I understand why it happens, but I don’t approve.
I see this every time I crowdfund something: cold-call tweets and emails out of the blue, from obvious fly-by-night operations. They’re designed to prey on insecurity and fear (because that’s where the money is), and I don’t doubt that they’re raking in enough money from the worried and the slightly desperate to make it worth their while. I also don’t doubt that some of them are careful to stay within the law*, which means there are limits to what can be done about the practice.
So all I can do is remind people: There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch. There’s no shortcut. There’s just hard work, and/or good luck. And even then the good luck is mostly ‘doing the work, then waiting patiently for your chance.’ I know that sucks to hear, but it wasn’t like I enjoyed writing it, either.
Sermon over.
Moe Lane
*I don’t care if it is. It’s still cruel to do this to people, and I wish I could make them stop.
Are these the ones who say they liked your book and they want to put it in their bookstore, and get your book into the Frankfurt Book Fair? I get that one a lot.
Not specifically. No, I get the ones who want to help me maximize my crowdfunding presence, and yet never have a website for me to look at. Because I know what a company that can help people crowdfund looks like: it’s called Backerkit, and I pay their fees without a qualm.