Writer Beware

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Guest Post: The Book Marketing Scam That Went the Extra Mile

Screenshot of fake response from "Martha Teichner" claiming to have worked with SBRC: "I got 3K sales and the reviews were brilliant"

APR 28, 2023November 22, 202578 COMMENTS

In the super-crowded world of publishing, authors must fight for readership and exposure. That makes marketing and promotion a top concern--which makes for fertile ground for scammers.

PR scams are among the most common of the many solicitation scams that target writers. Often appearing to be reasonably priced, they promise services like social media posts, reader reviews on Amazon and Goodreads, blog posts and interviews, and similar low-cost-to-provide, low effort methods that sound impressive but in reality are next to useless for book promotion--even if the services are delivered, which often is not the case.

At best, this kind of "marketing" is a waste of money. At worst, the scammer will simply take the money and run...like the scammer that's the subject of today's guest blog post from author Alina Adams. This scammer went the extra mile to cook up an appearance of authenticity...but as you'll see, Alina wasn't fooled.

LITERARY AGENT SCAMS

Anatomy of a Fake Literary Agency Scam: Acquisitions NY / Bennett Media & Marketing

APR 21, 2023May 30, 202443 COMMENTS

Among the most common scams targeting self-published and small press authors these days are fake literary agency scams.

These are slightly different from the agent/agency impersonation scams I've written a number of posts about, in that they don't appropriate the identities of real people (most of the time). But that doesn't mean they're not equally deceptive.

They work like this.

CONTRACTS

Rights vs. Copyright: Untangling the Confusion

Header image: pile of copyright symbols on multicolored Post-it notes (StepanPopov @ Shutterstock.com)

APR 14, 2023February 1, 202416 COMMENTS

Copyright, literally, is “the right to copy.” It guarantees the authors of creative works–including books, artworks, films, recordings, and photographs–the exclusive right to allow others to copy and distribute the work, by whatever means and in whatever media currently exist. It also prohibits copying and distributing without the author’s permission, and includes moral rights: the right of attribution (the right to be named as the creator of the work) and the right of integrity (the right to control changes to the work).

In countries that are signatory to the Berne Convention,, the international source for copyright law (including the USA, Canada, the UK, Europe, and many other countries), you own copyright, automatically, as soon your work is fixed in tangible form–i.e., the minute you write the words. Your ownership extends beyond your death--between 50 and 70 years, depending on which country you're in.

Contained within copyright is the entire bundle of rights that authors can grant to others or utilize themselves. For book authors, that includes primary rights (the right to publish in print and digital formats) and subsidiary rights (the right to make translations and audio recordings and films, to create serializations or abridgements or derivative works…the list goes on, and continues to expand as technology makes different forms of publication and distribution possible).

PUBLISHING SCAMS

Alert: Scammers Impersonating Video Streaming Services With Fake Job Offers

Header image: man holding image of woman's face in front of his face as a disguise (credit: StunningArt / Shutterstock.com)

MAR 24, 2023August 6, 202417 COMMENTS

About a year and a half ago, I wrote a post about a job offer scam in which fraudsters impersonated Acorn TV.

The scammers' M.O.: they messaged writers on Twitter and Instagram, claiming to offer an opportunity to write stories for Acorn TV and earn an improbably large amount of money. If writers expressed interest (and why wouldn't they), a two-part "texting interview" on Telegram followed, at the end of which the writer was offered a job agreement and description. Although I never heard from anyone who accepted, the presumed goal was to steal personal details, such as Social Security numbers and bank account information.

The same scammers are at it again. This time, they're impersonating Minno, a Christian streaming service for kids.

OVERSEAS SCAMS

One Week, Two Fakes: American Booksellers Federation and The Acquisitions Guild

Header image: "Real" label being scratched away to reveal "Fake" underneath

MAR 10, 2023June 21, 20245 COMMENTS

As you'll know if you're a regular reader of this blog (and from your own experience if you've ever self-published), we are currently in the midst of a tsunami of scam companies that aggressively solicit authors with out-of-the-blue emails and phone calls touting phony services--"endorsement" to Big 5 publishers or major film studios, "nominations" for representation at book fairs or other costly-but-useless PR strategies, and more.

These ripoff artists often seek to boost their credibility--and stroke writers' egos--by naming some made-up organization or group that has recommended or otherwise validated the author's book. The Guild of Literary Agents, Book Acquisitions Guild of America, Book Acquisition Society, The Literary Arts Organization, Affiliation of Creator Agents, Hollywood Database, Literary Review of Books...I could go on, but you get the picture. Despite the official-sounding names, none of these so-called organizations (which I've seen referenced in multiple scam solicitations) exist--as even a cursory websearch will confirm.

Scammers, of course, are counting on writers not to check. But writers have become much more savvy about solicitation scams than they used to be--partly because there are now so many of them, and partly because there are so many warnings about them. This has caused some predators to up their game, attempting to create credibility for their made-up endorsement organizations by giving them actual websites.

CONTESTS AND AWARDS

Spam Alert: 4 Seasons Book Awards

Header Image: Four Seasons Book Awards logos

MAR 3, 2023February 17, 202422 COMMENTS

Over the past couple of days I've gotten multiple reports from writers who received this solicitation via the contact forms on their websites:

Spamming via contact form is way more labor intensive than just regular spam, so you've got to respect the commitment--though I have to say a bit more time could have been invested in proofreading. Also, is it 4 Seasons Book Awards, as in the solicitation, or Four Seasons Book Awards, as in the little medallions in the typo-ridden image at the top of this post? It's a bit confusing, brand identity-wise.

Anyway, the 4 (or Four) Seasons Book Awards appears to be your standard profiteering awards program, where the intent is to generate a bundle of cash for the owner (I've written about several of these on this blog, and why they should be avoided). Spam solicitation: check. No-name judges: check. High entry fee: check. Zero-cost prizes, to avoid cutting into profit from entry fees: check (the "Time [sic] Square Billboard" etc. are available only to "Grand Price [sic] Finally [sic]" winners chosen from all entrants at the end of the awards cycle; everyone else gets "celebratory badge and digital certificate of victory").