Know Jack #464 Lambs Among Wolves

“I beg of you, watch yourself. Be on guard. This place is full of vultures. Vultures, vultures everywhere…”    from the movie Casablanca.

If you are familiar with the movie, you know the man giving this warning was busy picking the other fellow’s pocket while he was speaking. The scene is in the movie to shine a light on the rampant corruption in the city.

Print-on-demand technology and e-book software have been a boon for writers. Anyone can write a book, format it, design a cover, and offer it for sale on Amazon, the largest marketplace for books, all for zero dollars. I know I’ve done it. The book sold beyond my expectations (though maybe not beyond my dreams) and after four years, is still selling copies almost every day.

Like a wild west boomtown, this publishing bonanza has brought with it opportunists offering anything and everything—for a price. They played on the dreams of those scratching out a living with the sole purpose of separating them from their earnings. Whether we’re talking about prospectors, would-be college students, or new authors there are vultures, vultures everywhere.

Perhaps nowhere do these vultures flock in larger numbers than on social media, and with good reason. Where does a self-published author with a limited budget advertise—on the free range of social media. I cringe when I hear how much new writers have shelled out on editors, cover designers, and the like to self-publish.

There are always stories of those who did the same and hit the mother lode. Many of them are even true. That’s what keeps the prospectors coming and the empty-handed grasping at straws. Promises of slick marketing gimmicks, stunning video trailers, and expert advice that will suddenly revive a dead book for a minimal cost are almost irresistible.

Let me stress that none of these things are illegal, immoral, or illegitimate. They are not necessarily scams. They may indeed deliver what they promise as far as completing the tasks they offer. Promises of sales are invariably inflated if not outright deceptions. It’s like hiring a personal injury lawyer. They may indeed sue on your behalf, but because they got Bubba a million-dollar award is no guarantee they will get one for you. As I said, these practices aren’t illegal, they are just predatory. They feed on the dreams of fortune and fame that fill the eyes of novices.

A search team looking for a missing camper came up empty and hopes were gone. However, one search knew just how to find the body. He told the group to wait, the vultures would show them where to find the body. Sadly, that approach worked. Sounds pretty callous, doesn’t it?

Writing is a tough business, watch yourself. Be on guard. The literary world is full of vultures. Vultures, vultures everywhere.