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January 7, 2026 \u2014 4:00pm<\/p>\n
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Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n Save this article for later<\/p>\n Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime.<\/p>\n Got it<\/p>\n Morgan Blake sounds like a lovely fellow. He came across my novel Murder in Punch Lane and thinks it really deserves to reach more people, maybe via the BookTok community. \u201cI have an exciting idea that could help your book gain some serious traction,\u201d he writes in his email. \u201cWant me to share the details?\u201d<\/p>\n My writer friend Stephen Downes got a much longer and more effusive email from Jenny Conwell (note the name) about his book The Hands of Pianists. \u201cYour novel sits at exactly the intersection that serious readers seek,\u201d she writes. She\u2019s proposing a visibility campaign: \u201cThe book exists. The prize exists. What\u2019s missing is the bridge between them and the readers who would champion this work.\u201d<\/p>\n Isn\u2019t that fantastic? Offers from out of the blue to promote the bejesus out of our books and find the hordes of readers who will really appreciate them. But we aren\u2019t bothering to reply. Because we reckon Morgan and Jenny don\u2019t exist.<\/p>\n We reckon they are AI creations pushing the latest scam flooding hapless authors\u2019 inboxes. I can\u2019t count how many offers I\u2019ve received lately that are eager to promote books I haven\u2019t actually written. One came in the other day from Raji Mariam, \u201conline visibility reputation specialist\u201d, written entirely in German. He wants to promote my steamy love story Baccara Weekend Band 56. Sorry, Raji. Wrong Jane Sullivan.<\/p>\n But these messages are becoming more and more sophisticated. I don\u2019t believe any of the senders have read my novel or Downes\u2019 novel, but they (or their AI tools) are getting very good at hoovering up book blurbs and reviews and judges\u2019 comments. They play shamelessly on authors\u2019 emotions with outrageous flattery and extravagant promises. And let\u2019s face it, the writer who believes his or her book didn\u2019t get promoted enough is an almost universal figure.<\/p>\n The Australian Society of Authors says there has been a \u201cmarked uptick\u201d in these kinds of scams, as well as emails purporting to be from publishing houses, agents or Hollywood producers falling over themselves to adapt your book into a film. <\/p>\n \u201cWith the increased availability of AI tools, email scams are becoming more personalised, realistic and targeted, using AI-generated copy to address you by name and provide details of your book, giving the impression they are a real person who has read your work,\u201d says the post on the ASA website<\/a>. If authors follow up on the invitations, sooner or later they are asked to pay upfront fees for work that is never done.<\/p>\n Related Article One highly convincing email I received claimed to be from the Melbourne-based Classic Book Club, very interested in selecting my latest novel for their club discussions. There is indeed a Melbourne-based Classic Book Club, but when I enquired, they hadn\u2019t sent me an email. Not surprising: my book came out in 2024, which hardly qualifies it to be a classic.<\/p>\n Recently, The Guardian reported on a website using various names to promote an apparent international network of publishers, with AI-generated images of the CEO, the fiction and non-fiction editors and the head of publishing operations. It looked very real, very professional and succeeded in getting unsuspecting aspiring writers to hand over their money to attain the dream of getting published. Other websites have used fake testimonials from real authors.<\/p>\n So how should authors protect themselves? Be very wary of unsolicited emails. Look out for descriptions of your book that seem somewhat vague, or over-reliant on comments already in the public domain. The ASA lists links to helpful services such as Scamwatch<\/a> or the Writer Beware blog<\/a>. And remember: if it looks too good to be true, it probably isn\u2019t true.<\/p>\n Janesullivan.sullivan9@gmail.com<\/a><\/p>\n The Booklist is a weekly newsletter for book lovers from Jason Steger. Get it delivered every Friday<\/a>.<\/p>\n Save<\/p>\n You have reached your maximum number of saved items.<\/p>\n Remove items from your saved list<\/a> to add more.<\/p>\n![\"Scammers](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/539ceade2fed32abfae7c8554cd07e25db102f35.jpeg\")
Scammers using AI tools such as Chatbot are increasingly targeting authors with flattery and extravagant promises. iStock<\/p>\n![\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/f250fd162321f96421cf16bd424cbbb36f84a54d872fd16bf879c9dfca70825b.jpeg\")
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