Recently Writer’s Digest ran an article I wrote to help authors avoid AI-generated Bookstagram scams.
As a former newspaper journalist, I feel so passionate about helping people discern reality from fake information.
The rise of social media has certainly played its role in causing a sincere confusion between real and fake news, though propaganda and scams are nothing new.
Many industries have their share of scammers trying to con people out of money.
Specifically in the book industry, our author clients often ask our Books Forward team if a promotional offering is worthwhile. And while it’s typically not, the real question cuts even deeper: is the opportunity even legitimate?
We’ve had the joy of representing authors and promoting their books for decades, and with that experience has come many promotional programs that make ridiculously exaggerated (sometimes flat out false) offers to our clients.
Be alert, be aware and ask questions.
Ask your author friends and industry insiders for their experiences and guidance on whether or not a promotion is credible.
And consider these helpful resources:
- Stay tuned to The Authors Guild Publishing Scam Alerts.
- Writer Beware consistently shares real scam examples and questionable trends in the industry.
- Author Alexa Donne released this video walk through of two real book marketing scams.
- Books Forward author Dr. Seema Yasmin’s “What the Fact? Finding the Truth in All the Noise” may not be book industry focused, but there are plenty of great concrete tips and tools to lean on in considering what’s real or fake.
Happy truth hunting!
A former award-winning journalist with national exposure, Marissa now oversees the day-to-day operation of the Books Forward author branding and book marketing firm, along with our indie publishing support sister company Books Fluent.
Born and bred in Louisiana, currently living in New Orleans, she has lived and developed a strong base for our company and authors in Chicago and Nashville. Her journalism work has appeared in USA Today, National Geographic and other major publications. She is now interviewed by media on best practices for book marketing.
