Tag Archives: Writer Beware

Beware the Wolves Out There

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Scams and scammers are as old as the Bible (and fairy tales). Check out Genesis 27, where Moses records Jacob’s scheme to scam his brother Esau out of his inheritance with the help of his mother. Nowadays, dream stealers use the internet to ply their trade. If you’re a writer, you’ve probably received at least one letter telling you how wonderful your book is and how the sender can get you more sales or a movie contract. Some are quite well-written, and at first glance, sound like a wonderful opportunity. I copied this one from an email I received:

Dear Patricia, (Times New Roman font while the rest of the message is in Verdana)

I hope this email finds you well. My name is Jonathan Fuhrman, and I am a Senior Production Executive at Castle Rock Entertainment reaching out to you on behalf of my team. We are currently on the lookout for captivating books that have the potential to be adapted into compelling content for Castle Rock Entertainment, either as a series or a full-length feature film.

We have an exciting opportunity for a potential collaboration. We believe that your book has the potential to translate beautifully onto the screen, and we’re keen to explore the idea of adapting it into a feature film.

I would love to invite you to sit down with me and some of our investors to discuss this opportunity further. It’s a chance for us to brainstorm ideas, share our vision for the project, and explore how we can work together to bring your story to life on the big screen.

Additionally, we are prepared to offer a contract that outlines the terms of our collaboration, ensuring that both parties are clear on expectations and benefits.

I understand that this is a big decision, and there may be questions or concerns you’d like to address before moving forward. Please know that I’m here to answer any queries you may have and to provide any additional information you require.

Please let me know a convenient time for you to meet, and I’ll make sure to coordinate with our team to arrange everything accordingly.

Looking forward to the possibility of working together and bringing your vision to audiences worldwide.

Warm regards,
Jonathan Fuhrman
EVP and Head of Business Affairs

E:Jonathan@castlerockentertainment.com
A: 335 N Maple Dr, Beverly Hills, California
Can you imagine how I felt? Jonathan Fuhrman! The Jonathan Fuhrman and Castle Rock Entertainment! If you’re like most writers, including me, you have dreams of seeing your book on TV or the big screen. But you know the old saying…if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

My first niggle of doubt started with the greeting. It was a different font than the rest. My second niggle—if Castle Rock Entertainment found me and my book on the ‘net, why didn’t they discover I had an agent? That’s who they should have contacted. So I googled Jonathan Fuhrman and Castle Rock Entertainment scams, and there it was along with the story of a woman who’d responded to the email and lost a bunch of money. The money wasn’t why she was so angry, though. She was angry because the scammer had preyed on her dreams and had gotten her hopes up, only for them to come crashing down. She was left feeling like a fool for not recognizing the email for the scam it was.

Always check, double-check, and even triple-check someone’s credentials before giving them your money.

Another email popped into my inbox with the following subject line and greeting: Re: Fatal Witness (Pearl River Book #2) — A K-9 Cold Case, Buried Identities, and a Relentless Search for Truth
Dear Bradley Caffee,
I hope you have been well. I wanted to gently reconnect regarding my previous message about a potential feature conversation centered on Sides. (Note: I don’t have a book by that title, and my name isn’t Bradley Caffee.) What continues to stand out to us is not only the high concept premise of Zero Hour and avatar transformation, but the psychological and ethical undercurrent running beneath it. The idea of players physically becoming their digital selves feels less like spectacle and more like a sharp metaphor for the identities we curate, inhabit, and sometimes lose control of in an increasingly immersive world. The national countdown atmosphere, the cultural frenzy, and the ripple effect of a single design decision all contribute to a narrative that feels both gripping and unsettlingly plausible…

Evidently, the AI program got its books mixed up.

The problem is, despite their mess-ups, AI is getting better and better at sounding authentic. One excellent site for checking for scammers is on Writer Beware. Here’s the link: https://writerbeware.blog/2024/03/15/the-impersonation-list/

Now it’s your turn, TKZ. Any tips or comments on avoiding scammers?

 

Amazon’s Latest Rollout – And Controversy

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Amazon’s Latest Rollout – And Controversy
Terry Odell

Amazon is rolling out a new feature, “Ask this Book,” a new feature that allows readers (of Kindle books) to interact with the book. It’s currently available for thousands of English-language books on the Kindle iOS app in the U.S. The feature will be enabled on Kindle devices and Android OS next year.

Forget a character’s name? Can’t remember where a scene took place? Instead of searching, which can be a tedious process, you can now ask the AI genie inside the book and it will answer you, also inside the book. No scrolling, no losing your place.

That seems harmless enough. Helpful, even. But you can also ask more general questions, and AI will answer in a paragraph, and that’s where the controversy begins.

This example is from a Kindlepreneur article written by Kevin J. Duncan, Head of Content. Using the book “Alice in Wonderland,” he asked what was the role of the Cheshire Cat.

The response:

The argument continues that these sorts of answers are the “opinions” of AI. To quote Duncan, “the system is giving you its version of what that thing means. It decides what matters, what doesn’t, what’s central, and what can be glossed over.”

My own test. I don’t own a Kindle, and I buy almost all my books from Barnes & Noble, but I do have a few books from Amazon, admittedly. Most of them are the freebies that come with my Prime membership, with occasional purchases from authors I’m familiar with. I didn’t have access to the Ask This Book feature when I opened a book from my Kindle library to read on my PC, but I did get the feature on my phone.

(Personal note. Reading on my phone is a last resort. I have a Nook tablet and an iPad mini, both of which are much more eye-friendly, but sometimes I’m stuck waiting unexpectedly and don’t have one of those devices with me.)

The Ask This Book feature is activated by tapping the page and getting a menu of icons at top of the screen. Ask This Book is the diamond shape with the little +.

Or, you can highlight a word or portion of text, which should give you the option to ask your question.

You can also choose between having AI look at the whole book, or only up to as far as you’ve read, which is supposed to avoid spoilers. I used the whole book option and asked the question, “What kind of person is Mike Romeo.”

This is the response I got. (Sorry, but my phone wouldn’t let me shrink the text to get the entire answer on the screen, but you can probably figure out the first sentence.)

**If you’re reading this, JSB, what do you think about this characterization summary?

The Author’s Guild is pushing back. This is what they had to say:

“The Guild is looking into whether the feature, which was added without permission from publishers or authors, might infringe authors’ and publishers’ rights.

“Ask this Book, which is slated for a wider rollout in 2026, allows readers to query an AI chatbot about books they have purchased or borrowed. So far there is no way for publishers or authors to opt their books out of the feature, though as of this writing the feature is not available for all ebooks. It allows a reader to highlight text and click on an “Ask” icon to ask the AI to “explain” the selected text or enter their own question in the chatbot. All responses are generated from the book itself.

“The Guild is concerned that Ask this Book turns books into searchable, interactive products akin to enhanced ebooks or annotated editions—a new format for which rights should be specifically negotiated—and, given Amazon’s stronghold on ebook retail, it could usurp the burgeoning licensing market for interactive AI-enabled ebooks and audiobooks.”

Writer Beware isn’t too happy about the feature, either. They say, “Agents and publishers broadly regard anything to do with generative AI as a separate right reserved solely to the author, and publishing contracts are increasingly addressing this issue. The primary focus has been on preventing unpermissioned AI training, but with the technology embedding itself at warp speed in all aspects of the book business, the rights implications are expanding just as fast…especially where, as here, they sneak in under the radar.”

Should this be considered yet another format of a book? If so, what are the author’s rights?

As of now, there is no opt-out choice. Ask This Book is included automatically. It operates independently of the author, so they don’t get to review answers, suggest changes, or flag problems.

Your thoughts, TKZers? Are authors and publishers getting shortchanged?

**Note: if you’re upset with Amazon, my books are available wide.

New! Find me at Substack with Writings and Wanderings

Deadly Ambitions
Peace in Mapleton doesn’t last. Police Chief Gordon Hepler is already juggling a bitter ex-mayoral candidate who refuses to accept election results and a new council member determined to cut police department’s funding.
Meanwhile, Angie’s long-delayed diner remodel uncovers an old journal, sparking her curiosity about the girl who wrote it. But as she digs for answers, is she uncovering more than she bargained for?
Now, Gordon must untangle political maneuvering, personal grudges, and hidden agendas before danger closes in on the people he loves most.
Deadly Ambitions delivers small-town intrigue, political tension, and page-turning suspense rooted in both history and today’s ambitions.

 

Terry Odell is an award-winning author of Mystery and Romantic Suspense, although she prefers to think of them all as “Mysteries with Relationships.”

True Crime Thursday – PageTurner and Pig Butchering

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Public domain photo

by Debbie Burke

Scams that prey on writers’ hopes and dreams have been around for decades. Here at TKZ, we often talk about the barrage of emails, text messages, and phone calls from high-pressure con artists that promise your book is guaranteed to be a NYT bestseller AND a blockbuster film AND a streaming series…if only you pay them fees that range from a few thousand dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Between 2017 to 2024, an estimated 800 unwary, trusting writers paid more than $44 million to a particularly successful enterprise called PageTurner, Press and Media LLC with offices in Chula Vista, California.

In January 2025, three principals of PageTurner were indicted by the US Attorney’s Office, Southern District of California, with investigation assistance from the FBI and US Postal Inspectors.

Gemma Traya Austin, 58, of Chula Vista, Michael Cris Traya Sordilla, 32, the Philippines, and Bryan Navales Torosa, 34, the Philippines, were arrested and charged with multiple counts of Conspiracy to Commit Mail and Wire Fraud and Conspiracy to Launder Monetary Instruments. Potential penalties are 20 years in prison and fines up to $500,000 or twice the amount laundered.

All three defendants pled not guilty.

Additionally, PageTurner’s website has been shut down.

Back in 2023, the Authors Guild issued warnings based on numerous complaints made by writers who had paid PageTurner large amounts of money but received no value.

Since 2018, watchdog Victoria Strauss and Writer Beware had also been following complaints by victims. She tracked down various company names connected with PageTurner, including Innocentrix Philippines, “an umbrella group for a bumper crop of scams.”

“Pig-butchering” is a scam where victims are pressured to pay increasing fees as the scammers pass victims around among various related entities. Each additional entity requires more money for their supposed service. They claim to be liaisons with film producers and studios, or marketing specialists, or contacts to develop screenplays or “treatments” for film, etc.

Fraudsters fatten up their victims with repeated, escalating demands for payment before “butchering” them for a final big score.

In one horrific case, an author was pressured into spending more than $600,000 for bogus screen treatments, marketing, and PR programs.

The website of a Philippine beauty pageant includes this paragraph about one of the accused:

Michael Cris Traya Sordilla, commonly known as Mike Sordilla, serves as the current chairman of the Hiyas ng Pilipinas organization. A distinguished judge for numerous local and national pageants, Mike Sordilla is also a respected philanthropist, businessman, and socialite. Under his leadership, the organization has reached new heights, establishing itself as one of the most anticipated and celebrated pageant competitions in the country.

The “respected philanthropist” and his two cohorts have remained in custody since December 2024 because they’re considered flight risks. 

Adding insult to injury, a phony law firm is now soliciting victims of PageTurner to represent them for a $1200 free. This notice appears on Writer Beware:

SCAM ALERT: Authors are reporting calls from “US Literary Law Firm” offering “representation” for PageTurner victims for a fee of $1,200. This offer is fraudulent: there is no such law firm.

Because of the large dollar amounts and complexity of evidence in the PageTurner case, court dates have been delayed several times with the most recent update ordering a hearing on August 29, 2025.

If you or any writer you know has been victimized by PageTurner, the FBI issued this request:

If you believe you are a victim of the PageTurner scam, please contact the FBI at AuthorFraud@fbi.gov.

If you or someone you know is age 60 or older and has been a victim of financial fraud, help is available through the National Elder Fraud Hotline: 1-833 FRAUD-11 (1-833-372-8311). You can also report fraud to any local law enforcement agency or on the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov.

Writers are especially vulnerable to scams by con artists who use hopes and dreams as psychological weapons to take advantage of them. When anyone solicits you out of the blue with lofty promises about the fame and success they can deliver for your book, the best practice is to hang up, block the number, and delete emails and texts.

The only promise you can count on from them is that they will financially butcher you.

~~~

Con artists, scammers, and fraudsters are among bad guys and bad gals featured in Debbie Burke’s new writing craft book, The Villain’s Journey-How to Create Villains Readers Love to Hate.

Sales links:

Amazon

Barnes & Noble

Apple Books

Kobo

True Crime Thursday – Scams That Target Writers

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Public domain, Winsor McCay, Dream of the Rarebit Fiend, 1909

By Debbie Burke

@burke_writer

 

Like mosquitos in summer, scammers keep buzzing in with new tricks to suck the blood from writers. Here are three that recently hit my radar:

Scam #1 – We Pay You to Write!

A couple of months ago, several members of the Authors Guild received emails from individuals claiming to need articles or workbooks written for an upcoming seminar. The bait is a substantial fee and a promise of wider recognition through their organization. They may claim to have a disability, with the inference that if you write for them, you also enjoy the satisfaction of helping. Or…if you don’t write for their worthy cause, you should feel guilty. Con artists are masters at manipulation.

Here’s a sample invitation from “Paula Smith”:

Hello, My name is Paula, an academic consultant. I have a speech distorting condition called Apraxia. I got your contact details online and I need your service. Can you write an article on a specific topic for an upcoming workshop? The article is to be given as a handbook to the attendees of the workshop. I have a title for the article and have drafted an outline to guide you. Please get back to me for more information

(442) 278-5255

Paula

Fortunately, the author who received the solicitation investigated a little deeper and discovered “Paula’s” phone number had numerous complaints against it for fraud. A helpful resource to check out questionable phone numbers is callername.com.

More writers added their suspicions to the Authors Guild discussion group but weren’t sure how the scam worked.

Then AG member and travel writer Lan Sluder offered the following enlightening explanation:

This is a scam that is well known in the hospitality (lodging) industry. The target is usually smaller inns, hotels and B&Bs. Someone makes what seems a legitimate reservation, often for several rooms, and pays by check or credit card. There are various versions, but typically the inn owner is overpaid or part of the reservation is cancelled or changed and the scammer wants a refund. Much later, the original credit or check payment is found to be invalid, and the inn owner is out hundreds or thousands of dollars. Some of these scammers are pretty clever, and it’s not always easy to tell an authentic reservation from a fake one. Occasionally, hotel owners or reservations offices are fooled into thinking it is an actual guest reservation.

I’ve written a number of travel guides and other travel books that review hotels so I get a lot of these scam emails due to mistakes by the less sophisticated scammers.

A similar scam exists targeting attorneys, CPAs and small businesses of all kinds. I guess now the scammers are starting to target writers.

——————————
Lan Sluder
——————————

Another AG poster who’s a member of the American Translators Association added that their members have also been targeted and shared the story of one victim. The scammer “overpaid” then asked the translator to wire money for the refund. Unfortunately, she did, shortly before the scam check bounced and she was out $2000.

Ouch!

Scam #2 – Fake Marketing Offers

These scammers keep reinventing themselves with different aliases and websites. Be wary of anyone who calls out of the blue or sends an email with wording similar to this:

Dear Author,

Our expert book scouts discovered your fabulous novel and we are excited to offer you an amazing opportunity. Because we believe so strongly in the bestseller potential of your book, we want to invest [fill in outrageous amount of money] in your marketing and publicity at absolutely no cost to you. We will reserve a place of honor for your book at the upcoming [fill in prestigious book fair or festival]. Your success will be our reward.

Sincerely,

A Company That Believes in Your Fantastic Talent (smirking)

After a few more flattering emails, they swoop in for the kill shot:

We reaffirm you do not have to pay one penny for our fabulous marketing package because our faith in you is so strong. To be fair, we know you’ll want to contribute your part by paying the bargain registration fee of only [fill in hundreds to thousands of dollars].

Here’s a post from YA author Khristina Chess who was contacted by Readers Magnet. Interestingly, they claim to be accredited by the Better Business Bureau as of 2019. However this BBB link shows multiple complaints against them.

Here’s a list of companies that engage in practices that may technically be within the law but slide into slimy.

 

 

 

Before you engage any writing-related services, check them out on Writer Beware  whose mission is:  “Shining a bright light into the dark corners of the shadow-world of literary scams, schemes, and pitfalls.”

A big thank you to Writer Beware for watching out for writers!

Scam #3 – Impersonating Agents and Editors

Earlier this year, intrepid Victoria Strauss covered cases of scammers who assume the identity of legitimate agents or editors then contact unsuspecting authors. Of course, struggling writers are understandably thrilled to have a big-name agent contact them. Just be sure the person is who they claim to be. Here’s Victoria’s post.

On July 16, agent Victoria Marini @LitAgentMarini tweeted the following warning after learning someone had co-opted her name:

“It has come to my attention that someone is impersonating me online, likely in an attempt to scam writers. I am not associated with WritersDesk LLC, nor do I sell videos, materials, editorial work, or any other good or service. Many thanks to @victoriastrauss.”

 

Protect yourself from true crimes against writers. Always verify the source.

 ~~~

TKZers: Have you been solicited by questionable people or companies regarding your writing? Please share your experience and outcome.

 ~~~

 

 

Check out a devious scam with a unique twist in Debbie Burke’s thriller, Stalking Midas, available at this link.

Mystery Publishing News – Recent Shakeups

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Adrian Midgley captures “Pekoe” defying gravity to catch that $&#% dot.

 

An author in search of a publisher often feels like a cat trying to catch a laser pointer. The target moves up the wall, down the stairs, sideways, backwards, and spins you around in circles. Even when you’re lucky enough to catch one (either a laser dot or a publisher), it can vanish without warning.

What’s a cat—or an author—supposed to do to keep up to speed?

In a constantly changing market, below are several recent developments affecting mystery presses:

Midnight Ink – The October, 2018 announcement that Midnight Ink would shut down came as a big shock to authors and employees alike. The respected crime fiction imprint was established in 2005. According to a Publisher’s Weekly article in November, 2018, the Minnesota-based publisher Llewellyn withdrew from the fiction market to concentrate on nonfiction, leaving MI out in the cold.

Spokesperson Kat Sanborn said:

“We had good reviews, but the sales just weren’t there for [Midnight Ink],” Sanborn said, noting that the 250 backlist titles will remain in print, and that frontlist will be marketed and promoted as usual. “We’re just not accepting new manuscripts,” she said.

Twenty titles that were already in progress will be rolled out during spring/summer 2019.

Three MI editors were laid off, including Terri Bischoff, who didn’t stay unemployed for long, landing on her feet with a new gig at Crooked Lane Books. She is now Senior Editor at CLB, a crime fiction publisher founded in 2014.

Several orphaned MI authors have found new homes at Crooked Lane, Severn River Publishing, and Seventh Street Books.

~~~~~

Seventh Street Books – SSB is undergoing changes as well with a new owner. Formerly owned by Prometheus Books, in November, 2018 SSB was bought by Start Publishing. Dan Mayer remains as Editorial Director.

Publisher’s Weekly reported:

“Prometheus Books sold its two genre imprints to Start Publishing. Publisher Jonathan Kurtz explained the sale by saying he wanted to return the publisher to its nonfiction roots. Prometheus expanded into fiction in 2005 with the launch of Pyr, which focuses on science fiction and fantasy novels. In 2011, it added the crime fiction imprint Seventh Street Books. Pyr has a backlist of 170 titles, and Seventh Street’s backlist stands at about 90.”

~~~~

Poisoned Pen Press – In December, 2018, Publisher’s Weekly announced the acquisition of PP by Sourcebooks:

“Sourcebooks has announced that it has acquired most of the assets of Poisoned Pen Press and that the award-winning crime and mystery publisher will become Sourcebooks’ mystery imprint.”

The staff, including PP’s founder Robert Rosenwald and Editor-in-Chief Barbara Peters, will reportedly stay on and become Sourcebook employees. The offices remain in Scottsdale, AZ.

~~~~

Kindle Press – The Amazon imprint stopped accepting new submissions in spring of 2018, leaving me and a hundred or so other authors orphaned.

~~~~

I’ve been looking for a new house since then and have received offers from several well-known publishers like Fly-By-Night Press and No-Advances-R-Us, LLC.

Which raises the question: how does an author find a reputable house that’s likely to be in business for longer than it takes the ink to dry on the contract?

The answer is research. Vetting publishers sounds daunting but here are three shortcuts:

#1  Mystery Writers of America – MWA regularly updates their list of approved publishers. To be included on that list, a press must adhere to “professional standards of good business practice and fair treatment of authors.”

Here’s a partial list of qualifications:

  • Must be in business for at least two years;
  • Must have paid a minimum of $1000 within the past two years to at least five authors who are not owners of the company;
  • Must have published at least two works of crime-related fiction or nonfiction in the past two years;
  • Must meet other standards outlined in MWA’s Approved Publishers Guidelines.

#2  Writer Beware – a great watchdog website that alerts writers to scams, cons, questionable business practices, and outright fraud. Although affiliated with Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America (SFWA), their investigations and warnings cover all genres. Writer Beware is the first place I research a publisher.

#3  Ask other authors – Gone are the days when an author stayed with the same house for his/her entire career. In the past couple of years, Big Five houses decided to focus on blockbusters, pretty much to the exclusion of mid-list authors. As a result, many popular authors were dropped even though they had successful series.

Fellow writers/orphans are often willing to share their war stories about publishers.

Some authors have gone on to work with smaller presses. I know a few who now have contracts with several different houses at the same time.

Others decided to indie-publish or go hybrid.

The Authors Guild features a Back-in-Print program for previously published books where the author has gotten the rights back. For a fee, AG will assist in converting to new formatting for re-release as ebooks and/or print on demand (POD) hard copies. They also help with distribution.

When a publisher makes you an offer, the legal department of the Authors Guild will review and analyze the publishing contract. That single service makes their $125 membership fee worthwhile. Fly-By-Night and No-Advances-R-Us offered me contracts which I sent to AG’s attorneys. They helped me make the informed decision to say, “Thanks but no thanks.”

And now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go chase that little red dot that just flickered across the ceiling . . . . . . . .

 

TKZers, do you have a favorite news source that keeps you up to date on the publishing industry?

 

 

Even though Debbie Burke is an orphan, her thriller Instrument of the Devil is still available here.