Authors are being hit with a “deluge” of scam emails, some of which appear to impersonate industry professionals, marketing agencies and famous authors.
The Bookseller has seen more than 30 examples of scam emails detailing proposals for marketing, inclusion in book clubs, digital strategy and press and media – all for a fee.
While scams are common across various industries, there appears to have been a huge increase in volume of those targeting authors and the book trade since August this year.
The Society of Authors’ CEO Anna Ganley told The Bookseller: “Unfortunately the rise of AI has brought with it a deluge of new scams targeting authors, and we have received numerous enquiries from members about these.
“It seems that AI-enhanced search engines are being used to hunt down email addresses listed on open sites. They are also being used to hunt down online reviews, book blurbs and directory listings which allow them to give the impression that the sender has read your work.”
The Bookseller has responded to several of these emails – only to receive replies from named individuals who claim they are “legitimate marketers” and are “not scammers”, going on to point to paid services that they can perform, all of which are offered in dollars.
Meanwhile, book marketing professionals, agencies and book clubs are being impersonated.
Laura Summers, co-founder and director of marketing agency BookMachine, told The Bookseller: “An author said: ‘I received an email from you offering me a free Amazon audit. It looked a little bit funny to me. Was it you?’… She forwarded me the email. I don’t know how many people it had been sent to, from a ‘sarah.bookmachine.org@gmail.com’. We don’t use Gmail, we have BookMachine email addresses, so that was the first red flag.”
Summers added: “It’s quite clever the way they’ve emailed. It talks specifically about their book and why they were drawn in by the book, so that you could see how you would fall for it. This is our brand. We’ve spent 15 years building it. The thought of someone contacting people pretending to be us is just sickening, really.”
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Eleanor Pilcher, a marketing consultant and author, has also been impersonated.
In emails seen by The Bookseller, a Gmail account using Pilcher’s name and photograph offered detailed marketing services priced from $400 to $2,200.
When alerted to this by an author, Pilcher engaged directly with the impersonator, finding herself “infuriated” by the experience.
Pilcher told The Bookseller: “The person impersonating me replied to say: ‘I’m not impersonating anyone. My name is Eleanor Pilcher, too.’ But they were using my photo in their profile. It’s insane. If they do respond, you’re going to get complete nonsense.”
She has since sent “[the scammer] a cease and desist, but it still continues”. She tried to report the issue to Google, but claims when it comes to Gmail, “there’s nothing you can do, so you just have to report it as phishing”.
She added: “The biggest thing for me is that it means I cannot email anybody, because it comes across as scamming. It’s easier to say, look, I will never cold email you than it is to say in an email: ‘I am actually legitimate.’”
Jane Austen might have had her 250th birthday this week, but even she is not immune. The Bookseller has seen an email, addressed to Austen, offering to “help amplify [Pride and Prejudice’s reach]”.
Katie Lumsden, author of The Trouble with Mrs Montgomery (Penguin Random House, 2024), was the recipient of the email intended for Jane Austen. She told The Bookseller: “Like many authors, I’ve recently been bombarded by AI slop marketing emails, but this one is definitely the most ridiculous.
“Aside from the fact that I am very much not Jane Austen and that she has been dead for over 200 years, I really don’t think Jane Austen needs the assistance of the AI marketeers to reach more readers!”
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Authors are meanwhile continuing to receive spam requests purporting to be from prize-winning and celebrated authors, from JM Coetzee to Margaret Atwood.
Author Cailean Steed has received scam emails about her forthcoming book, The Mirror Halls (John Murray & Little, Brown, 2027), which is still undergoing editing.
She told The Bookseller: “I’m a teacher, so I think I’m quite used to spotting AI-generated stuff. It has this particular tone and structure, I find. It’ll say things like ‘Dear author’. There was one that I did sort of think, ‘Is this real?’ because it seemed it was from the Boozy Book Club.
“I had a friend who had done something with them, so I sent it to her, asking: ‘does this look legit?’ And she was like, ‘No.’”
Catriona Troth was one of the first authors to report spam emails to the Society of Authors earlier this year. She told The Bookseller: “The specificity of the details they mentioned was astonishing… I was sure it could only have been done by AI.
“My book came out 12 years ago, so I was sceptical before I even opened it. If I’d received it in the first few months after it was published, I can imagine I would have been taken in much more easily.”
Another author reported to the Society of Authors that they received an email purporting to be a producer on a major American television talk show, inviting them on to promote their thriller. What followed was a phone call from a named individual whose credentials the author checked online, and a request for thousands of dollars.
While none of the authors The Bookseller has spoken to have fallen victim to the scams, the Society of Authors advises vigilance in “checking credentials” of any “unsolicited” services, and has practical advice on its website.
Pilcher remains “angry” by the continuation of these emails. She told The Bookseller: “The misrepresentation alone is frustrating because that’s my business, and I’ve worked hard to build it.
“Having worked with many authors, I know how vulnerable some of them are, particularly self published authors. The majority I’ve worked with are older, less tech-literate. Some have never used AI, so they don’t recognise it.”
