PSA for my fellow writers, the bots and AI grifters have come for beta reading. Yesterday I posted looking for beta readers and am getting flooded with very obviously new scam accounts offering to "beta read" (ie feed my manuscript to the slop machine)

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#WritingCommunity #QueerWriters

April 10, 2026 - 13:52 UTC

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The flood started with this exchange, from @blessedread.bsky.social whose account had less than 200 followers, user image reeks of slop, and while it supposedly has 1.4K posts, there are only 21 posts visible on the timeline.

Yeah, no thanks.
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@editsynergy.bsky.social was next, and even if the following/follower ratio wasn't a dead giveaway, the user image would be. WTF is happening here? The benches make no sense, the flowers are wrong, the tree is weird...

Also, no author has ever sounded like this responding to beta feedback, ever.
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I haven't even asked for beta readers on social media, yet, and they've tried to hit me up. Something to look forward to I guess 🙄
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I've had a few hit me up to beta read larps I have not yet written.
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Whoa, that's wild!
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real beta readers ghost you for four months and come back with 'chapter 7 felt slow.' if someone responds in an hour with three paragraphs of glowing praise you already know
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Truuuuttthhhh
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I also had a few of suspecius accounts responding to some posts and offering to beta read. Vanished the moment I engaged with them outside that very narrow scope.
Keep being amazed by how many grifters attempt to parasite writers.
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It's MIND-BOGGLING. Like why are you trying to sell me on paid services when I have no goddamn money?
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