Authors beware, watch out for this scam

Published on by Jean M. Cogdell

Tis the season for scamming everyone with a pulse.

More scammers appear every day, like ants at an all they can eat picnic. These varmints call,  text, email and show up on Facebook and Twitter.

Y’all need to watch out for this scam. A company preying on writers want to sell books and reach readers. Apparently, this particular scam has been around for a few years but I  heard about them until…

Today they tried to hook me. 

Now let me tell you, getting through on my home phone is no easy feat. A few months ago we bought a landline phone with Smart Call Blocker. This phone screens out all robo calls unless I’ve added a number (like a docs office) to the directory.

So, anywho—when the phone rings I expect someone I know and have approved to be on the line.

But today I picked up the phone and a caller identified herself as a Book Scout for the publishing company Readers Magnet. They wanted to republish Tryouts for Ben, for a fee of course. I won’t bore you with her attempt at flattery. Might’ve worked if the connection and her English hadn’t been so horrible. LOL

At first, I tried to be polite and say “no thank you.” But she would not stop talking.

Finally, I said, “NO, I do not want to do business with you.” And hung up the phone before she could continue her spiel. 

Let’s get real Y’all. Publishers and agents do not need Literary Book Scouts or Talent Scouts. A legit company has more writers banging on their door than they can count. So, don’t fall for a “Scout” who calls or writes you. They are scammers. 

And the scamming doesn’t stop there. If you Google scams, you’ll get websites that want to sell you a service or program to avoid scams. REALLY! 

Good grief. Enough already. 

Know more about this company before your phone rings. Read the links below.

Questions of the day… 

Have you been called by a Readers Magnet, Literary Book Scout?

Do you know of another publishing scam we need to avoid?

I HOPE YOU’LL TAKE A MINUTE TO FOLLOW ME ON SOCIAL MEDIA, JUST CLICK ON THE BUTTONS BELOW. I’LL LEAVE A LIGHT ON.

    

 

Don’t get scammed by companies like Reader’s Magnet By author Christopher Schmitz

Complaint Review: READERS MAGNET

48 thoughts on “Authors beware, watch out for this scam”

  1. I was almost scammed before by a local “traditional publisher”. They asked that I pay around $1500 as advance payment to market it. It was my first offer. So naturally, I was excited and immediately went to check my bank account. After I saw that I didn’t have enough funds to pay that much, I turned down the deal. A few days later, I saw a news that the company was shut down for fraud. Thank goodness I didn’t take that offer. I never been so glad to be poor in my whole life.

    Liked by 1 person

  2. ReadersMagnet Fake Quote! Scam! ReadersMagnet is a scam! San Diego California
    A certain Kyle who is a senior consultant called me and said that my book is highly recommended by a literary agent, he said that if I register my book in New York Rights Fair, I will be traditionally published, and also because I am recommended by a literary scout he will give me a free publishing package, this got me excited but because I need to ask my wife first, I told him that I will call back tomorrow.

    When I checked their website, I realized that the amount he quoted me which is $1499 is the total cost if I get a book fair and a publishing package from them. Making this free publishing package not to be free at all.

    Never deal with this kind of company! Scammers!

    Like

  3. Pingback: Friday Roundup – 5th January 2018 | Stevie Turner, Indie Author.

  7. I get tons of scam calls on my phone, and the rub is that it’s the same place but they use different phone numbers for every call so there’s no way to block them. I’m considering answering their calls with an air horn. That’ll make them think twice about calling me.

    Liked by 1 person

  9. This same scammer left a message on our landline, positioning herself as a “representative of a major publisher” wanting to acquire “Bayou Fire.” I found it peculiar that the individual did not say which publisher, which sent off some warning bells. They left a number which, via reverse directories, I discovered had a number of scam notices attached to it. I didn’t bother calling back (obviously), but I have no doubt they’ve hooked many an unsuspecting newbie via this method. Thanks for the article.

    Liked by 1 person

      1. Very irritating. And if by some chance you answer and they start their spiel, they won’t stop even if you tell them you aren’t interested. They just keep going and going! Aargh!!!

        Liked by 1 person

  11. Jean, fortunatelly we don’t have that kind of “scamming” with publisher pretending to republish your stuff (here in Switzerland). Or it could be that I’m not interesting for them since I’m an unknown writer… which sound more the case! But thank you for the advice… for instance, time ago, I had received an e-mail offer from a Rosa C. Clarke of the Chiado Publishing (never did hear of them before) but, yes, it did sound “fake” to me…
    All the best for the festivities! :-)claudine

    Liked by 1 person

  14. Thanks for the advice, Jean. I never answer the phone unless I recognize the number or name. However, when a call come in through my car, it doesn’t list the name of the caller, only the number which is all together without dashes and hard to recognize. I try to focus on the last few number and then the rest.

    I need that Smart call blocker for my landline. I also get you just won calls on my work (day job) phone. Not too big of a deal since I rarely answer it and call the person back if it’s work related or family. Most of those I work with know I prefer email to phone calls anyway.

    Liked by 1 person

  16. Thanks for the warning, Jean! This is just as lovely as the IRS or Jail threats scammers have now reduced themselves to over the phone, especially to businesses. I have a coworker who loves taking those calls, she’s like an attorney over the phone and demands so many questions of proof from them, they’re the ones who hang up first! LOL

    Liked by 2 people

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