Fantasy discussion

Just as a head's up to everyone, there appears to be someone impersonating Danielle Steel in our group and, I suspect, messaging everyone here who identifies as a writer. Not sure what the end goal is, but I caution everyone.

You can clearly see it is not Mrs. Steel's official account - though they take pains to make it look like it is - and I have reported it to the website's staff. Until it's dealt with, I caution everyone to be aware and not succumb to any sort of scam.

This is the message I received and I would wager it's a copy and paste of what others have received:

Message Subject: A Warm Hello from Fellow Author Danielle Steel

Hello Mathew,

I’ve been spending some time here on Goodreads discovering new voices, and I came across your work, it truly caught my attention. It’s always wonderful to see such passion and dedication in storytelling.
As someone who deeply values the craft of writing, I love connecting with fellow authors who share that same devotion to creating meaningful stories. I’ve just sent you a friend request and would be delighted to connect and share in our writing journeys.
Warm regards,
Danielle Steel

There's a lot of this going on. I was even contacted by "Agatha Christie"!

That's very apt for Halloween! Glad she's still reading new authors in the afterlife.

Mathew wrote: "That's very apt for Halloween! Glad she's still reading new authors in the afterlife."

LOL, yes!

Oh and look, now "Danielle Steel" has sent me the very same message. {insert eyeroll here}

Yeah, I got Danielle Steele and Steven King in the last week. I seriously doubt either of them are at all interested in me (though I did read a book from each :))

They are scam accounts. Most of my friends are probably scammers.

I've not decided on a friend acceptance policy yet. I actually dont like to accept friends from rando's I dont know, but...I also wish to be friendly. I am not sure how choosy I should be.

Its also interesting that their PM's to me are almost exactly the same language. They must have gone to a class on how to fish for new suckers somewhere.

I'm willing to give people the benefit of the doubt in most situations. If they choose to have their initial introduction based on a false premise, however, then I won't tolerate anything else from them. Approach me with respect and honesty or I will dismiss you.

Anyways, action has been taken by the Goodreads moderators.

Lynn wrote: "There's a lot of this going on. I was even contacted by "Agatha Christie"!"
That's great! Has Arthur Conan Doyle written to you yet?
Mathew wrote: "That's very apt for Halloween! Glad she's still reading new authors in the afterlife."
It would be very interesting if deceased writers could read new authors and show their reviews to people who are still alive.
P. Pherson wrote: "Yeah, I got Danielle Steele and Steven King in the last week. I seriously doubt either of them are at all interested in me (though I did read a book from each :))

They are scam accounts. Most of ..."
I think it was hilarious. I'm even sorry that no one wrote anything like that to me. One girl asked me if I needed a ghostwriter, and a few others offered to let me read their books.
I politely explained to the first girl that I didn't need a ghostwriter. As for the people who asked me to read their books, I politely replied that I already had enough books to read.
Maybe these crazy scammers don't write to me because I'm not a writer. But if I were in your place, I think I would have quickly realized that they weren't the real Danielle Steel or Stephen King, and I would have had a great time mocking them and asking them all sorts of stupid questions about their lives and work.

I feel more sad than amused by these people. It's like Goodreads has become a hunting ground. Every message could be a catch.

I had one write me about joining a book circle, and I was like, what's a book circle and what would be expected of me?

Well...everything she said sounded great, but I was really just waiting for the catch. Took her like 20 emails to get to it. Pretty much she wanted me to pay her to do marketing, which fine, but I am dubious that it would work out for me in sales.

Goodreads removed the PM's or I would cut and paste it for you.

P. Pherson wrote: "I had one write me about joining a book circle, and I was like, what's a book circle and what would be expected of me?

Well...everything she said sounded great, but I was really just waiting for t..."

20 emails? She was very polite! Many people are offering "marketing", no one is offering sales :)

Kristina wrote: "I feel more sad than amused by these people. It's like Goodreads has become a hunting ground. Every message could be a catch."
Well, it might not be as funny as I thought.
But what are these "hunters" trying to achieve? Do they think that people here are idiots who don't know that Agatha Christie died a long time ago?

Jabotikaba wrote: "Kristina wrote: "I feel more sad than amused by these people. It's like Goodreads has become a hunting ground. Every message could be a catch."
Well, it might not be as funny as I thought.
But what..."
Some "writers" are alive :) I usually look at the accounts of people who want to be my friends, but not everybody is so attentive.
They may promise "collaboration at author events", "more readers", "more visibility", and so on.

She was polite but she was not really fooling me. Not heard from her is a while so…

I think they make themselves obvious on purpose to weed out the smart ones. Only the most vulnerable continue so… they are an easy mark after that.

Kristina wrote: "Jabotikaba wrote: "Kristina wrote: "I feel more sad than amused by these people. It's like Goodreads has become a hunting ground. Every message could be a catch."
Well, it might not be as funny as ..."
Of course, you know more about these things than I do because you're a writer. But even I understand that Stephen King wouldn't send messages to ordinary people, even if they are his colleagues. It's not difficult for anyone to guess that this is not the real Stephen King, but rather a brazen scammer.
P. Pherson wrote: "She was polite but she was not really fooling me. Not heard from her is a while so…

I think they make themselves obvious on purpose to weed out the smart ones. Oy the most vulnerable continue so… ..."

By the way, is there a way to report these “guests”? Then they could be banned and wouldn't be able to cause any more trouble.

You can, yes. And I did - seems like they were deleted. Basically you click the "More" tab on their profile (next to "Follow" and "Add Friend") and select "Report this account."

Mathew wrote: " And I did - seems like they were deleted""

Good riddance!