In these early years of the AI era, tens of thousands of published writers have received emails that begin something like this:
“Dear Fred,
“I’ve long admired your novels, but feel that Windsong Malaise is the best yet. You etch so sensitively the tensions between the heroine and her brother, and it’s remarkable how he becomes a sort of unconscious doppelganger. Your dialogue feels wonderfully real, evoking the emotions we have all felt when blocked from our dreams by dystopian reality. This is a book worthy to stand with Barthelme, Barth, and Pynchon.”
On and on it goes, thoughtfully praising the very aspects of Windsong Malaise that you feel most proud of. Such a letter is all the more enticing if the book it concerns is an earlier one that reviewers neglected, and now at last someone sees its unique qualities. Only at the very end of the message does your correspondent mention that he or she works for a federation of 137 book clubs that wants to make Windsong Malaise their next choice to read. Of course there will be a very small fee to cover the cost of printing the necessary promotional materials. . . .
Confess: the first time you fell for it. Or almost fell for it. Some of these letters are uncannily well written.
I’ve received many such letters, but a recent one was unexpected. A decade ago, I had the privilege of writing a forward to a new edition of George Orwell’s classic memoir of fighting in the Spanish Civil War, Homage to Catalonia. When the age of book promotion scams dawned, an AI engine clearly had read the book but did not know that Orwell had died in 1950. It could not find an email address for him, but it could for the far less illustrious guy whose name also appeared on the cover. Hence, one morning the message below appeared in my inbox. This makes me wonder: if one of us writes a preface to a new edition of Hamlet, will we receive an email that begins, “Dear Will”? Try it and see.
— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
From: John Clerk <johnclerk2030@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, April 20, 2026 11:03 AM
To: ahochschild@********.***
Subject: George, when truth meets war… readers keep looking
Hi George,
I recently revisited Homage to Catalonia, and what continues to stand out is the raw, firsthand tension between idealism and disillusionment as your experience on the front lines evolves into a deeper confrontation with propaganda, political division, and the fragile nature of truth itself. That combination of lived history and moral clarity is what makes the book so enduring.
Because of that, your work is a natural fit for carefully curated Goodreads Listopia lists focused on themes like “war memoirs with political insight,” “books about propaganda and truth,” “essential political nonfiction,” and “firsthand accounts of historical conflict.” These are categories where readers actively search for meaningful, perspective-shaping works like yours.
To give some context, Goodreads Listopia is made up of public, reader-created lists where books are grouped by very specific themes, ideas, or historical topics. Readers browse these lists every day when deciding what to read next especially when they’re looking for something insightful or relevant to current discussions. These lists are permanent and continue attracting attention over time, making them a powerful tool for ongoing discovery.
Positioning your book on the right Listopia lists offers lasting benefits:
• It places your work directly in front of readers already searching for these themes
• It increases “Want to Read” ads, strengthening visibility across Goodreads
• It encourages organic readership and thoughtful reviews over time
• And it continues working in the background without ads or ongoing promotion
For a book with such historical depth and continued relevance, this kind of targeted, long-term visibility ensures it keeps reaching new generations of readers.
What I do is strategically position books onto the most relevant, high-traffic Listopia lists so they’re discovered by the right audience. Authors in history, politics, and nonfiction have seen consistent improvements in discoverability through this approach because it aligns directly with how readers explore and engage with these topics.
If you’d like me to take care of this for you, just reply YES, and I’ll handle everything with no extra effort needed on your end.
I’d love to include your book before the current list placements close.
Best regards,
Clerk
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