Teri M Brown

Turn your book into a movie.

Put your book in front of 10,000 active readers.

Gain 1,000+ TikTok followers.

Get hundreds of reviews.

Look familiar? I’ve received seventy-two messages with these subject lines in the last week. Even though I feel confident that each one is a scam, I still open the missives just in case. And that is precisely how scammers get us. They appeal to our fear that we might miss out on something spectacular, and before long, we’ve paid money for something that won’t work or doesn’t exist.

The Hooks

Scammers know how to hook us. They touch on our pain points, like marketing and getting reviews. But that is not all. They compliment us on our writing.

Who doesn’t want to hear that their book compares to those written by Barbara Kingsolver and Ron Rash? Phrases like “extraordinary craft” and “delightfully intoxicating” appeal to the artist, making it difficult to pass on the offering.

So, how can we know if we are being scammed or if someone is really proposing something helpful? Here are five tips to keep in mind as we peruse our inboxes.

1. Out of the Blue

Most legitimate businesses are not sending emails to authors they do not know. Unless they state how they got your name and contact information, they are likely scammers. And even if they claim a connection, they may be lying. I recently got an email from someone proclaiming to be with a company I’ve worked with in the past. When I tried looking up their name on that company’s website, the person did not exist.

2. Email Address

A legitimate business will have a domain-based email. Click on the “from” in the email. If it comes from a gmail address instead of a company domain, it is likely a scam. This is especially true if the email contains numbers or a random stretch of letters. No professional has an email like terixp245ststpe at gmail. I received an email from someone claiming to be from HarperCollins, and they even used the official HarperCollins logo. The gmail address rather than a domain email gave them away.

3. Name

Many scammers are from other countries and assume fake American/Western-sounding names. These attempts often look as if they raided a list of common nouns and adjectives. This week, I’ve gotten emails from Edify, Willow, Heritage, Monday, Marvelle, Favor, and Red.

4. AI-like Message

Does the information about your book sound familiar? Scammers often rewrite your back of the book blurb and legitimate reviews. They use this rewritten material to rave about your novel. If you save some of this text, you will see it used over and over again from a cross-section of scammers.

5. General Message

If the email starts with “Dear Author” and refers to your work as “your novel,” it is likely a scam. This week, I’ve received Dear Brown, Dear Teri M Brown Author, Dear Teri M, and Dear Peter, in addition to Dear Author. Someone who really wants to do business with you will use your name and be specific about the book they want to represent.

Knowing these tips won’t stop the barrage of fake emails. However, they can help us avoid losing money to those who don’t have our best interest at heart.