Hello and welcome to another episode of Writing with Coach McCoach. This is actually one of our bonus episodes, part of the Ask Coach series. So I got this question in my email from one of my authors today and I thought it was really good to share with you all because I think it can happen to a lot of people.
So basically it's related to a scam. My author sent me this email I got and it was from someone who, it looked really legit. He said he works at Lionsgate Entertainment and he reached out to a self-published author, one of my self-published authors and said, we love your book. We want to make it into a movie. Let's put together this pitch deck and here are all the things I need from you. And it sounds totally legit. Like it really reads well, everything in there is like industry talk. It's the stuff that you would need.
The author sent it to me and then in the meantime they had also done a little research on Google and they were like, oh, I found literally the same exact email to someone else with a book that would never be made into a movie. It was like a kid's activity book. Like you're not going to make that into a movie. So they realized that it was a scam. And then when you dig further and you look, the email address is like, it's not a legit email address, right? It was like lionsgateentertainmentsatgmail.com. Like, okay, Lionsgate, I'm definitely sure has their own company email addresses, but these scams are getting pretty good, right? So it looked all legit and had all of this information. Like this seems totally fair.
I went and I did a little research and I saw that this scam is happening pretty often where it's the book to movie. They're appealing to people who have self-published and they're reaching out. And even as far as like, it might look like they have legit credits on IMDB. And I saw this article, this other guy posted, and he said, you know, I had a conversation with this guy and their red flags went off. Like the guy had producer credits. And so, okay, so I like entertained the call and then a few red flags went off and the call and then it got to the end and the guy was like, okay, so once you send this all to me, the scammer was like, I just need you to write me a check for this much money and then we'll get it out. And the guy who, the author was smart and said, okay, yeah, you can take it out of my advance once that comes in. And he was like, well, you'd have to pay me up front.
And that is the biggest red flag is the payment up front. You should not be paying anyone for this type of work. So if you, so I wanted to just put this out there and I also wanted to give you a heads up on other types of scams you might recognize or might see. So if you are a self-published author, unfortunately you are more susceptible to this because these scammers know that self-published authors want to get agents or they want to get their movies made. Not all of them, obviously, but that there are several who want the like, Ooh, fanfare. And so they'll reach out.
So here's what you should look for. Number one, of course, check the email addresses, see if they're legit. Number two, definitely put it in Google and see what other scams come out. Just type in book scans. So there's different ones. So there's the book to movie scan. There's there are even editing scams, which is so painful as an editor to know that there are other editors or fake editors who are doing this to people. That one really hurts my heart. And then there's also agent scams and publishing scams.
So you've got several, right? A few resources, obviously Google, just look up author scams and you'll find probably examples of all the things that you have, something you might've gotten. So if you get something, put it in Google, see what you find. So there is a website and you can Google writer beware. You can also go to writer beware.com or on sfwa.org that's science fiction and fantasy writers association. You can also this, the sites here. So it's writer beware. And this is a platform, a website that gathers a bunch of information on scams, on things to look for just like all of that information that is going to really be helpful for you. So you can find different types of scams that are happening. You can look up companies that you heard from or you want to work with and see if they're on the list. So you can look at awards and editors and literary agents, small presses, self-publishing, just look up anything to see, Oh, is there anything on here? And what is the end result? Have they proven that this is a scam or is it just maybe some red flags to watch out for or yellow flags?
Do your research before you like sign contracts or do anything like that. Make sure that you do this before you pay people, essentially before you sign contracts and pay people, do your quick research because of course we're in the age of the internet. There are so many things where people are trying to get your money, right? And make sure it's legit when you're paying people.
So I told you like there's the book to movie one, that one definitely make sure you look. If anyone asks for money upfront, that's not how it works. Usually you would have an agent or you could get an agent at that point to help negotiate a situation because you want to make sure that it's fair. And also then after the book, you would be the one who gets paid. You don't pay someone for this. The only time that it's if after you get paid, then the agent would get money from that or someone who is the manager represents you. They would get a portion of what you get paid from the studio. Okay.
And so this same thing applies to agents. If an agent reaches out and is like, I want to publish your book or I want to represent your book, especially if it's already been published. Number one, if it's already been published, that is a very big red flag. Unless you have sold so many fricking copies, that's a red flag. You do not want to sell an agent will not represent a book that's already been published. And so this is something I also think it's just important to know. Agents are representing unpublished work. They are sending it to the publishers and they're saying, hey, you should publish this. If your book has already been published, they don't have much leeway. They don't want a book that's already been published. The only times this happened is very rare circumstances in a book that is doing super, super well. And then a publisher is like, we're going to republish this. So the Martian, I believe is an example of Fifty Shades of Grey. So these are ones where it did so well.
Then the publishers were like, well, we can make it a little, we can repackage it and distribute it more. And we're going to pull in more money. Obviously this already makes money. So let's just, they're just like, let's just tap into that. Right. That is so rare. Okay.
So if an agent reaches out to you and you have self-published your work and they're like, I want to represent this book that's already published. My first thought is absolutely not because that's probably not legit unless you are making tons of money. And in that case, why, why would you, you know, that's a choice that you get to make, but you go on the agent and publisher, then you start giving them your money. If you're already making a ton of money alone, good for you. Freaking awesome. Okay. But that's a personal choice.
So then the other thing that happens too, are there are agents who will try to scam unpublished authors or unpublished manuscripts. This one sucks because it's really pride on people who are really putting their, their heart on their sleeves. Like they're really being vulnerable and then they're going after them. So that sucks. But what this looks like as a fake escape, a schmagent is what they call them, will basically say, yeah, I'll represent you, but you pay me. And that's not the way it works. You don't pay an agent upfront. Agents only get paid when you make money with the publisher. So once the publisher pays you, whether that's through an advance or just royalties or both, the agent takes a certain percentage. I think it's like 10 to 15%. So an agent will take 15% of what you make from the publisher. So basically the publisher will sort of divvy it out or it comes from your advance, but you work that out with the agent, obviously in the contracts. The agent does not get paid until you get paid. That's how that works. That's also movies, TVs, it's agent gets paid when you get paid. And that is why it's risky for agents sometimes because they don't want to believe in a book. And sometimes they know, you know what, I don't know if this, I know it's not going to sell as much as I love this book. I know I don't have the connections to sell it. That means they'd be working for so long without being paid. So that is just keep that in mind. It's a business. That's why agents are picking up certain books. That's why some books get picked up really fast because they're like, dang, this hits the market right now. I know publisher will pick this up. I know I will get paid sooner.
So if someone asks you for money upfront, that is like an agent or a publishing house, publishing house should not ask you for money. They're the ones they should pay you to publish their work. Vanity press and indie presses, that's a little different. Small presses should still not ask you to pay them. But vanity press is something different. Just do your research because a vanity press is essentially you pay them and then they will handle putting the book together, you know, distributing it, creating it, editing it and stuff. And you pay them a flat fee. This can be fine because I think the key here is as long as you still retain the rights and you are the one who ends up getting all the royalties. So I would really look at those contracts and see how that works. Because basically if it's a situation where they're just doing all that work for you and you don't have to go find every person yourself, it's essentially you self-publishing but just paying one person to package the book. As long as they don't try to take the rights, that should be fine. As long as you get your self-publishing still and you're the one getting all the money at the end. So really look at those contracts and look at these sites like Writer Beware to make sure you understand what's going on.
Another tip that a lot of people don't know about, you can always have anyone review your contracts and of course you're like, well, a lawyer, attorney, that's like a lot of work. That's going to cost a ton to get them to review it. Here's a trick a lot of people don't know. A lot of literary agents will actually, I don't know if a lot, but some will have an extra service. You can just pay them a flat rate and they'll just look over your work, over the contract. So if you're like, I really want a literary agent's opinion, like they're the ones who are in contracts all the time, they know what to look for. See if someone that you trust offers this as a service or they're just going to look through your contract and be like, hey, these are red flags. So it's like they're representing you, but they're not, they're getting, they are getting paid a flat rate in that case, but it's not like you're going to give them any money later on. It's just like, hey, you're going to help me review this contract. It's just an hourly rate sort of thing, like you would with an attorney. But if you're like, I don't really want to pay for an attorney and I just really want to just double check, I trust myself enough and I want someone else who knows the industry to say, hey, look out for these things. Of course, it's not officially the most legal situation since not all agents are attorneys. So just keep that in mind. But it is like, if you're like, I just want to safety check or an extra look, that can be a great thing.
So I did that once a publisher reached out to me and it was, the offer was a legit situation, but it was like a writer for hire situation. And what I wanted out of the situation and what this agent told me to look for, yes, the contract was valid and it was industry standard the way they were presenting it. But for what I wanted, it wasn't the right setup. So I just paid her a flat rate. She looked it over and then I got some advice and I was able to be like, okay, yeah, that's not for me. Okay.
That's basically it. I just wanted you to kind of have these things in mind and know what to look for because these scams these days, they're getting so good. People are doing it with everything, right? So towards authors, there are, like I said earlier, I have heard that there are editors who are coming at people. This one's tricky because editors do get paid up front, right? Not acquisition editors, but like a freelance editor, copy editor, me, a book editor, like a book coach or developmental editor, proofreader. You would pay them up front because if you're self-publishing, you would pay them up front because you're creating your team. If you work with a publisher, they're the ones who hire the editors, so you don't need to worry about it. So if you are trying to look to hire an editor, just definitely make sure they have testimonials, make sure their website's legit. Do a search on Writers Beware, see if their name comes up anywhere as any concerns, any red flags, due diligence and getting a sample edit if that's something that they offer. You can even sometimes ask for names of past clients or go find the past clients and reach out and say, hey, just want to make sure this person's legit. One way, if someone were to look at my testimonials on my site, obviously I have a ton, but if they were like, well, let me take it a step further, let's make sure they're real. I also have books on my site. So you can say, okay, these books are real, sure. But if you're really like, I still don't trust that, right, because some people just throw out books, throw up names and testimonials.
How do you make sure? If you pulled one of my books that are on my site, you will see that the author has acknowledged me in their comments. So I'm not putting up a book. I mean, gosh, I don't think so. Every book that's on my website is one that I have worked on, right, in some capacity, and authors will acknowledge that the person that they worked on. So I even have some books right behind me, and if you just open the acknowledgement page, then I'm listed as someone who's helped work on a book. So that's another way, if you're like, I really don't know, you can look through the book itself. It might be the first page, so it might be easier on Amazon without buying a book, or you might have to buy a book, but $5 for peace of mind might be totally worth it, right?
Okay. I think that's how I'm going to leave you with today. I just wanted a quick, like, keep your eyes peeled, and here's how to know some of the things to look out for so you don't get scammed, because I just want what's best for you. I want you to use your money the best way, and I don't want you to get f'd over. So again, Writers Beware is a great website to look into, and always just do your research. Read some articles. See what other people have said, what other scams and alerts come out, and just if any sort of flag goes up, if any sort of like, ooh, this seems a little too good to be true, definitely look into it, because as much as I believe things that are too good to be true are not, and things like that happen 100%, there are other times where there's something and you know you're like, something's not right here, or send it to someone you know and be like, what do you think about this? That's always a good way, and someone else will usually be like, yeah, no, that's a scam, because they're not emotionally charged by the event that they can, and they're not, you know, this scam is appealing to what you want to hear, so someone who has no investment in that will be able to look at it and say, yeah, no, that's not legit, as much as we wish it was, it's not.
Okay, that's all I'm going to leave you with today, so if this was helpful, I would love to know. Rate and review the podcast, it would be so helpful. Subscribe, and then otherwise, until next time, keep growing.
