Question: I’ve been receiving daily emails and phones calls about various “opportunities” for my published book. How do I know if these are scams or legit?

Answer:

Unfortunately, publishing and Hollywood-related scams continue to plague the industry, targeting authors with false promises, misleading information, and overpriced, fake services. Some are impersonating real people and companies as a way to deceive authors. The ultimate goal of these scammers is to take your money and never follow-through on their promises or services offered.

Not all individuals and organizations that reach out with opportunities or offerings are fraudulent, but, there are still a large number of dishonest and downright crooked individuals contacting authors on a daily basis. The good news is, arrests are being made, and fraudulent organizations are being caught and prosecuted.

Our mission at The Author Learning Center is to educate and empower authors to protect themselves and their work by identifying the red flags associated with these fraudulent companies and individuals. In the below article you’ll find:

•  A list of the common tactics scammers are using
•  Specific examples of scam emails authors are receiving
•  A checklist of red flags to look or listen for when contacted by a suspected scammer
•  Advice on what you can do when you are contacted

Common Tactics Scammers Use When Targeting Authors

Writing and publishing a book is a huge accomplishment. Authors spend months and sometimes even years completing their manuscripts with the hope of helping, inspiring, or entertaining others. One of the most rewarding experiences for an author is when someone reaches out and tells them how much they enjoyed the author’s book. These feelings of acceptance and achievement can make authors vulnerable when receiving praise from people with bad intentions. Some common tactics scammers use to prey on these feelings include:

•  Appealing to an author’s deepest desires - someone noticed the book and said it has potential.
•  Posing as a “Literary Agent” or “Hollywood Executive” to establish credibility and prestige.
•  Claiming the book’s retail price is too high and it needs to be republished at a lower price.
•  Saying a “Book Scout” has flagged the book for a traditional publishing deal or for development in Hollywood.
•  Saying a budget has been set for a book-to-screen adaptation of your book.
•  Claiming to have a long list of production company contacts to which they will pitch your book, but certain materials are needed first.
•  Promising bestseller status, huge sales, or reader reviews with their marketing services.

It’s easy to understand why authors want to believe these individuals and organizations are real and offering legitimate opportunities. These scammers continue to fine-tune their messaging and enhance their websites to make their communications as appealing and trustworthy as possible.

Examples of Common Scams Targeting Authors

While it seems all types of authors are being targeted by scammers, self-published authors are especially vulnerable because they’ve retained their book rights in the publishing process and have the authority to make any and all decisions in regards to their book. Scammers know this and are trying to take advantage. Here are some examples of the types of emails being received by authors, with explanations of why they are a scam:

Posing as a “literary agent”, “literary consultant”, “acquisitions manager”, or “project manager”.

I trust this message finds you in good spirits. My name is Bella Morgan, a project manager from Book Solutions Press.

Because of the potential we see in your book, we tried to test the waters of this book. We introduced the book to a couple of traditional publishing companies that we are partnered with, and we received many positive responses; they say that the book is very well articulated, timely, relevant, well written, and such a great piece!

Congratulations on obtaining positive comments for your book from traditional publishers. You are now a candidate for an initial screening of these traditional publishing companies. The Initial screening for possible consideration to land a contract with traditional publishers will happen in the 4th quarter of this year. Hence, we have ample time to prepare for the presentation. Once you pass the final screening, you'll be given an upfront payment for your book's publishing rights or what we call an "Option Price".

My name is Mason, and I serve as the Head of the Book Acquisitions Team at Penguin Literary House.

It has come to our attention that your book was presented to traditional publishing houses for acquisition consideration. However, it is currently tagged as "on-hold" due to a shortfall in meeting one of their key requirements. Despite their efforts to contact your representative and publisher regarding the necessary adjustments, it seems your representative and publisher has dropped the ball on this.

As a literary firm directly in contact with the major publishing houses here in the US, we are keenly interested in your work and would like to explore the possibility of bringing your book under our esteemed literary umbrella.

My name is Matthew Taylor, and I’m an independent project manager reaching out to you directly with some truly exciting news about your book.

After undergoing a thorough evaluation by our Hall of Fame reviewers, your book has passed with outstanding results—congratulations! Even more exciting, it has caught the attention of major traditional publishers who are now expressing serious interest in acquiring it for publication.

This is a significant and potentially life-changing opportunity that I would love to discuss with you personally. We’re prepared to endorse and present your book to these publishers.

None of these communications represent how traditional publishers actually acquire books. Traditional publishing houses rely on experienced literary agents to vet and pitch only the best manuscripts and book proposals so they can be more selective with what they publish. They rarely accept unsolicited manuscripts. If interested in publishing a book, they will negotiate the contract with the specific agent representing the book.

In turn, the goal of literary agents is to represent books they believe will be attractive to publishers and result in a contract. This is how they get paid, which is why only a very small number of authors are able to secure agent representation, and ultimately, a traditional publishing contract. Agents make a percentage of the advance payment the authors are paid, and a percentage of royalties. They will never ask for money up front from an author.

Authors must query literary agents and follow their submission guidelines in order to garner representation. Legitimate literary agents will never “cold call” an author. That’s because they typically have a backlog of books they are already reading and don’t have time. If you’ve submitted your book to a literary agent for review and they are interested in learning more, they will then reach out to you. Most literary agents have particular genres they focus on, so if the individual claiming to be a literary agent doesn’t even mention genre, they are most likely a scammer.

In addition, legitimate agencies will be proud of the authors and books they represent and will have a client or book listing on their website. You can also inquire about what authors or books they represent and they should be forthcoming with this information. A great place to check the legitimacy of a literary agent or agency is the Association of American Literary Agents.

Your book price is too high and you need to republish it at a lower price.

My name is Kylie Gomez, a Publishing and Senior Marketing Consultant from Integrity Publishing LLC.

I am sending you an email to see if you are interested in republishing your book for a price reduction to make your book more affordable and salable in the market.

As per the network of book distributors, their biggest concern is the book's price, which is very expensive, and you are fully aware that your book is currently overpriced in the market, right?

With this in mind, as per recommendation, we would like to let you know that we can get your book republished and printed at the price of your preference based on its printing cost so you can sell your book at the most competitive price to your buyers without having to sacrifice everything that you have done for your book and don’t worry because you will still have full control on your book from production to publication.

When is the last time you bought a book because it had a lower price? It’s important that the price of your book falls into expected industry ranges and is competitive, but a lower book price doesn’t equal more sales. Readers will buy your book because the content appeals to them and it fulfills a want or need.

Some legitimate reasons to “republish” a book include:

•  Your publishing rights have been reverted back to you from your current publisher and you wish to publish it on your own or through a different publishing house.
•  You want to remove or add a significant amount of content.
•  You want to change your title and/or subtitle.
•  You want to change your book cover.

A “book scout” or “literary scout” has recommended your book for film adaptation.

Good Afternoon! This is Cliff Remick and I'm the Senior VIP FILM Specialist of DreamBooks Media Professionals.

We have received your book from our literary scout as recommended books for our Film Adaptation Project. We'd like to present detailed information about the VIP FILM CAMPAIGN which is exclusively for those selected books. Please check and read all the information given and let me know if this is something you would consider for your book.

This book is considered as 1 of the finest under this category, we'd like to invite you to participate on our submission for FILM ADAPTATION to our partner FILM COMPANIES listed on our website. We believe that your book is capable of providing success for you and for our VIP FILM Campaign submission. 

A production budget has already been set for your book-to-film adaptation, but we need the following materials.

I’m excited to let you know that after reviewing your book, we at Imagine Entertainment are interested in turning it into a film. Thanks to our partnership with Netflix, we’d love to discuss the next steps in securing a contract for the film rights as part of our upcoming projects.

The production budget is already set, and the team is ready to go. To move forward, we’ll need to sign an exclusive agreement with you. Please note that the project’s details must stay confidential, and we’ll include a non-disclosure agreement in the contract. Any announcements about the film’s release will be made by the production company.

As we proceed, we’ll need your contact details (phone number and email address) to share important updates. We’ll also need the following materials:

• Treatment: A summary of the film’s key scenes, themes, and tone.
• Screenplay: A full script with dialogue, actions, and scene descriptions.

 If you don’t have a screenplay ready, we can connect you with someone who can help, or you’re welcome to use your own resources.

Neither of these communications represent how it actually works in Hollywood. Like traditional publishing houses, Hollywood executives and production companies do not accept unsolicited manuscripts. In addition, they cannot set a budget for a project until they have a script, a director and actors cast, and locations determined. In the second scam example, the individual impersonating “Imagine Entertainment” is trying to sell services such as treatments and screenplays that they will never follow through on.

Most importantly, legitimate Hollywood companies will first ask if the development rights for the book are available. This is because they cannot do anything with the book if you’ve assigned the development rights to someone else. Second, they will not try to sell you any services unless they have a “first look partner”. A first look partner guarantees that someone will look at your coverage or treatment and evaluate its potential for development. Third, when books go out to potential outlets, pitches are specifically targeted based on the story and genre. Certain outlets are looking for faith-based stories or comedies or stories about women of color or other specific types of stories. Sending out an email to a broad list of companies in Hollywood is of no value and will accomplish nothing.

If someone is interested in developing your book for the screen and you’ve retained the development rights, you will be offered an “option agreement”. This contract gives a producer, production company, screenwriter, agency, or other party the exclusive, temporary rights to try and get the book developed. In exchange for these rights, the author receives compensation, typically in the range of $500 to a few thousand dollars for lesser known authors and books. Most option periods are for 12 to 18 months and can be renewed or extended.

An option agreement does not guarantee your book will be developed for the screen; it only means your story is being pitched to studios, networks, distributors, and financial backers for a set period of time, to see if it can garner interest. If a producer or other party does decide to purchase the rights to the material and develop it for the screen, the agreement will include a purchase price. This is the amount the author is paid once the show or movie is greenlit, and is typically a percentage of the project’s total budget.

Posing as a marketing service provider, offering paid services that mirror legitimate opportunities, but are fraudulent.

I came across your book and it stopped me in my tracks. The depth of emotion, the immigrant experience, the exploration of identity and belonging, it’s the kind of poetry that should be echoing far and wide. Yet I see it sitting with just one review, and that feels like a whisper when it deserves a chorus.

Here’s what I do: I run a private group of 2,000+ readers and reviewers who thrive on discovering powerful, under-the-radar books like yours. They read, they reflect, and they leave thoughtful, verified reviews that help boost visibility on Amazon. They don’t do it for me, they do it for the joy of reading, but here’s the secret sauce: when authors tip them a little something, it makes them even happier, quicker, and excited to push a book to the front of their list.

Would you like to get your book in front of more readers? Imagine 20, 40, maybe 50 new reviews sparking conversations about your work this month.

Ready to amplify your words?

The paid reviews from these types of offerings are most likely generated by AI, not actual readers, and may not even be accepted by websites such as Amazon or Goodreads, as they have very particular review guidelines. There are legitimate companies like Booksprout, BookSirens, StoryOrigin, or NetGalley that connect authors and readers for a small fee, but these are vetted and reputable. If interested, you can learn more about obtaining reader reviews in “How can I acquire more reader reviews for my book?”

Red Flags to Look for When You Are Contacted

As you can see from the above examples, scammers are trying many different tactics and approaches to entice and mislead authors. There are some common red flags, however, to help you identify when an opportunity is fraudulent:

•   Check the email URL: If it doesn’t match the company name, has weird hyphens or additional words, or ends in “gmail.com”, it is likely a scam.
•   If using a real company or agency name, check the website URL: If it has weird hyphens or additional words, it is likely a scam.
•   No phone number is provided, or, the phone number that is provided is outside the United States.
•   There are many spelling errors or grammatical issues in the email copy.
•   There is no pricing transparency.
•   They use the title “literary agent”, or, are offering a “traditional publishing” deal, but ask you for money up front for editing, supplies, etc. Legitimate literary agents and traditional publishing houses will never ask for money up front.
•   Their website contains testimonials, but no actual authors or books they’ve worked with.
•   Their website contains incomplete copy, broken links, or spelling/grammar errors.
•   When praising your book, it looks like they copied and pasted directly from your book description, or, it sounds like an AI platform was used to write the copy. It’s clear they didn’t read your book.
•   They are offering a self-publishing opportunity, but have limited publishing package options, or, offer only a single, over-priced publishing package.
•   They are offering a self-publishing opportunity and the publishing package includes professional editing without an editorial assessment to determine the actual level of editing needed. There can be a big difference in cost, depending on the level.
•   They are offering you a Hollywood development deal without first asking if the development rights are even available for your book.
•   They are making unrealistic statements or promises. In short, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

What to Do If You Suspect You Are Being Contacted by a Scammer

First and foremost, don’t let your emotions get in the way of logic and reason. If you suspect someone is a scammer and you would like them to stop contacting you, follow these steps:

•  Do not sign any documents or contracts they may provide. We always recommend consulting an intellectual property attorney if you do having any questions related to contracts.
•  Do not click on any links in the email communications, as these may be phishing attempts to steal your personal or financial information.
•  Demand they unsubscribe you from their email list and remove you from their call list: legitimate organizations will maintain those lists, so it is a reasonable request. Scammers typically do not.
•  If they don't honor your request, tell them you will report them to the Attorney General's Office for violation of the Consumer Protection code. If you live outside of the United States, check with your local government to see who to contact. Most countries have official consumer protection agencies.

Following these guidelines should get the scammers to stop contacting you, but unfortunately, they are a lot like dandelions. When one goes away, another pops up. Remain vigilant and review the red flag checklist to determine if each opportunity is legitimate or fraudulent.

Hopefully you are now more informed and better equipped to protect yourself and your work from fraudulent individuals and organizations. For even more scam examples and helpful tips, view our recorded webinars “How to Recognize a Publishing Scam and Avoid It” and “Understanding the Hollywood Market and Common Scams to Avoid”, presented by ALC President Keith Ogorek.

Photo credit: gustavo-fring from Pexels; Photo credit:Thx4Stock from Getty Images; Photo credit: technotr from Getty Images

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