As an author, I’ve been inundated lately with AI-written emails from so-called “book clubs” offering to feature one of my books.
Funny thing is, they can insert any one of my eight books currently on Amazon into their email campaign, and somehow the message is almost always the same.
Different name.
Different logo.
Same pitch.
They tell me they love my work, they want to help promote my book, and they can get it in front of eager readers.
I <insert sarcasm here> love that they want to help.
And then, somewhere along the way, the generous offer reveals itself.
For a fee.
Here’s the part that makes my eyebrow do the warrior lift: almost none of them offer any substantial proof that they are an actual book club.
No website.
No active Facebook group.
No Meetup page.
No visible community of readers.
No real evidence of people gathering, reading, discussing, or supporting books.
Just a polished email, a vague promise, and eventually… an invoice.
To the real book clubs out there, I appreciate you. Truly.
Real readers matter.
Real conversations matter.
Real communities matter.
But to the fake “book clubs” filling authors’ inboxes with copy-and-paste promises…
Maybe read the book before trying to sell me the bookshelf.
