Still brushing my teeth, reading a text from my friend Joe.

He sent me this wild article about scams and fraud in the publishing world.

Not exactly new terrain for me, but apparently it was mind-blowing for him.

I clicked the link, half awake, toothbrush hanging out of my mouth, and suddenly I was tumbling down a rabbit hole of horror stories.

It turns out that one poor farmer got sucked into a publishing “deal” that ended up draining him of over $500,000.

Half a million dollars.

Gone.

For a book.

Can you imagine?

And it didn’t stop there.

A few more clicks and I was looking at a tangled mess of lawsuits, investigations, federal charges. This wasn’t some tiny vanity operation.

This publishing company had apparently incurred over $100 million in fraudulent expenses. The FBI was all over it, executives were in handcuffs, and entire pipelines of hopeful authors were turned inside out.

It’s so wild that part of me wants to write an entire book just on how vicious and predatory this corner of the industry really is.

That’s what lit a fire under me to write this. Because if you or someone you care about is even thinking of writing a book, planning to publish, dreaming of seeing their name on a cover or telling their story in print, please forward this to them.

The publishing world is absolutely littered with landmines, traps, and perfectly legal scams that will happily chew up your money and your spirit. I see people falling into them every single day.

The dirty secret and why it works so well

Most people are reluctant to admit certain aspects of the publishing experience. The publishing world, especially the glossy hybrid or assisted self-publishing side of it, is basically the Wild West wrapped in a designer suit.

It’s filled with sharks who can smell your deepest dreams from a mile away. They hear how you want to honor your parents, leave a mark, change lives, finally step out from behind the curtain and be known for something. They know exactly how to pitch you. They’ve trained their sales teams on it.

They’ll tell you things like

“This story is powerful enough to be a Netflix original. I could see it as a doc or even a feature film.” “We’ve had authors get on the cover of Forbes, Inc., TIME. With your hook, there’s no reason that can’t be you.” “You’re sitting on a message that could make you the next big thought leader. This book is your catalyst.”

It sounds incredible. Because let’s be honest, it’s exactly the kind of daydream you’ve already played out in your own head. They’re just echoing your private fantasies back to you in a professional voice with a fancy slide deck and a high-ticket invoice.

That’s the real dirty secret. They’re not in the business of building your long-term platform. They’re not here to make sure your story is read, remembered, or respected.

They’re in the business of monetizing your fantasies.

Turning your hopes, your fragile need to finally feel seen and heard, into their income stream.

The promises that end in heartbreak and embarrassment

So many smart, big-hearted, well-intentioned people fall for this. They fork over fifteen thousand, thirty thousand, sometimes a hundred grand when you add up ghostwriting, premium production, done-for-you launches, PR stunts, strategic brand “amplification.”

And what do most of them actually get?

A book that’s technically on Amazon but buried somewhere around sales rank two million, meaning it’s practically invisible.

A splashy launch day where they sell 100 copies, mostly to family and friends. A “number one Amazon bestseller” badge that lived for six hours in a category nobody’s heard of.

A small quote in a low-traffic business magazine that mostly exists to sell two-thousand-dollar placements to desperate authors.

Honestly, I was one of those authors. Now, mind you, I knew what my investment was getting me, and I knew that most of the marketing was up to me. I didn't care. I merely wanted to have my book so that I may use it for speaking opportunities. So, selling a few hundred copies on launch week was great, and getting reviews from people who cared was beautiful.

So I'm going to be real here. These offerings from hybrid publishers or indie publishers are not bad at all. As long as they are not over-promising and under-delivering, and you know exactly what you are spending money on.

The reality about book sales

And let’s get painfully clear on this too. The number of nonfiction authors who actually break 1,000 copies sold in the first month is tiny. I mean truly tiny. Most indie and hybrid books never get there at all, even over their full lifetime.

So leaning on book sales alone to pay you back or build your career? It’s no bueno. It’s a setup for disappointment. That doesn’t mean writing the book isn’t worth it. It just means you need to be real about what the book is actually doing for you.

I’ve seen it up close, too close

This is also personal for me. The company that published my book? I worked for them. I truly believed we were doing something good, helping people bring meaningful stories into the world.

Then all of a sudden over eighty employees and my self were being laid off because of fraud that is still under investigation. Tens of thousands of people who just wanted to honor a parent or preserve a story or say something real. Then, leaving them in the dark.

It was heartbreaking. I saw authors who were so embarrassed by how easily they got duped that they stopped talking about their books altogether. They disappeared because facing the truth meant admitting how badly they’d been taken.

That’s why I started Rising Authors. Why I built the community, marketing systems, and strategy frameworks I teach now. So no one else would get turned into someone else’s payday while their dream turned to dust.

The platform paradox and what success actually means for you

Most authors live in this weird loop. They think, I can’t write a book until I have a huge platform. Then they flip to, once I have a book, that book will automatically build my platform.

Both are usually wrong.

You have to define what making it means for you. What is success actually for you, not someone like Donald Miller. Because here’s what most people skip over: Donald Miller didn’t become the StoryBrand guy overnight. Before he was selling frameworks to corporations and filling massive workshops, he was just another author grinding out memoirs.

Blue Like Jazz didn’t blow up instantly.

He spent close to a decade writing, speaking in small rooms, refining his ideas, building a loyal audience before Building a StoryBrand turned him into the marketing expert people pay six figures to learn from.

Most people only see the end stage. They have no clue how long and slow it actually was.

So, stop using these success stories as your measuring stick. Their path is theirs. Yours is yours.

And if what you’re really chasing is to feel loved, seen, validated, I’m begging you, skip the fifty grand book contract and go see a therapist first.

Or do something that genuinely helps you love and accept yourself.

I was in therapy the entire time I wrote my book. It was bliss. It helped me sort what was truly my soul’s work from just my ego wanting a stage.

Use the book to work on yourself, process, and share your ideas, but don’t let it become the only place your worth hangs.

Knowing what “making it” even means

Before you even get to the platform or the audience or any of that, you have to figure out what “making it” actually looks like for you. Because if you don’t define it, it all gets muddy fast.

You’ll start chasing goals that aren’t even yours. You’ll see someone on TV and think, I guess that’s what success looks like. Or someone posting about their podcast tour, and you’ll wonder if that’s what you need. Pretty soon, you’re spending time, energy, and money chasing a version of “making it” that doesn’t fit your life or your actual dreams.

So get brutally honest. What does making it really mean for you? Is it more speaking? More consulting? Is it building a reputation in your industry? Is it simply knowing you finally got your story out of your head and onto paper, and that’s enough?

Yes it can certainly be to sell a ton of books. In order to do that, though, you need a legit audience who will talk about and share your book.

Whatever it is, own it. Because once you’re clear on that, it changes everything else. It shapes who you hire, what kind of marketing you need, how much to spend, and how you measure success.

And while you’re hiring people to help you build it, be vigilant. Really look at who they are online, who they’ve worked with, what kind of results they get, and demand proof before you hand over your money. It’s your dream and your dollars — protect them.

If you do find the right person or team, be the author who is a dream to work with. Don’t take it all so seriously. It’s just a book at the end of the day. Millions are produced every year. Feeling like you’re some untouchable snowflake that everyone needs to treat like royalty will make this process miserable for everyone involved, including you.

I’ve seen authors get so wrapped up in trying to impress friends, colleagues, and family that they drain the joy out of the entire thing. They become perfection junkies. They micromanage everything from the website to the book cover to the press releases. It sucks time, energy, and money. It burns out the people trying to help them.

So know what you want. Hire people who can bring that vision to life. Then trust them enough to actually do their job. If you find you’re not meshing, move on and find someone else. But stop micromanaging and second guessing every step. Be a dream client. It’ll pay off tenfold.

Because at the end of the day, none of this works without an audience and a platform. They’re the people who will buy the book, hire you, share your ideas. They’re how any of this becomes real. You have to become the messenger of your message. No one else is going to do it for you.

This is why I preach it so hard. It’s what I’ve had to live. It’s how I’ve used my book. Not as everything. Not as my only shot. But as a specialty piece that lifts my speaking, my consulting, my credibility. It’s proof I can write, create, finish something big. It’s something I use to market myself and my services. It’s part of what I do. It’s not everything I do.

People I trust

Because let’s be real, this world is crawling with “experts.” Only a handful of people actually cut through the nonsense.

I’ve interviewed Kelly Teemer-Altemara, one of my favorite and most trusted PR strategists. She’s brilliant at helping people avoid landmines and build stories the media actually wants. Watch that here.

And Rose Conway, a publishing insider who’s helped so many authors dodge scams and make smart moves. Watch that here.

The real opportunity is if you do this right

If you do it right, budget wisely, define your own version of making it, build actual systems, keep your ego in check, commit to playing the long game, your book can absolutely become the foundation for something bigger. It can bring more income, more opportunities, more doors opening than you ever thought possible.

It just won’t happen by accident.

Here's the link to that full article if you want to go down that rabbit hole

When You’re Ready, Here’s How I Can Help

I help authors build a brand and online presence that matters.

Power Pack Pro — Brand foundation, website, coaching, messaging.
Power Pack Boost — Full-funnel marketing, social growth, systems.
Power Pack Ultra — Done-for-you author growth engine, start to finish.

DM if you need support.

-Hussein

The Big Ugly Truth About Publishing, Marketing, and “Making It”