This is so fantastic. It’s well written, makes me want to buy the book, and an excellent reminder. I’ve been very careful about scams
For myself and my parents and now my kids who are 17 with their own phones and emails and debit cards ack!!! Once when I was a struggling mom with a debt collector calling I became convinced someone was coming to my house to “serve” me so I left - understanding they couldn’t serve me if I wasn’t home. It was a scam. They had me so upset and scared. Embarrassing- but also, human. I was so alone with two 4 year olds, one with a life-threatening illness, and an unpaid $230 trash bill. I really thought I was in very deep trouble. Grrrrrrr.
Thank you. Yes, scams are everywhere. Somehow, you expect it with bills – you don't expect it to be telling authors about. potential documentaries, but even so I was sceptical. And rightly so.
Oh my goodness, I'm sorry it turned out to be a scam. I would certainly believe your hospice book has the potential to make a rewarding series. The shape of this scam is a familiar one, unfortunately - I've had two approaches like this myself and so have several of my friends. Well done for being sensible - and for finding the film company went out of business. It's like the practice of using a dead child's birth certificate to get a fake passport. Some of the scams come from film companies that are still very much alive and trading - although they aren't, of course, from those companies at all.
Thanks, Roz. I would not have guessed that you knew my book, but that's the thing about writing – you send it out into the world and never know who sees it or,, better, is touched by it. Yes, I thought it had the ring of possible truth which is why I had one awful night's sleep! And yes, I am sometimes surprised my sales figures, but the book was first published in 2007 by Radcliffe Publishing (a very respectable medical publisher, although the book is not a medical book at all) who managed to sell c 600 copies by 2017. The rest are down to me and the joys of self-publishing! Radcliffe were incredibly nice about giving it back to me (effected in about one week, if I remember correctly) and the editor there was very sympathetic - even read it and reviewed it after I got it back.
Scammers are SO clever!! Thank goodness you checked more thoroughly into the company - definitely the right approach. We’re constantly told by our banks - if you get an email that rings the tiniest of bells, PLEASE look up a local number and ring us to confirm. An elderly friend nearly got fleeced recently but was saved by caring staff at her local branch who asked all the right questions and handled things so compassionately.
If you don’t mind, I might share your story or a summarised version of it on Tumblr as I follow a lot of creative folk on there. Thank goodness all is ok. (And I hope the funeral ended up a beautiful event. They are never easy.)
This is so fantastic. It’s well written, makes me want to buy the book, and an excellent reminder. I’ve been very careful about scams
For myself and my parents and now my kids who are 17 with their own phones and emails and debit cards ack!!! Once when I was a struggling mom with a debt collector calling I became convinced someone was coming to my house to “serve” me so I left - understanding they couldn’t serve me if I wasn’t home. It was a scam. They had me so upset and scared. Embarrassing- but also, human. I was so alone with two 4 year olds, one with a life-threatening illness, and an unpaid $230 trash bill. I really thought I was in very deep trouble. Grrrrrrr.
Thank you. Yes, scams are everywhere. Somehow, you expect it with bills – you don't expect it to be telling authors about. potential documentaries, but even so I was sceptical. And rightly so.
Well done! It’s easy to be tricked.
The world is full of scammers targeting writers. This scam is particularly egregious. Well done, Ann. Has this book been pirated yet?
Not sure. Some of my books have been pirated, but I don't remember this one in particular.
What a horrific scam ... Buyer beware: no kidding.
Yup.
Oh my goodness, I'm sorry it turned out to be a scam. I would certainly believe your hospice book has the potential to make a rewarding series. The shape of this scam is a familiar one, unfortunately - I've had two approaches like this myself and so have several of my friends. Well done for being sensible - and for finding the film company went out of business. It's like the practice of using a dead child's birth certificate to get a fake passport. Some of the scams come from film companies that are still very much alive and trading - although they aren't, of course, from those companies at all.
BTW your sales figure is very impressive.
Thanks, Roz. I would not have guessed that you knew my book, but that's the thing about writing – you send it out into the world and never know who sees it or,, better, is touched by it. Yes, I thought it had the ring of possible truth which is why I had one awful night's sleep! And yes, I am sometimes surprised my sales figures, but the book was first published in 2007 by Radcliffe Publishing (a very respectable medical publisher, although the book is not a medical book at all) who managed to sell c 600 copies by 2017. The rest are down to me and the joys of self-publishing! Radcliffe were incredibly nice about giving it back to me (effected in about one week, if I remember correctly) and the editor there was very sympathetic - even read it and reviewed it after I got it back.
Scammers are SO clever!! Thank goodness you checked more thoroughly into the company - definitely the right approach. We’re constantly told by our banks - if you get an email that rings the tiniest of bells, PLEASE look up a local number and ring us to confirm. An elderly friend nearly got fleeced recently but was saved by caring staff at her local branch who asked all the right questions and handled things so compassionately.
If you don’t mind, I might share your story or a summarised version of it on Tumblr as I follow a lot of creative folk on there. Thank goodness all is ok. (And I hope the funeral ended up a beautiful event. They are never easy.)
Hugs my dear. All the best.
Of course, feel free to share. Thanks.