Dear O'Abby: Is this a real thing?

 Dear O'Abby,

I was recently sent an email from a film production company asking about optioning my book for a film.  Obviously, I was very excited by this, but something about the way the email looked and was worded made me think it might not be 100% genuine.  

Do you know anything about this kind of thing?  I don't want to pass up an amazing opportunity if it's real, but I also don't want to get caught out by a scam.

Yours Truly,

Unscammable

Dear Unscammable,

Firstly, good for you, reaching out when it felt a bit off.  Too many writers don't question these things and there are a lot of unscrupulous people out there preying on writers' dreams.

Basically, any out-of-the-blue offer like this should be treated carefully.  Agents and production companies and publishers don't tend to approach writers for content.  Firstly, they tend to have far too much to deal with already without soliciting, and secondly, if a producer really wanted to option your book, they would first approach your publisher.  Of course, if you are self-published, that might be you, but it's still probably not real.

I suggest you take a look at Writer Beware as Victoria Strauss has been investigating scams that sound a lot like this one (as well as several others).  If your email looks different, it might be worth sending it to her as she will be able to tell you if it's genuine or not.  I've done that myself and she replies very promptly.

It's sad that it's the case, but a good rule of thumb is to always treat these kinds of emails as fake until you can get uncontestable proof that they're real.

Hope that helps!

X O'Abby

Dear O'Abby: Is this real?

 Dear O'Abby,

I recently received an email from a major film studio saying they're interested in my book.  Obviously this is really exciting news, but something feels off about the email.  They're asking for some quite personal information and also for some money for a special kind of copyright.

So, before I reply, I just wanted to check if this kind of thing is normal?  And is it legit?

Best,

Suspicious

Dear Suspicious,

You are 100% correct in being cautious here.  This is not the way studios go about optioning books, and you should never expect to pay for the privilege.  They should be paying you!

This is a scam and one that has been ongoing for some time - the name of the production company changes from time to time, but the wording of the email and the basic premise remains the same.  Writer Beware has blogged about it a couple of times, here and here.

It is very unlikely that any legitimate publishing industry professional will contact you out of the blue for any reason, so any time you're contacted in this way, be suspicious.  Most editors and agents are far too busy with their existing and querying clients to be cold-calling authors they have no connection to, so it is unlikely that an offer that comes in like this is anything other than a scam.

So, sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but better to know before you get scammed, right?

X O'Abby

Dear O'Abby: I think this might be a scam....

Dear O'Abby,

I am a self-published author with a couple of books available and recently I received a very nice email from a publishing company saying they had really enjoyed my books and would like to professionally publish them.  They promised great distribution and increased sales through their excellent marketing team.

Now, my books haven't sold well.  Marketing isn't really my strong point, and getting my books noticed when there are so many other self-pubbed books out there seems to be nearly impossible.  I've spent money on ads and blog tours and spent far too much of my writing time chasing reviewers. So this offer is tempting.

It just feels off... Am I being paranoid, or is this a scam?

Yours,

Fearful

Dear Fearful,

I'm afraid to say, it's probably a scam.  Unfortunately, you probably won't be able to tell for sure until you see a contract from this organization.  But the way they are operating makes it sound like one of the growing number of predatory organizations that are preying on self-pubbed authors.

These 'publishers' promise high quality books, great distribution and guaranteed best-seller status on Amazon.  And on the surface, they look like legitimate publishers.

They're not.

Once you dive into their rabbit holes, they are a giant money-sucking machine that will not generate anything like what they have promised.  You will be faced with fees for your cover design, your edits and possibly even required to buy a certain, large number of your own books at a 'special' price.  And often the contract they offer won't make any of this obvious, obscuring exorbitant fees behind language like 'reasonable costs' and 'author contribution'.

It's important to do due diligence any time an offer comes in.  In every case the money should be coming to you as the author.  If a publisher asks you to pay for anything up-front, they are likely to be a self-publishing company masquerading as something else.  Publishers take a share of the sales of your book to cover their costs and it doesn't always pay off.  That's a risk they take.  These scam publishers ask authors to cover costs so it doesn't matter to them if the book never sells.

Before signing anything with any publisher, check them out.  Writer Beware has lists of scam publishers that grow weekly as well as a blog full of horror stories about them.  Preditors and Editors also offers red flags on publishers that may not be legit.  And the Absolute Write Water Cooler is another place to find out what kind of experience authors have had with given publishers, although you often have to wade through a lot of comments before you find something useful.

The takeaway here is to remember that old saying: if something seems too good to be true, it probably is...

X O'Abby