Book scams are getting harder to spot. Some are obvious. These days, many are not. Thanks in part to AI, scams targeting writers and authors have become more polished and convincing than ever.
Instead of trying to list every book scam—which would be impossible in a single article—I’ve divided the most important ones into six categories. I’ve also included a short list of tips for investigating suspicious outreach, along with the five most important dos and don’ts.
Even if you think you’ve already seen and heard it all, you’ll likely find something in this article that you don’t know yet—something that can protect you or someone you care about. At the very least, skim it to be safe. It’s surprisingly easy to be fooled by something that leads to wasted time and money, or the loss of your rights or personal information. In some cases, all of the above.
This article, which is part of our free guide about How to Get a Literary Agent, will help you see the options that are best for your book.
Quick Summary
Book scams are becoming more sophisticated, more believable, and more dangerous for writers. Some scammers pretend to be literary agents, publishers, celebrities, producers, or other trusted insiders. Others use praise, referrals, fake honors, or supposed movie interest to lower your guard before asking for money, personal information, or both.
This article breaks the biggest book scams into six categories, explains how they work, and shows you how to investigate suspicious outreach. The main lesson is simple: a real-looking name, logo, website, phone call, PDF, or social media profile doesn’t prove legitimacy. Slow down, verify independently, and remember how real publishing opportunities normally work.
Key Takeaways
- Book scams aren’t new, but they’re more polished than ever.
- Many book scams rely on impersonation, vague praise, urgency, and borrowed credibility.
- Literary agent scams and publishing scams are often subtypes of broader book scams.
- A professional-looking email, website, PDF, or phone call doesn’t prove anything.
- Real gatekeepers don’t ask writers to pay upfront just to be considered.
- Never use the contact information inside suspicious outreach to verify the sender.
- When something feels off, slow down.
Table of Contents
- Author Warning
- Book Scams Aren’t New—the Packaging and Tactics Are
- Not Every Bad Offer Is Technically a Book Scam, but Many Are Still Dangerous
- The 6 Main Types of Book Scams
- Category One: Publishing Industry Impersonation Scams
- Category Two: Celebrity and Adaptation Bait Scams
- Category Three: Referral or Handoff Scams
- Category Four: Pay-to-Play Scams
- Category Five: Praise, Prestige, and Exposure Scams
- Category Six: Information-Harvesting Scams
- How to Investigate Suspicious Outreach and Avoid Book Scams
- The Five Most Important Dos and Don’ts to Avoid Book Scams
- Book Scams FAQ
- Final Thought
Author Warning
Many companies, including mine, have published alerts and filed reports with the FBI due to bad actors impersonating us or our companies. The first time it happened to me was in 2024. Every time I think it’s over, I see something new. So from time to time, I’ll share an updated version of what to watch out for.
“Book scams aren’t new. The packaging and tactics are.”
Book Scams Aren’t New—the Packaging and Tactics Are
Publishing scams are becoming increasingly sophisticated. They used to be easier to spot: obviously fake names, broken-English emails, or absurd promises that made you laugh and hit delete.
These days, they’re far more polished.
They might borrow the identity of a real company, a real industry professional, or even a celebrity, and they might come wrapped in a company logo, a real executive’s name and photo, a professional-looking email, a flattering AI-generated review of your book, a follow-up phone call, an official-looking PDF, or even multiple people playing different roles in the same lie.
That doesn’t mean they’re real.
The more sophisticated these book scams become, the smarter and more vigilant writers need to be. You need to know what these scams look like now, how they work, and what to do when something feels off. That’s why it’s more useful to understand the main categories of book scams than to memorize isolated horror stories. The names, faces, and promises might change, but the underlying structure is often the same.
Not Every Bad Offer Is Technically a Book Scam, but Many Are Still Dangerous
Before we go further, I need to make an important distinction. Some things in publishing are outright scams built on fake identities, fake opportunities, fake promises, or fake deliverables. Others aren’t outright fraud in the strictest sense, but they’re misleading or predatory. A company might technically provide something while still taking advantage of an author’s lack of industry knowledge, confusion, vanity, or hope.
From the writer’s point of view, the result can be similar. You can still lose money. You can still lose time. You can still lose confidence, leverage, privacy, or control. So although this article uses the word “scam,” don’t make the mistake of thinking the only danger is outright criminal fraud. Some of the worst publishing situations are those that look just legitimate enough to survive scrutiny from someone who doesn’t yet know what normal is.
The 6 Main Types of Book Scams
Category One: Publishing Industry Impersonation Scams
This is one of the most important categories writers need to understand right now.
In this kind of scam, someone pretends to be a literary agent, publisher, consultant, publicist, festival representative, or some other person with authority in the publishing industry. The goal is to create trust and get the writer emotionally invested—often with some type of deadline or manufactured urgency—before you’ve had time to figure out the person isn’t who they say they are.
In some cases—and this is really scary—an author can go a year or more thinking they’re represented by a real literary agent. The first time I saw this was a couple months ago. I was consulting with a writer who thought she’d been represented by a real agent. I asked a few questions and quickly realized it wasn’t a real agent. Unbelievable.
The person’s message might look convincing. It might include a real company name, a real phone number, a real website link, a real executive’s name, or all of the above. It might even include a photo of the person, be free of typos, and be written in excellent English. And the tone might sound polished, warm, and professional.
That doesn’t mean it’s real.
I’ve seen it firsthand.
I found out about the most recent incident because a writer told me he’d been approached by a “representative” of our company with offers of representation and publication. That made no sense. This is a coaching and consulting company that has helped hundreds of authors get literary agents and traditional publishers, but we don’t function as a literary agency or publishing house.
In other words, the scam started falling apart the moment you asked a basic common-sense question: does this offer even match what the real company does?
Fortunately, the author suspected the email was fake.
What made the situation more disturbing was that the scammers were sophisticated. They used a fake but plausible-sounding domain. They used domain forwarding, so if someone typed the domain into a browser, it led to one of our real websites. To a writer moving quickly, that might’ve seemed reassuring. It wasn’t. It was part of the scam.
That’s one of the most important lessons. Verification isn’t just about whether a name is real. It’s about whether the message makes sense in context. A scam can borrow a real identity and still expose itself through bad logic.
“A scam can borrow a real identity and still expose itself through bad logic.”
Category Two: Celebrity and Adaptation Bait Scams
This category is especially outrageous and dangerous because it preys on excitement and disbelief at the same time.
Unlike Category One, these scams don’t usually begin with someone pretending to be a publishing insider. They begin with movie interest, celebrity attention, or adaptation buzz—the kind of outreach that’s designed to overwhelm your skepticism before you’ve had time to think.
If someone contacts you on social media or by email claiming to be an actor, actress, producer, director, or streaming executive who wants to turn your book into a movie, your emotions can outrun your judgment very quickly. That’s exactly what the scammer is counting on.
For example, one of my clients was contacted on social media by someone pretending to be Sandra Bullock, saying she wanted to turn his book into a movie. When my client started asking questions, the person sent him a photo of “Sandra Bullock’s driver’s license.”
Fortunately, I was able to help him realize it wasn’t real before it was too late.
When I said outrageous, I meant it. This scammer didn’t just rely on the celebrity name. They escalated the illusion by providing what looked like proof. But fake proof is part of the scam. A forged ID image, a screenshot, a social media profile, or an official-looking document doesn’t authenticate the person who sent it. It only tells you the scammer understands what kind of “evidence” a hopeful target wants to see.
That doesn’t mean it’s real.
A scammer doesn’t need to prove their identity beyond all doubt. They only need to produce enough detail to make you stop asking the right questions.
Slow down. Be careful.
“Fake proof is part of the scam.”
Category Three: Referral or Handoff Scams
Some of the cleverest book scams don’t ask for money immediately. They ask for trust first.
In this version of the scam, one fake insider points you to another fake insider. The first person might seem generous, casual, or helpful. They aren’t selling you anything, at least not yet. They’re simply opening a door. That makes the second contact feel safer, warmer, and more credible than it otherwise would.
For example, an author recently forwarded an email to me from someone pretending to be me. The sender used a Gmail address close to my name, praised the author in vague but flattering terms, claimed to be retired, and suggested that the author’s work might align well with another supposed literary agent. The author was then told to query that person through yet another Gmail address.
That’s a scarily sophisticated setup.
The scammer borrowed my name and authority, and they used praise. The scammer then presented the next step as natural and generous. They suggested that the writer was close, almost ready, almost chosen. And then the scammer created a handoff to another supposed professional who hadn’t been independently verified.
This kind of scam is especially effective because many writers think, “Well, even if the first message was unexpected, why would someone go to the trouble of referring me to another person unless it were real?”
The answer is simple: borrowed credibility is deceptive but effective.
Never assume that one apparently trustworthy contact makes the next one safe. Every person in the chain has to be verified separately.
“Never assume that one apparently trustworthy contact makes the next one safe.”
Category Four: Pay-to-Play Scams
Ultimately—eventually—most book scams come down to money. You’re told there is a registration fee, review fee, processing fee, legal fee, submission fee, adaptation fee, evaluation fee, consulting fee, screenplay fee, or some other charge standing between you and the wonderful opportunity you’ve been promised.
The wording changes from scam to scam, but the structure stays familiar. First, you’re made to feel fortunate. Then you’re made to feel urgent. Then you’re told that one payment, one quick transaction, or one routine administrative step is needed to move the deal forward.
No legitimate literary agent will charge you an upfront fee to represent your work. No legitimate book publisher will ask you to pay them in order to publish your book in the traditional sense. No legitimate movie or streaming company will suddenly need you to fund some mysterious piece of the process before they can buy or option your work.
It’s that simple.
That doesn’t mean every fee-based publishing service is fraudulent. Some legitimate service providers charge fees for editing, coaching, design, publicity, or other work. But that isn’t the same thing as pretending to be a gatekeeper and then charging the writer for access, validation, or selection.
Category Five: Praise, Prestige, and Exposure Scams
Not every book scam begins with representation, publication, or film interest.
Some start with some type of recognition or “honor.”
It could be that a literary festival wants to honor your work. A bestselling author wants to blurb your book. Someone claims they can get you reviews on Goodreads. A company says your book has been selected for a spotlight, feature, award, or special promotional opportunity. A publicist tells you your book has huge potential and simply needs the right campaign.
These approaches can be particularly effective because they don’t always sound like hard sales. They sound like validation and visibility—the type of attention many writers want.
That’s why this type of scam is effective.
A writer can be manipulated not only by the promise of publication, but also by the promise of recognition. The desire to be seen, endorsed, praised, featured, or “discovered” can make very smart people let down their guard.
Again, the best question shouldn’t be “Does this sound flattering?” It should be “Is this real, normal, verifiable, and sensible?”
Category Six: Information-Harvesting Scams
Some book scams aren’t just about money. They’re about getting information from you. The promised deal, referral, or opportunity is simply bait.
You might be asked for personal details, banking information, identity information, or other sensitive data that you should not share. You might be drawn into repeated emails, phone calls, or Zoom meetings that make the process feel increasingly real.
Yes, actual phone and/or Zoom calls.
I told you it’s crazy out there.
You think you’re having a legitimate conversation but you’re simply being moved toward the moment when the scam becomes more invasive, expensive, or both.
That’s why it’s dangerous to think, “Well, no one has asked me for money yet, so it must be fine.” Some scams are about money. Others are information scams that could also—ultimately—cost you money.
How to Investigate Suspicious Outreach and Avoid Book Scams
Start with the most basic question: who initiated the contact?
If you contacted a legitimate agent, publisher, or other professional first, and their reply appears in the same email thread, that might be a good sign. It isn’t absolute proof, but it’s different from an unsolicited approach that appears out of nowhere.
If the person contacted you first, assume nothing. Look at the exact email address, not just the display name. Look at the exact domain, not just the company name. Ask whether the opportunity makes sense given what the real company or person actually does.
Don’t reply using the contact information in the suspicious message. Don’t trust the phone number in the email. Don’t trust the signature block. Don’t trust a link simply because it appears to lead somewhere familiar.
Instead, search for the company or person independently. Find the official website yourself. Find the official contact page yourself. Use the phone number or email address you located independently, not the one provided by the person who approached you.
And…slow down.
The Five Most Important Dos and Don’ts to Avoid Book Scams
- Don’t trust the provided identity. Verify the source independently. A familiar name, a famous name, a social media profile, a logo, a polished signature, or even a supposed ID image proves nothing by itself.
- Don’t use the contact information in the incoming message. Find the real person or company yourself. Go to the official website or another verified public source and make contact there. Treat publishing outreach the way you should treat suspicious banking messages: independently verify them.
- Don’t judge by polish. Judge by specifics and logic. A scam email might be well written, typo-free, and emotionally persuasive. Ask what exactly the person’s referring to, how they found you, why they’re contacting you, and whether the offer actually fits the company or person they claim to represent.
- Don’t let one “trusted” contact make the next one feel safe. Verify every person in the chain. A fake retired expert can lead to a fake agent. A fake celebrity can lead to a fake producer. A fake publisher can lead to a fake service provider. Every link in the chain should stand on its own.
- Don’t pay upfront or share sensitive information. Remember how legitimate opportunities usually work. If someone wants money, banking details, or personal information before anything real and verifiable has happened, stop.
Final Thought
I know that reading an article like this is difficult. It’s more difficult to live through one of these experiences, so please be careful. In my opinion, it’s better to be a bit cynical or paranoid than pretend these things aren’t out there.
It’s happened to me more than once.
And I get multiple emails each week from authors asking me to help them figure out if a message they received is real. I’m not able to verify or research things like that, so I wrote this article to help you figure it out.
Be smart.
“You don’t need to memorize every version of a book scam. You need to understand how the scam works.”
Get 1-on-1 Help to Find a Legitimate Literary Agent and a Traditional Publisher
Knowing how to spot book scams matters—but it’s only one part of protecting your work and giving it the best possible chance.
As a former literary agent, the former Marketing & Licensing Manager for the book division of Blue Mountain Arts, and an author consultant who’s helped 400+ writers get legitimate literary agents and/or traditional publishers, I can help you better understand what’s real, what’s not, and what to do next. That includes avoiding costly mistakes, evaluating suspicious outreach, and making sure your query, synopsis, book proposal, author bio, platform, and overall submission strategy are as strong as possible. Explore 1-on-1 author coaching and consulting to increase your odds of getting a literary agent.
About
This article about “Book Scams” was written by a former literary agent turned author coach. Mark Malatesta is the creator of The Directory of Book Agents, host of Ask a Publishing Agent, and founder of Literary Agent Undercover and The Bestselling Author.
Mark has helped hundreds of authors get offers from literary agents and/or traditional publishers. Writers of all Book Genres have used our Book Agent Advice coaching/consulting to get Top Literary Agents at the Best Literary Agencies on our List of Literary Agents.
The Bestselling Author, LLC
Established in 2011, The Bestselling Author has helped 400+ authors get literary agents and/or traditional publishers. Writers who’ve worked with Literary Agent Undercover, a division of The Bestselling Author, have gotten six-figure book deals; been on the New York Times bestseller list; had their books adapted for TV, stage, and feature film; had their work licensed in 40+ countries; and sold many millions of books.
Notable authors include Nelson Johnson, author of Boardwalk Empire, which Martin Scorsese produced for HBO; Leslie Lehr, author of A Boob’s Life, which is currently being adapted for an HBO Max TV series by Salma Hayek; and Scott LeRette, author of The Unbreakable Boy, which was published by Thomas Nelson and is now a major motion picture by Lionsgate starring Patricia Heaton, Zachary Levi, and Amy Acker.
The founder of The Bestselling Author, Mark Malatesta, is a former literary agent, literary agency owner, AAR member, and Marketing & Licensing Manager for the gift and book publisher Blue Mountain Arts. He is now an author coach and consultant. Click here to see Mark Malatesta reviews.
About the Author
The founder of The Bestselling Author, Mark Malatesta, is a former literary agent, literary agency owner, AAR member, and Marketing & Licensing Manager for the gift and book publisher Blue Mountain Arts. Mark is now a highly regarded author coach and consultant, dedicated to helping writers obtain literary agents. Drawing on decades of industry experience, he works with writers across genres, offering personalized coaching to navigate the complexities of the publishing world.
Through The Bestselling Author, Mark provides practical tools, industry insights, and motivational support tailored to each writer’s needs to help them do so. In addition to coaching, Mark shares his expertise through speaking engagements and online resources. His dedication to empowering authors has made him a trusted mentor in the writing community, earning him a reputation as a knowledgeable and approachable guide for writers pursuing their dreams. Click here for Mark Malatesta reviews.
MARK MALATESTA is a former literary agent turned author coach. Mark now helps authors of all genres (fiction, nonfiction, and children's books) get top literary agents, publishers, and book deals through his company