Protect Yourself from Publishing Scams

How to Verify It’s Really Us

• Our only website is sydneybookpublishers.com. Look-alike domains with extra words, hyphens or different endings are not us.
• Genuine email from our team ends in @sydneybookpublishers.com. We never contact authors from Gmail, Outlook, Yahoo or any other free email address.
• Our phone number is (02) 3822 3529, as published on this website.
• Payments only ever go to accounts we confirm in writing from our official domain, on an invoice. We will never ask you to pay by gift cards, cryptocurrency, wire transfer to a personal account, or payment apps.

If you have received a call or email claiming to be from us and something feels off, stop and contact us directly using the details on our contact page — not the details in the suspicious message — and we will confirm whether it was genuine.

Common Publishing Scams to Watch For

Impersonation of real companies

Scammers copy the names, logos and even staff names of legitimate publishers and literary agencies. They contact authors out of the blue, often referencing a real book you have published, and ask for fees to “unlock” opportunities. Always verify the sender’s domain and call the company on its published number before paying anyone.

“Your book has been selected” calls

Unsolicited calls claiming your book was chosen for a film adaptation, a major retailer promotion, or a “traditional publishing deal” — provided you pay an upfront fee — are almost always fraudulent. Genuine opportunities do not begin with a demand for money to proceed.

Fake royalty or unclaimed-payment claims

A scammer claims you are owed royalties and asks for a “processing fee” or your banking details to release them. Legitimate platforms like Amazon KDP pay royalties automatically to the account you configured — no third party can release them for a fee.

Pressure tactics

“This offer expires today.” “Another author will take your slot.” Urgency is the scammer’s best friend. A legitimate publishing company will happily give you time to think, get a second opinion, and verify who you are talking to.

Red Flags at a Glance

If You Think You’ve Been Targeted

• Stop all contact with the suspicious party and do not send money or documents.
• Report it to Scamwatch (run by the ACCC) at scamwatch.gov.au, and to ReportCyber if you have lost money or information.
• Contact your bank immediately if you have made a payment — fast reporting sometimes allows transfers to be recovered.
• Tell us at info@sydneybookpublishers.com if someone impersonated Sydney Book Publishers, so we can warn other authors and report the impersonation.

Our Commitment

We publish our pricing approach, our process and our contact details openly, and every engagement starts with a written proposal you can take away and consider. If you are ever unsure whether a communication is genuinely from us, call us on (02) 3822 3529 — we would far rather take a “just checking” call than see an author scammed.