Author Scam Watch

Warm, flattering email praising a specific book of yours — sent by software that scraped a list and filled a template. AI now fills the slot with the right book more often than not, so the email itself proves little. Check who sent it, through a channel you found yourself, before you reply.

An offer of representation, a film option, a foreign rights deal or a publishing contract is made conditional on the author paying something first — a registration, a translation, a legal fee, a deposit against a much larger sum.

An invitation to be featured by a book club — a spotlight, a reading challenge, an award nomination — from a club that exists only in its own emails. The invitation is free; the feature is not, and the price appears only after you reply.

Someone presenting as a literary agent approaches you unsolicited, praises a book they show no sign of having read, and eventually asks for money — a reading fee, an evaluation, a required edit, or a submission package.

An urgent email claims your publishing account is suspended, your book has been blocked, or your royalties are on hold, and asks you to sign in through a link to fix it. The link goes to a page built to capture the password.

A course, coaching programme or publishing service promises a bestseller, a specific income, or a repeatable system for earning from books. The promise is the product, and the results shown are the exceptions rather than the norm.

A message claims to come from a copyright-settlement administrator — most visibly the Anthropic settlement — and asks a claimant to sign in through a link, upload a document, or confirm payment details so an award can be released. The link goes to a page built to capture credentials or reroute payment.

An approach uses the name and branding of a real publication, festival, book fair or awards body — usually to sell a package the real organisation does not offer, such as representation at a fair you will never attend.

An email offers a feature, interview or review in a publication you have heard of, then asks for a fee to secure the placement. Real editorial coverage is not sold to the subject of it.

An offer to supply reviews on a retailer — a set number, a guaranteed rating, sometimes a launch bundle. Buying retailer reviews breaches the terms of every major store and puts the book and the account at risk, not just the money.

A "publisher" — often calling itself hybrid, partnership or co-publishing — accepts your book and then asks you to pay for publication, while keeping most of the royalties. When the author is the paying customer, the business no longer depends on the book selling.

A company with "Amazon", "KDP" or "Kindle" in its name, or an Amazon-like logo, sells a paid package to publish your book on Amazon. Amazon's own publishing service is free and sells no packages, so whoever is charging you is not Amazon.