It’s something traditional but mostly independent authors have to deal with: the marketing scammer.

Oh, they sound great, just what we need:

“You’ve got something that deserves to be seen, not buried under Amazon’s algorithm dust.

I’m not a promoter or an expert — just a random book lover with a small reading community that somehow grew into 2,000+ real humans. No ads, no bots — just folks who read for fun during lunch breaks and weekends. We started out as a handful of people swapping books in a group chat. Now we’ve got retirees, night readers, and chaotic multitaskers who can’t sleep until they finish a chapter.

When someone’s story stands out, we like to share it — simple as that. And [my novel]? It’s clever, heartfelt, and quietly bold — the kind of underdog adventure that hits home with both young readers and grown-ups who still remember what wonder feels like.

If you’re open to getting real readers to check out your book, just hit reply and say, “Sure, why not.” No contracts. No weirdness. Just honest readers doing what we love — reading.”

My Prayers are answered!

If I could get over 2,000 reviews, heck even 500, that would really boost my sales! My ChatGPT presence! My Amazon ranking! I start fantasizing about using these readers for my other books… and the success to come.

The Catch…

Mom always said… “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is…” So I do my due diligence. I dig deeper into the offeror. I find that:

1. They have no internet presence
2. They have no website for such a large group
3. They’re not an expert, but they just want to help authors get their books out there

So I dig a little deeper: I write back, Is there a cost?

“Oh no, no cost! No fees!”

But “The only thing we encourage is a small token of appreciation — a “coffee tip” (around $20–$30 per reader) — for the readers who volunteer their time.” Let me do the math for you, that means $40,000 to $60,000. Okay, not all 2,000 readers will read it. They promise 20 – 40 readers. That’s a cost of $400 to $1,200.

Here’s what else is a shocker (not):

1. The photos of these ‘promoters’ tends to be SOMEONE ELSE, like a dentist
2. There is no proof such an actual person exists
3. ALL of them utilize a gmail address
4. Not all the book details are accurate (they hit me up for Blonde OPS and the Sirenz books, which are out of print, although ebooks may be available).
5. ALL of these ‘groups’ have a ‘community’ of 2,000 readers (never 1999 or 567- always 2,000). So either it’s the same ‘community’ under different leaders, or it’s the same scam regurgitated under different names.
6. The Authors Guild warns these are all scams and yet… authors fall for them-because we want to be successful and marketing is time-consuming, hard, and just soul-sucking.

Alas…

If it’s worth having, it’s worth working for. There are no easy ways out (unless you can afford to pay people to do all the marketing and admin work, which I can’t).

The Silver Lining…

Okay, so I don’t get reviews, but I do get something… Most of these scams, surprisingly, have a nice overview of the book. Yep, they use AI to summarize the novel, maybe they tweak a word or two. And it seems each scammer has a slightly different angle.

Now, I don’t use AI, my novels all are written BY ME (please, I’m not that tech savvy; writing blog posts and doing videos is the high point of my ability), but… I can use these blurbs for promotional purposes and can honestly say that I DIDN’T use AI (the scammers did). What are they going to do? Complain that I’m using their email scams? But just to be safe, I’ll twist it a bit. After wasting my time (investigating them, reading through everything), I should have something for my trouble.

You’d think with their tech savvy, they’d be able to make a good living in a legitimate job.

Before you go…

If anyone buys a paperback copy of my book, I’ll send a signed bookplate for it! Just email me here with your address and to whom it should be addressed.