Review of The Big Con
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Camilla Zajac
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- Latest Review: The Big Con by Gini Graham Scott
Review of The Big Con
[Following is a volunteer review of "The Big Con" by Gini Graham Scott.]
Many writers dream of seeing their book turned into a film. However, as The Big Con by Gini Graham Scott. PhD makes clear, there are plenty of scammers out there ready and waiting to turn that dream into a nightmare.
The Big Con outlines the real-life story of one woman’s dedicated investigation into a complex type of fraud. The scam involves authors being approached and convinced that their books have the potential to be optioned by major film companies in order to encourage them to pay for the creation of pitch materials such as a script and a synopsis. The Big Con tells the true story of the author’s experience of being used as an unknowing pawn in this scam, and her subsequent investigation. It outlines how the scam operated, what it involved and its impact on the victims.
To do this book justice, it is important to understand its perspective. This is not a sensationalist book that tells the bare bones of a case simply in order to shock. It goes much further than that. The Big Con is impressively forensic in its approach. If you’re not a fan of in-depth detail in non-fiction books, this one may not be for you.
Not only does the author tell of her lived experience of dealing with the scammers, right down to detailing conversations and emails, she also shares actual documents that she created as part her fight-back against them. The depth of attention and focus, both in the author’s enduring persistence and in her retelling of it, is genuinely impressive. You gain a real sense of the scammers, their desperation and their various manipulative techniques. The book also includes information about some of the people who were scammed and the impact the experience had on them.
The Big Con isn’t simply the story of a scam and the ensuing investigation. It’s a guide to understanding scammers: how they behave, how they communicate and how they respond when they feel their tricks aren’t working any more. This book is rich in detail, which while it may be too much for some, is genuinely fascinating.
The Big Con is a reminder that all that glitters is not gold. It describes some of the losses suffered and dreams shattered. But its intention goes far beyond serving as a warning. With details of how to spot a scammer and lists of helpful organisations, The Big Con also serves as a valuable guide for authors. Because, as a later part of the book discusses, the scam it outlines is only just one of a range of scams that target writers.
This book has just a few minor typos at the beginning. Overall, I would give it 4 out of 5 stars, simply because its level of detail demands some focus and attention and its very rigorous approach won’t be for everyone. However, considering how many insights it shares, every aspiring author and anyone with ambitions to see their book turned into a film would be well advised to get themselves a copy of The Big Con.
******
The Big Con
View: on Bookshelves
Many writers dream of seeing their book turned into a film. However, as The Big Con by Gini Graham Scott. PhD makes clear, there are plenty of scammers out there ready and waiting to turn that dream into a nightmare.
The Big Con outlines the real-life story of one woman’s dedicated investigation into a complex type of fraud. The scam involves authors being approached and convinced that their books have the potential to be optioned by major film companies in order to encourage them to pay for the creation of pitch materials such as a script and a synopsis. The Big Con tells the true story of the author’s experience of being used as an unknowing pawn in this scam, and her subsequent investigation. It outlines how the scam operated, what it involved and its impact on the victims.
To do this book justice, it is important to understand its perspective. This is not a sensationalist book that tells the bare bones of a case simply in order to shock. It goes much further than that. The Big Con is impressively forensic in its approach. If you’re not a fan of in-depth detail in non-fiction books, this one may not be for you.
Not only does the author tell of her lived experience of dealing with the scammers, right down to detailing conversations and emails, she also shares actual documents that she created as part her fight-back against them. The depth of attention and focus, both in the author’s enduring persistence and in her retelling of it, is genuinely impressive. You gain a real sense of the scammers, their desperation and their various manipulative techniques. The book also includes information about some of the people who were scammed and the impact the experience had on them.
The Big Con isn’t simply the story of a scam and the ensuing investigation. It’s a guide to understanding scammers: how they behave, how they communicate and how they respond when they feel their tricks aren’t working any more. This book is rich in detail, which while it may be too much for some, is genuinely fascinating.
The Big Con is a reminder that all that glitters is not gold. It describes some of the losses suffered and dreams shattered. But its intention goes far beyond serving as a warning. With details of how to spot a scammer and lists of helpful organisations, The Big Con also serves as a valuable guide for authors. Because, as a later part of the book discusses, the scam it outlines is only just one of a range of scams that target writers.
This book has just a few minor typos at the beginning. Overall, I would give it 4 out of 5 stars, simply because its level of detail demands some focus and attention and its very rigorous approach won’t be for everyone. However, considering how many insights it shares, every aspiring author and anyone with ambitions to see their book turned into a film would be well advised to get themselves a copy of The Big Con.
******
The Big Con
View: on Bookshelves
Latest Review: The Big Con by Gini Graham Scott
