Verdict
Common scam pattern
Reviewed 2 September 2026
Why this one works
It flatters, and it arrives at the worst possible moment. Most authors publish into near-total silence, and an email offering coverage in a publication they recognise lands exactly where hope lives. The fee is usually pitched as administrative rather than as the price of the coverage — a processing charge, a commissioning fee, a contribution towards production — which lets the sender avoid saying the thing that would give it away: that you are buying editorial.
The distinction that matters
Advertising is legitimate. Publications sell sponsored content and advertorials, and there is nothing wrong with buying either as long as you know that is what you are buying. What separates that from this pattern is disclosure: real paid placement is labelled as paid, sold by people who work in advertising, and priced on a rate card you can ask to see.
The moment a fee is attached to something described as editorial, a review, a feature or an interview, the offer is either not editorial or not genuine.
Red flags
- A fee is requested to secure coverage, described as a placement, processing, commissioning or feature fee.
- The publication is named but the sender's address does not belong to its domain.
- The offer arrives unsolicited and is addressed to you as an author generally, with no reference to anything specific in your book.
- Urgency is manufactured — a slot closing, a discount expiring, an issue going to press this week.
- The named journalist cannot be found on the publication's masthead, or exists but has no connection to the sender.
- Payment is requested by bank transfer, gift card or cryptocurrency rather than an invoice you can trace.
How to verify it yourself
- Find the publication independently through a search engine. Do not use any link in the message.
- Check the sender's address against the publication's real domain, character by character. Lookalike domains are the whole mechanism.
- Search the named journalist on the publication's own site, and look for their other work there.
- Contact the publication through the address on its own contact page and ask whether the approach is genuine.
- Ask the sender to explain, in writing, exactly what the fee buys and whether the result will be labelled as advertising.
What legitimate outreach usually looks like
- Editorial coverage is commissioned by the outlet and paid for by the outlet. The subject is never charged.
- A real journalist writes from the publication's own domain and refers to something specific about your book.
- Paid placement does exist, but it is labelled advertising, sponsored content or an advertorial, and it is sold by an ad sales team, not an editor.
- Legitimate paid services state plainly what you are buying and do not describe it as editorial.
What not to send or pay
- Payment of any kind, particularly by transfer, gift card or cryptocurrency.
- Your manuscript, unless you would be happy for it to circulate freely.
- Bank details, tax identifiers or copies of identity documents.
If you already replied
- Stop replying. Continued contact is used to qualify you as responsive and invites further approaches.
- If you paid by card, contact your bank promptly and ask about a chargeback.
- If you paid by bank transfer, tell your bank immediately — recovery depends heavily on speed.
- Report it to the real publication, which usually wants to know its name is being used.
- Report it to your national consumer or fraud reporting body.
Related
This page describes a pattern, not a party. It is not a legal finding about any individual sender or company, and a message resembling this pattern is not by itself proof of anything about whoever sent it. If you are unsure about a specific approach, verify it through the steps above rather than by replying.