Writers & Predators
Masters of deception pervade every facet of our lives, so why
not the writing life? Time and again scams are perpetrated on
writers whose desire to get published overshadows caution. If
you've been to Africa or watch Animal Planet, you're aware that
predators prey on the weak and unsuspecting. We humans are no
different.
During a period of left brain malfunction, I'd contacted the New
York Literary Agency. Although they were listed as not
recommended by "Preditors & Editors," a writers' watchdog
website, I wanted to believe some covetous rival had maliciously
bad-mouthed them. They have an impressive Madison Avenue, New
York address, a professional looking website and a reasonable,
if not questionable, spiel as to why they operate differently
from most agencies. The latter should have been my red flag. But
when you don't want to believe something, reason becomes clouded
by delusion.
The Literary Agency Group is an umbrella for six other agencies,
apparently under common ownership: Children's Literary Agency,
Christian Literary Agency, New York Literary Agency, Poets
Literary Agency, The Screenplay Agency, and Stylus Literary
Agency. If you run across any of these agencies, keep running.
They have no tangible address and no phone number. Their Madison
Avenue address is nothing but a mail drop. They are a "Catch Me
If You Can" outfit that operates out of airports and phone
booths. It's no wonder they deride such respected organizations
as the Association of Artists' Representatives (AAR), among
others.
My initial submission to The New York Literary Agency had been a
synopsis of a manuscript. They fired back a reply faster than an
automatic response website. In a boilerplate apparently cranked
out to all writers, they assured me there would be no fees, and
asked to see the complete manuscript. The normal waiting period
for a traditional agent or publisher can be six weeks to six
months. After I sent the manuscript they responded within a few
days saying they would represent me, but with the caveat I pay a
"polishing" fee to a third party in order to make the manuscript
saleable.
At that point the clouds dispersed and I began self-flagellation
with tree branches for having fallen for the come-on. No
self-respecting agent or traditional publisher charges fees of
any kind. This agency has since been denounced by countless
writers who have been conned by their unprincipled practices.
Author Victoria Strauss presides over a website on fraudulent
literary agents and dishonest publishers and unethical upfront
fees and fake addresses and fake contests and everything you
never wanted to believe about con artists who take advantage of
unwary writers. Granted, Strauss is a successful author who
would like you to buy her books. But her Writer Beware website,
http://www.sfwa.org/beware is maintained on a voluntary basis by
members of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.
It contains considerable documented evidence on literary fraud
and how to avoid it. You'll also learn a whole lot about the
industry in general, including vanity publishers,
print-on-demand publishers and how they differ.
In the life and times of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Edna Ferber, John
Steinbeck, Eugene O'Neill and the rest--someone took care of
business while the geniuses wrote. Today, unless you have the
means, there is no escaping to the left bank of the Seine, or
the sand dunes of the Hamptons to contact your muse. Publishing
is a business and taking care of business is the writer's job.
Unless you are able to separate the predators from the valid
editors--well, writers beware.
"Simplicity-Courage-Humor-Soul"