EPISODE 52 (PART 2) – Four Industry Professionals Discuss Scams, Author Egos (!!), and AI

EPISODE 52 (PART 2) – Four Industry Professionals Discuss Scams, Author Egos (!!), and AI

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If you missed PART 1, it’s RIGHT HERE! 🙂

In Part 2, we discuss:

  • How an author’s ego makes it more likely he or she will be scammed (scammers stroke that ego!).
  • Narcissism vs. humility
  • Why you should listen to professionals’ advice (not your mother’s!).
  • Do you want to write an average book or a great book?
  • If you are an author, you are part of an elite group! Lots of people start to write books, but very few of those finish a book, and even fewer get it published!
  • And, part of the conversation veers into shovels and duct tape. We’re still not sure where that came from, but we were cracking up!

This week, we have two guests onboard, and the conversation takes many turns, with PLENTY OF LAUGHS!

Stacey Smekofske and Troy Lambert are popular and respected writing and publishing professionals who also host the “Pros Talking Prose” podcast. Stacey and Troy join Angela and Brian to discuss how even intelligent and seasoned authors and writers can still wind up getting scammed by the very sophisticated overseas publishing crime cartel.

However, the guard rails came down, and we wound up getting into many other subjects, including the very contentious topic of authors using Artificial Intelligence (AI), our experiences with various types authors (there’s some juicy stuff there!), and other interesting and bizarre experiences we’ve all had while working as professionals in the literary industry.

In this episode, you’ll also hear what Stacey and Troy discuss what differentiates a good book from a GREAT book, and SO MUCH MORE!

This episode is a TWO-PARTER since the conversation went into overtime. Part Two will be posted next week.

There’s a lot of knowledge (and laughter – Stacey and Troy are A HOOT!) shared in this episode, so you won’t want to miss a minute!


If you enjoy the original music featured at the beginning of each episode of our podcast, and if you’d like your OWN original music for your podcast, website, and/or videos, contact Mason’s Music!

Do you think you might be the victim of a publishing scam? CONTACT ANGELA AND BRIAN.


LINKS DISCUSSED IN THIS EPISODE

Don’t get scammed! Publish your book with BookLocker.com.



HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT SELF-PUBLISHING A BOOK?

Angela is not only the publisher of WritersWeekly.com. She is President & CEO of BookLocker.com,
a self-publishing services company that has been in business since 1998. Ask her anything.

ASK ANGELA!



3 Responses to "EPISODE 52 (PART 2) – Four Industry Professionals Discuss Scams, Author Egos (!!), and AI"

  1. Jane Rita  August 13, 2026 at 11:37 am

    Dear Angela and Brian, I love listening to you both! And I
    feel so secure being part of your team! You give me hope for my novel – I LOVE BOOKLOCKER!!~! Always, Jane

    Reply
    • By Angela Hoy - Publisher of WritersWeekly.com  August 13, 2026 at 8:57 pm

      We LOVE you, too, Jane!!! 🙂

      Ang

      Reply
  2. Donna Deines  August 12, 2026 at 3:33 pm

    Episode #52- Explosive information! It wakes your mind up to the fact that it is a dangerous world out there. Phone-call voice scams use AI or impersonation to mimic trusted voices, pressuring victims to give money or personal information. I deleted the phone number but wrote it down and investigated its origin; it was coming from various locations across the United States. Some might be coming from England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, including Scotland. I notified the National Cybersecurity Center for information.

    Modern scams increasingly use AI voice cloning, where scammers create a synthetic copy of a person’s voice for short audio clips, such as voicemails, social media videos, or phone greetings, to impersonate family members, friends, or authority figures, convincing.

    We’ve all fallen victim to scams at some point, often without realizing it until it’s too late. To protect yourself, verify information independently, regularly check your bank statements, limit the personal information you share online, use call-filtering tools, and educate your family and friends about these issues.

    Thank you. Keep sending important information.

    Reply

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