How I Almost Got Scammed

Book marketing is not easy, so I was looking for help with that. Then, I almost got scammed by a clever ruse.

Beware of charmers

Famous children’s author Robert Munsch followed me on Bluesky, only it wasn’t Robert Munsch. The conversation started off nicely, especially since I already had a tangential connection to the author. In the late ’80s, I worked in trad publishing in Toronto. Working for Lester & Orpen Dennys and Cannon Books, I was a book rep. Traveling all over Toronto to sell to bookstores, Robert Munsch’s books were always the easiest to sell. He is beloved, and I sold all his books.

Enter the Grift

I’m used to being approached by book marketers in social media and email. That’s fine. The clever part of this scam was the third-party recommendation. When it’s honest, third-party recommendations are the best! I love it when my readers spread the good word about my novels. Their recommendations and happy reviews carry much more weight than me hanging out on street corners and whispering, “Psst! Wanna buy a book? It’s great, I swear! The story will melt your face and taste like fudge!”

When Not-Bob-Munsch on Bluesky asked about my work, I was fooled and flattered. When he suggested I speak with his agent about book marketing, I was happy to hear more. It was a little weird in that he claimed this third party was his agent. From what I saw, it looked like her sole focus was marketing books. That isn’t unheard of, mind you. There used to be many more literary agents. Changes in the publishing industry have led quite a few agents to switch lanes to book marketing, courses, and consulting. I assume many of them are now real estate agents.

Warning Signs

There was a mistake in the Munsch profile on Bluesky, but it was minor. I didn’t have shields up yet. It was the conversation with the book marketer that made me increasingly leery. She was polite, but her syntax was slightly off. As I read and reread the details of what she offered her clients, it appeared AI-generated. She outlined an ambitious plan at a very low cost. That rang more alarm bells.

I wondered, what’s the upsell here? I asked if her fee was for a PDF with the details needed to better sell my next book. She said our interaction could involve more than that, check-ins and personal coaching to meet deadlines. As a poor writer, I have anxiety about money. Hell, I wear a wallet with a chain so thick it could be a bike chain. (There’s a dire clue to my trust issues around money.)

When book marketer sent a link for payment of $250, I asked a couple more questions, stalling until I could do a deeper dive.

The Clincher

“Are we still connected?” the book marketer asked from the Bluesky chat. She seemed too eager to get me to click that payment link.

“Can’t deal with this at the moment,” I replied. “I’ll get back to you soon.”

A couple of hours later, Not-Bob-Munsch was checking in to see how I was. This didn’t ring true at all. I remember Bob as a very nice guy, but who has this kind of time? Given her public profile, I said I was surprised the person he recommended was his agent.

His answer was tangential. “Oh, she’s the best at blah, blah, blah.” After a short pause, “She’s my only agent!”

My Final Confirmation

That tore it. Google is your friend. The real Robert Munsch is represented by the CookeMcDermid agency. It got so much worse than that. I called up a friend to tell him about the attempt on my precious dollars. He did some googling of his own. “Robert Munsch is battling dementia.”

That was crushing.

A fraud was using Robert Munsch’s name for clout. It’s especially disappointing when fraudsters slide beneath your low expectations. I did the blocking thing. Oddly, I couldn’t figure out how to report the fraudulent account on Bluesky. They’re a new platform with very few employees. I like Bluesky a lot, but the user interface isn’t quite there yet. I did reach out to CookeMcDermid, though. I doubt they can do much about a book marketer from Florida using skeezy tactics, but I thought they should be aware what’s going on.

Anyone can claim to become a book marketer and, with time and experience, be helpful and make it true. No one can get there who starts off marketing themselves so dishonestly.

The Takeaway

Shipping News author Ann Proulx didn’t follow me, either. For a little while, I thought she had. Alas.

There are decent people trying to make an earnest living at marketing books. Frankly, I’d rather have someone do all my marketing for me. Until that happy day, I’ll continue to educate myself and do what I can. Be wary. There are hunters in the dark corners of the interwoods, and they’re hunting wabbits. You’re the wabbit.

That warning applies no matter who you are.