Indie Alert: The Literary Scams Targeting Authors Right Now

Every hopeful indie author dreams of the message that changes everything. But when it is a too-good-to-be-true offer...?

Indie authors are always hustling. We write, market, and constantly pour our energy into our bookish worlds. Countless book events, conferences, speaking engagements, and signings. I'm still coming down from my book love high from Tempted by Fiction Nashville. But there’s a dark side to getting noticed: the bigger your spotlight, the easier you are for scammers to target!

We are know the obvious scams. The heavy breather phone calls, grammatically incorrect emails, and strange Instagram DMs. But one scam managed to stop me in my tracks.

Within an hour, my phone constantly lit up with the same unknown Wisconsin phone number. I kept sending them to voicemail, but they persisted. So as any frustrated and curious person would do, I answered.

ME: Hello?

CALLER: Hi, am I speaking to Medallio?

ME: Yes, this is she. Who are you?

CALLER: Are you Medallio? I'm looking for Medallio.

ME: Yes, what is this about?

CALLER: I'm just following up on the email that I sent you. I didn't receive a response so I'm following up.

ME: An email about what?

CALLER: My name is Alex. I'm calling on behalf of Wave Literary in regards to your book Save Me, A Dystopian Quest. A production company is interested in adapting your story to screen.

Two things are wrong with Alex's reply. 

• Save Me has NEVER been written.  
• My only dystopian story is a short story titled Sun Power: A Dystopian Quest. It was never published.
  

After I mentioned this for much needed clarity, I asked him to hold while I searched for the email he sent. Let me tell you, I would remember an email where a production company was looking to adapt my story. Any indie author would remember a message like this. Alex's flustered hangup wasn't what caught me off guard. 

That's when things took a bizarre turn...

Part due diligence, part nosiness; I started looking into the literary company. My hopeful indie author brain said, "You never know." 🤷🏾‍♀️

Wave Literary | The Books We Want for the World We Want. Wave Literary is a dynamic agency with a serious pedigree. In our three decades in publishing, we have helped create national and international bestsellers [Wave Literary, 2026].

I found their contact form and wrote about the conversation with Alex and gave his phone number. The response I received from Wave Literary's CEO and Founder was what sent me down a spiral.

RACHEL NEUMANN: Hi, This is a scam. Thank you for letting us know. Please call the number back and let them know. You reported. We are sending a cease-and-desist with every time we receive it to report of the scam.

Excuse me, what?

A seasoned author and CEO of a literary company is answering my message directly with bad grammar and punctuation? She is also telling me to CONTACT the scammer to do their lawyer's job!

Investigation commenced! Here is what I found:

• According to the Wayback Machine, Wave Literary website was created in 2024.
• Nothing on their website regarding their partners and clients are clickable links.
• No clients and no authors' names are mentioned.
• There are no books or even movie trailers from adapted books anywhere on the Wave website.
• There is no physical address mentioned, not even a city/state.
• One of their partners is William Morris Agency and there is no mention of Wave Literary on WME's website.

The indie publishing world has countless possibilities that may attract bad actors. Authors struggling just to be noticed in this vast sea of other stories should stay vigilant with these tips:

1. RESEARCH any potential opportunities that seem too-good-to-be true or pop-up out of thin air. Google is an excellent resource.
   
2. ADD the domain name into the search bar.
3. NEVER give away any your information (i.e., tax ID, SSN, banking information, ISBN).
4. ASK questions, no matter if you think they could be stupid.
5. REQUEST their contact information (i.e., phone number, email address, physical address) and a formal inquiry from their legal team or liaison.
6. EXPLORE their clients and partners; ask for a list and look for testimonials.

Don't stop writing and believing in your stories. You're doing the best you can, and these scammers are targeting everyone in the book world, not just you. To be clear, there is no definitive proof that Wave Literary is operating as a scam. But always... Be aware, be diligent, and don't get scammed.