Oops ~ Did I Do Something?

The other day I posted about author scams and scams geared toward artists of any persuasion. I happened to mention a Goodreads post from someone pushing their online bookstore for self-published authors. His/her post garnered pages of responses from authors wanting their books added, and the OP was enthusiastic in his replies. 

The weird thing was, the OP didn't include a link to their "store". Wouldn't that be the very first thing an entrepreneur would be sure to list? So, I posted and asked for it. I was very nice about it and stated that I was excited to view all the indie books. 

Today the complete thread is gone. And believe me, I searched for it. I've read a few articles about book-selling scams, in which books are pirated and titles are cloned, among other forms of counterfeiting. I'm not exactly sure how profitable it is to steal an indie writer's poorly selling novel, but it's infuriating, nonetheless. Do I suspect this may be the case in the above scenario? I do now.

Call me naive, but Goodreads groups do have moderators. While there's certainly not enough time in a day to scrutinize every post, keyword searches could certainly help ease that burden. Why did it take me, a sporadic (at best) Goodreads poster, to ask the most obvious question?

Please, authors, don't jump at every too-good-to-be-true offer! I sincerely hope no damage was done by this scammer. Non-authors cannot possibly understand the work and re-work and dedication it takes to produce a novel, and to have all that snatched away in a blink? 

Artists, while innately intelligent beings, are uniquely susceptible to fly-by-night promises. We don't manufacture widgets ~ we can't open a storefront on Main Street and watch our creations fly off the shelves. And if widgets were novels, we could only manufacture one a year, at the most, two.  All that authors and artists can rely on is a glimmer of recognition. "I just need to get my book into more hands! Then they'll realize my genius!" I've been there with music; I've been there with writing. For every hardworking creator, there are a bazillion criminals salivating for the chance to rip them off.

Even if only one author accidentally stumbles upon this blog, I will continue to call out shady practices wherever I see them.