A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Museum....

Not all pitches are scams...

A few weeks ago, a woman contacted me about pitching my book to book clubs and getting reviews. Her icon was a white woman with long brown hair and her name was Isabella Lynch.

Having gotten scammed way too many times, I asked many questions, asked for references, asked for a contract. When it came time to pay, she gave me the account of a woman who was from Nigeria. RED FLAG. She offered a zoom call, which I accepted if she would be on it. And sure enough, she was a black South African. I asked her why she used the icon of a white woman, but I didn't really need an answer. Seeing a white person builds trust. I hate this truth. Really hate this truth. But I guess it's a game that Africans know how to play.

I paid her. And a week later, the first book club had bought Kindle copies of my book, and posted 5-star reviews. Two of them were copy/pastes of my book description. But one seemed quite genuine. Someone who liked the stories. I want to believe that the review was real.

One of the things I paid for was a video trailer. You can go to the link below and see it on Facebook. It is PERFECT.... except the woman is white, and my book is about black people. I asked her to change the character in the video. But I guess she was using stock footage and could not. The second version was awful, AND the characters still weren't black. I have been told that my book is universal and relatable. But I don't want to white wash the characters.

How would you feel if someone marketing your book changed the race of your characters? Without your permission?

https://www.facebook.com/lauren.foster.520/videos/1263886331717714