I've gotten a bunch of scams, but if this is a scam, it's the best one I've read among the half dozen flattering invitations I've gotten. Do you know anyone at Macmillan these days? Maybe write to her c/o Macmillan and see if she is impersonating real editor or she is the real deal.
She has certainly paid attention to what you've written. My scammers couldn't even name the book they were interested in, and when they did, it was the last novel like memoir I'd ever written.
Total scam. I've received at least half a dozen of these for my books and my clients' books. All AI generated, and they steal someone's actual identity to make it look like it's from a legit publishing professional.
We had a hotel use AI as a “receptionist” and when we asked to speak with a real person, it claimed it was a real person but it was absolutely 100% not a real human being. It was so creepy. We were finally able to speak to a real person but what an ordeal. We had heard this fake AI voice before… that’s what tipped us off and as the conversation continued it became obvious but seriously, we couldn’t believe it insisted that it was a real person. I am sure we were not misreading a person with poor social skills. It really is crazy! It’s the main reason I am no longer using social media for my own sharing. I like Substack but even here, I am very cautious. At least I am no longer arguing with Bots on Facebook! What a waste of time.
Hey there - I just typed Anna DeVries, Macmillan publishing into Google, and the results CERTAINLY appear real to me. I doubt she's a scam. What you just published came up about 4 in the results queue, but everything else there appears legit - a picture, many different articles which would be almost impossible to create as Google results if attempting a fraud. You might have done the same before making your allegation, no?
SCAMALICIOUS. Coincidentally, I was just editing an alert that we're sending to all our authors about the proliferation of scams, but this one to you is really the cat's pajamas. More common are ones claiming your book has been selected for a prestigious book club and requesting files of the book (and eventually money) or telling new authors that their book is entirely missing its core audience that they know how to reach better than the publisher.
Isn't Anna DeVries a real person? Why does that name sound so familiar? If they ask you for money in any form, you walk away knowing its a scam. I would contact McMillan (however that happens) and ask about this employee.
Flattering letter with a tempting offer.. Relish it for a few minutes as if (and maybe it is) real. Then refuse the attention or ignore it. Your Art doesn't need to be sullied by the commercial ....dare I say Capitalist....world (though I know none of us are free of it if we want to pay the rent).
Recently....like yesterday....I was reading an interview with Neo Rauch (German painter...unsettling) in which he said to think of him as a "Peristaltic Filtration System". These mechanisms are able to keep pure an entity requiring testing....like DNA. He doesn't want to be distracted from or touched by what he and his art are up to. I guess it means....take the monetary reward but not the Kudos. However, it is an established fact all Poet Laureates should be well praised.
I don't think it's a scam. It reads like McMillan is sending its AI out to writers on a fishing expedition to see what they bring in!
I've gotten a bunch of scams, but if this is a scam, it's the best one I've read among the half dozen flattering invitations I've gotten. Do you know anyone at Macmillan these days? Maybe write to her c/o Macmillan and see if she is impersonating real editor or she is the real deal.
She has certainly paid attention to what you've written. My scammers couldn't even name the book they were interested in, and when they did, it was the last novel like memoir I'd ever written.
I'll write her and see
Total scam. I've received at least half a dozen of these for my books and my clients' books. All AI generated, and they steal someone's actual identity to make it look like it's from a legit publishing professional.
Hey Claire … I think you accidentally sent this as a response to my comment.
Guessing you already know how publishing works
We had a hotel use AI as a “receptionist” and when we asked to speak with a real person, it claimed it was a real person but it was absolutely 100% not a real human being. It was so creepy. We were finally able to speak to a real person but what an ordeal. We had heard this fake AI voice before… that’s what tipped us off and as the conversation continued it became obvious but seriously, we couldn’t believe it insisted that it was a real person. I am sure we were not misreading a person with poor social skills. It really is crazy! It’s the main reason I am no longer using social media for my own sharing. I like Substack but even here, I am very cautious. At least I am no longer arguing with Bots on Facebook! What a waste of time.
On the other hand, maybe AI finally came up with a good fake letter of praise overing everything!
funny
Hey there - I just typed Anna DeVries, Macmillan publishing into Google, and the results CERTAINLY appear real to me. I doubt she's a scam. What you just published came up about 4 in the results queue, but everything else there appears legit - a picture, many different articles which would be almost impossible to create as Google results if attempting a fraud. You might have done the same before making your allegation, no?
I got one of these from an editor with a big publisher in Germany.
cContacted the company and while she's real, the pitch was not. Beware.
I did. But I also checked her email address, which looks fake to me
With billions of web-connected folks how does one spot a fake email address? I obviously would need to know.
you can see that she made macmillan a fake part of the address. instead of her name at macmillan
SCAMALICIOUS. Coincidentally, I was just editing an alert that we're sending to all our authors about the proliferation of scams, but this one to you is really the cat's pajamas. More common are ones claiming your book has been selected for a prestigious book club and requesting files of the book (and eventually money) or telling new authors that their book is entirely missing its core audience that they know how to reach better than the publisher.
Isn't Anna DeVries a real person? Why does that name sound so familiar? If they ask you for money in any form, you walk away knowing its a scam. I would contact McMillan (however that happens) and ask about this employee.
Holy moly!
Something about it seems slick and ingenuine.
I too have received scams… have been scammed, but fortunately checked the game out before losing money for BS.
Oddly, maybe 16 years back, I worked for a company that I had to leave when I saw the bull.
I couldn't do the push, shove, keep encouraging a potential buyer, till they bought or hung up?!?!?
Actually, it was there that I first learned of LinkedIn… the resource reality of what I initially thought this business might offer.
Don't Call Me… is my motto…
Flattering letter with a tempting offer.. Relish it for a few minutes as if (and maybe it is) real. Then refuse the attention or ignore it. Your Art doesn't need to be sullied by the commercial ....dare I say Capitalist....world (though I know none of us are free of it if we want to pay the rent).
Recently....like yesterday....I was reading an interview with Neo Rauch (German painter...unsettling) in which he said to think of him as a "Peristaltic Filtration System". These mechanisms are able to keep pure an entity requiring testing....like DNA. He doesn't want to be distracted from or touched by what he and his art are up to. I guess it means....take the monetary reward but not the Kudos. However, it is an established fact all Poet Laureates should be well praised.
Insidious
See https://us.macmillan.com/publishing-fraud-alert/
not just macmillan. everywhere. really crazy