Looking to become an indie author? Beware of self-publishing scams
While self-publishing a book on Amazon’s Kindle Desktop Publishing (KDP) that you’ve just written may be your safest bet for self-publishing your magnum opus, the additional costs might be daunting and a bit off-putting. Indie authors must format their print and e-books, design and create covers, and finally there’s the copyediting of your final draft — all of this is expensive if you can’t do any of it yourself. Not everyone can perform all of these tasks and have the end results look professional, so aspiring authors are forced to hire people who can accomplish all of those chores effectively. This is where scammers take advantage of a budding writer’s need to have everything but the writing itself done for them. Enter vanity publishing.
These publishing scams present themselves in many different forms, from the fraudster posing as a literary agent to “representing” themselves as a self-publishing house. Regarding the latter, it’s common for a victim to send money, usually a high four figure amount, to the fake self-publishing company only to never receive even so much as a proof of the book. Then when the victim calls or emails the “company,” they usually encounter a disconnected phone number and a deleted email mailbox. If there had been a website, it will be gone as well.
What can you do to keep from being defrauded by fake self-publishers and fake literary agents? Regarding literary agents, understand how they operate. A legitimate literary agent will never expect any money up front. Some literary agents do ask for fees to offer services like copyediting your manuscript or they might charge you for some office expenses. What they shouldn’t do is demand a large sum from you upfront. Literary agents take on an author because they see potential for traditional publishers’ interest in your work. Therefore the agent will only receive compensation in the form of a percentage of the advance offered by a traditional publisher after they’ve negotiated a contract between the publisher and the author. This commission usually amounts to 20% up to 30% of your negotiated advance. As for self-publishing companies, do your research first. Look for established self-publishing companies and peruse any reviews of those companies.
If someone randomly calls or emails you, offering either service, don’t respond until you have thoroughly checked them out. Legitimate literary agents and publishers are not in the habit of contacting new authors out of the blue and offering lucrative contracts. Even if you receive an email from a prominent literary agent, check the email address. Is it Gmail or the domain name of the literary agency? Also scrutinize variations of real agency names within the email name; scammers do this in an attempt to appear respectable. There’s no harm in contacting the actual agency directly by forwarding that unsolicited email to them. The agency might be interested in knowing that someone is fraudulently posing as a representative of their agency. Armed with this information, they can take immediate action against the imposters. Either way, the agency can confirm that no offer has been made to you. This exchange might be a bit embarrassing, but it’s better than being out of thousands of dollars.
More Information Regarding Publishing Scams
Avoiding Publishing Scams
Online scams against authors are on the rise and becoming increasingly sophisticated—fueled by the widespread use of generative AI, which excels at mimicry. Nearly every day, we hear from authors who have been scammed or would have been had they not first reached out to the Authors Guild to confirm whether an “offer” was real. Authors—as well as publishers, agents, and filmmakers—must remain alert.
The first rule of thumb is that if someone solicits you out of the blue with an offer that seems too good to be true, it probably is. This page details some red flags to watch for and information about specific scams that have been reported to us.
Publishing scams are rampant. How to be vigilant.
Nearly every week I hear from an author who has a question for me because they’re in the process of being scammed. Publishing scams are RAMPANT. They have always existed, but they’ve reached epidemic status of late, along with America’s horrid overall scam culture.
There was finally some good news on this front as some of the most egregious publishing scammers were arrested recently, but those guys still represent only the tip of the iceberg. It hasn’t really stopped anything.
You’ve got to be careful out there. Here’s what to watch out for, how to protect yourself, and what to do if you get scammed.
Book Publishers to Avoid: 5 Types of Shady Companies
Becoming a published author is a dream shared by almost every writer. Unfortunately, there are plenty of unreliable companies out there looking to make a quick buck by exploiting those dreams — from notorious pay-to-publish vanity presses like Author Solutions to brand-new fake writing contests.
Many companies will try to overcharge for their service, use high pressure sales tactics, and make vague, unverifiable claims about their success. To avoid falling prey to publishing scams, you should learn about their methods and warning signs, and treat every unsolicited message with extreme caution.
