This past month, I received an inquiry out of the blue purportedly from an editor with a traditional publishing house. My first thought was this must be some sort of scam. But curious, I looked closer.
The email was addressed to me by name. The sender identified himself and his publishing house, then mentioned my debut novel along with a line of praise for it. The editor then inquired about my current and forthcoming projects, even offering to speak with my agent if I had representation. The tone of the email was professional and courteous. No telltale typos. No request for money. Could this be real?
So I did some digging. I looked up the publishing house. Yes, it was legitimate, and they publish books in my genre. Furthermore, I looked up the editor—an acquisitions editor acquiring YA fiction for the named publishing house. I found articles about him in PublishersWeekly.com and PublishersMarketplace.com. The SCBWI Market Survey also listed both the publisher and editor. I also searched on the Absolute Write forums. So far, everything checked out. And I allowed myself to get excited.
Yet questions persisted. How did he hear about me? How did he get my email address? While preparing my response, I took a closer look at the sender’s email address. That’s when I spotted an extra letter embedded in his company URL. My eyes had skipped over the subtle typo. I’m glad I found it before I responded. But how disappointing!
How cruel to impersonate a real publisher to prey on unsuspecting authors. What was their endgame? What would have happened if I had responded? I doubt the scammers wanted to steal my work. I imagine they would have offered to publish my book, but then charged me fees and left me dangling.
The bad guys out there are getting more sophisticated every day. I’m thankful for resources like the SCBWI (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) and the Absolute Write forums. My takeaway from this cautionary tale is to stay vigilant, and to independently verify everything!
Do you have other recommended resources for identifying the literary scammers?