The D.R.O.P Gut Check: A Strategy for Spotting Scams -

This was first published on my Patreon page, but I thought you should see it too.

Typo-filled emails with false urgency used to be the tell-tale hallmark of a scammer, but now AI makes every pitch look professional. I created an acroymn to help writers (you) think about scams and scammers in a different way. Things have changed and your methods of detection have to change too. D.R.O.P is a gut-check for writers to use before they sign, pay, or share their work.

D — Don’t be in a hurry

In the past, scammers used scarcity: “sign by tonight or lose this offer,” “only 4 spots left in this anthology.” The urgency was a way to get writers to act fast!

Now, the scarcity trick comes with a cousin—being discovered, which causes a lot of writers to lower their guard. You get a DM on TikTok or a response to something you posted online.

“I found your writing and want to option it for a series.” “I love your latest book, it deserves a larger audience,” “I’d love to showcase your latest release on my podcast (in my book club).”

The cold-email pitch has been replaced with a personal entreaty—it sounds so real, so human.

But, it probably isn’t.

And even if it is…Real opportunities can wait a few days, real interest can survive a week of silence. If someone found you and it’s genuine, they’ll still want you next week…even next month.

People who really want to work with you will give you the time you need. You’ll get more than one chance.

R — Research twice

Due diligence used to look like this: search the agent, contest name or publisher alongside the word “scam” or “complaints” and see the results. You could check watchdog sites like Writer Beware or the ALLi Watchdog list. Those days are gone.

Nowadays, it’s possible that nice-looking website isn’t real. Or—worse—the literary agent, the publisher, the movie producer is real with a public track record you can verify BUT they’re not the ones reaching out to you. Someone else is.

It’s now your job to check twice. One as a cursory check; one as a deeper dive. Make sure who (or what) is actually reaching out to you. Checking for the use of a free email address is fine to begin, but look closer.

Chose your own measuring system, don’t follow the leads the person reaching out to you gives: “If you have any questions you can contact my assistant,” or “I’ll get our production manager to discuss this with you,” or “This is an author who’s used our services, she’ll answer any questions.” Do your own digging. Check sites out for yourself, contact the person at a different address. Yes, this will take time, refer back to point one —don’t be in a hurry.

O— Own your rights

Anything in a contract that says: “all rights,” “in perpetuity,” or “all future works,” are a reason to run BUT you can’t stop there. Newer (sneakier) traps that sound writer-friendly are showing up in contracts. Here are two examples: (1) reversion-of-rights clauses with a sales threshold set so low the book basically never reverts to you. (2) broad language, sometimes buried in “derivative work” clauses, granting the publisher rights to use your work in ways you hadn’t considered.

Read every contract, slowly. I mean every one. Whether you’re entering a contest, distributing your work on a platform, hiring an interior designer for your manuscript, signing with a small, medium, big, hybrid publisher—anything!—take time to read every contract clause. Know about what you are exchanging, what rights you are licensing (not selling!). Sneaky scammers prey on your innocence. (Side note: I’ve heard stories of cover artists, editors and interior book designers trying to convince writers they had partial ownership of their manuscript—fortunately, you know better, right?).

Take time to understand (refer to the top) what rights they are asking for, never sign away more than necessary and know exactly what you’re giving up before you sign.

P — Pay for a service, not a promise

Coined by the American author James D Macdonald, Yog’s Law, became the golden rule of publishing: “money should flow to the writer,” not away from them in the form of fees.

Legitimate agents used to work on commission after a sale; real publishers didn’t charge “production fees” or “marketing fees” to represent or publish a writer. However, ethic changes within the literary agent field and the rise of indie and hybrid publishing has changed these dynamics, confusing many writers. I want to try to clear up that confusion.

The new reality is about who you’re paying and what you’re paying for.

Think of it as a simple equation: specific need (hiring/choosing someone) + specific deliverable (something you can point to) = desirable outcome.

In practical terms it looks like this: Hiring a cover designer, a freelance copyeditor, or an ad manager can get you a cover file, an edited manuscript or a completed ad campaign. That’s legitimate.

However, if someone who is supposed to profit from selling your work (agent, publisher, literary scout) contacts you and nudges you to their “recommended editing/marketing service”, or tells you about a vague promise (“guaranteed bestseller campaign”) rather than a concrete deliverable, think again.

Here’s a two-part test to apply whenever you’re in doubt:

1. Did I choose this vendor? Did they come to me? or Was I steered to them? Hiring your own copyeditor = fine. An agent saying “I’ll represent you once you pay my in-house editor $1,500” = red flag, especially if they get a cut.

2. Am I paying for something specific, or for access/hope? This is where emotions can get you into trouble. Pay for something definite—falsifiable. A defined edit, cover, or ad run (with measurable metrics not hype)= fine. Paying to be “considered,” “published,” “prioritized,” or “chosen” = red flag.

So, back to Yog’s Law, money should flow toward the writer from sales. The scam isn’t the payment, it’s disguising a promise as a professional service.

And that’s it.

Use the D.R.O.P gut check and you’ll be on your way to the fulfilling writing career you deserve.

I created a poster you can print out to help you remember. Click here