Publishing scams
The internet is a Wild West for tricksters and scammers. Publishing scams abound.
We all know that getting published by a mainstream hard copy publisher is almost impossible unless you have a good, reliable, clever agent who really believes in your book and has impeccable contacts with proper publishers. We can dream of being the exception, but a lottery ticket may be a better bet.
So millions of hopeful authors self-publish, many on Amazon. No harm in this as long as you are aware of the odds against your book selling many copies. Many people just want to get published; an e-book is fine for them. And a really great marketeer can do well from this platform. But you have to be extraordinarily gifted at selling and an expert user of social media. Even then, the competition is huge and fierce.
Fake literary agents
This is a golden marketing list for scammers, many based in East Asia, but also in the West. There are hundreds of publishing scams out there! The scammers gather the data of self-published writers and those published by vanity presses. They then target them with fake hope and false information.
The scammers may pretend to be literary agencies with sure-fire routes to publication with big reputable publishers. HarperCollins, Penguin Random House, Hachette, Macmillan and others. They lie about their relationship with these publishers. Do you really think that reputable publishers need more manuscripts from sources like this?
Sometimes they say that they have avenues to your getting a famous UK agent. They name editors and authors who really exist. But they take their names in vain. Sometimes they present completely false reviews of their services from famous authors who are totally ignorant of the scammers’ existence.
Success is yours!
The scammers may praise your book to the hilt. You really are going to be huge with Penguin. They have exactly the right contact for your book. They will write a glowing appraisal. They invite you to conferences. They offer to plug your novel at book festivals.
The publishers and any agents named are completely ignorant of this and blameless. There are no contacts. It is pure money-making fabrication.
You’re not a mug. You wouldn’t be fooled. Would you?
But many hopeful authors do fall into the trap. The fraudsters’ business runs on percentages. There are millions of names to plunder. Approach 10,000 people and only a few are needed to support your business model. Only a few need to send you their cash.
They want your money! This may not be obvious at first. The clever ones hold back the sting. But it will come.
The remedy
So what can be done? In short, nothing. But the more authors and would-be authors who know about this the better. Authorship before the internet was a painful and usually disappointing profession. Now it is very expensive for the unwary! Aspiring authors would be wise to have a sideline.