Lots of writers end up breaking their dad’s heart, but not the way I did. He called me out of the blue one day, breathless, because a publisher was trying to get ahold of me. They really loved my book and wanted to speak to me right away.

It was a scam. By then, I’d gotten a dozen phone calls just like it. Unsurprisingly, they had progressed from harassing me to bothering my elderly relatives, the backbone of the fraud industry. If you’re an indie author, you’d better be prepared for the endless barrage of bullshit like this.

“Scammers call my dad's house a lot regarding the first book I had published in 2008,” says Jessica McHugh, author of Strange Nests, when I asked for similar stories on the Horror Writers Association Facebook group. “And since he doesn't seem to listen to any of my recent publishing news, he thinks this voicemail about a book I wrote in my early 20s will be my big break and always calls to let me know.”

The scams are typically based in the Philippines despite having American or Canadian numbers. They offer a variety of services, all of which are ineffective, overpriced, and/or attempts to get at your banking information. Some offer “rebranding” of your existing work, others want to sign you up for ads in magazines that no one reads and which may not exist. Sometimes they want to sell you packages from promotions that include email blasts, book fair displays, and other items.

It can be frustrating because indie authors (and even a lot of traditionally published ones) are expected to do the bulk of their own marketing. Plenty of legitimate companies will help you with email marketing, NetGalley reviews, and blog tours. Sometimes it can be hard to tell the difference.

There are two ways. The first is to head over to the Writers Beware scam archive. They keep an exhaustive list of companies that target authors. The good thing about author scams is that they know they have to sound legit to reel you in, so they tend to leave a trail of official-sounding fronts in their wake.

The second is simple and a little heartbreaking: no one is going to call you out of the blue to make your book a hit. That sort of thing happens so rarely its best to pretend that it doesn’t really exist. They want you on the phone because that’s the easiest way to pressure you into spending money. Grifters count on the social contract and their mark’s hopes to keep them talking and sharing information.

You may be tempted to call these people back to see if they are legit, but don’t. Tricking people is what they do all day long, and it’s a bad idea to test your ability to see through bullshit too much. If you’re wrong, it could cost you a lot of money.

In the end, the best thing to do when it comes to marketing your book is to stick with companies that you can verify deliver the goods. Any legit operation will happily provide references, and I don’t know any author that isn’t willing to confirm it if something worked for them.

Don’t let your dream of literary fame lead you into a trap. If someone wants to make a movie out of your book, they’ll have an assistant email you and leave a number for an actual production company. Real successful people are way too busy to cold call a random author.