Dr. Bruce Gleason forwarded me a truly enraging email. It’s allegedly from me.
Spoiler: it’s not.
You might have seen or perhaps received a marketing pitch filled with AI-written and deeply florid compliments to your writing and your book.
I’ve received a few and have been trying to track down who actually sent it (mine was sent on behalf of a library in Charlotte which disavowed all knowledge of this person – more on that soon).
But this one just about sent me over the side of my desk chair:
Subject: Partnership inquiry: Editorial collaboration for Cold War Cadence
Dear Dr. Gleason,
I am reaching out from Smart Bitches, Trashy Books (SBTB) because we’ve identified Cold War Cadence as a remarkable work that aligns with our community’s interest in European history, military life, and the preservation of historic moments. In an increasingly crowded market, we look for partners who provide the kind of “vivid recollections” and exacting detail that our audience of frequent readers discusses and treasures.
Rather than a standard review request, I am proposing an editorial partnership for your release schedule. In the current publishing landscape, where digital discovery is shifting, having your work anchored on a twenty-year-old authority site like ours provides a significant advantage. We offer a permanent digital presence that ensures your memoir of Berlin from 1988–1991 remains discoverable to our readers, specifically highlighting the unique role of army bandsmen and the “historic ghosts” of the city you so effectively describe.
I have a comprehensive Partnership Brief ready for you that details how we reach our community of over 500,000 monthly readers and our podcast to create what we call the “SBTB Bump.” This brief outlines how we connect our high-trust community with your work, providing the validation of our recognized platform and the sustained reader engagement generated through our newsletters and digital features.
We have identified your writing as a standout that aligns with our audience of dedicated readers who value rigorous historical research and entertaining travelogues. Would you like me to send the partnership brief over for you to review?
Best regards,
Smart Bitches Strategic Partnerships | Smart Bitches, Trashy Books Website: smartbitchestrashybooks.com
I am re-printing the email in full for two reasons:
- If anyone else receives this email, and they google, they will (I hope) find this post where I say again, THIS IS NOT US.
- WHAT IS THIS CRAP.
- One more time: THIS IS A SCAM. THIS IS NOT FROM SBTB.
This is such trash. I have no idea who is behind this, but it’s so similar to other scam email messages I’ve seen that I presume it’s based with the same group of scammers. I wish everlasting diarrhea upon them.
What’s weird is that there IS in fact a “SBTB bump” in that the books we feature in reviews, on sale posts, and Whatcha Reading or Hide Your Wallet posts often do get a bump in sales. Our bi-weekly bestseller list is generated from what sales data we have through affiliate links. But again, this is not from us.
HOWEVER. If YOU are a military historian or a music historian, you may be interested in Dr. Gleason’s books.
Dr. Gleason is the author of Cold War Cadence: A Military Musician’s Berlin Memoir, 1988-1991 and Sound the Trumpets, Beat the Drums: Horse-Mounted Bands of the US Army, 1820-1940.
Thanks to Dr. Gleason for alerting me. If you’ve received an email like this that purports to be from SBTB, please forward it to me at sarah @ smartbitchestrashybooks DOTTY com.
PLEASE share this in your communities if you think someone there might be targeted by this balderdash. Thank you.
