Day 146: Scam Targeting Writers

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 146: Scam Targeting Writers

There’s a long list of things that tick me off and somewhere on that list, you would find … scammers, especially scammers who target writers.

One such scammer is Amy E. who one fine day decided to start flooding my inbox with messages such as: do you want to be a writer? Do you want to sell more books? Do you want to be a bestselling author?

I knew right away that I was dealing with a scammer as nobody can make you a bestselling author. To become a bestselling author, you have to write something, a literary agent has to accept it, a talented editor has to make the work better, a publisher has to publish it and a marketing team has to bring it to the attention of readers.

Now if Amy E. were a bestselling author or even an author for that matter, her offer of advice would carry some weight, but she’s a nobody.

If I were to get a chance to address Amy E. I would say … Do you know what Ernest Hemingway, James Patterson, and J.K. Rowling had in common? Each of them had an idea, sat down, opened a book, took a pen and started writing. 

At the time, Hemingway had no idea he would become one of the most respected authors of our time; Patterson didn’t have a clue that he would be listed in the Guinness World Record book with the most New York Times bestsellers; while Rowling would have been baffled if she had known that little Harry Potter would make her one of the richest people in England.

If those people were to offer advice to writers I would be the first to take a front-row seat, but Amy E. … who is Amy E. and why would I take writing advice from someone who isn’t published, who isn’t even a writer?

Her advice to writers to get their work noticed is:

·          Join local writer groups

·          Online critique groups

·          Facebook groups

·          RWA (if you’re a romance author)

·          Bloggers;

·          Websites dedicated to authors and their crafts.

Is this the best she can come up with? I typed in Google “How to get my writing noticed” and within seconds I received 209,000,000 results. My guess is that Amy did the same. She prowled Google, gathered information on how to write and get writing work noticed and then passes it off as her own advice. Shame on you Amy, while this is not exactly plagiarism, it’s highly unethical, especially if you’re charging for this advice.

For those who already have written something, Amy offers a review of their work. For a standard review, she charges $250, for a rush review $325. I have news for Amy … most writers are broke and can ill afford $25 for a review, let alone $250. Besides, have a look on Amazon, there are tons of reviews there all written by readers FOR FREE.

Some people just have no scruples. They’re looking for a way to make money and any means will do. A few might fall for her scam and end up disappointed, others – especially those who have been around the block a few times – will shake their head and think ‘Nice one Amy, but try again’, which no doubt she will. After all, if one scam doesn’t work, try another.

As for me, one good thing came out of Amy’s worthless babble … it got me out of my slump. Ever since Gabriel’s passing I hadn’t written one word. As you can see I’m out of that slump.

www.connymanero.weebly.com

Day 81: Scam targeting self-published authors

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 81: Scam targeting self-published authors

If there’s one thing I hate it is scammers, particularly those who target self-published authors as they are such easy prey. They are looking for exposure leading to sales and scammers zoom in on this.

The other day, I received an email from Aimee A. stating:

 “I hope you do not mind me emailing you; I am emailing you because I would love to review your work on my website. My site is a book reviewing website which has received a great response from readers and now that I have a loyal following who I adore, I am always on the lookout for great books I can feature for them. I discovered your work and I loved what I saw, so that is why I am emailing you today! Your work looks wonderful, and you clearly are passionate; passion is a quality I love because I am very passionate about reading so I hope we are able to work together”.

My guess is that Aimee never read or even seen my work and that a few hundred other writers have received the same message.

Having been around the block a few times, I can smell a scam a mile away and so I cut right to the chase. I asked her how much she is charging. Her response … $75 per book. Her excuse is that she charges this fee because her reviews generate sales. She added that she is a mother of four.

I don’t know what this has to do with the price of eggs. Whether she’s single, married or a mother of a dozen, that’s none of my business and it is certainly not going to influence my decision whether or not to work with her. It was her decision to have four kids and she shouldn't ask others for support to feed and clothe them.

Other self-published authors may not be so wary though and actually believe the nonsense this woman is selling. I had a look at her website and there are indeed a number of books there, mainly mainstream published and yes, they have a good deal of comments. There are also a few self-published works (obviously self-published authors have already fallen for her scam) but they have no comments at all.

Most noticeable is that the mainstream books have quite a long review, too long if you ask me. The book isn’t just reviewed it is summarized. The self-published books on the other hand only have a rather short review, like Aimee couldn’t be bothered with them.

What I do wonder about is … where does she get the time to read all these books? I know a few women with one or two children and their main complaint is that they no longer have time for themselves. They have a husband and their kid(s) to look after, a house to keep clean, laundry to do, shopping to do, meals to cook, etc.

My guess is that Aimee doesn’t actually read any of the books she features on her website, but goes on Amazon, reads the synopsis of the book and a few comments and then elaborates on what she’s read. Also known as creative thumb sucking. 

And for that, she charges $75. Not a fortune, but if ten people fall for her scam that’s a nice sum for her.

I very much suspect that she hasn’t read any of my books, so how can she review them? The email that she sent me is clearly generic and not well written. You would think that for someone who reviews books for a living, her grammar and sentence structure would be better.

Fortunately, I’m not dumb enough to fall for her scam and neither should you. Be on the lookout for someone called Aimee A. and when she contacts you via email or Facebook, and tries to sweet talk you, send her packing. She's a scammer.

www.connymanero.weebly.com

Colorists beware - Scam Alert

I don’t consider myself a particularly good colorist, but apparently, I’m good enough for someone to steal my work. And I’m not the only one.

Pictured above is a page from ‘Creative Haven – Creative Cats’, colored by Rachel Pinto. The seller took this picture and made it available on t-shirts, sweatshirt, mugs, or wall art. She did not ask Rachel’s permission, nor did she get permission from Marjorie Sarnat who drew the pages of the book, or the publishing house.

The seller promoted Rachel and my work on Facebook stating that this these colorings were available for a limited time only. Unfortunately for the seller, but fortunately for Rachel and me, the prices are rather steep. The cat book only costs $4,61 on Amazon.com, but the seller charges $15,99 for one finished coloring page, plus $5,99 for shipping.

Both Rachel and I have tried to reach the seller via Facebook but she doesn’t respond, other than with more promotional nonsense.

So we contacted the publisher and have made them aware of what this person is doing.

If you have colorings online, you could be her next victim.

www.connymanero.weebly.com

Computer virus alert

A few days ago, a long-time friend sent me a picture via Facebook chat. Since I know the man well, I clicked on the picture without any reservations. Nothing happened, so I clicked it again and again, but still the image was not displayed.

Moments later I received a message from Jess asking me what kind of picture I had sent her. She stated “Since we don’t usually chat on Facebook or exchange pictures, I’m a little suspicious.” I commented back that I hadn’t sent Jess any picture.

A string of comments followed. Some Facebook friends were nice and polite about the shared picture, others were rude and even defriended me.

As it turned out, the picture was in fact a virus. My long-time friend’s account was hacked, the picture was shared with all his Facebook contacts (including me) and now the virus was in my Facebook account and was shared with my contacts. Quelle nightmare.

Facebook got wind of this virus, restricted me of using certain features (such as sharing posts) and offered to help by way of a virus cleaning program. I ran the program, but nothing happened. I ran it again and again, but still no luck.

In the end it took Malware Bytes Anti-Malware to clean my computer system.

Still, every day I’m getting emails from people asking me about the shared picture. So, should you get a picture ‘from me’, without any explanation, for heaven’s sake DO NOT CLICK ON IT!!!

www.connymanero.weebly.com

Scam alert - coloring

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you must have heard of the latest craze that is gaining momentum all over the world … coloring.

Men and women of all ages and backgrounds are sitting down to coloring books, pick up pens and pencils and create art.

In the process they grow calmer, sleep better, enjoy a good appetite and feel altogether better.

Unfortunately, along with thousands of coloring enthusiasts a number of scam artists have popped up. Men and women who advertise books and coloring supplies at vastly reduced prices.

Many colorists jump at the chance of buying cheap pens and pencils, I know I was one of them.

A few months ago I noticed a post on Facebook advertising coloring books, pens and pencils at unbelievable prices. I should have known better, but in this case I threw caution to the wind. I ordered a set of pencils that were marked down from $52 to $12.

Moments later a message was posted that the seller was a scam artist, her post was taken down and she was blocked from the group. In my case the damage was done though.

Fortunately, I had paid via PayPal and when I informed them of this fraudulent purchase, they immediately put a block on the amount and two weeks later refunded me.

The scam artist was not done with me though, she had my email address and a string of insults followed.  When the insults had no effect, she tried a different tactic … trying to gain sympathy. She stated that she was an invalid, couldn’t get a job, lived of welfare, and that “selling” coloring supplies supplemented her meager income.

After her there have been other scam artists, people who advertise books and coloring supplies. Since I was bitten once, I was twice shy. I quickly learned to see the signs such as books that are too cheap or shipping costs that marked as free should be a red flag.

Just the other day I saw a Facebook post where coloring books were priced $3 and shipping was $7 regardless of how many books were ordered. This I thought was very suspicious.

The buyer could be in the United States or Canada, but just as well could be in England, France or Australia. While $7 could cover the cost of posting one book, if 5 or 10 books were ordered the mailing fee would be far more than $7.

To prevent being taken in by a scam artist there is one golden rule … if something seems to be too good to be true, it usually is.

www.connymanero.weebly.com

Real Writing Jobs

Recently I saw an ad posted on Facebook from Real Writing Jobs.  The ad stated, "I need to earn $200 or I will be homeless".  

Being a freelance writer, I was interested what they had to offer.  As it turns out, I need to pay $68 to join.  

I wonder, how can someone who is about to become homeless afford $68? 

This is the ad.  Part of the text is missing, but you'll get the picture.

RealWritingJobs.com - Get Paid To Write

URGENT:   DON'T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU!

SEE HOW YOU CAN START EARNING
MONEY DOING SIMPLE WRITING JOBS!

The worldwide recession has resulted in tens of millions of layoffs with many predicting that the layoffs will only continue in the coming years. Maybe you've already been laid off or you're worried about it possibly happening to you in the future, RealWritingJobs is the perfect solution to help you make money part or full time.
One job industry experiencing **EXPLOSIVE GROWTH** is online writing jobs! Companies NEED your help creating content so they can attract more visitors to their web sites and blogs and we'll show you how people are making TONS of money writing from the comfort of their own home! 

Let's talk about the proof!

This was the first check I received after completing my first writing job. Yes, it is only for $110 and it isn’t going to pay your rent, but this was just the beginning... the next thing I knew, I was writing all the time. I began to make a full-time income from writing jobs right from the comfort of my own home!
Just imagine getting checks like this every single month! Some people are earning in EXCESS OF $100 PER DAY! We can't guarantee you'll make that much, but if you're not making at least $20 / day with this program, then the only excuse you can have is that you're turning down too many writing jobs.

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Scam alert – the end

This will be the last update of the scam alert.  My two previous blog posts attracted the attention of some of the members of XXX network and a few of them gave me some feedback.  All of them stated that XXX network is not a scam but a legitimate business.

Helen (not her real name) turned out to be a very nice lady and gave me her view on the business.

First up though, let’s see what “Maria” had to say in reply to my “Scam alert – follow up” ...

I could give a crap about my spelling, at least my posts inspire, not bash people they have never met. I graduated this spring semester. I chose online marketing because I love it. Read the Four-Hour Work Week by Tim-Ferris and maybe you would understand the concept of being open minded towards these types of MLM networking situations. I was not trying to sell her anything in my latest response. I was trying to prove to her that I am a normal person just like everyone else. Who chose to do something different from the norm with her Marketing Degree, its not right to bash people about it on their blogs and use it word for word. It is not a scam. Say what you want about it, but it is only because you do not understand how it works. Obviously Connie has nothing better to do then act like a cowardly bitch behind a computer screen by forwarding me all of those over and over again.
Thank you.

Next up “Helen’s” response to me ...

Hello Conny, I recently returned from vacation which also included a 3 day event in San Diego with XXX Network. I had noticed your post on Google+ and again today with your follow up. Please know that XXX Network is in no way shape or form a scam. In fact, it is a real company with real people and success. It is unfortunate though, that "Maria" is sending out emails with verbiage that isn't what the Founders, leaders or most members would convey. XXX Network's unique concept allows you to promote your business, programs, products or services through a blog which you pay $25 per month to have. This includes your hosting fee, domain fee and customer service. From there, IF you want to promote affiliate products, XXX has outstanding, cutting edge marketing products. There is no 'level' that you have to buy and there is no requirement to buy anything. However, people are creating a secondary income, extra income and in some cases enough income where they have quit their JOB by promoting the EN affiliate products. My husband came with me to the event as he wanted to learn more about the Founders, the company and to meet members that make up this powerful network. He read what "Maria" sent to you and he shook his head and commented how that doesn't represent what truly XXX is about and how it is helping so many people. But of course, this isn't for anyone. There is a lot of hard work at the beginning to set up your business, create connections and build contacts. You have to have a business mindset with a consistent work ethic. I am sorry about your bad experience you had with "Maria" but I do hope you will get better information from those that have been with XXX for a longer time, like myself, and know how the system works. As you can see, I have built an online business for several years now. I have thousands within my community and I love to share information, tips and strategies to help other small business owners and online marketers. If you want more information, I would be happy to talk with you. Especially if I can show you how XXX really works so I can prove it is no way a scam. Thank you for your time and consideration. Helen.

Notice the difference in style?  This is not some young snooty girl, this is a mature woman and it shows.

I replied to Helen that I am currently not in a financial position to join such a network.  I also admitted that I don’t have many friends.  My friends are mainly on Facebook and the majority are writers who count the pennies.

Helen replied ...

I agree with you Conny .... network marketing programs of any kind are not for those in a financial bind where they really do have to make an immediate living or a pay check.  I always say.... get your 'cash machine' going first, then look into opportunities that may create a secondary income.

Fortunately my 'cash machine' is my husband!  And while I had a high paying job a couple years ago, the real estate market that I was in took a serious dive causing me to go from six figures to zero.  Thankfully, XXX is proving to be an avenue for helping to increase our retirement savings.  

Thank you so much for getting back to me and letting me know a little about you and your following.  Should you decide to look into XXX Network or have questions on social media marketing or blogging strategies, I would be happy to help in any way that I can.  

Have a wonderful day Conny.

After yet another reply from me, Helen concluded with ...

Yes I agree Conny!  When "Maria" revealed her age, I cringed.  Because I do know how I was overly energetic at that age and didn't take the proper time to learn before spouting off things that wouldn't benefit anyone.

>>> I would be more than happy to share some blogging strategies with you.  While my days are busy I always have time to help others when it comes to social media or blogging.  

Might I suggest that we get onto Skype? You do not need a webcam :)   It is a Free call and I can 'share my screen' with you to give you some really great examples for blogging.

Let me know.... and thank you for your kind, positive compliment.

Helen

If only all people were like Helen ... honest and well mannered.

This concludes the  scam(?) alert update.

Should anyone be interested in the name of the network, which I marked with XXX, I will be more than happy to supply or to put you in touch with "Helen".