I reached a point this week where I was fed up with all the emails about how to market, buy this, subscribe to that, hire this consultant, or sign up for that course. “Become a best selling author!” 

Most are from people I never heard of before. Clearly many of these people made all their money from preying on eager writers. I’ve tried talking to some of them, to vet them, and their true colors often come out. They don’t give a darn about what you or I do. I’m not saying they aren’t legit, or even that they are scams. Many are just into milking desperate writers for a few bucks.

And all I could think of was how much these purchases and incessant emails got in the way of me enjoying the simple task of writing.

Some are good. Some intrigued me. I got blown off by one, so I unsubscribed. Many of them are in the job for now, until sales drop, then they redesign themselves to be something else for what appears to be a fresh idea for a new round of buck-collecting.

What I am saying is this about these people trying to make money off the backs of writers:

1. Who are their success stories?
2. Where is their website?
3. How long have they been in business, and as what? (Are they bouncing around with different aliases?)
4. Do they appear to be genuine people? Are their hearts in it?
5. Are they willing to hold a conversation (or share email) with you?
6. What makes them an expert in the world of writing and publishing? If they haven’t done either, and done it well, why are they worth listening to? What qualifies them to teach you how to be famous in something they are not doing themselves and becoming famous doing?

I’m not saying to pick a fight with anyone. But if any part of you feels like it’s being tugged or deceived, just walk away. You owe them no explanation. And you don’t need to waste time on them.