Promotion & Publication Scammers – A list for indie authors.
2026, has seen a dramatic increase in the world’s population of book promoters, book groups, radio promotions, publishing opportunities, literary festivals and individuals claiming to be able to help us all get our books into the public eye.
Some of them may be genuine, but if so, they’ve got to find a new way of composing their approach emails, because they are all too obviously peppered with AI-generated jargon. Frankly, I find their insinuations that they know what’s best for my books insulting. I simply don’t trust them, and I hate to think how many newbie indie authors are being sucked in to ultimately part with money.
I am compiling a list of those that I receive so that other indie authors can be aware. These, I feel, are but a few, but maybe by listing them here, I might help others avoid the disappointments and loss of money that can come from these scams.
I am doing this (for as long as I can stand to) because of a fraud almost perpetrated on me by someone claiming to be from HarperCollins.
HarperCollins does not partner with third-party companies that provide editorial or marketing services to unpublished or self-published authors. [From their website.]
The real HC have a thing or two to say about Rosemary Brosnan and others, and you can report such fraud directly to them here: Report Scam Emails to HarperCollins Fraud Directly. I expect other major houses have the same thing, so always check.
Things to look out for when you get a ‘scam’ publishing or promotion-service email.
- They are mostly from Gmail accounts.
- Major publishing houses do not send out emails like this.
- An email address at, for example, HarperCollins@mywebsite.com is not a genuine email from that publishing house, but from an individual’s domain.
Jargon: especially drawn, layered storytelling, shared narratives, reaching out, personally invite, etc. If anyone ‘reaches out’ to me instead of contacting me, I leave them to drown.
Here’s my list, started in April 2026.
Kboo Community radio station: “I’m reaching out on behalf of…”
Olaleye Hammond: “Hi ALEC MARSH…” This one was about “Increasing the visibility of GHOSTS OF THE WEST” a book not written by me.
Olaleye Hammond: A repeat of the same, only this time it’s about ‘A Case of Make Believe’ and they got my name right, but… too late!
Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference 2026. Inviting me to North Carolina in May to “join our faculty for the 2026 conference.”
Writers Radio Podcast. Starts with ‘Dear R.L. Jackson…’ Wrong name. Delete.
Sophia Jane, a Literary Promotion Specialist (with only a Gmail account), regurgitated my own blurb and said something irrelevant about Pinterest. Delete.
Andre Morris apparently specialises in turning my books into Netflix series via his free Gmail account. He specialises in “taking powerful written narratives and reimagining them”, but clearly doesn’t specialise in proper English. Powerful should be an adverb. Delete.
PromoZone pulled ‘Speaking in Silence’ randomly from a hat, and is therefore keen to promote what is the fifth book in a second series.
A dull, unprofessional-looking email from someone with the unlikely name of Lovelyne SEPHORA Die.
James Harrison “… hear your thoughts or explore opportunities for review, feature, or collaboration.”
Pam Stack “Hello Jackson, Unless I have a severe brain disorder, we haven’t met before.” Creepy.
Kristy Keeling “Submit your manuscript for an independent editorial review here…” No thanks. If I want any such services, I will research and find them myself.
Kimberly Elias Judge “… the Curator of Author Conversations at The European Book Club…” Dubious to say the least.
Dylan Mason “”1892″ came up in one of our recent discussions, and what really stood out was the structure…” No.
Thomas H. Crowe Crowe (Sic) “I have a strategy to “force-feed” the algorithm and get your book back in front of buyers.”
Kenneth M Koch “I’ve reached out a few times but haven’t received a response yet.” Now, that makes it sound like something is my fault, so this one can definitely Foxtrot Oscar.
“My name is Rosemary Brosnan, and I am a Vice President, Editorial Director at HarperCollins Publishers.” This one comes up with more or less the same text as all the others, and is saying the same thing: I can help you get on their lists, but you may need representation and more editorial work. I’ll put you in touch with an agent and editor who will then charge you $700 or so for (I suspect) running the MS through an AI spell check, send it back, take their money and vanish.
WDSR 1340 AM Author Radio Feature – a follow-up email. Apparently, they are “Affiliated with Fox News Radio & Premiere Networks.” Even if that’s true, Fox News? Are you mad?
Thomas Organizer. (What a ridiculous name.) “I’ve been diving into A Night of Opposites and found the narrative incredibly compelling.” Wants me to do a radio interview. Gmail account.
Mick McCabe-Looks. (Another Gmail account and twisted AI-generated language.) Internal Architecture, sophisticated approach to shifting energy, thought-provoking discussions… Here’s one: Eff off.
Kayleehrenaderz sent me the same message as I got from BooksRide trying to sell me promotions, but she used her own Gmail address (a dead giveaway). This one, though, had an unsubscribe button, so I unsubscribed from a thing I’d never subscribed to in the first place.
May 2026
Mary Lou McCausland, and I serve as President of the Word on the Lake Writers’ Festival in British Columbia, Canada.
Cloe Watson, Bookpinks offering services because “you’ve subscribed to our newsletter.” I had not, nor would I. If I want services, I will search them out myself.
Catherine Mary – a random, “I work with authors on editing, proofreading…” letter selling services, and they couldn’t even be boated to write more than a few lines asking what I am writing.
Dave Sivers at BeaconLit festival 2026. Long email about a festival in the USA, and they’ve not bothered to see that I live in Greece, and can’t pop over next week at my expense…