Reading · Jodi Spins Stories

It seems like every author I know has been getting absolutely inundated with fake “book club” requests, or offers to “help more readers discover” their book. But one thing that’s concerning me . . . some people think these requests are real,1 and they’re going to get scammed.

As someone who gets both — real and fake requests — let me help you spot the difference. It’s easier than you think.

Here’s one I instantly deleted (and had to dig through my trash folder to retrieve for you) when it came in:

Hello Jodi,
I just came across Nightrender on Amazon, and I have to say, I am completely captivated. Your ability to craft a world where reality bends, kingdoms clash, and mortal stakes intertwine with the mystical is breathtaking. The story is thrilling, complex, and imaginative, yet the universal themes of love, friendship, and hope make it deeply relatable. Nightrender is the kind of fantasy that sweeps readers off their feet while making them care profoundly about the people and immortal warriors within its pages.
I specialize in connecting extraordinary books like yours with over 10,000 active book clubs, both online and in-person. Many of these groups focus on young adult and adult fantasy, adventure, and epic storytelling. Your book would resonate beautifully with readers roughly aged 18 to 75, particularly those who love immersive worlds, morally complex characters, and action that keeps hearts racing while minds engaged.
When book clubs take on a story like Nightrender, the discussions can become electric. Members analyze the magic systems, debate alliances, and explore the character arcs, creating lively engagement that often results in dozens of thoughtful reviews and sometimes up to 100 within just a couple of weeks. This approach can dramatically increase visibility, boost sales, and build a long-term audience that is deeply invested in your work.
I would be thrilled to help more readers discover the breathtaking adventure of Nightrender. If this sounds like something you would love to explore, just reply with “Interested.” That one word will genuinely make my day because I love seeing book club members help authors increase visibility while celebrating their extraordinary stories.
Your world is dazzling, your characters unforgettable, and your story has the potential to reach far more readers than you might expect. I would love to help it happen.

Good. Freaking. Lord.

First of all, why is it so long? I grew three new gray hairs while reading this!

But look at the language. It’s overly flattering, and for some reason, it’s giving me a review of my own book. In fact, some of the stuff in here actually seems to be pulled from reviews or marketing materials.

Most of the scammy requests I get look like this. To me, this looks like it was generated by a LLM. I won’t go over every single red flag in here — I already wrote a letter about red flags and most of those apply to this as well — but a few other things to note:

Teeth-grindingly flattering. It feels insincere because it is.
No real ask except that I engage — and use their keyword “interested.” Hmm. I suppose if I wrote back, they’d give me their rates?
A lot of big . . . not really promises, but suggestions of things that could happen. It’s wildly unrealistic.
Nightrender would appeal to readers from 18-75? It's . . . a YA book. Yes, adults can (and should — go ahead!) read it, but why that enormous age range that doesn’t even include my target audience? loling forever.

Also, if someone wants to tell everyone they know about my book, they don’t need my permission. Book clubs can pick it if they want.

In fact, that’s exactly what they do. Most real requests sound like this:2

Hi! I am a teacher/librarian/bookseller at [specific school/public library/bookstore]. My class/book club is reading Bye Forever, I Guess, and we would love to Zoom with you! Would it be possible to set this up? We’re hoping for [date] or [date] at [time].

Gosh, what a short, to-the-point message! I know exactly who this person is, why they’re contacting me, and what they want. They don’t need to butter me up. They didn’t need my permission to have Bye Forever be their book club book. If they say something nice about my books, it’s that the kids love it, or it’s up for an award (I can double check that these are legitimate) in their state, or they’re teaching it with an SEL someone made.

None of them are trying to sell me anything.

But Jodi, you may be saying, that first email didn’t say they were trying to sell you anything!

Not yet!

Give it a few replies. Eventually, that “if this sounds like something you would love to explore” turns into a “for the discounted price of $” and gosh that sounds like a good deal, especially considering all the things that could happen!

A lot of them won’t ask for money upfront, or be clear about their pricing, because they know that comes across as scammy. So they wait until you’ve “engaged” with this person3 for a few rounds and you feel like they’re being genuine . . . and maybe you owe it to them to go ahead and pay, since they’ve already spent so much time with you. (That’s sunk-cost fallacy, and it can apply to time as well as money.)

So that’s it.

That’s the difference.

Look, I know it can be tempting to engage with these emails, either because they’re so flattering and we authors are often starving for validation, or because it seems funny to hassle the sender.

But honestly, just delete them. Block the email addresses.

Real requests are kind but straightforward. The people writing them have a thousand other things to do, and they assume you do, too, so they’re not going to waste time with hyperbolic flattery. If they want you to do a book club visit, you can assume they think your book is good and worth discussing.

Also, when it comes to replying to the scammy emails: don’t bother. People have already done this and you can find their experiences if you really want to know how that went. It’s not going to be any different for you.

And please understand this: you’re not wasting a real person’s time. You’re talking to a bot. You’re wasting your own time.4

Bonus content, since this happened recently, too:

It wasn’t a book club request, but an email from a “film agent” saying they’d read my book and wanted to help me get it on screen. There were several tells on this one:

They said “your book,” but I have eighteen books. A real agent would be more specific about which book.
The message was clearly generated by a LLM.
The email address was a gmail address, not an agency address. So it went like [agent.name][agency]@gmail.com But the agency they were claiming to be from definitely has its own email thingie. It should have been something like [agent.name]@[agency].com
The agent they were impersonating is a real agent at a real agency (a big one), but she represents books, not film, and that was easy to find by going to the agency website (I searched; I didn’t click on any of the links in the email) and finding her page.
A real film agent would probably have reached out to my literary agent, since that contact information is easy to find. They would also see that I already have film agents, both for the Lady Janies books and for my solo books.5

That scammer was barely trying, I swear.

Anyway, I forwarded the email to my agent, so she could let the other agent — the one being impersonated — know that this was going on.

Stay safe out there, folks!

Button things:

Real vs. fake "book club" requests

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