A few years ago, a man appeared in front of a congressional committee, probably not his first time, nor his last. In fact, he should probably get some kind of frequent-customer punch card for the trips.

The man was the social media maven, Mark Zuckerberg. He was challenged, in questions tinged with suspicion, about how his social media venture could possibly be a going concern if people got it for free. He replied with some patience, “We sell ads, Senator.”

The question was really stupid. The senator who asked it was certainly in the age group of people who used to pluck television signals out of the air for free (less the price of the TV set, the electricity to run it, the repairman who was on speed dial, if speed dial had existed back then, and the time-essence of their lives chipped away by incessant advertising). I’ve used past tense because said senator is no longer asking questions – wait, that doesn’t narrow it down terribly – I mean, he’s dead. So, let’s not speak too ill of him, if we haven’t already.

Therefore, the sustenance keeping social media alive is not the slavish devotion of followers but, rather, advertising money (although the two do hold hands).

This comes as no surprise to us on Facebook (or anywhere else in the monetized world, which is everywhere else), because, unlike that old freebie network TV, regulated and relegated to 8 minutes of ads for every 30 minutes of broadcast time (don’t ask me about infomercials because I don’t know), the scrolling public on social media gets subjected to repeated and tiresome ads long before they can find out if their niece has had the baby yet, or enjoy Grandpa’s unfocused and sideways photo of his meal at Golden Corral. You know, just to show how cool he is with this social media stuff.

Writers in particular know this as we are subjected to ad postings, in never-ending succession, of vendors (purveyors? predators?) who, for an as-yet-undisclosed sum, are happy to provide us with editing, proofreading, publishing, marketing, and sales to rocket our prize tome to the top of the NYT bestsellers list faster than we can type “Chapter 1.” In fact, you don’t even have to write your book! They’ll do it for you, too! (Those preceding two sentences are not as outlandishly humorous, or humorously outlandish as I’d wish.)

If asked, “What is your favorite hobby?” and I were to be honest, which is not a natural state for human beings, I would say, “Clicking X on Facebook ads targeting writers and authors.”

But, there’s an exception to every rule, including that one, and one ad caught my interest for some unknown and ephemeral reason. Maybe because the ad creator was actually responding to comments. Maybe it was that eternal spring of hope that the Mudville spectators had (and which turned out to be just as doomed). I tossed in my own witty and profound comment that probably boiled down to, “Yeah, right…” and was quickly rewarded with a response. Then an exchange. Then a conversation on private messenger showing interest, enthusiasm, and the promise of a badly needed marketing proposal. (I self-publish but I don’t market, so I get no sales. Then, I write the next book, lather, rinse, repeat, so the system is really working for me!)

The proposed marketing proposal showed up at the same time as the phone call. I’ve rarely had someone so interested and inquisitive about my writing philosophy and approach. I was just the kind of writer that company wanted to work with! The proposal, although a bit spendy, was not severe, and could be worth it if the word salad of the pitch met its specified, if somewhat intangible, goals. I said I would talk it over with my business partner, my financial advisor, and my wife, who all happen to be the same person, and we’d follow up. We were waxing enthusiasm like Lemon Pledge.

But…something was a bit off. The rep, with an Anglicized name that I won’t repeat here (have you ever met the director of “Dogma?”), spoke excellent English…but off. Long pauses after what I said (more than once, I asked, “Are you there?”). Then, his presentation would sound great until a syl-LAB-ble would have the wrong em-PHAS-is. Repeatedly.

I looked at their website and it was nice and reassuring, with testimonials by authors and a portfolio of book covers. I got out a virtual shovel and started digging. Well, the authors weren’t findable, or were characters in books instead of titled authors, and the two authors who did show up had profession-specific short books with zero reviews, which is sub-optimal when thinking of a marketing proposal.

But, there’s the portfolio, right? Well, in looking up the unlinked book covers, there was the literary version of vaporware. One mocked-up wrap was purportedly the singular book cover for a series. I didn’t know series worked like that.

I messaged the rep that we wouldn’t be going forward with it, and left it at that because who wants to spend more time with that experience, except of course to write about it. I was then referred to the polished Angela Hoy with Writers Weekly, who offers a guide to bona fide vendors, and why did I not look there first?

So if you’re interacting with someone running an ad:

1) Consult WritersWeekly list of 11 warning signs

2) Look at the webpage, and do due digging diligence on it

and

3) Gaze in wonder at how AI tools can mock up a webpage with fake authors and titles, produce a proposal with a muffled ring of authenticity, and even render a phone speaker’s voice in almost unaccented American English.

Almost.

RELATED

• FACEBOOK’S FRAUD FIASCO: How Facebook is Profiting From Scam Publishers Targeting YOU on Its Platform – by James M. Walsh, Esq.
• Is Your Favorite Writing Group on Facebook Being Moderated by a Scammer?
• EXTREME AUTHOR ALERT – PART V: Do NOT Hire ANY Publisher That is Running Paid Ads on Facebook Right Now! 
• NEW SCAM! “Pay us $26K and we’ll stock 3,500 copies of your book in 150 stores!”
• A List of Publishers and Services That ALL Authors Should AVOID AT ALL COSTS!

Jason Meadors has written a number of books, novellas, and short stories, all for sale on Amazon. He’s old with a shallow learning curve, although to his credit, he has stopped taking pictures at Golden Corral. He also has written numerous trade articles at national, state, and user group levels within his day-job profession of court reporting which, considering the level of his (non)sales, he’s sticking with for now.

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