An IWSG Day Feedback Session

  

Purpose: To share and encourage. Writers can express doubts and concerns without fear of appearing foolish or weak. Those who have been through the fire can offer assistance and guidance. It’s a safe haven for insecure writers of all kinds!

Posting: The first Wednesday of every month is officially Insecure Writer’s Support Group day. Post your thoughts on your own blog. Talk about your doubts and the fears you have conquered. Discuss your struggles and triumphs. Offer a word of encouragement for others who are struggling. Visit others in the group and connect with your fellow writer - aim for a dozen new people each time - and return comments. This group is all about connecting! Be sure to link to this page and display the badge in your post. 

And please be sure your avatar links back to your blog! Otherwise, when you leave a comment, people can't find you to comment back.

Let’s rock the neurotic writing world!

Our Twitter handle is @TheIWSG and hashtag is #IWSG.

The awesome co-hosts for the May 6th posting of the IWSG are Jenni Enzor, Jemima Pett, Jamie of Uniquely Maladjusted but Fun, and Kim Lajevardi!

Every month, we announce a question that members can answer in their IWSG post. These questions may prompt you to share advice, insight, a personal experience or story. Include your answer to the question in your IWSG post or let it inspire your post if you are struggling with something to say. 

Remember, the question is optional!

May 6th Question - What was the most inspiring feedback you received from readers, including agents, editors, and beta readers?

Also have been asked to share the below for anyone interested:

Starting June 1, 2026, The Novelry—the international online fiction writing school—is hosting a nine-week editing program that will guide writers through the editing process to confidently take their next steps towards a finished manuscript.

The Big Edit Challenge will be delivered by The Novelry’s in-house editorial team, who have all worked for the Big Five publishing houses. The program includes interactive workshops, expert-led study groups, pitching panels, live guest events, and a warm, vibrant community space for support and accountability. Writers will learn how to better edit their own work and experience how editors and writers work together to elevate a novel to publishing standards.

The Big Edit Challenge has been designed to complement The Novelry’s editing course, The Big Edit. The challenge is available to all writers who subscribe to one of The Novelry’s courses, and will be most useful for writers with a complete draft ready to edit.

The program is structured around four essential phases: idea development, story development, structural editing, and line editing.

More information is available at: https://www.thenovelry.com/courses/the-big-edit

Got any inspiring feedback from anyone concerning your writing? How is your writing going? 

How to Spot an AI Publishing Scam

 Photo by Markus Winkler on Unsplash

By Marissa DeCuir 

Recently one of our Books Forward authors Susan Fletcher received a strange email from someone she didn’t recognize, which began: 

Subject: A captivating retelling of The Little Mermaid, let’s help it shine on Goodreads 

Hi Susan, 

Sea Change is a gorgeously layered YA romance that explores identity, love, and the courage to make impossible choices. Turtle’s struggle between her Mer life and her growing connection with Kai feels so authentic and achingly relatable, especially for readers navigating their own sense of belonging. The novel’s world-building and ethical questions about genetic evolution are equally compelling, elevating it beyond a love story into something much more resonant. 

As a professional book marketer who works closely with YA and middle-grade authors, I’d love to help extend the reach of Sea Change. At Boundless Book Promotion, my campaigns focus on long-term discovery, high-engagement spaces like Goodreads, and community placements that connect with readers, both young and adult, hungry for books like yours… 

The email went on to outline a “tailored visibility strategy”, and was signed by “Jenny J. Conwell - Founder, Boundless Book Promotion”, with a Gmail address. 

A quick Google search led to a barren website (little more than a Wordpress “Contact” page) and a Reddit thread which seemed to confirm what Susan suspected: Boundless Book Promotion is part of the new wave of AI scammers aggressively targeting authors.  

The most common type of AI scams we’ve been seeing include:

• Fake publicity firms with bogus marketing services (Victoria Strauss at Writers Beware has a great post on this, warning about LitFlare Marketing, Abdull Pro, and Book Niche)
• Fake Bookstagrammer accounts promising reviews (see my article in Writer’s Digest)
• Fake online book clubs that engage enthusiastically with authors but inevitably ask for money (author Jason Sanford wrote about witnessing this firsthand in his Genre Grapevine newsletter)
• Impersonations of real agents, editors, publishing executives, and even other authors (see Writers Beware’s report)

And that’s not even scratching the surface of indie authors who hire an editor, cover artist, or audiobook voice actor, only to receive AI-generated results in return.  

 Photo by Immo Wegmann on Unsplash

So how do you protect yourself from the AI scam onslaught? 

1). Be wary of unsolicited emails or DMs from publicists, reviewers, and publishing executives.  

Real publicists and publishing execs don’t cold-message authors in order to represent them (in fact, it’s the other way around!). Book reviewers are sent dozens of books every week; they don’t have to chase authors. If you receive an unsolicited message, don’t click on attachments or links (google their website instead). And if the sender starts asking for money (a fee, a tip, etc) then that’s a HUGE red flag! 

2). Do some sleuthing to make sure the person who is contacting you is who they say they are. 

Impersonations can be convincing. See if you can independently verify the sender’s contact details by googling them before you respond. Professional publishing execs and publicists do not email authors from generic Gmail accounts. If you do respond, remember that book clubs, agents, publishers, and event organizers will not require a fee for working with you. If they mention a fee, you are most likely dealing with a scammer!  

3). Check their website to confirm which authors they’ve worked with.  

Publicists and publishing professionals will usually list which authors they’re working with, or have worked with the past. And they’ll often showcase their authors’ testimonials, case studies, news updates, event notices, or social media tags. If they claim to represent certain authors, double check those authors’ social media pages to confirm they are real, and that the relationship is legitimate.  

 Photo by Shahadat Rahman on Unsplash

4). Check the sender’s social media and tags for recent and authentic activity.  

Have they tagged or been tagged by real author accounts? Do their posts feature photos of real people and books? Do they have engagement (comments, etc) from real accounts? A quick check through their social media will give you a better sense of who you’re dealing with! 

5). Set up a call.  

A short video call can help you confirm the person’s identity, and give you a better sense of whether they are legitimate.  

AI scams can be hard to spot at first glance. But with a little caution and savviness, you can spot them, protect your money and time, and ensure that your book ends up where it belongs: in the hands of authentic readers and advocates who want to celebrate your work.  

 

Marissa DeCuir is a real person, as far as she knows. She’s the president of Books Forward, a veteran author publicity and book marketing firm that represents real bestselling and debut authors from all over the world. As a former award-winning journalist, she approaches book promotion with a reporter’s mindset—and feels particularly passionate about helping authors differentiate fact from fiction.