The literal scam I (almost) never saw coming
On Friday, May 15th, I received an unsolicited email from a Lauren Parsons who identified themself as an Editorial Director at Profile Books based in London, England. The letter stated that they were looking at some contemporary writing and somehow came across my work and they enjoyed my writing style and wanted to know more. The actual words are below.
“As part of our ongoing editorial research and review of contemporary writing, your work was recently brought to my attention. I focus on acquiring books that engage thoughtfully and rigorously with complex subjects, and I am always interested in connecting with writers whose work demonstrates a distinctive voice, originality, and intellectual clarity.
Having reviewed your work, I was particularly struck by the assurance of your voice and the clarity with which you develop your ideas. There is a strong sense of direction in your writing that feels both engaging and promising.
I would be very interested to learn more about your background and any projects you may currently be developing. May I also ask whether you are represented by a literary agent? If so, I would be pleased to continue any correspondence through them.
Please do let me know if you would be open to a brief conversation. I look forward to hearing from you.”
As someone who has done research on fake stories and hoaxes I was immediately drawn to certain details that alerted me that this was highly likely to be some sort of scam. First, the email was laurenparsonseditor@gmail.com. It made no sense for someone who works for a professional publishing company to use a Gmail address for business especially when they have an established website.
Additionally, the email signature stated she was the Commissioning Editor for Legend Press along with the email, website for Legend Press, as well as United Kingdom, London. There was also an image imbedded for Legend Press which wasn’t a big deal, but below that was a LinkedIn and Facebook button that when I hovered over were just generic LinkedIn and Facebook links to the normal home pages.
Searching for Loren Parsons at Profile Books and Legend Press brought up some old articles, but I was unable to verify that this person was employed at either company through websites, basic searches, LinkedIn profiles, and other simple methods of people searching I have used in the past.
Part of me was hoping I was just being too cautious and despite these warnings I emailed back a simple reply. In my email I asked which specific title that she had read out of curiosity and to set the trap. However, the answer wasn’t what I was expecting although it seemed to sidestep the question rather than answer it.
“My initial introduction to your work came through references to your writing and publishing background rather than through a single title specifically, which is what prompted my interest in reaching out and learning more about your work directly from you.”
As the conversations continued I was torn between this being a scam and an opportunity. My heart was saying this was a one in a million chance and I need to put the effort in in case this is legitimate. My head was saying there was no way a person in this position would randomly email me without a manuscript in hand before. A book company is not going to email a random unknown author to see what they are working on and I knew it. As the emails began to pile up I also noticed that responses were coming quickly and at times that would have been at 3 and 4 AM in London. Still, some silly part of me was still holding out hope that this was somehow the real deal even the details were not lining up.
On the seventh email Lauren recommended a literary agent since I was not represented by one. I was excited and tried to quiet the side of my brain that was warning me not to share too much information. I was aware that there was no way this was really the person they said they were, but at the same time the correspondence seemed legitimate, and I didn’t want to find out that I was being too cautious and lost out on an opportunity to get published.
The purported agent was named Donald Maass although the email left me very suspicious once again as it was literaryagencydonaldmaass@gmail.com. While this might sound legit it was the same format as Lauren’s and Donald Maass leads his own agency with his own website, again, so why use Gmail? This person was easier to look up and when I received a strange response just minutes later I noticed red flags on the signature. The email was the same, and the website was the legit agency that I had already found, but the location said United Kingdom, London. This was an exact match as Lauren, but the problem was that Donald Maass and his agency were based in New York.
It was at this point I decided to reach out to Profile Books, Legend Press, and the Donald Maass Agency to confirm this was real or a hoax. After several emails I had not received a response from anyone and the conversation with the purported Donald Maass continued to escalate. The questions and insight seemed genuine, but why was the head of an agency emailing me within hours when I was not even a client? The offer then came to “ghost write” my work although that term was not used. Essentially, rhey were looking for me to summarize each chapter and provide character backgrounds and other research and they would have a team finish the book in “three weeks professionally.”
The thought of having a ghost writer finish my work is laughable. While I divulged some information about my book I left out a lot of details and characters on purpose as I finally let go of the idea that this had a remote possibility of being real. I was being scammed although I thought the amount of time and effort to have me give them a book idea in a raw form was still a lot of work on their end and didn’t make sense to me. All I needed was some sort of confirmation and I was thinking the Memorial Day weekend was slowing down a response.
On Friday, May 29th just before 7 AM I typed another email to the real Donald Maass through his website and explained the situation in a way that wouldn’t upset him if this was really happening but in a way that made sense that I was feeling that something was off. I continued to receive emails from both Lauren and Donald checking in on my progress for detailed chapters. I was honestly getting mentally worn out by everything and while I began developing the characters and plot more during the middle and end of May I stopped just after Memorial Day since I had finally convinced myself pushing that work was useless at this point.
Then, in the evening on Tuesday, June 2nd, I received a response from the real Donald Maass who simply said, “… no, that is a scam. Ignore. Thanks for contacting me.” While part of me was relieved another part of me was sad that I had been taken advantage of and that maybe my work wasn’t as great as I began to think. But at least I finally had part of the answer. The real question is why all this effort? Is this really to get a book idea out of me or would there be something more like a bank account involved in the future?
While the real Donald, my wife, and a couple of fellow authors warned me against continued contact I can’t help but wonder what the end game is all about. I’m also fearful that maybe they will develop my basic idea into a book if this was their initial goal. However, I don't think they would have enough information or share my personal insight into the topic to make it a successful manuscript.
I finally ignored the emails enough that they stopped although a few months later they picked up again. During that time I began to recieve many more inquiries via email and random voice messages from mostly Indian sounding people that were interested in one of my books. I had never responded to the phone calls and realized I had been getting those for years and the emails were a new tactic.
Quick searches on names in the emails led me to LinkedIn profiles issuing warnings about scams using their names. I also recieved an email from Andy Weir of The Martian and Project Hail Mary fame stating he was looking to share ideas with other authors. Why would a successful author who is getting blockbuster movies produced with A-list celebrities reach out to an absolute nobody in the publishing world?
Writing books is hard enough along with everything else that goes with getting published, marketing, and trying to stick out in the forest of fellow authors. Dealing with scammers who use our hopes, dreams, and egoes against us doesn't make things any easier. These tactics must work on many people or they wouldn't be doing this so please be cautious and understand the reality behind what publishing companies will do.
An established publishing agency will NEVER approach authors for submissions or contact you at all unsolicited. All publishing companies receive more submissions than they can handle. The same goes with agents and anyone else in the publishing world. There are more manuscripts submitted to the publishing world in a month than could be published in five years. The odds are aginst us and when someone offers a shortcut or an amazing opportunity don't be fooled into thinking you've gotten the golden ticket. It's a bitter pill to swallow and an opportunity that most of us can't afford to ignore which is why it is happening, but we have to understand how the publishing world works if we want to be successful and not a victim.
Beyond fake publishers and agents, along with impersonation, be aware that a legitimate publisher will never charge you for anything up front. When you are published by a professional publisher you sign a contract where the agency receives a percentage of sales and you get the royalities. You should NEVER make any payment for editing, publishing, promotional campaigns, press releases, or anything else. It will be obvious if they ask for a check or money order since these are the least traceable of transactions. Some of the scammers may also offer contracts that will have large payouts for a "Book Endorsement" or othe rmade up deal, but only if you make a payment for an "agent fee" or some other obstacle they have established during the dialogue. This may seem obvious, but after building a relationship and gaining your trust it may be harder to see the scam than you realize.
The unsolicited email is the biggest red flag, but if they are putting pressure on you this is a warning to walk away and igore the emails. A high frequency of contact is also a way of putting pressure but also stroking your ego to make you bend to their demands. I never thought I would fall for anything like this and even though I never gave money I did give some story ideas out since I had some hope it was real. Unfortunately, we have to make the effort to be successful in the publishing world and if an offer comes to us from nowhere it is too good to be true.
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