Since 2015, I’ve published four novels, one memoir, and two poetry collections. I tell you this, dear readers and writers, because for the past couple of weeks, I’ve been blasted by emails that are clearly AI generated. Individuals (or maybe robots) want to sell me their marketing services. Some offer access to major nationwide book clubs whose readers will gobble up my narratives. Others offer reviewers that will read and review my work in exchange for a “tip.” I’ve also had one who offered a complete marketing plan for generating more readers.
For my novel Fling!, AI said, “Fling! is perfectly poised to delight and energize book clubs who crave stories that make them laugh, feel, and think differently about life’s possibilities. I would be honored to champion this remarkable work and introduce it to the readers who will celebrate it most.”
A promoter of my novel Freefall: A Divine Comedy, sent me the following invitation: “I want to begin by acknowledging the creativity and depth it took to bring Freefall: Divine Comedy into the world. Blending wit, wisdom, and imagination in such a bold way is no easy task, yet you’ve managed to craft a work that both entertains and provokes thought. It’s clear that your writing carries not only storytelling skill but also a unique vision that invites readers to see life through a fresh lens. As I reflect on your work, I can’t help but see how beautifully it could resonate within book clubs.” This person didn’t take the time to spell the novel’s title correctly!
Of course, the praiseful descriptions of my work caught my interest. I’m only human! But I’m also skeptical of being deceived and know that scamming is rampant. So when I saw the following email, my radar turned red:
“I came across Dreaming Myself into Old Age and was inspired by the way you’ve intertwined your lifelong journey of self-discovery with the insights from your dreams. Your dedication to exploring the inner world and sharing those reflections offers readers a rare and deeply personal perspective on aging gracefully and meaningfully.
I want to be clear from the start: I’m not a promoter, I don’t run ads, and I don’t manage social media pages. My role is simple I help authors whose books may not yet have the visibility they deserve connect with readers who will genuinely engage with their work and leave thoughtful reviews. This isn’t about selling a service or pitching anything; it’s about giving your book the chance to reach those who will truly value it.” This is the service the ultra humane agent only requires me, the writer, to “tip” the readers. It also has grammatical mistakes.
The big publishing houses can afford large advances and decent royalties, compensating their authors for their time and creativity. We writers who aren’t part of the elite spend thousands of hours immersed in creating our narratives for very little if any recompense other than the pleasure of giving birth to a book. We’re particularly vulnerable to the vultures who feed off our work, promising financial benefits that only they (the vultures) benefit from.
If I’m being too cynical here, I’d love to hear from authors who did sign up for one of these scams and were successful at selling enough books to make the investment worthwhile. As for me, I’ve had enough!
8 thoughts on “AI is scamming writers!”
Me too, Lily. I fell for one, a pay to play scheme but spent no money and got a good generated AI interview out of it. https://open.substack.com/pub/elizabethwinthropalsop/p/the-ai-generated-questions?r=34zeu&utm_medium=ios
Since then , I just file them away in a folder called Publishing Scams.
Yes, I loved that post of yours!
Lily, I have been inundated as well and ‘almost’ got caught. At my age, cynicism, especially with anything ‘tech’ oriented, has become an instant tool to be employed. It’s sad in a way, because I’ve gotten a few wonderful reviews from these folks and thought, ‘How nice it would be for this to be real.’ Anyway, I wish these folks would take the time to leave a review on Amazon or Goodreads. I have yet to see one who is praising my book to do so.
I think Alicia was on the money with “If anything, you aren’t cynical enough.”
Someone I trust gave me this advice, “If you didn’t contact them, run the other way.”
There is a caveat. There always is, right? A screenwriter reached out to me. Actually, his secretary reached out. I’ve taken to googling the names of these people and this one turned out to be legit. (I haven’t found a scammer to have a web site yet.) I went a step further and used the screenwriter’s ‘contact us’ option on his website. I got a pleasant response but they weren’t really offering anything that would benefit me or them at the moment. I’m sure that beneath the surface something was in it for them but we didn’t make it that far.
The lesson is if one of these fishermen catches your eye as a ‘maybe,’ then use due diligence. Writers Beware, the Authors Guild, Google, whatever resource might be helpful. Never take them as legitimate up front.
I really appreciate you sharing your valuable experiences in this scamming world with me and my readers. I must say I was impressed with how AI made my novels sound amazing in the emails the scammers sent!
Yes, I’ve been getting half a dozen emails per day, including book clubs. Writers Beware has been a big help in stopping these.
It’s a relief to hear that I’m not alone in being targeted!
If anything, you’re not cynical enough.
I’ve had my own share.
Warning: they create a fake profile, give one of your books a 5* RATING (no review – that would take work) on Goodreads, and then suddenly you’re getting these letters.
Make no mistake, there is no AI at the helm – it is being guided by very human scammers who praise, cajole, etc., trying to get you to buy their services (I got a book club one, too) by using the LLMs to improve their prose.
But their offers are all a little or a lot off – no regular book club has an administrator or even a person in charge who receives letters and chooses books for the members!
The national ones do NOT open themselves to submissions – their process is designed to avoid any way to game them.
I won’t bother with more details, and I tired quickly of the email back and forth (one was quoting Scripture at me to tell me to grab opportunities NOW). There was a human at the other end – answering questions with plausible lies.
The bottom line is that if THEY approach you with an unbelievable offer, don’t believe them.
Thanks for sharing your valuable experience here, Alicia!