Aspiring authors should be skeptical about random publishing offers and marketing. Author scams targeting new authors are on the rise and becoming more complex. This can be an everyday thing to hear authors scammed or contacted with a terrific offer. Authors must be on the lookout for these types of scams and be cautious not to fall for them.
The first rule of thumb is that if someone approaches you unexpectedly with an offer that appears too good to be true, most likely, it is!
Offer to have your work published with a substantial advance—but then you discover that you must first pay a charge. You pay, and then you never hear from them again! Others offer outrageous promises to actively market your book and achieve massive sales in exchange for a hefty charge. These scammers frequently impersonate legitimate firms, editors, and partners to gain trust. Often, they employ email addresses and names similar to legit companies to solicit manuscripts deceptively.
Is It a Publishing Swindle? Things You Must Know
Genuine publishers and agencies will not ask you for a fee to read your manuscript. Anyone attempting to collect such a fee is almost certainly committing fraud.
Standard publishers will not ask you to pay them in advance, so be wary of any fee demand from a publisher—except hybrid publishers, which split costs. However, it is critical to research hybrid publishers to ensure you are working with a legitimate organization.
Legit publishing companies and marketers are typically fee-for-service providers, which means they should only charge you once they have completed the work.
Traditional publishing companies hardly approach authors with outstanding options out of the blue, whether by phone, email, or mail. Again, for whatever seems too good to be accurate, it usually is!
Scrutinize the sender’s email address. Some scammers use domain names that look similar to those of reputable publishers.
One con artist put up boxed sets that were supposed to help a charity rather than pay authors royalties. Authors were enticed by chance to do good and the promise that their investment would make USA Today a best-seller. So, in exchange for the expensive buy-in cost, the author wouldn’t gain a penny but bragging rights and help a charity.
“Desperate actions breed desperate measures,” as quoted by Shakespeare. Nowadays, people would go to any length to grab every buck. Be attentive and prevent your hard work and talent from going to waste.
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