A New AI Scam Is Targeting Thousands of Authors. I Was One of Them.

Share on Facebook Share on X Google Preferred Share to Flipboard Show additional share options Share on LinkedIn Share on Pinterest Share on Reddit Share on Tumblr Share on Whats App Send an Email Print the Article Post a Comment This story comes from The Hollywood Reporter ‘s upcoming AI Issue, out in April. Authors are at their most vulnerable in the weeks leading up to the publication of a book. With little to do but wait for reviews and social media reactions, they vacillate between the manic hope that the fruit of their labor will imminently top the bestseller list and the dread that it will fall between the cracks of the attention economy and disappear into the void, which, after all, is the fate of most books . One of my fellow authors ruefully calls this nerve-wracking pre-pub period “the calm before the calm.” Related Stories The AI Issue As Hollywood Panics Over AI Job Losses, a Startup Says It Has the Answer Business The Sora-Disney Collapse: What Does It Mean? It was in this harrowing lull ahead of the January release of my latest book, a nonfictional nautical tale titled Neptune’s Fortune , that I began receiving the emails. Sent by purported publishing professionals with names ranging from insipidly Anglo Saxon (Dorothy Stratton) to extra-terrestrial (Futa Concept), they all followed a similar template: Four or five smoothly written paragraphs, beginning with detailed, excessively flattering descriptions of my book — e.g. “ Neptune’s Fortune is a masterclass in historical adventure and human obsession” (oh shucks) — and culminating in an offer to help me increase its visibility. They promised to mount social media campaigns, get me on podcasts, flood Goodreads with positive reviews, or introduce me to online book clubs, the new gateways to viral success these days as traditional media wanes in influence. Not mentioned in that first pitch was the fee they would charge for these services. But follow-up emails would cite estimates ranging from hundreds to...