How to spot a Scam!

🧠 One-Line Decision Rule: If they contacted you first and want money → it’s almost certainly a scam. (This information was provided by ChatGPT.)

✅ Legit vs 🚩 Scam: Author Email Checklist

1. Email Address

✅ Legit: Uses an official domain (e.g., @library.org, @bookclubname.com)

🚩 Scam: Gmail / Yahoo / Outlook addresses (@gmail.com, etc.)

A real organisation almost always has its own domain.

2. Personalisation

✅ Legit: Mentions your actual book title, genre, or something specific about your work

🚩 Scam: Generic praise (“your wonderful book”, “your inspiring story”) or wrong details

3. Money Requests

✅ Legit: Never asks you to pay to be “featured”

🚩 Scam:
“Small feature fee”
“Promotion package”
“Contribution to marketing costs”

🚨 Rule of thumb: Real book clubs don’t charge authors.

4. Who Benefits?

Ask yourself:

✅ Legit: Readers benefit (discussion, selection vote, library program)

🚩 Scam: Only you are promised “exposure,” “visibility,” or “sales”
If it’s all about what you get → be suspicious.

5. Online Presence

✅ Legit:
Has a real website
Clear history (past reads, photos, event listings)
Mentions in libraries, Goodreads, or community pages

🚩 Scam:
No website or just a bare social page
Recently created accounts
No evidence of real members

6. Pressure & Urgency

✅ Legit: Casual, no deadlines

🚩 Scam:
“Limited slots”
“Respond within 24 hours”
Pushy follow-ups
Pressure is a classic scam tactic.

7. Payment Method

🚩 Major red flag if they ask for:
Gift cards
PayPal “friends & family”
Crypto
Direct bank transfer

✅ Legit organisations invoice transparently — if they charge at all (which book clubs usually don’t).

8. Search Test (2 minutes)

Before replying:
Use a search engine and search for the exact name + “scam” or “review”
Check Reddit (r/writing, r/selfpublish)
Look for warnings on Writer Beware
No footprint = not trustworthy.