06/17/2026
A (hopefully kind) note to my fellow indie authors...
We all want to be successful, for some definition of "success." We want people to read out stories, and to like them.
That desire will be turned against you.
A) The "book club coordinator" who just contacted you about "featuring" your book... they're a scammer.
B) The "senior editor from [insert well-known publishing company]" is also a scammer.
C) The "agent" or "publishing company" that wants to charge you to be represented, or insists that you have to pay for a "cinematic trailer" or some other promotional bit... is a scammer. Publishers do not ask you for money, and agents get paid when they sell your book.
D) Anyone who is explaining "Kindle Publishing Packages" is... well, maybe not a scammer, but close to it. Amazon doesn't charge a penny for you to publish your book with them, whether Kindle, audiobook, paperback, or hardcover.
Not a SINGLE DAY goes by that I don't get at least one of these in my inbox.
Some clues:
A) .com addresses. Nobody working for a business will use these. Now, an independent editor might, but they should still have a website you can refer to.
B) Anyone asking about the book YOU JUST RELEASED, if that was the 3rd in the series and not the 1st. They're just watching Amazon for new releases and targeting you.
C) Anyone who claims to work for a major publisher. Absolutely zero publishers will reach out to you directly, ever, and even their own websites say so. Just because someone looked up a Senior Editor on LinkedIn and copied their name and photo doesn't make them legit.
D) Anyone who sends an (obviously AI-written) email praising your book and pointing out all the things that you know perfectly well you wrote. They're just buttering you up so they can ask for money.
A couple of exceptions.
A legitimate agent—who will usually be getting a ~20% cut of your royalties if they sell your book—may SUGGEST that you need to work with a development editor (or line-and-copy editor, or both) in order to get your book into salable condition. This is not unusual, and you should expect to pay for that service. That said, you should vet said editor and their rates.
If you WANT or NEED someone to help you with your cover art, or laying out your book attractively, or creating promotional images for you to use in your own campaigns, or even paying someone to run ad campaigns for you... those are legitimate services, and you can expect to pay for them. You should vet the service provider, examine their portfolio of work carefully, and ONLY PAY WITH A CREDIT CARD because that gives you the ability to dispute the charge if they vanish with your money.
NEVER PAY FOR ANYTHING WITH A DEBIT CARD, AN ACH TRANSFER, VENMO, ZELLE, A WIRE, or basically any other form of payment, as you will have no recourse. Anyone asking for Wise is probably a scammer. PayPal... yeah, I've seen that with some smaller outfits, but I give PayPal a credit card so I have recourse.
I am also in the habit of sending these service providers an IRS W-9 form, asking for their Taxpayer Identification Number—because that's something I can look up to ensure authenticity modicum of authenticity. For non-US providers, I'll ask for a W-8 instead. Any legitimate service professional will have no problem with these forms.
Please don't let your heartfelt desire for acceptance and success make you a target.
Please share this, if you are inclined to do so, to help other new authors see this important message.
