WHAT DOES A PUBLISHING SCAM LOOK LIKE?
We've seen a massive increase in the number of reports of writers receiving emails or social media DMs offering a number of things, including:
- Book marketing services
- Selection for an established regional or online book club
- Appearances at literary festivals or conventions
Here, for example, is a scam email received recently by J.R. Blanes, author of Portraits of Decay
This particular email purports to be from Dominic Wong, director of the Bournemouth Writing Festival in the UK, and invites J.R. to attend. The truth is that this is not an email from Dominic Wong, and is not an official invitation from the festival.
I'll talk more about how, structurally, you can spot the scam unfold in a moment.
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO COMBAT THIS?
1. Be realistic.
Excitement is how they get you. The dopamine hits, your guard drops, and everything seems possible. But think about it for a moment: do literary agents, large festivals, or people you've never built any kind of relationship with often show up out of the blue with heaps of praise and offers to work together? Especially if you're a relatively (or entirely) unknown author?
No, they don't.
And if, all of a sudden, a conversation about booking you for a festival or book club appearance suddenly turns to them asking YOU for money, then alarm bells should be ringing. The scammer may also "butter you up" across a couple of back-and-forth emails before throwing a price list your way.
This isn't to say that every opportunity that comes your way is a guaranteed scam – but slow down, think with a sober mind, and ask yourself, does this pass the smell test? (M Presents will occasionally reach out, but emails will always come from mpresents.publishing@gmail.com)
It can be tough, and plenty of experienced authors have already been caught out because right now, the current wave of scammers are impersonating real people and legitimate groups – which brings me to the next point...
2. Check the sender's email address.
A scammer who's impersonating someone else will go to great lengths to try and convince you they are who they say they are. Their email signature might look perfect, including a headshot or other graphics that feel authentic.
But there's one thing they can't hide (without effort): the email address they're sending from.
Established businesses have their own domains. I am in the process of setting up a mpresentspublishing.com email, but for now know that all emails will come from mpresents.publishing@gmail.com. That's important.
In the example I showed you that was sent to J.R. Blanes, notice the email address (I've redacted it a little, but you can get the picture). It's a GMAIL email address, not an official address for the Bournemouth Writing Festival, who use their own domain for email.
Pay close attention to this. A scammer might use the name of the person they're pretending to be as the email address, but slightly misspell it so it's difficult to tell at a glance. (readers be wary, this happens in other scams as well)
That's why thinking soberly is important: it keeps your focus so you can spot these inconsistencies.
3. Be aware of common scam structures.
One good thing is that scammers are, generally, lazy. In their search for victims, they're likely firing out hundreds of emails a day hoping for a bite. This means they're almost exclusively using quick templates and AI.
Let's go back to the email J.R. received.
First, notice the subject line: "Invitation to Bournemouth Writing Festival 2026 — Portraits of Decay."
An invitation, in this context, is an invitation to be a hosted guest. But once you start reading the email, you find talk of "Author Participation Packages." This is deceptive from the off. Like I said earlier, most scammers will wait until two or three emails into your exchange before they pull out the price list. Here, they're more or less getting right to it.
To be clear: an invitation to be a guest or panelist at a festival should NOT involve you paying money to the organizer unless that's the nature of the event ("pay to play"). Most do not operate that way.
Next, let's look at the lead-in portion of the email. You have an initial greeting that explains who the sender is (necessary because this is cold outreach), which then immediately segues into praise for your book.
But take a moment to read that praise closely...
In these kinds of scam email, the feedback given is clearly AI-generated and comprised entirely of fluff. Everything said is exactly what the book is marketed to be. That's a simple appeal to your ego: you got it just right!
There are absolutely no details presented within this praise that indicate the sender has actually read the book.
In short terms, they're blowing smoke. Be mindful, because flattery is a scammer's strongest weapon.
Finally, they'll ask you to reply and continue the discussion. Once you do, they know you're on the hook.
Can you imagine if J.R. had paid money for a supposed appearance package, and then spent thousands of dollars on flights and accommodation only to arrive in the UK to find the festival organizers had no idea what he was talking about?
That's a worryingly realistic outcome for this kind of scam.
4. Do your due diligence.
The impersonation problem is getting out of hand, but there are ways around it.
First, try contacting the supposed sender through other means. Never click a link in an email if you can help it.
Festivals, agents, marketing agencies, and pretty much any professional will have their own website with a contact email address listed, or a form you can fill in. If in doubt, reach out through there to verify the authenticity of the email you received.
Online and regional book clubs often have a group at meetup.com, through which you can contact the admins/organizers to check if the contact is legit.
If the sender says they can help market your book, look for their website, portfolio, social media channels and the results they've achieved for other clients, such as social buzz, Amazon or Goodreads reviews etc. that aren't obvious AI spam. Google is your friend here, research. And ask others if they have any experience; authors protect authors.
FINALLY: DON'T GIVE THEM OXYGEN
The four steps I've outlined above should keep you well protected, but there's one other thing that's important: do not reply to scam emails.
If you receive an obvious scam email, it's best to blacklist the sender and delete the email immediately. Replying signals that you're active and responsive... and within hours you'll start receiving a deluge of emails from other scammers as your address gets shared around their network.
In Gmail, you can also use the "Report Spam" or "Report Phishing" option to report the email address as fraudulent.
When these people stop getting responses and stop making money from their activities, they'll have to find a different industry to annoy. That's the best we can hope for.
