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Do any of you have some favorite spam-a-lot outtakes?I get messages every day saying "I loved your book!". When I say "Which book? I have several...", they are stumped. Lazy, lazy!
Hi Steve, unfortunately there are a lot of accounts like these. Before Goodreads shut down the messaging system, we used to receive many messages of this kind. At least now things are a bit calmer. All independent authors need to be careful about these fake accounts. Thanks a lot for the warning.Best
Mehmet
When I get any email from a marketer, my default response is to (politely) say that I do not accept unsolicited offers for services. If they follow up and press, I mark SPAM, block, and delete the messages. Same on FB and Insta - life's too short!Also... I get many messages on Insta that say only "where are you from". That is code for "start engaging with me so that I can sell you something". Auto-block for me.
Now, I have engaged with artistic creatives and a development editor. In all cases, I acted on a referral from someone that I trust, and vetted the contractor by contacting references.
Illegitimi non carborundum!
This is absolutely the healthiest approach to follow — like you said, life is short and time is valuable.Mehmet
I never get spammed or scammed because I just don't pay attention to these individuals or their weird messages. I have never bothered about them, even since the year 2012 when I started out my writing career & took it on full-time at the age of 22. But these scammers & spammers have taken on an all new level of brazenness since last year; till December 2025 I was getting offers via email every day for the promotion of my books, or for getting reviews for my books etc. Everyone has been going through it here on GR, but I have not delved deeply into the matter to see whether anyone has got trapped by these scammers.
I just know that many young adult or teenage newbie writers here on Goodreads have gotten fooled by these scammers & have lost more than just a lot of money in the bargain. It is sickening. As our Steve rightly said, that is a hell of a lot of work to get an indie-author to contact you - I mean, how desperate can one get!? If we had that kind of money by now our books would have been New York Times Bestsellers already or would have entered the Booker Prize or Pulitzer Prize LOL! LMAO!
Some of us are moneyed people, but I don't think we would spend our hard-earned money or retirement fund on mere promotion offers with vague credentials or to get reviews by permanently selling one's rights to one's hard-work - our books! I rather have a control over my stuff than depend on these vague people to help me out. I think I have lived too long with a criminal lawyer (maternal uncle) to think otherwise.
And as Mehmet said, since GR has shut down the messaging system, the spammer & scammer messages have lessened but now I actually see on GR a lot of AI bots posing as 'so called' real people with really 'realistic' author bios & book reviews & stuff. It is scary, & I find it difficult to tell the bot from the real person out! When I see these vague & weird GR DPs & author bios, I go like - 'there you go, this is not a human being!'
So, that is my current experience on the matter - that I feel there are these bots posing as real people in our midst since the GR DM thing shut down & now we really need to be astute & aware about who we are interacting with.
I think for our safety & authenticity here on GR, we will have to give more proof of us being real human beings by displaying our other social media links etc., otherwise by April 2026, I tell you - this is going to get out of hand. GR will be filled with more bots than actual people.
And I am not kidding guys - just read the book reviews of these 'people' - they aren't human. And it is faintly easy to notice them now without any additional software detectors for AIs or bots - but later.....I don't know!
Thoughts on this please Steve, Michael. Mehmet, Jane, Dr. Jasmine, Ela etc. :) :D
One sad thing that I have noted, on Instagram, is the likes and shares that I get on posts are overwhelming from spammers. So many people on that platform want to get a few dollars to provide 'guaranteed' number so followers, paid reviews, and all manner of nonsense.I block those when they appear.
In a more ideal world... people with love a genres and concepts would review and comment and like and share. But with my Insta account, it is an ocean of spam-and-scam.
Hi Fiza, there are still a large number of suspicious accounts in the system, and they quickly adapt to changing conditions.Mehmet :)
Mehmet wrote: "Hi Fiza, there are still a large number of suspicious accounts in the system, and they quickly adapt to changing conditions.Mehmet :)"
That is why I say, we need to stop being mysterious now & validate that we are humans, because it is getting too out of hand. I can see just way too many bots on GR posing as indie-authors & GR readers here. And usually, it is these Horror writers who usually are the most mysterious dudes out there, they think their anonymity sells books or something; but I think now transparency will be more necessary if we want to make out a bot from a human. We just have got to validate that we are human, that is it, otherwise - working over here is going to get us not 'batty' but 'botty'! I am very super-suspicious of everyone practically all the time. It comes from being as I said 1) Living with a criminal lawyer for 36 years of my life 2) From being a hard-core veteran investigative Catholic Journalist. I am on super-suspicious mode 24/7 & 365 days of the year. :) :D
I hope it’s okay that I’m jumping into this conversation — I’m still very new here.I’ve been writing for years, but I only recently found the courage to publish. I’m still figuring out how Goodreads and Amazon really work, and honestly… it’s been a bit overwhelming.
I don’t have Instagram, only Facebook, and within a short time I started getting messages offering paid promotions and guaranteed reviews. At first I didn’t even know what was normal and what wasn’t.
I don’t pay for reviews and I don’t offer money either. I’m just trying to grow slowly and organically.
Sometimes I’ll have a nice conversation with someone who says they’re interested in reading, and only later they offer a paid review. That’s when I block them — but I still feel like I’m learning how to spot those situations earlier.
Reading this discussion actually makes me feel a little less alone. It helps to see that even experienced authors deal with this.
Sorry again for stepping in — I’m just trying to learn as I go.
Steve wrote: "One sad thing that I have noted, on Instagram, is the likes and shares that I get on posts are overwhelming from spammers. So many people on that platform want to get a few dollars to provide 'guar..."Steve, thank you for bringing up Insta. Very apt & so true about the current scenario back there. Fantastic Steve! :)
I frankly have never actually sat there & used it (confession time bro!) my secretaries (yes plural!) use it & they feel it is better left alone & that I should concentrate on the finer stuff that life has to offer - like writing more books, adapting more Rare Classics for children which brings in a lot of revenue for me, advancing my distribution here in India & abroad for those Rare Classics & giving talks about my books & just doing a lot of literary activities online & offline to promote my work & that of my colleagues.
I've learnt early in life that you don't need a lot of social media & certainly not Insta to sell your stuff, especially when you are a high school teacher & tutor yourself, & your students want to be your friends on Insta - & then you go & write a very sexy literary fiction book about a younger male with an older female & - OMG - Insta then stands for 'instant' character assassination done by those kids, their parents, your teacher colleagues, your HODs, your principal etc. And then you have to 'instantly' leave 'insta' - before you are deemed a pervert for life - & the mud slinging garbage online remains for life, believe me.
This happened to one of my colleagues who then had to leave everything, including all social media & this city itself where we were teaching together & she had to take up a college teaching job elsewhere somewhere up North of India or something. She was a brilliant social issue fiction writer, I cannot even hold a candle to her writing abilities; & she had to take down everything because of the trauma & leave it all behind & start afresh. And she was such a brilliant teacher too! A beacon of hope for many!
Insta therefore is one place I have never gone or used & now my secretaries just leave it alone. Because I get too many friend requests or whatever from my senior students - ALWAYS THE MALE ONES - & after what not only happened to my female teacher-cum writer friend but even to another male tutor cum author pal about some novel he wrote on Wattpad 9 years ago, I just stay clean away from that place. Dangerous, I would not touch that particular social media outlet even with a ten foot pole. Not meant for those authors who are still working - especially in jobs like mine, totally out.
I get more readers, fans, clients et al from LinkedIn & I am doing very well there by the grace of God. That social networking site has worked for me like crazy & I am happy there. You tend to get a lot of much needed authentic support for your work from peers there who know about the challenge, the hard-work entailed etc., & I am just totally pleased with LinkedIn. Been there for ages & I get a lot of readers there for my work & then some awesome connections - & not bots!
So I'd say, go for LinkedIn. I would have earlier also have said Twitter, but ever since it has become X, it is a 'no show zone' for all indie-authors. :) :D
I’ve been on Goodreads for barely a year, so my experience may differ from that of long-time members. For the first few months, I received vague offers about a book I hadn’t even published yet (my debut came out in June 2025), which was an obvious red flag—even for a new member. Those early months were filled with unsolicited advice and questionable suggestions.I’m very grateful to the moderator of another group I joined. She was straightforward about spam and bots posing as Goodreads members and regularly shared reminders about what to watch out for. Those notifications helped me avoid accepting suspicious friend requests and falling for polished, robotic messages. Most of them follow the same pattern anyway. Now, I’ve made it a habit to simply read and ignore them. Almost always, the requests disappear within a day or two.
Beyond the potential loss of money or time, managing these requests is simply exhausting. At one point, they covered almost an entire page, making it difficult to spot genuine messages from real readers.
I understand why Goodreads disabled messaging; things have definitely calmed down (though it is unfortunate for certain purposes). Spam and bots will likely always find ways to slip through. But it helps to remember that we are in control of how we respond—whether we choose to engage or not. In this case, we are simply protecting ourselves: our time, our money, and our sanity. And honestly, it’s nice to keep all three in balance.
Aside from those first few months, I’ve chosen to ignore the spam and bots. Sometimes it is very difficult to do so. We already juggle so many roles beyond writing and reading, so it helps to gently protect our time and energy from spam and bot messages. The notifications still arrive loudly, but when left unanswered, they disappear quietly. And for now, that approach seems to be working just fine for me.
Claire wrote: "I hope it’s okay that I’m jumping into this conversation — I’m still very new here.I’ve been writing for years, but I only recently found the courage to publish. I’m still figuring out how Goodre..."
Hi Claire! :D
Thank you so much for stepping in, that is exactly what such GR discussions are all about. You put your oar in & I put mine, Steve puts his, Mehmet puts his etc., & we learn & grow together. And let us not forget always to support each other & hold each one's hand as we pull or push along, whatever works for us.
I get where you are coming from Claire, I used to go through the same thing back in the years between 2012 & 2014, but then I got the hang of things & just moved with the flow. I thought that probably post my twenties, I would just concentrate on my writing career & give up teaching & tutoring full time - but that is not happening. Life happened, life changed - & I am still juggling with a lot of hats that I wear. So I am growing with everyone too & so, welcome to the club & welcome to Mehmet's GR Group! :) :D
I have never tried Facebook or Meta for the promotion of my books, but most authors I know are there & are very active & do get sales there - but from each other through these 'book cliques'. Of late there are some great offers & promotional stuff there where you don't have to spend money at all, but probably Mehmet will have a better idea about it than me. I am just happy with a few social networking sites, my LinkedIn, my blog, websites etc. In fact, I get more sales because of my websites & blogs & then because of LinkedIn & then last will be Goodreads.
Try getting a blog or website up, start creating content that you are great at & then when people like your content - they want to thank you in some way or get attracted to your books & - bingo - you have a reader. I get PLENTY of readers that way - but they rarely leave reviews on Amazon or Goodreads or Fable or StoryGraph whatever. Try LinkedIn too if you are a professional in some other field, you will get some genuine peers who will certainly support you in many ways with your ventures & the LinkedIn AI is crawling faster than Google AI right now post October 2025. It is like Google AI is asleep or something - Halloween took his 'spunk' away!
Again Mehmet is the man to answer that for you, I presume he is some kind of a wiz techie cum high level engineer or something check with him. But please feel welcome here on Mehmet's group. I already got your book & will be checking it out ASAP.
Anyone can help Claire feel more at home!? :) :D
Claire wrote: "I hope it’s okay that I’m jumping into this conversation — I’m still very new here.I’ve been writing for years, but I only recently found the courage to publish. I’m still figuring out how Goodre..."
Claire! No apology needed - you are welcome to contribute at any time, in any thread.
We all need to develop a nose for the network of people who try to wrest control of hard-earned funds from artists. They are becoming very sophisticated. Some pitches feel real... until you realize that they are not!
Check out https://writerbeware.blog/ to learn about ongoing scams, and to see earlier ones. They all share a common pattern... try to draw the author in with praise, talk about the brilliance of the book, make guarantees, promise there is no fee... until there is one.
Slow, organic growth in social channels is the way to go. Gather emails when you can in order to build a mailing list.
And avoid saying 'yes' to people who promise unrealistic terms. They will not deliver.
All the best to you and yours.
Hello,Just wading in with one to watch out for in terms of SPAM woes. In the most part I see write (pardon the pun) through them. Hundreds arrive through Facebook everyday usually accompanied by poor spelling and a promise to create a cinematic trailer guaranteed to boost sales etc. We've all seen them right. Well I got one from a Thomas at NYC Silent Book Club which seemed different to all the others. "Thomas" wanted to promote my book at an event. Fair enough, I thought, but being cautious, I even asked if this was one of the endless scams for which he would ask money. "No," he assured, he was simply looking for indie authors to introduce at the book club. So we conversed for a while and I did some due diligence. There was indeed a Thomas and such a thing as the silent book club with profiles on the MeetUp website. All seeming genuine I provided details of my book. (Only what is already publicly available anyway, still being cautious.) Low and behold, after a month of back and forth, two days before the agreed event, Thomas asked me to send $200 to ensure my book would be promoted at the event due to a sudden surge in demand to be included on the reading list. So, a scam after all. I wrote back with a counter offer, stating that I would provide a percentage of profits gained from the sales achieved as a direct result of the event. Needless to say I never heard from Thomas again. The upshot of the story being, as authors we have to be very vigilant. Yes, most scammers are lazy and derivative in their attempts to extort money, but a few are prepared to go the extra mile by creating fake profiles or to clone the social media presence of others in order to scam. Best of luck in all your promotional work and remember, if it seems to good to be true...
Dear friends,As the moderator team, we carefully read all your posts and take note of your ideas on what we can do to build a comprehensive group that supports new authors and enables passionate readers to discover a wonderful variety of new works.
Thank you all. Please continue sharing these kinds of posts with our members.
Fiza wrote: "Claire wrote: "I hope it’s okay that I’m jumping into this conversation — I’m still very new here.I’ve been writing for years, but I only recently found the courage to publish. I’m still figuring..."
Thank you so much for such a warm welcome — it truly means a lot.
I’m still trying to find my footing in the publishing world and learning as I go, so it’s really encouraging to hear from someone who has been through a similar path.
Balancing writing, work, and everyday life sometimes feels like juggling too many balls at once 😄, but conversations like this remind me why I wanted to share my stories in the first place.
I was especially interested in what you mentioned about blogs and websites as a way to reach readers. If you have any beginner tips or something that worked particularly well for you, I’d love to hear.
I’m really happy to be here and to learn alongside all of you 🤍
Steve wrote: "Claire wrote: "I hope it’s okay that I’m jumping into this conversation — I’m still very new here.I’ve been writing for years, but I only recently found the courage to publish. I’m still figuring..."
Thank you, I really appreciate the advice and the warning. As someone new to publishing, it helps a lot to know what to watch out for.
I will definitely take a look at the site you shared.
May I ask if it is too early to start thinking about building an email list, or is that something worth starting right away?
And this may sound a little silly, but it honestly felt easier to write the books, even though it took much longer 😄, than to figure out the whole promotion side of things.
Thank you again for looking out for newcomers like me.
If you want, I can also make it more casual or shorter.
First... don't worry about being too verbose. Be yourself, without apology. That's life advice, no charge.Email list is the gold standard. Best advice I have heard is to start BEFORE publishing. Of course, I heard that after I started...
I set up a Reader Magnet on my site today, and have posted the link in a few places. In my case, I have a short-story that I am offering as an incentive in the magnet link: sign up and download the short story. The link is here (for you to review - not asking for a sign-up!)
https://stevegoldsmithwrites.com/land...
Keep posting - you'll get great advice here.
Steve wrote: "First... don't worry about being too verbose. Be yourself, without apology. That's life advice, no charge.Email list is the gold standard. Best advice I have heard is to start BEFORE publishing. ..."
Thank you so much for the advice and encouragement. I really appreciate you sharing what worked for you.
I read your book about the twins and left a review. I truly enjoyed it and was honestly impressed by the depth behind the humor.
Your reader magnet idea makes a lot of sense, and I think I’ll need to follow your advice and start building an email list. Offering a short story is a great way to connect with readers.
And it was a nice surprise to see that the short story is the first piece from the twins world.
Thanks again for the inspiration.
Thanks so much! And keep doing the work - never give up.I started my journey only last Oct 1, and have had over 400 downloads across my books. Not lighting the world on fire, but the long game is needed in order to find you readers!
Steve wrote: "Thanks so much! And keep doing the work - never give up.I started my journey only last Oct 1, and have had over 400 downloads across my books. Not lighting the world on fire, but the long game is..."
Thank you so much for the encouragement. It really means a lot.
Your advice about email lists and reader magnets was very helpful. I’m working on my own lead magnet now and thinking about starting a blog, so your message came at the right time.
I also read the Writer Beware article you shared about impersonation scams. It was eye opening and made me realize how far these scams go and how sophisticated they’ve become.
Right now I’m reaching readers mostly through social media and groups. I try to be transparent from the start about what I don’t do. I’m not interested in paid promotions, only genuine discussion and connection.
I’ve already met some wonderful people here. Thanks again for the support.
Thank you so much to all who have contributed to this thread. My experiences over the last two months run in parallel with many of yours. Someone mentioned the number of approaches being "exhausting" and I completely agree with that. In fact, it is also demoralising, too. In my case, it's been largely through email - probably because I naively posted my email address into my GR profile! The net result is that I have barely written during this two-month period, where I have investigated, conversed, logged, done due diligence, etc., - but thankfully, only paid one person $30 (for nothing in return, as yet, would you believe!)
With relatively few friends on GR, and hence no one to discuss this with, I have had to plough a lone furrow. However, this thread has provided a major release for me today and confirmed what I always knew was the reality. So, from this point onwards, I will be discontinuing any dialogue already struck up, and will be deleting and blocking unsolicited emails. Oh yes, and getting back to some serious writing again!
Thank you once again to all. And keep the faith!
Excellent, Andrew.The promotion part is hard no matter what, and balancing net-new writing with promo activities is challenging. I admit to having lost focus on my next work... seems I need more validation from the market before I believe in my writing ability!
But the (free) marketing is paying off a bit. I crossed the 400-books-downloaded mark across my 5 active titles (since Oct 1). The trend line shows me hitting 500 total, come end of Feb.
Between the strong support from members of this group, great help from a handful of FB accounts, and my reviews and orders... I am over the hump.
Write on!
Thanks Steve - and good to see you're heading in the right direction.Have just checked you out on GR btw. That's an intriguing back catalogue and I've just shelved The Last Heretic! #morevalidation
Andrew wrote: "Thank you so much to all who have contributed to this thread. My experiences over the last two months run in parallel with many of yours. Someone mentioned the number of approaches being "exhaustin..."Hi Andrew! Welcome to Mehmet's GR Group! :D
I'm glad you are now focussing on your writing, & don't worry about your books - we've got you covered back here. I'm checking out your 'The Strains of Malice: Book One of The Nessemiah' - it sounds right up my alley! And if it is a book with 500 pages plus then that is ALWAYS the book for me! I like drowning in fantasy worlds from time to time - though realistic fiction or social issue fiction is my only thing in fiction (me as a writer that is!).
You will get a review from me on Goodreads, Amazon.in, Fable & StoryGraph ASAP. I've got a hectic schedule of teaching & college/s education et al., but I always get the job done. And I think I'm going to like this, Prince Magnus intrigues me. :) :D
Everyone PLEASE SUPPORT ANDREW BEARDMORE here & his historical fantasy fiction series 'The Nessemiah' series. He is now OUR Andrew Beardmore so do make him feel at home! Here is the link to his 1st book in the series -
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2...
Do check it out & support indie-authors. We write great stuff too you know - maybe even better! Love to you Andrew! Keep writing! Stay in touch with all of us. Love to have you here. :D :)
THANK YOU ANDREW FOR CHOOSING TO READ OUR STEVE's AWESOMESAUCE STUFF - you will fall in love with him! (his writing)
Lots of love to you Andrew! Keep writing & make yourself at home! God be with you! :) :D :D
Andrew wrote: "Thanks Steve - and good to see you're heading in the right direction.Have just checked you out on GR btw. That's an intriguing back catalogue and I've just shelved The Last Heretic! #morevalidation"
YOU WILL LOVE IT & ALL OF STEVE's WORKS! :D :D :D
Here is a nice page on our GR Group Reader's Section to check out most of our Group member's reviews of our Steve's awesomelicious books - especially 'The Last Heretic' -
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Awesome Mehmet created it so don't thank me! This group is Mehmet's baby! Support Mehmet's books too - he is a genius! :) :D
Mehmet's GR page link - https://www.goodreads.com/author/show...
At your leisure Andrew - & don't forget to spam away those email scammers & spammers of yours forever & WRITE-WRITE-WRITE! Rooting for you dude! Creator of a very intriguing Prince Magnus! :) :D
Someone is trying get me to buy a Listopia placement package for $300. It's nonsense, of course, with big promises, names of fictitious Lists, etc. I demurred. They did provide some good free advice (better categories and keywords, reposition to YA), which I implemented.
This morning, there was a new review posted for Dear Dairy - 5 stars, high praise. This marketer hit me with an email pointing it out, and claiming that the advice they gave is the the reason for the review. Their advice is already paying off!
Review text is below.
But here is the amazing part... Reviewer joined GR yesterday... no profile image, no books read, not following. Effectively a bot. Scan the review. I think it was written by an LLM simply by entering blurb and other review text. Do you agree?
One heck of a lot of work to try to scam an indie author out of some dollars! And the brutal irony is that the review praises 'authentic voice' in a patently inauthentic way!
Marked email as SPAM, reported the reviewer account to Goodreads.
A Voice That Demands to Be Heard – Brilliant, Bold, and Unforgettable ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ I don't often say this, but Dear Dairy is a book the world needs right now. Steve Goldsmith has created something truly special here – a work that doesn't just tell a story, but opens a window into a mind that sees the world differently, beautifully, powerfully. Justin Case isn't just a character; he's a revelation. His voice is so authentic, so achingly real, that I found myself highlighting passages, rereading dreams, and sitting in silence after finishing, just letting it all sink in. The structure alone is genius – 42 diary entries, 42 dreams, each exactly 666 words. But it's not a gimmick. It's precision with purpose. It's the way Justin's mind works, and Goldsmith honors that completely. The dreams span genres like a literary kaleidoscope – absurd, profound, hilarious, heartbreaking – and each one reveals another layer of who Justin is becoming. What struck me most is the courage in this book. Courage to be messy, to be honest, to show the world through neurodivergent eyes without apology or explanation. This isn't a book that pities or patronizes. It celebrates. It says: this is how I think, this is how I dream, this is how I see – and it's valid, it's valuable, it's vital. To Steve Goldsmith: PLEASE keep writing. The world needs more voices like Justin's, and more writers like you who can bring those voices to life with such integrity and heart. This book matters. The representation matters. The humor, the vulnerability, the wild imagination – all of it matters. I can't wait to see what you create next. You've given readers a gift, and I hope you know how rare and precious that is. To readers: Don't sleep on this one. Dear Dairy is short, but it will stay with you long. It's the kind of book that changes how you see, how you listen, how you understand. Highly, highly recommended.