I spend over half hour a day blocking/deleting! Hope the real things aren't being killed. Love the covers of your foreign editions. I've found it fascinating that with my foreign editions--some covers are close in to the English language cover and others bear no resemblance. See you again soon at Thrillerfest.
The latest twist... an invitation to appear at the LA Times Book Festival...as long as I'm willing to pay to play as much as $500 for some dubious "exposure."
Thanks, Chris. In the last year, I've been contacted almost once a week by these type of scams. My favorite attempt featured a book marketer supposedly based in Edinburgh, Scotland. He sent referral emails from three "legitimate" authors, who praised him and his work. He asked for a $100 deposit upfront after sending me quite detailed marketing plans for two of my novels. When I asked about how he preferred to be paid, he said PayPal. Then "he" sent the email address for the PayPal transfer. It was a woman's address in East Chicago, IN. When I researched who this woman was on LinkedIn, she worked at a Boost Mobile phone store. Needless to say, that was the end of this potential scam. But the process had gone on for several weeks. I still get emails from the so-called Scottish-based book marketer, which I delete immediately. Best, Mark H. Masse
As a 50 year veteran of the book industry, I tell writers with whom I come in contact that they had better be prepared to spend their own money on publicity and promotion. That is a far cry from when I started in in publishing in 1974.
I just came across a book to be published soon that promises to tell writers how their "beliefs" prevent them from reaching their goals. Immediately I am suspicious because of the overall generality of the word "beliefs". This seems like one of those pop psychology books like "Who Took My Cheese?" Such a scam in plain sight.
One book club that claimed 2000 members wanted me to buy them cocktails because it would spark more conversation. That was funny, and easy to walk away from.
These scams have been around for a long time, and the Internet and AI have only helped them proliferate and adapt. These guys are a lot more sophisticated than the predatory vanity presses of the 1930s.
My favorite - so far - is from Barbara Kingsolver. How cool that she wants to connect with lil ol' me! "I am always interested in connecting with writers who treat storytelling as both exploration and reckoning. There is no agenda here only admiration for work that honors the transformative power of narrative." Uh huh. On the other hand, cute dog :) Thanks for encouraging us out here!
I like that you tell us the bad news but include the good news that you are doing well. Despite the scams there are still good people around. The worst part of these scams is that it gives one a bad feeling as though they can't trust anyone. But it also makes one more grateful for the people they can trust!
Every. Single. Day. They are driving me absolutely insane. The worst part is that you can’t respond and tell them to go away, because nobody’s home. May this scourge end soon.
I suspect that if you respond in any way, all you'er doing is confirming that they've succeeded in reaching a working email address, opening yourself up to even more of it.
I spend over half hour a day blocking/deleting! Hope the real things aren't being killed. Love the covers of your foreign editions. I've found it fascinating that with my foreign editions--some covers are close in to the English language cover and others bear no resemblance. See you again soon at Thrillerfest.
Yes, I get these daily and wrote about them here. https://elizabethwinthropalsop.substack.com/p/the-ai-generated-bots-love-my-work
The latest twist... an invitation to appear at the LA Times Book Festival...as long as I'm willing to pay to play as much as $500 for some dubious "exposure."
Thank you for this good advice on scammers, and a pat on the head to beautiful Wally.
Thanks, Chris. In the last year, I've been contacted almost once a week by these type of scams. My favorite attempt featured a book marketer supposedly based in Edinburgh, Scotland. He sent referral emails from three "legitimate" authors, who praised him and his work. He asked for a $100 deposit upfront after sending me quite detailed marketing plans for two of my novels. When I asked about how he preferred to be paid, he said PayPal. Then "he" sent the email address for the PayPal transfer. It was a woman's address in East Chicago, IN. When I researched who this woman was on LinkedIn, she worked at a Boost Mobile phone store. Needless to say, that was the end of this potential scam. But the process had gone on for several weeks. I still get emails from the so-called Scottish-based book marketer, which I delete immediately. Best, Mark H. Masse
As a 50 year veteran of the book industry, I tell writers with whom I come in contact that they had better be prepared to spend their own money on publicity and promotion. That is a far cry from when I started in in publishing in 1974.
Yes, getting lots of those too. So sad. Most written by AI, I'm sure
I just came across a book to be published soon that promises to tell writers how their "beliefs" prevent them from reaching their goals. Immediately I am suspicious because of the overall generality of the word "beliefs". This seems like one of those pop psychology books like "Who Took My Cheese?" Such a scam in plain sight.
Shame on scammers! Wow on Wally!
I get so many of these every day! Lots for “featured promotion.” And now they’re flooding my linkedin invitations too.
Love the French cover!!!
One book club that claimed 2000 members wanted me to buy them cocktails because it would spark more conversation. That was funny, and easy to walk away from.
These scams have been around for a long time, and the Internet and AI have only helped them proliferate and adapt. These guys are a lot more sophisticated than the predatory vanity presses of the 1930s.
Thanks, Chris, your insight always funny & appreciated.
My favorite - so far - is from Barbara Kingsolver. How cool that she wants to connect with lil ol' me! "I am always interested in connecting with writers who treat storytelling as both exploration and reckoning. There is no agenda here only admiration for work that honors the transformative power of narrative." Uh huh. On the other hand, cute dog :) Thanks for encouraging us out here!
No agenda!
774886 Thanks for opening our eyes to such scams. And so well written too! And thanks foe showing us those extraordinary covers!
I like that you tell us the bad news but include the good news that you are doing well. Despite the scams there are still good people around. The worst part of these scams is that it gives one a bad feeling as though they can't trust anyone. But it also makes one more grateful for the people they can trust!
Every. Single. Day. They are driving me absolutely insane. The worst part is that you can’t respond and tell them to go away, because nobody’s home. May this scourge end soon.
I suspect that if you respond in any way, all you'er doing is confirming that they've succeeded in reaching a working email address, opening yourself up to even more of it.