Every author dreams of getting a literary agent who would sell her/his book to an eager publisher, then watch all those lovely royalties come in. Who knows? There might even be a film deal in it. It has happened, and it does happen, but don’t give up your day job just yet.

If you already have an agent, then commiserate with all those who don’t.

So, what is this latest scam?

You will get a cold email from someone who claims to be a literary agent from a reputable agency. The opening line might be something like:

I thought I’d reach out once more regarding my earlier notes.

I hope you are doing well.

I hope this message finds you well.

There are others.

This will be followed by something like: I was enthralled by your book, the depth of your writing, and the engaging storyline. You will note that the name of your book is not mentioned. If the email does mention your book, it will gush with fulsome praise about the characters and the plot – probably lifted from your website or Amazon book blurb – that will get you all puffed up with pride.

Then comes the pitch – representation. The person will ask if you have a literary agent. If not, he/she would be excited to represent you. Write to the person to further discuss this wonderful opportunity. Of course, many recipients of such an email would immediately reply, thankful for the chance to land an agent.

DON’T DO IT!

Unfortunately, the frequency of this type of email is on the rise as scammers search for victims to exploit and get money off you. Before responding to such an email, the author MUST verify the legitimacy of the sender. The harsh fact is that no reputable literary agent will EVER send a cold email to any author soliciting business. Legitimate agencies know they will get hundreds of queries from hopeful authors asking for representation. They don’t need to send cold emails.

What is immediately suspicious about such emails is that the address is invariably @gmail.com. Every legitimate agency will have the company name as part of the address: @validagency.com. A gmail address should promptly get your alarms clanging. Also, these emails will almost never show the agency’s website.

The thing to do is use the name of the literary agency in the email, go to that literary agency’s website, and send them a query requesting verification of the sender and the agency. Most will send you a prompt reply confirming that you received a fake email. These days, many literary agency websites will have a paragraph warning authors of scammers impersonating one of the agents and the agency name. When you get confirmation of the fake email, never respond to the original email telling the sender they’re fake. It will only encourage them to enter into a prolonged exchange claiming they are legitimate.

Another scam that is circulating is a cold email from someone claiming to be a senior executive of a reputable publisher. These will also have a @gmail.com address. The opening will ask if you are well, then start praising your book with an interest to publish it. That is exciting! Imagine receiving an email from HarperCollins!

The next part of the email will ask if you have a literary agent, as they only accept agented submissions. Not a problem if you don’t. The email will ask you to respond. If the author says she/he does not have an agent, this kind senior executive will give you a name of an agent. You write to that person, who will request that you send a standard submission query for your book. After you have done that, you will receive a reply that states the submission does not fit agency or publisher guidelines. However, all is not lost. The email will refer you to a query letter ‘specialist’ who will write a query letter for you – for a hefty price, of course.

You see the pattern?

As with cold email from a literary agent, an author should treat an email from a publisher in the same way – verify! No reputable publisher will ever send you an invitation letter! Send a query letter to the real publisher using their Contact Us link requesting validation of the person who sent you the email. You will invariably get a response that the person does not exist. The name might even be legitimate, borrowed from a real person who now works independently, which the scammer has used.

Your best action is not to engage in an exchange of emails with such a person, recommended literary agent, or the query letter ‘expert’. These are scammers looking to fleece you,

It is disheartening that such things are happening, but that’s reality in this increasingly complicated industry. It simply means that authors must be extremely wary and diligent before entering into any agreement with a purported agent or publisher.

Happy writing!