Authors have long been targeted by predators seeking to exploit their ambition and naivete, but the advent of generative AI in 2023 made doing so all the easier and more effective. Hen House Publishing has been in the business long enough to catch most such schemes, but in the early days of AI-generated content, I wondered whether a particular solicitation was legitimate. Savvy authors quickly develop a healthy sense of caution.
Many scams begin with flattery. Scammers have learned to utilize AI’s ability to craft smoothly written sentences, so authors can no longer rely on broken English as a telltale clue. The messages offer compliments and praise the author’s insight and often mention themes running through the story. It sounds insightful and thoughtful. It’s not. It’s just AI detecting patterns, which is what is was designed to do.
What should you do? My advice: Take the dopamine hit and delete the message.
Other scams begin with recognition of the author’s hard work and suggestions that the author needs assistance in marketing to book clubs and in securing media interviews. Yes, every author does want to be chosen by book clubs and to secure media interviews, but these scammers don’t have those contacts. They do use sophisticated technology to impersonate real people and make it seem as though their messages come from those people’s companies.
What should you do? Check and double-check the sender’s name and email address. Someone representing a marketing or media company most likely won’t be using a generic email domain. In some cases, the domain either has an extra character or is lacking a character, differentiating it subtly from the actual company’s real domain address. When you find such discrepancies, delete the message.
Another clue is a lack of specificity. This is particularly applicable to authors with multiple books who receive messages soliciting their business to promote “your book.” My internal question always replies, “Which book?” The failure to specify a a book’s title means that the outreach is scattershot: this person trying to bilk me of my money doesn’t know and doesn’t care.
What should you do? Delete the message.
Another common scam begins with a message seemingly sent by a prominent author who just wants to make your acquaintance, start up a conversation, and become friends. There is no reason why Nora Roberts or Jayne Ann Krentz or Julia Quinn would want to be my best buddy. They certain don’t need my help.
What should you do? Delete the message.
Here’s one more common scam: the publisher who wants to publish your already published book. A lot of indie authors who self-published their books cannot help but be intrigued by this lure. We can all name the handful of self-published authors whose books did so well that big name publishers picked them up, that Hollywood made them famous. The truth is that those few authors are exceptions to the rule. Publishers don’t want your already published book. If they do, then your book is selling well enough not to need their assistance.
What should you do? Delete the message.
Finally, authors often receive solicitations from publishers that claim affiliation with major platforms and big name publishing companies. They offer subsidy or hybrid publishing services while passing themselves off as traditional publishers—but they’re not. Any company with “Amazon” or “Kindle” in the name is not affiliated with either Amazon or Kindle Direct Publishing. It’s a scam. Other companies are notorious vanity presses that nonetheless manage to dupe eager, ambitious authors out of lots of money while producing inferior products and providing inferior service.
When an author contacts a publisher, I always recommend doing one’s due diligence. Begin your research with Writer Beware and Writer’s Weekly. But what if a publishing company contacts you first?
What should you do? Delete the message.
Here’s the cold, hard truth: Marketing and publishing companies that reach out to you before you contact them are almost always scammers. If you’re a new author with a small following—or if your book isn’t even published yet—then you’ve definitely been found by a scammer.
Under no circumstances do I advise responding to any scammer’s message. While doing so with clever distraction techniques may be personally satisfying, the result is that it only accomplishes informing the scammer that they found an active email address. You’ll just set yourself up for more predatory solicitations.
Publishing is an unregulated industry. It requires no certifications, no business licenses, no proof of sales or expertise. Anyone who wants can set himself up as an expert. For authors, the rule of the day is caveat emptor. That’s Latin for “buyer beware.” It means you should do your due diligence. Always.
Protect yourself and your wallet. Don’t fall for scams.
At Hen House Publishing, I pride myself on providing professional service with integrity. Contact me to ask questions. You’ll get honest answers without the sales pitch.
