Not new at all, just probably scaled up by AI. Scams like this targeting authors have been around for ages: vanity publishing, fake agents, fake publicity, etc.
Similar scams target would-be actors, musicians, models, etc. Scams targeting models often lead into sex trafficking but sometimes they're just payola scams like this.
There's even some targeting startup entrepreneurs, usually in the form of dodgy "virtual incubators" or people who claim to be able to get you in front of investors or get you publicity.