Authors, Beware of the Latest "Book Group" Scams
Predators will heap "quiet" praise on your indie title. Do not fall for it!
NEVER pay for the privilege of being read; you’ve already earned it by writing your book!
Dear Loreates,
Before I begin, I want to take a moment to honor Renee Nicole Good, the award-winning poet and 2020 graduate of the College of Arts and Letters at Old Dominion University in Virginia, who was senselessly murdered by ICE this week in Minneapolis. I know we are all reeling from this crime, which sends the unmistakable message across our country that each and every one of us is endangered by henchmen of the current occupant of the White House. We are not protected by the color of our skin, religious beliefs, legal status, or even our political affiliation. The mere perception of opposition against this regime will mark us as “fair game.” But/and we must not allow the killing of Renee Good, a white Christian mother of three, any more than we’ve allowed the deaths of more than 30 immigrants in ICE custody, to silence us. As creative artists, we have a duty to speak, write, and defend the truth through the peaceful power of our art and voices. No matter what.
Jeannine Ouellette , Andrea Bartz , Laura Durnell ♿️ ♀️ have already written poignantly in Good’s memory. I’d like to share those posts HERE and HERE and HERE.
Apart from the Federal felonies of the week, I want to warn you about a new spate of crimes that are likely to target you specifically as writers. Probably thanks to AI, indie and small press authors are being pummeled by increasingly sophisticated scams. I’ve received several over the past week that floored me. Because I fear predators like these could seduce many authors who are desperate to get their books “taken seriously,” I’m going to share my experience with you.
For a variety of reasons, I’m going to paywall my actual “conversation” with one of these con artists but not my takeaways below.
Please read on and be careful out there.
Aimee
SAVE THE DATES!
Tuesday, January 20, 11am PT [US]
Tune in to MFA Lore’s Well Published! Substack Live series with hot new authors and industry professionals about the truths and tricks of getting… well published!
On Jan. 20 I’ll be talking about Writing Fellowship with Christine Sneed . Christine is an author and MFA professor with four books of fiction from a corporate press, Bloomsbury, and three books from three indie presses: 7.13 Books, Tortoise Books, and Northwestern University Press. Her stack is Bookish.
Saturday, January 24, at 10amPT [US]
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All paid subscribers are welcome as we discuss the thorny issues bedeviling our collective writing life. Consider this bimonthly online space your Loreate Salon.
It’s a New Year for Con Artists
If you’re an indie or small press author, I’m sorry to inform you that you have a special target on your title. Con artists know that, unlike Big 5 authors, you don’t have many seasoned publishing professionals advising you. They know you’re probably fighting on your own for every reader. They know you’re scrambling for any word-of-mouth you can possibly attract. And they know you’re hungry and susceptible to “sincere praise.” So if you receive “quiet compliments” via your website from self-described “publicists” or “book group moderators” or “media consultants,” beware!
I do not mean to demean your work. You may have written the greatest novel since War & Peace, but chances are minimal that these sharks have read a single word of it. Thanks to AI, they don’t need to read it. Hell, they don’t even need to write the honeyed BS they shower on you. If, like most authors, you give them a way to contact you, they will try to con you.
Exhibit A
I received this note via my author website a few days ago. Note the phrasing I’ve boldfaced:
How Did You Hear: Medium
Comments: Hi Aimee, I’ve been spending time with your work across fiction, nonfiction, and your writing on psychology and wellness and I was struck by how coherent the voice feels across such different forms. It also feels like the kind of body of work that continues to deepen over time, where readers might benefit from encountering it as a more intentional whole rather than as individual entry points. I work quietly with authors at this stage, helping shape digital spaces that honor complexity and longevity without flattening the work. No pitch at all, I simply wanted to share the appreciation and the thought. Warm regards, Emily
If this sounds seductive and innocent, that’s entirely by design. The phrasing is classic AI flattery— soft, “appreciative,” utterly vapid and insidious. After you receive a few of these come-ons, you’ll see that certain tells recur:
“spending time with your work” does not mean they’ve read any of it
generic praise like “coherent voice” and “continues to deepen” is totally meaningless but must sound sweet to a robot
“quiet” seems to be a buzzword that these creeps believe will open doors for them. A kind of “Aw, shucks” approach to embezzlement.
“Shape digital spaces that honor complexity?” WTAF! These words sound like they’ve been processed in a New Age blender.
Excruciating, almost unctuous politeness. If you’re old enough to remember Eddie Haskell on Leave It To Beaver, you’ll get the picture.
“No pitch at all”? Like hell. This phrase is the definitive tell that this is nothing but a pitch. HIT DELETE.
Exhibit B
Unfortunately, not all scams are so easy to spot and spike. There seems to be a whole new underground economy in exploiting the hallowed territory of book groups. You can read about it HERE and HERE and HERE.
This new tactic is particularly galling because of the respect and gratitude that true book groups deserve. Most authors absolutely depend on these reading communities to spread the word about their titles. And most authors routinely receive legitimate invitations to make personal or virtual visits to book groups. Especially during the pandemic, zoom book groups were lifesavers for readers and authors alike. That contract between book groups and writers is sacred.
Money does sometimes change hands, when book groups pay authors for their time or to buy signed copies directly. But no author should EVER pay money to have their book read or discussed by a book group. The mere suggestion is a blazing red flag.
Most of these scamsters, though, are smart enough not to mention payment up front. They frame their lure much like any book group invitation, with effusive praise and descriptions of a large and eager community of readers who are serious about giving each title the respect and attention it’s due.
The other new wrinkle that makes this so nefarious is Identity Spoofing. Scamsters now use email addresses (NOTE: all use Gmail addresses!) and aliases that connect to legit book and reading groups. And/or, they create verification sites that appear to prove they’re legit.
This is what happened to me this week. I received an email that claimed to be from the founder of the San Francisco “not quite a book club” Book Club. There is a Meetup page for this group. There appear to be 4K members who run their book group meetings like other book groups. And there’s no hint on the page of any direct involvement from authors. But I decided to play along, just in case my suspicions were unfounded. Identity Spoofing is convincing.
Here, then, is the correspondence that unfolded. Again, I’ll boldface the warning signs. And pay attention to the time stamps:
