So many author scams … BEWARE!

Like other authors, during this past year or so my inbox has been inundated by scammers. I’ve also heard a few horror stories from authors who have unwittingly fallen for them, lost a lot of money and in at least one case compromised their copyright.

Now let me assure you that most authors earn very little. I know, you’re shocked, right? We slave away to produce a novel (write-edit-write-edit-more writing-more editing), spend money on book covers, marketing support, professional editing and other publishing-related tasks and then … sell less than a thousand copies. Unless you’ve made it into the NYTimes or equivalent lists. And bravo! to those who have.

I must say that some of these scams are pretty innovative:

Here’s Robin Joe: “I came across your book and immediately had a visual idea for it — almost like a short cinematic teaser built around one powerful moment.” Whoa!! Turns out Robin is really hamedayomide59 [at] gmail.

Here’s Wordsmith & Writers: “We reviewed your Amazon author profile and your work caught our attention. We don’t reach out to everyone  your profile was one of a handful we felt was worth following up on.” This lovely message came from contact.shopifymailer@gmail – who knew?

A few days ago, Amanda Honour wrote: “I’m part of the team at Book Launch Boom, and I’m scouting for new books to feature on our site. Our goal is to help authors reclaim the spotlight that often gets lost on massive retail platforms. We’ve introduced a self-management portal that requires a one-time $30 library card for lifetime access. This ensures you have full authority over your listing and discovery tools. I don’t charge anything for the showcase itself. Would you be interested in the next steps to get featured?”

I checked the email behind Amanda and discovered fortunehonour23@gmail … I wonder what Amanda knows about honour? Clearly she/he is looking for a fortune!

Another scammer wrote: I’m part of a scouting team currently curating standout books for the 2026 season, with a focus on projects that may resonate with film and television producers. I’d love the opportunity to connect and share a little more about how we help position stories like yours for that space.

Film and television? Wouldn’t that be great. Maybe not.

I received one on creating audio books, one from someone called David at Manuscript Fix, one from Michelle who calls herself an ebook specialist, and one from Timothy from the BookBub Support team (I wonder what BookBub would think of that?) Suffice to say that there are as many scam approaches as there are scammers out there.

Being an author is a tough business – very tough, I should say. Scammers play to our insecurities (which we have in abundance) and our deep desires to be successful. They offer the promise of success but their purpose is to steal your money or your copyright, or to gain access to your computer.

Sigh … the not-so-glamourous part of being an author!

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M.K. Tod writes historical fiction. Her latest novel THAT WAS THEN is a contemporary thriller. Mary’s other novels, THE ADMIRAL’S WIFE, PARIS IN RUINS, TIME AND REGRET, LIES TOLD IN SILENCE and UNRAVELLED are available from Amazon, Nook, Kobo, Google Play and iTunes. She can be contacted on Facebook or on her website www.mktod.com.