries, and literary festivals”, as claimed on its About Us page.
Also, as you can see above, there are currently only seven blog posts. These are recycled throughout the site, in various combinations. On the homepage for example, they appear three times–toward the top of the page, under the Book News & More heading, and under the Authors in Focus heading–so that if you’re not paying a lot of attention, it looks like TLR includes way more content than is actually there. Remaining content, including book covers and descriptions, has been scraped from publishers’ websites, Publishers Marketplace, QueryTracker (I’ve confirmed with QT that permission was not requested), and Instagram. Even the ostensibly original blog posts turn out to be scraped; for example, the one on Lisa Barr is cobbled together from an interview with the author and text from the author’s website.
And then there are the emails, which make claims of expertise and success (for example, that TLR is the “team behind some of the most unexpected breakaway titles”) that, thanks to the lack of any corroborating details such as staff names/bios or examples of successful PR projects, are completely unverifiable.
Now, I’d never heard of TLR before last week. Yet reading through this stack of text, I felt an eerie sense of deja vu. Hadn’t I seen other solicitations with the very same bizarre chattiness, peculiar paragraphing, random italicizations, and frequent bolded sentences?
Indeed I had, and it didn’t take me long to figure out where they came from: another book-focused site called The BookWalker (TBW), about which I wrote a fairly skeptical blog post in 2022. TBW is known for its wordy solicitations; below is an example. You can see how similar the formatting is (not to mention the length); note also the similar focus on mailing lists.
Like TLR, TBW has a stylish website that doesn’t quite hold up to close scrutiny (including a highly touted “AI-aided” bookfinding app whose actual existence an online conversation with TBW’s Sophia Arkin failed to convince me of), and makes unsupported claims of expertise and success. Also, at the top of the second column of the email above, TBW implies an association with several successful writers–something that the authors themselves have refuted (see the 4/11/23 update).
As for TBW’s $2,929 PR package…since I wrote about TBW, I’ve gotten several complaints from authors who paid for PR or publishing services that they either didn’t receive or were dissatisfied with. You can see a couple of complaints in the comments section (and if you’re really a glutton for punishment, scroll down to view my exchange with TBW’s very annoyed Asher Weinberg).
Still, similarities aside, could it really be that The Literary Reporter is The BookWalker in a different guise? If so, could I document it?
Well…yes, thanks to a tip from an alert Writer Beware reader. Below is an image of TLR’s email footer. Apologies for the poor quality; I had to take a photo of my screen. You can see my mouse hovering over TLR’s weblink to reveal the actual URL at the bottom.
There you have it.
Is The Literary Reporter a reboot, with The BookWalker (whose website currently looks somewhat neglected, with content that in some cases is at least two years old) slated for phase-out? Or is it an add-on, casting a wider net for writers’ dollars (and I am skeptical that the $75 listing fee is the only mention of money that authors will encounter)? Only the Shadow knows. If I learn more, I’ll post it here.
UPDATE 12/18/24: Several months on, The Literary Reporter has built out its website, which now has a more convincing depth of content, including lots more blog posts–but it’s still mainly populated by scraped content from Amazon and publisher’s websites, along with a variety of what appear to be auto-generated book lists. And it is still prolifically sending out wordy emails like the one screenshotted above, inviting authors to submit their books to what’s now called the Author Unbound Program (that link, by the way, doesn’t appear in the site’s main menu).
The fee is still $75. As of yet, I’ve received no reports of additional fee-charging, but given TLR’s predecessor’s four-figure PR packages, I’m skeptical that this isn’t happening.
I’m glad I found this site. I received an unsolicited email this morning from The Literary Reporter… it looked good, but my eyebrows hit the ceiling when my book was compared to Judy Blume. ??? Blume writes young-adult fiction.My fiction would have little appeal to readers under 40. Seventy-five dollars isn’t much, but I think I’ll keep the money. Also, when you uncovered the link between TLR and the disgraced Book Walker site, that clinched it.
I really appreciate how this post gently unpacks a modern author concern those polished emails offering book promotion for just $75. At first glance, The Literary Reporter looks sleek and professional, but it’s smart to pause and ask questions. The fact that it’s only recently been indexed and lacks early web history raises real doubts. A great reminder that a bit of caution and research can save writers from expensive missteps.
I am very pleased with the insightful descriptions and professional presentations of my three books posted on The Literary Reporter website. I have never been asked for any more than the $75 fee per book and feel that it is money well spent. The site has not been a scam in my experience. Quite the opposite. I encourage authors to utilize the services TLR provides.
When I started down this road, I was as ignorant and green as they came. I spent over 4K with Xlibris before I found this site. Although my book (currently unpublished), Bayler Daniels, received 5 stars on Amazon and was offered by 4 different book sites (including Barnes and Noble, Walmart.com), I received no money from the sales. Bombarded with emails from “The Literary reporter, and a few others listed on this site as fraudulent, I am discouraged and not sure where to go. Thank you Victoria, for the hard work and research you provide for us.
My book, The Observers, and its companion, Which is the Real Ramon, are available at Amazon.com. These were written for a freshman seminar in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at UCSD. Discussion can be found at https://cseweb.ucsd.edu/~gill/SynIntSite/ which is the class website. The books must be available at low cost for students. I will be grateful if The Literary Reporter can send some more students for me and I am available to answer questions. The cost must remain low as it now is.
The Literary Reporter (2024-’25) has been a great blessing to me; I have appreciated their good summary of my books. I suppose it really just matters why you’re writing and who you’re really writing for ✍️ and only $75 was a deal.
https://theliteraryreporter.com/book-submission/one-focus-all-for-jesus
I received an email from TLR this morning. Your site is my go-to when I receive these scam emails. Thank you for sharing your research regarding these predators.
Thanks. Wanted to check them out as the emails have been non stop for the past couple of months.
I just discovered you this morning because the Literary Reported had sent me such an email and I always like to research “offers”. I am SO glad that I did! As a very new published writer, I’ve signed up for your newsletter and look forward towards future help navigating the treacherous waters of book scammers. THANK YOU!!
Many thanks for this information. How unfortunate it is that since nothing is sacred in the world of scamming, many good artists, novelists etc. never get to see their work revealed as they move on to other, safer expressions of their talent – or simply give up!
Thanks very much Victoria! I lost $275 to “The BookWalker” last year, so I am glad to know that I can now avoid losing another $75!
Thank you for your research and warnings.
Yet another valuable post, Victoria. I count myself lucky that I don’t have the money to pay, so these scams pass me by.
However, 🤞I hope I don’t get more of them.
Thank you for all the hard work you put in to keep us all safe.
What amazes me is how many scams target writers, who are a notoriously unmoneyed lot, and how frequently we fall for them. We are so vain and desperate.
If these scams … er, I mean “services” performed as advertised, tens of thousands of authors would be using them— thus glutting the scam … er, I mean “service” to the point where it would not work.
One can find on Fiverr and Upwork many people who claim they will promote one’s books on their hyper-popular blogs, and tens of thousands of people will see the promotions. I observe that almost all of the “subscribers” of these blogs are fake.
Reading your reports are like diving into lovely cozy mysteries. The bad guys–or generically pronoun-ed pre-felons of all genders, stripes and plumage–get exposed, and we are left in awe of your skills, while your cape majestically wafts threats of exposure at other evil-scammers.
LOL. Are you not entertained? (Thanks for the kind words!)
Well done once again, Victoria, alerting us writers to the never ending SCAMS. I also had e-mails from both (above) Scammers….& many more from others which you had mentioned.
Keep up the good work.
Regards, Rose Daniels.
More and more, I’m glad I’m not a published writer . . . wait, no, that can’t be right.
Regardless, if the unthinkable happens, this is going to be where I spend most of my time since — indubitably — getting published will result in hundreds of solicitations.
Hurrah! Well done, Victoria. This has hopefully unmasked a new threat to author’s pocketbooks.
So glad we have you to help shine the light in the shadows of deception.
Your services to the writing community at large are pure gold. Or platinum. Or maybe unobtainium. Thanks for the time & digging & exposure of the bottomless pit of rip-offs waiting to lure in the unsuspecting. Cheers.
Another rock lifted, exposing the creepy crawlies!
Well done.
Another rock lifted to reveal the creepy crawlies!
Well done.
You perform a great service and your research is amazing. But did I miss your “exchange with TBW’s very annoyed Asher Weinberg?” I can’t seem to find it.
I realized that my wording was confusing (I’ve edited the post to correct it). The exchange is in the comments section of my post about The BookWalker.