Greetings,
I like friending fellow authors on social media. This allows me to see how they communicate and sell their books. Through the years, there have been many helpful tips learned by watching other struggling authors promote their books. Hopefully, my fellow writers will pick up some insights from me as we learn from each other.
There are several author groups on Facebook to join and can banter ideas around with them. Here we offer suggestions for plots, writing styles, and promotions when someone reaches the point of requesting help. The symbiotic relationship of these groups helps authors overcome problems in their work. A good thing to rely upon when dealing with the problems of publishing a book.
It was six months ago when an author asked to friend me. Naturally without verifying, I agreed. They DM a hello and I said hi back. Then the question, “Do you have problems selling your books? I know someone who promoted my books to get amazing sales.”
This made the hairs on the back of my neck quiver as it sounded more like an expert promoter and not another author. I quickly checked their page and their Amazon account. The information matched their content. Upon closer inspection though, they matched much too closely. The only pictures appearing on the FB page were copies of the photos from Amazon. Some were blown up and some were chopped into other scenes.
Upon deeper delve into the FB page, it was only a month old and most of the twenty friends were Expert Digital Marketers. Then I realized, that all the posts were taken directly from Amazon. There was nothing unique about the posts. Most of them were the very same repeated weekly to gain attention. There was little to no interaction with the public. I found no likes, no comments, and nothing to indicate they were offering information for someone to become interested in their books. It appears the author was real but the person contacting was not the author.
I asked back, “So what is your favorite part of writing?”
“My guy can help you sell hundreds of books,” was the only reply.
I blocked the fake FB author page and went about my day. Since then I have seen several more suspected fake authors trying to connect with me with a page showing little of the author other than copies of Amazon postings. This week, there were three on the same day, from the same post, in the same group on FB. All three author’s pages show the lack of details of my first encounter with a fake author.
Be careful my fellow authors, there are a lot of people just looking to make a quick buck on our hard work while deflating our opportunities in the marketplace.
At www.dannymacauthor.com is a good place to learn more about me and my books. This week found myself working on a supplement chapter in my next book in the Flying People series. Which gives me even more editing to do this year.
God bless,
Danny Mac