Baker Publishing Group is a legitimate (major) publisher of Christian literature. Without a doubt, they are the real deal. For any Christian author, to have their work recognized by such a prestigious company would be a significant accomplishment.
Therefore, I initially felt quite flattered to receive the following email, which read:
Dear John Leonard,
I hope this message finds you well. I’m Blah Blah Blah, Editorial Director at Baker Publishing Group. While reviewing books that engage directly with some of the most enduring questions of faith, reason, and human existence, I came across The God Conclusion, and I was immediately intrigued by the confidence and scope of your argument.
What particularly stood out to me is your systematic response to Richard Dawkins’s The God Delusion, one of the most widely read modern arguments for atheism. Rather than simply offering an alternative theological perspective, you take on the central arguments point by point and invite readers to reconsider whether atheism provides the most logical explanation for the world around us.
I was especially interested in the book’s movement from its critique of atheistic reasoning toward a positive case for intelligent design and supernatural intelligence. That progression gives the work a clear argumentative structure while addressing the larger existential questions that continue to shape conversations about faith, science, reason, and the origins of existence.
I believe The God Conclusion has strong potential to reach readers interested in Christian apologetics, philosophy, intelligent design, and the ongoing dialogue between belief and skepticism. Its direct engagement with a major atheist text also gives it an accessible point of entry for readers who want to examine both sides of one of the most consequential worldview debates of our time.
I’d be delighted to discuss the possibility of bringing this compelling argument to an even wider audience through Baker Publishing Group.
Would you be open to a conversation about The God Conclusion and its publishing potential?
Warm regards,
Blah Blah Blah
Editorial Director
Baker Publishing Group
With that email, the baited hook had been cast in my direction. The email had been carefully crafted to create the impression the author had actually read my book and had gotten excited by the content. I will cheerfully confess that initially I wanted the email to be real. I didn’t want it for myself as much as for the church I’ve been trying to raise money for in Pakistan…I figured that a major publisher like Baker Publishing Group might be willing to pay an advance for a book they wanted, and only twenty-five thousand dollars will buy the sanctuary in Pakistan for the church. Also to a lesser extent, I still wanted my book to reach a wider audience, and even briefly entertained the idea of The God Conclusion being translated into multiple languages. We can dream, right?
Ever so briefly, visions of sugar plums danced in my head. Naturally, I replied that I was intrigued to learn more about Baker Publishing Group’s interest in my book.
Obviously, the real email had not been signed “Blah Blah Blah”, but the fraudsters apparently learned the real name of an employee with Baker Publishing Group and I’m reticent to repeat the name used to protect the innocent. Otherwise, the content of the original email remains unchanged. I’d also like to note that at this point the only red flag I’d noticed to this point was that the email came from “bakerpublishinggroup@gmail.com” instead of “blahblahblah@bakerpublishinggroup.com.”
But everything else about the email looked copacetic. I had minor concerns about source coming from a gmail account, but I was still willing to overlook a minor warning sign at this point because I wanted it to be real.
Next, I received this email:
Dear John Leonard,
Thank you again for your response and for your willingness to speak with me about The God Conclusion.
After giving the book further consideration, I want to be transparent about an important point regarding how we would need to proceed. The book’s subject matter, its direct engagement with The God Delusion, and the broader argument you develop around atheism, intelligent design, and supernatural intelligence give the project a level of potential that I would not want to overlook.
Because I believe The God Conclusion has the potential to reach a significantly wider audience and participate meaningfully in the ongoing conversation surrounding faith, reason, science, and human existence, I would want to see the book positioned and represented appropriately so that its strengths can receive the recognition they deserve.
However, due to company policy, I will not be able to continue the conversation directly regarding the publishing of the book unless the appropriate representation is in place. This is not a reflection of the manuscript’s potential; rather, it is a matter of the process we are required to follow when considering projects of this nature.
With that in mind, may I ask whether you are currently represented by a literary agent or another professional representative?
If you are not currently represented, please let me know. I would be glad to know your current position regarding representation, as that will help clarify what the appropriate next step would be.
Thank you again, John. I genuinely appreciate the opportunity to learn about The God Conclusion, and I would not have raised this point if I did not believe the book had substantial potential.
Warm regards,
Blah Blah Blah
Editorial Director
Baker Publishing Group
Hiring a literary agent wasn’t a deal-breaker, but hiring an agent on the recommendation of a publisher would be. I decided I was not going to take the recommendation of a literary agent from a publisher because of the potential conflict of interest, even if that publisher was Baker Publishing Group. If this interest was legitimate, I would find my own agent. Instead, I contacted Baker Publishing Group directly to confirm that Blah Blah Blah actually worked there.
I received a response from the company almost immediately. To my mild surprise, someone named Blah Blah Blah actually worked for the company but had never heard of me or my book. I was somewhat disappointed to discover a rather sophisticated scheme to defraud me had been attempted, but not completely shocked. Predators are always looking to prey on the gullible.
I was not very happy with these con artists, and couldn’t resist one final reply:
Dear Evil Person,
I know you’re attempting to defraud me by “referring” me to a bogus agent who will then attempt to charge me up front for representation. I also know you don’t work for Baker Publishing Group and you’re attempting to defraud Christians who have tried to write a book.
Fortunately, I never really needed you. The only reason I hoped to get an advance from a publisher was because I am trying to raise money to purchase a sanctuary for a Christian church in Pakistan. They only need $25,000. This would have been a blessing, but as my father taught me at a very young age, if something seems too good to be true, it probably isn’t true.
What I find interesting is that you also stole the identity of a real person to perpetuate this attempted fraud. I contacted Baker Publishing Group and know the real Ms. Blah Blah Blah has never heard of me.
God is real, and I’m pretty sure He isn’t going to be pleased with you. You need to find a real job and stop trying to scam hard-working people out of their limited resources. You need to ask God to forgive you and repent of your sins.
Most Sincerely,
John
This turned out to be a valuable learning experience as well as a teachable moment. Now any other Christian writers contacted by these scam artists can search for “Baker Publishing Group” plus “scam” and should be able to find this article and be warned. If this article warns even one other writer, it was worth the effort to produce.
Usually the fraudsters are a little easier to identify. It is normally easier to screen them out because most of them aren’t that smart. There is often a typo or some sort of grammatical error in their correspondence that raises a red flag or two.
These fraudsters were pretty good. Just not quite good enough.
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