“Beware of Greeks bearing gifts,” said Virgil’s Aeneid about the Trojan Horse. Trust Artificial Intelligence to come up with its very own version.
Deadly Protocol has had far more plaudits from my fellow crime writers than I ever dared to hope for – but nothing like as glowing as the praise, I’ve suddenly started receiving in my inbox from a whole string of people supposedly running book clubs.
“Your book is on our radar,” said one. “The authenticity of the world you create is unmistakeable,” wrote another.
Well, I’m not going to argue with that…if only they really meant it. But I’m not sure they do. In fact, I’m not sure some of them exist at all. So far, none of the book clubs I have checked out have a website. A few feature on
Instagram but by no means all of them. Curiouser and curiouser.
Out of interest, I picked one these emails to follow up. Claire W Johnson introduces herself as the organiser of the Feminist Book Club and at other times describes herself as representing the Feminist Readers Guild.
“As we welcome the New Year, our community is curating a New Author Introduction & Feature to highlight selected authors and books our readers are genuinely excited about as part of our fresh reading line-up for the year ahead,” she says.
“I’m delighted to share that your book has resonated strongly with our readers and is currently ranked among the top titles based on member interest and engagement. As part of this New Year feature, we’ll be spotlighting a select group of authors whose works truly stood out to our community.
“Your book would be introduced through a New Year Newspaper-Style Spotlight, a thoughtfully designed, editorial-style feature that presents your work in a format that feels timeless, credible, and engaging.”
Spotting a sales pitch coming, I write back: “I would be delighted to take part, as long as it doesn't cost me any money! I have several approaches similar to yours each week and, after several back-and-forth emails, it usually seems that the writer wants money out of me. If you do, then I don't want to waste your time in pursuing me. But if not, I would love to take part.”
“Thank you for explaining your concern so clearly,” replies Claire. “I genuinely appreciate your openness, and I completely understand why you’d want clarity upfront.
“To be fully transparent: the feature itself is free. There is no fee simply to be included or introduced to our readers, and there is absolutely no obligation to purchase anything in order to participate in the New Author Introduction.
“Some authors choose to opt into optional professional services, such as editorial polishing, layout refinement, or print-ready design support for the newspaper-style spotlight. Those services do involve a fee, as they cover
professional editing and production work, but they are entirely optional, clearly explained in advance, and never a requirement for being featured.”
This is the first time Claire has talked about a fee of any kind. Once again, I make it clear that I’d like to take part, but I don’t want to pay her anything.
She sends me a Q&A sheet, asking for further details about me, the book and how I came to write it.
“The background you’ve provided is excellent and gives us exactly the depth we need to present Deadly Protocol and Ronnie’s story accurately and thoughtfully,” she responds. “As we’re now moving into final production for the upcoming feature slot, the next step is to confirm your participation in the Author Spotlight. Once confirmed, I’ll send over the payment details and the exact publication timeline so we can lock everything in and begin editing.”
“Payment details?” I reply.
“Thank you for confirming!” gushes Claire. “The Author Spotlight fee is $200. Could you let me know whether you’d like to pay via PayPal or receive an invoice? Looking forward to featuring Deadly Protocol and Ronnie to our readers!”
“I think I made it clear - please look back at my previous emails - that I don’t pay for marketing, and you agreed that I didn’t have to,” I reply.
“I want to be completely clear so there’s no confusion,” says Claire. “While we do occasionally offer complimentary editorial mentions, inclusion in our scheduled feature line-up for the Feminist Book Club does require the Author Spotlight, which includes editing, formatting, and coordinated presentation to our readers. That element carries a small fee and is part of how we deliver a consistent experience for all featured authors.”
It felt a bit like pulling teeth by this point, but I wasn’t going to give up.
“What can you do for me without me paying anything?” I ask. “Your emails certainly indicated that either I could pay for one service or get another that is free.”
After a couple more emails went back and forth, Claire wrote with good news.
“I’m happy to let you know that Deadly Protocol will be featured with our Feminist Book Club members tomorrow,” she said. “This is a pre-prepared editorial feature there’s no live session or Zoom required. Once it’s shared, our readers will also be encouraged to drop reviews and share their feedback on your book. I’ll follow up afterward so you can see how it appears.”
I’m still waiting to hear from Claire – despite a couple of emails from me prompting a reply. And I don’t expect to hear from her, because I ran all of her billets-doux through an AI checker. It said that 100 per cent of them were written… by Artificial Intelligence.
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