This Booktoker is SCAMMING Indie Authors
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 ก.ย. 2024
- #booktok
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Callie's video was removed because her profile went private shortly after editing. If you're interested in getting a copy of her response video, feel free to leave a comment and I can email it to you.
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This Booktoker reached out to me literally days before all this controversy broke. Immediate red flags. So glad I stopped responding after she asked if I wanted to know her rates or send my budget. Apparently she was targeting indie authors with under 10K followers 😭 Thank you for spreading awareness!
I'm so glad you didn't get scammed by her! Thank you for being here ❤️
"I paid my rent with it" was actually crazy... like, ok? Why is that this poor author's problem? This whole thing is insane, thanks so much for this summary video!
She never posted video reviews that she said she was going to
Of Course! Thank you for being here!
@@mariemarie6778 yes I am aware! I was saying it was crazy that her excuse for not sending the money back to that one author that paid her was unacceptable.
i also find it crazy how she spent the money without doing what she claimed she would. like, if someone paid me to do something for them, i wouldnt spend that money until i got the job done in case of anything.
It reminds me of the scammers back in the day when you couldn't self publish and these companies said "We'll publish your book, it only costs you thousand of Euros". And all they did was print your book and you were left with stacks of books that you could nowhere sell.
So glad I came across this video. I’m an aspiring author myself, and I hate all the grifters that lurk and prey on people via social media. It’s very disgusting, thanks for talking about this! 😄👍🏻
Of course! Thank you for being here! I'm glad I could be helpful!
This is so aggravating, makes me so mad, because I am *disabled.* I *cannot work* consistently because I have chronic illness, debilitating joint pain, and you know what? I do not charge $200-600 for someone for work I *cannot follow through on.* It is NOT an excuse, and if it could slow things down, be up front! But if it's going to stop you from doing the thing you took money for??? *Don't take the money.*
EXACTLY
Same! I hate how ppl using these struggles to justify their scamming reflects negatively on the disabled community and likely will prejudice some people from working with us for fear of this sort of scammy guilt tripping 😭
Maybe it's naive but can we not leave books alone? I understand they are part of an industry and industries will always do what they can to maximize profits but can we the people not be assholes about it? I'm not saying don't blog, or review, or whatever but can we not do scams? Can we just have one thing that isn't a scam? One thing we feel safe in investing our time and money in. Books are powerful tools of learning or escapism can't they just be left alone? Is that really too much to ask?
Under capitalism, it's probably not possible because there are so many reasons someone would scam and all of them have to due with a need for more money. A lot of scammers are just people who need money quickly, and they learned they can earn money quickly by stealing with lies. Many big corporations are also scamming people to increase their profits. At every level in our society, people need money (greed or actual need, either way). But one thing we can do as individuals and even collectively to an extent is decide not to scam and many people (most people) do not participate in scams and do not like lying to people for money. So that's a good side
I feel this so deeply. The overcommodification of EVERYTHING we enjoy is exhausting
Where there is a potential for profit, there will inevitably be people who act in unethical and exploitative ways to realize that profit. Unfortunately, it is too much to ask. It's depressing but vigilance is the best way to protect yourself and others.
To be fair it's not normally the authors scamming you. It's normally someone else doing so
This is due to capitalism. Remember to vote! Every election, ESPECIALLY LOCAL. They happen far more often than other elections and will affect you personally more often!
And this is why when I get approached on email or social media by a “reviewer” or “influencer” it’s an immediate delete. Too many bad stories like this. If you take money, even half of the agreed cost, yet do not provide the service, you are a crook. If you are sick or have problems and cannot deliver, you need to give the money back or acknowledge your limits and not take the money in the first place. She says it’s a business, then she needs to act like it’s a business. And, she doesn’t care, none of it bothers her, yet, she’s making a whole ass video? Sure, girlie, sure.
Im sorry but these prices for videos, even if she was doing them, is fucking insane. I can’t even sell custom art commissions for $100 without feeling like I’m overcharging. I do not understand influencers lmao
No literally and 600 DOLLARS FOR A BUNDLE TF
@@The-Busy-Beeeeethat made me SCREAMMM like… idk I don’t even know any artists who can even THINK to charge that much for actual tangible work. Same for like any other job, it’s insane to me that she’s framing 100-600+ as generous lol
There's something to be said for valuing your work and yourself as an artist or content creator but her work wasn't providing any value sooo.....
$100 a video is actually really standard
@@Gumbyloomy NO BECAUSE ME EITHER
Oh those messages are so foul, what a manipulative woman
I'd do a charge back on my bank account. I'm kinda glad I stopped using TikTok even though I have 0 eyes on my work, and have to spread it through word of mouth.
"none of this bothers me" yeah, we can tell. If it bothered her she wouldn't do it. But if there's one thing the book community loves to do is to burn bridges so she might be back to posting but I don't think her career will be lucrative for much longer
I hope that the exposure from this video and others will prevent authors from working with her in the future
self-aggrandizing after her scam is exposed and put up a strawman argument that no one brought up.
why did she think that's gonna work? lol. girl needs to learn PR.
I kinda hate her a lot
this
One thing I haven’t seen mentioned is the red flag that is accepting the payment for sponsorship and only then informing the first author here that the video would need to be delayed.
As a freelancing beta reader, it makes me sick knowing people like her are scamming indie authors who want nothing more than even just one single person to read the novel they've worked so hard on - I think integrity is such a key value to have when going into work like this and it's a shame that she can't even take accountability for how her actions have affected others (even if she may or may not be struggling on her own terms) I charge similar prices to hers, but I don't make a single tiktok video, I write out 10-20k words of feedback for an entire novel because I believe in the work the authors put in and I believe in reciprocating that effort
I completely agree. It sounds like you're doing an incredible amount of work for that price. Thank you for what you do!
How did you get into that work? Is it difficult to find authors? or do they come to you?
@@happypancake234 I love it! I got into it because it’s all I did at university basically, and working on my own novel with the way Trad publishing is, I wanted to find a way to support indie authors the way big publishing houses do their authors. It’s so hard to get authors to find me tho, so at the moment I do free work in the hopes that my name gets passed around enough that I can grow my business!!
What is a freelancing beta reader? Like literally just providing feedback? Thats awesome
@@erikacomfort3343 straight up! I read the entire book, and for each chapter I write about a page worth of feedback on tone, character development, plot inconsistencies, gramma / syntax errors, general notes on how to add on or cut back on certain descriptions, I edit dialogue / dialogue tags - the whole nine yards! I love doing it bc I want to be more than a friend saying “it’s great” I want to help indie authors really make it great because they deserve the same help as people traditionally publishing imo
@@erikacomfort3343 sure is! I absolutely love it, I knew that so many people were turning to self-publishing but weren't able to get that same level of critique as those who were able to traditionally publish, so I wanted to offer some services to help get indie authors the boost in their writing that elevates their own voices and skills already being displayed
‘Don’t have a bone in my body that cares’ disgusting response to taking innocent peoples money.
Skirting around the actual issue of not doing what she was paid to do, and fabricating another issue she can more easily defend is classic manipulative behavior.
This completely
I just had dinner and now I want to throw up. This is so depressing, so bad I want to scream! 600 bucks ffs!
I'm so bad at promoting my own books. I just like writing and illustrating them. Working on #5 now ❤🎉
Drop the link! I would love to check them out!
Saaaame. Especially since I’m neurodivergent, so I feel so awkward doing self-promo because I feel like a burden, almost? Like I just want people to read what I worked so hard on ^^’
I know making content is a form of labor in a sense, but I feel like it's wrong to ask broke authors to send you money for one video, she should do like a free raffle or something and once a week order one of their books and review it or something. Instead lf it being like a nice deed for the community it feels like (and is lol) a cash grab.
Absolutely. Especially considering for many of them she didn't even fulfill the obligations she promised.
Still a business my biggest issue is not following through OR having the people that paid feel like they have to beg.
Indies should just send out their books to reviewers for free (after asking the reviewer) instead of spending a lot of money for random adverts. The influencer has to disclose the ad and if it's an ad the consumers won't be buying it...
I agree. Especially if all that person does is review books. Because her viewers probably aren't interested in buying every single book she reviews.
I think it's a smarter idea to find someone in their genre and ask them to read/promote their book. For someone in the fantasy genre, asking someone who makes DND, Lord of the Rings, or Game of Thrones content.
Those viewers are WAY more likely to engage with a one time recommendation than someone who is constantly talking about books for a living (in my opinion).
@@happypancake234 Yeah, I only watch reviewers who say that they bought the books themselves or that they have gotten the book sent to them for free. I don't have any interest in watching a "review" that is paid for. ..I mean, if it's paid for it's not a review...it's an ad.
Ugh! She reached out like two weeks before all this went down and, of course, I paid her. As an indie author, I was so desperate to get my book out there that I thought ooh maybe a booktoker with a huge following will be the ticket. Yah no. I’ve tried to get my $ back, but she’s made it impossible to contact her. I feel so DUMB.
@@CharlotteHouse-d7n I'm so sorry my friend. Send me your book info and I'll put it in my description!
@@happypancake234aw thank you!! It’s called Cardinal Sins by Charlotte House! Not sure if you need anything else ❤ really appreciate it
what I am really confused about is how none of these authors have taken legal action against her? seriously they should definitely at least sue her or something.
It's possible these authors don't have the money for legal action. A lot of them are filing claims with PayPal or Zelle to get their money back
I think it's because the amounts are just small enough that it's not financially worth it to go to small claims court. The fees for lawyers, the time off of work, the stress. It's not worth it, as much as they deserve their money back.
This is disgusting and makes me sick to my stomach. The sad thing is that this will be blown over. The internet is impressionable and people have their own lives. I genuinely hope she gets little traction after this, if any. Even if her followers could make excuses for her, she lied to them too. She doesn't actually read books and promotes half-assed content with misinformation. They should be upset for themselves if they can't muster up empathy for the affected authors.
If I was popular in the reading community and not so shy, I would do an honest review, vids, plus hype the book on all my socials just for a free new book😂
After I get paid, I’m gonna pick up a book from each author mentioned and try to encourage myself to do some videos about the books.
Ok so I make content for money for a living. Not for my own use, I make content for brands to post on their platforms. On top of the obvious issue of scamming it’s so disheartening that she’s giving yet another reason for people to hate content creators. These comments kinda affirm that, and it genuinely affects if I (and every other legit content creator) gets paid enough and treated decently
THIS ABSOLUTELY
ngl even if she actually did do the reviews taking 600 dollars from an indie author for a couple tiktoks would still be a scam
true
I saw the video by Jay M Night on Wednesday, it’s so heartbreaking how someone can just take PR and money from people so easily with no empathy
Callie is a scammer: she is knowingly accepting more requests than she can fulfill. I hope, it doesnt blow over in "a week or 2".
😡
While I agree paying for sponsorship/advertisement is fair and up to the individual (I personally do not charge because I have a mortifying fear I would get paid and then read the book and hate it and have to choose between lying and /refund the person and hurt their feelings), exploiting and scamming people is disgusting and shameful. Also, her prices are way off. A beta read would take perhaps 6-8 hours of reading and 1-2 hours of filming/preparing the information into content. Even at the max of that end, that’s $130/hr. Very unrealistic. Professional beta readers charge $100-300 for the whole process.
To be honest, I don't really understand why she didn't complete the orders. Like for the reading ones, okay sure, maybe it would take her more time or maybe she really couldn't get into the book (which would mean a refund), but for the shoutout ones it's literally not that hard 😭
Okay literally 👏
Honestly, how hard would it have been for her to just…do the videos?? Like they wouldn’t even take that long to make. Unless she’s reading the book and giving her personal review, that does obviously take a lot more effort. But the ones where she’s just holding up the book and giving a quick synopsis? How diabolical do you have to be? 🤦♀️
@@makennazornes literally
How is it legal to charge for reviews? There are laws that influencers have to hashtag as “ad” if they are being paid. Why would a book toker not have to do that?
Apparently it's only illegal to charge people for specifically good reviews or specifically bad reviews. Paying someone for an unbiased review is legal but I still think she has to disclose it on TikTok
The fact that she used a message from her ex thanking her for not saying things "she could have said" about him and claiming it vindicates her of any claims of abuse is INSANE to me. It is so textbook abusive partner behavior to cherrypick positive admissions and gratitude in order to absolve them of their sins in the public eye when they're caught.
I just looked her up. She changed her username
She did indeed. It's now @callireadsss
Sadly, it's not just tiktok. I had an agreement with booktuber Murphy Napier to review my book on her channel. I waited a year, periodically checking in every few months. Finally after a year with no word, I ripped into her. It's unacceptable how these people try to take advantage of those trying to make something of themselves. Shameful. Good video btw. Keep up the great work! P.S. I used this same chick last year, got my videos, but I'd have gotten more from having a friend post something. It was a total waste of money. She is a true scam. If I hadn't stayed on her ass every few weeks asking how far along she was, I probably wouldn't have even gotten my vids that I paid for.
@@AuthorPDKaiser I'm so sorry to hear that you've gone through such terrible experiences. Thank you for sharing 🙏 and for being here!
@happypancake234 I'd love to talk more about it on live stream if you're interested. The atmosphere for self publishing is a mess online. So many more scams than just this. I'm an author with autism and really want folks to understand just how bad it's getting. Just a thought. 😀
People like this get away with it because no one wants to stand up for themselves. I remember a "music promoter" that did the same not long ago. It just makes me want to avoid tiktokers (more than I do) and Booktubers that I don't trust.
It's really awful. There are so many scammers and a lot of them are on these HUGE accounts because they know how to work the system. I've found the smaller accounts are the only ones you can trust because they are often doing it for the love of it and not a check.
I feel Calli made that response video was trying to act like she was not scamming them and use any excuse possible. I feel the people who she did that to should in my opinion if possible get a charge back from their money so they don't feel like they lost their money. I understand why they did not know better at the time
so glad i found your video that went into detail on whats going on because I was so confused about it. i am all about book girlies getting their coin but the least you can do is actually give what the authors paid for.
Exactly!!
“i can be the hated one” is so annoying
I would legit review books for free, like send me the book and I'll read it and review it. Who charges hundreds of dollars to review books, especially indie authors.
This upsets me so much. As a Book Reviewer i NEVER promise a review. I have done unboxings and TBRs but being paid for a review just pisses me off.
Thank you for sharing! I really appreciate your insight. I'm glad I'm not the only one that thought this was wild.
This is so sad. Authors are one of the only types of media producers that truly do what they do out of passion. Exploiting people’s pipedreams and hard work makes my skin boil
This is why you need to get these agreements written down and signed saying this person will only get paied what their asking for if the content is done. If they refuse to sign anything or make up an excuse or shame you for wanting a contract you drop them like a sack of potato’s
Honestly at least in many EU countries a written agreement through business accounts (which these tiktoks could be argued) ARE treated as legal business agreements even if they aren't signed and printed.
Absolutely agree. An important lesson to always have some sort of contact, even if it's just a simple one.
@@happypancake234 yeah like I know a lot of TH-camrs do that because companies try to scam them all the time or get them to do free labor
Canadian courts decided that a thumbs up emoji through text is a legal binding agreement
@@victoriapride7575 gotta love Canada
If I paid an amount for someone to market either a product of mine, or a service - and they set a schedule, and never follow it (ever) i would also be very mad, and that is in fact illegal :) her selling those services is not illegal, everyone who is in the PR and marketing space knows that is legitimate, but not following through what you got paid for is illegal, i truly hope those authors know that they were not stupid to believe her, she had credibility based on her account, and she was definitely putting the amount at a lower end than what other people would, the only person to blame here is the scammer.
Absolutely agree
I'm on the other end of the spectrum. I agreed to proofread an indie authors book and corrected more than half of it in exchange of a free copy and after the half way mark the author stopped replying to my email. My bf was originally upset with me for "working" for so little, and now I'm terrified of him asking about it because I know I'll get smack talk for being stood up for months on end.
@@bettisbooksandbabblings I'm so sorry this happened to you ❤️
It’s unethical to accept money for a review without telling the audience. Basically it’s a commercial.
and that's why you don't do business transactions without a contract. because if someone does this kind of shit and you have a contract to prove they didn't uphold their end of the transaction you can sue the living daylights out of them much more easily. i think you could probably try to sue even without a contract, but a contract is the ultimate proof.
The first text from the booktoker kinda sounds like a robot like… we know who you are because of the pic and name at the top. You don’t need to say “hello my name is calli”
how can someone be such an awful person... i see that her booktok account has been taken down already so i hope she will actually reflect on her actions and realize that what she's doing is truly wrong
It's currently private and she changed it to @callireadssss, but we shall see
Oh no 😢 This is so sad! I’m an indie writer and I also have a TH-cam channel about books, and I learned long ago that you need to stay clear from ANYONE, no matter how big they are, who asks you to pay them-whether that’s on Tik Tok, IG, TH-cam, Facebook, etc. to review your books on their platforms.
It’s way better (albeit a longer and often harder journey) to have organic promotion from someone that saw your book out in the wild (however that may be), and shouts it out for free. I know it’s tempting, but everyone, please do not pay people to promote your art. Ads and promo sites are different and those can definitely work in your favor (I do both things) but it can get very red flaggy and even scary when you someone reaches out to you and asks for money, or you reach out and say you’ll pay them.
It’s really tough out in the indie market right now, but please don’t panic and think you cannot be successful without influencers. You absolutely can and there are SO many indie authors rocking it without paying influencers to promote their books. You got this, y’all ❤
God I hope nobody sends her anything at this stage. I'm not even convinced she reads at this point
this!! (your last sentence) many people have joined the booktok world for ulterior motives and they just want to profit off of everyone else. it’s so sad
Yes there was “proof” that she cheated on Jacob. She has a podcast on TH-cam which she now has deleted every video, her now boyfriend was in one episode telling their story of how they met, he said they met on December at a party Callie was with Jacob, he said that Callie couldn’t stop looking at him while she was sitting next to her boyfriend (Jacob) and that she complemented him on his tattoos, he said that her boyfriend was very uncomfortable every time he would say anything to her (all of that while Callie was laughing in the background) he said then he looked her up on Instagram and followed her, then he remembered she had a boyfriend and unfollowed but Jacob saw the request and questioned her (they were both laughing while saying all of that) Jacob and Callie break up mid January and Callie almost immediately starts posting stories with her now boyfriend even though she says he asked her to be his girlfriend in march, but the timelines on their instagram is different
Also the fact that all these indie authors are over the age of 30 and Callisreadingg is in her mid 20s which goes to show that older people are always the target of these types of scams.
I'm sorry, I had to legit do 50,000 double takes to see her bundle are around $600?! You can use $600 in SO MANY better ways for advertising before and after your book launch. Please, if there are any indies out there struggling for promo ideas, comment below and I'll help in any way I can.
I don’t understand this form of scam like I see it so often and it makes no sense to me. You’re telling me you’ve built a whole ass following and you KNOWnur gonna get caught eventually… what really is the return like it makes no sense to me. Esp when it’s such an easy thing to actually just… DO like you have the money you have the script you’re still making other videos… just make the damn video
Literally.
Did she disclose that she was being paid to promote these books? Because if not, I'm not sure that's legally ok. Offering to leave PAID Goodreads reviews is also a big no.
Omg it’s granny vhagar talking about booktok
@@joriesilver5318 OMG heyyy ❤️
Apparently she is publishing a book herself now. I saw it on Threads this week.
Ugh I know 😭 should I do an update video?
Before the time of "influencers" we read books or used other products, if we liked them, we gave them publicity either through word of mouth, posts of FB or even MySpace (yes I am that old). In this current world, we have a "gimme" society where people want stuff for free. People no longer want to work for what they want. It sickens me that newer authors and indie authors are being taken advantage of. Not only authors but budding artists or new entrepreneurs trying to start a business. How did we get here? How did we become this society where "influencers" expect free stuff. Authors, please use an arc team. Stop paying these creeps for reviews. Trust the real book nerds to gives reviews your hard work if they like it.
Don't pay for reviews. If anyone asks to be paid, drop 'em.
Amazon will ban people if they find out they bought reviews. It's a breach of their ToS.
Besides which, critics either work for magazines, newspapers, websites, etc. & are paid by those companies for reviews - NOT the creators. & if they're an "influencer", they're being paid in views by their platform.
Writers & other creators should NEVER pay for reviews. At MOST, they can send them a free copy. The value of the product should be their payment. That's all.
People who do this are predatory, even if they actually follow through.
That girl's got more trials, tribulations, and afflictions than a Victorian heroine. It's a miracle she's got the time and energy to put on her makeup. How dare all these mean authors demand she keep her word??? 🤪🤪🤪🤪
Adding to say, supposing all this poor-me is true, she shouldn't commit to contracts she can't fulfill.
I honestly don't think booktokers should charge for reviews. I've always been happy for a free copy of the book. Booktokers have plenty of other opportunities for sponsorships, etc. Without charging authors for reviews.
@@literatimedium I absolutely agree
I'm a self published indie author so I'm so so happy I came across this video.
I'm so glad it was helpful! Feel free to drop the link to your book so anyone who comes across this comment can check it out!
@@happypancake234
I apparently can't post a link as my comment isn't here anymore lol.
You can find me on Rakuten's Kobo under the name Morgan Moon lol. I write 18+ queer romantasy.
@@happypancake234
TH-cam keeps taking down the link 😭
@@happypancake234
TH-cam won't let me sadly 😭
My name on Rakuten's Kobo is Morgan Moon. I have two books available atm.
@@happypancake234
TH-cam literally won't let me lol.
If they signed a contract, they need to file charges of theft with the courts and then take her to small claims court. Hopefully there were signed contracts. Otherwise…bad move on everyone’s part
can you please give me the name of the author that animates scenes from her books? I didn’t find her in the links in the bio
@@meshmesh5675 oh thank you! I totally forgot to add her! Here's her page! Her name is Shiloh Briar. www.tiktok.com/@shiloh.briar?_t=8pPZkrl3KNK&_r=1
While i wouldn't pay them either I'd trust the other book tokers she mentioned in her video that supposedly charge more to live up to their end of the bargin.
So many medical career people in booktok lol. Just something I noticed. They don’t even wait to get home to make these videos about the drama!
This is so upsetting
Booktok should not exist. 6:05
For the Algorithm ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤
Are you saying that you send your product to some unknown person without a lawyer or legal binding contract-its old school but so what be old school and protect your product-- if it were this easy to get a book or video published, there'd be lots of new and great nooks out there, which there are not.
Why do you trust "your creators." I cant believe you dont get out there yourself and cìrculate and promote without these internet criminals.
It is criminal, do you know that?
A real life attorney and/or editor would never let you send your idea to a Callie.
It is illegal. New authors are such easy prey.
You dont even know how many people are playing the part of this Callie.
Take yourself out of this internet group, its completely criminal, and they know it.
Youre being taken for a ride. One of these days, youll be served to appear at court in a lawsuit involving callie(s).
When will you learn.
🇵🇸🇵🇸
❤
on WHOSE internet? james charles fiddles minors, it's not funny to use him in a "silly" saying
I wasn't saying it as a funny thing. I thought it was pretty clear I was talking about how bad people on the internet never seem to go away.
My first time here❤ idk whyy but you are reminding me of the cute little sister in hocus pocus with the black hat😂❤❤❤ thank u for this content
This is not the first time I've got this comment and I LOVE it ❤️
I hope at the least this teaches people about contracts and making business decision investments that are put in writing with legit people… not a girl reaching out to you that has had nothing but drama!!!