Carrie ([info]smokeandtears) wrote,
@ 2006-05-25 07:34:00
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Current mood: angry

stupid scammers need to suck eggs
Or something like that.

Because of one stupid cow, Absolute Write, one of the best websites out there for writers, has been shut down.

Go here for more information on what happened.

And to do my part in getting the word out about all the literary miscreants out there, here are

The Twenty Worst Literary Agents



  • The Abacus Group Literary Agency

  • Allred and Allred Literary Agents (refers clients to "book doctor" Victor West of Pacific Literary Services)

  • Capital Literary Agency (formerly American Literary Agents of Washington, Inc.)

  • Barbara Bauer Literary Agency

  • Benedict & Associates (also d/b/a B.A. Literary Agency)

  • Sherwood Broome, Inc.

  • Desert Rose Literary Agency

  • Arthur Fleming Associates

  • Finesse Literary Agency (Karen Carr)

  • Brock Gannon Literary Agency

  • Harris Literary Agency

  • The Literary Agency Group, which includes the following:



  1. Children's Literary Agency

  2. Christian Literary Agency

  3. New York Literary Agency

  4. Poets Literary Agency

  5. The Screenplay Agency

  6. Stylus Literary Agency (formerly ST Literary Agency)

  7. Writers Literary & Publishing Services Company (the editing arm of the above-mentioned agencies)


  • Martin-McLean Literary Associates

  • Mocknick Productions Literary Agency, Inc.

  • B.K. Nelson, Inc.

  • The Robins Agency (Cris Robins)

  • Michele Rooney Literary Agency (also d/b/a Creative Literary Agency and Simply Nonfiction)

  • Southeast Literary Agency

  • Mark Sullivan Associates

  • West Coast Literary Associates (also d/b/a California Literary Services)



And because I like this person's idea, Barbara Bauer . Because she is a complete fraud, a scam artist, and the truth should be told.



(3 comments) - (Post a new comment)


[info]athenaps
2006-05-25 09:32 pm UTC (link)
I've clicked a few times in support! Down with Barbara! Booo!

(Reply to this)

Unfortunate
(Anonymous)
2006-06-08 03:09 pm UTC (link)
I recently signed up with the children's Literary Agency, now I feel like such a sucker. They said that my work needed to be critiqued and that they would send me a list of people that did that sort of work, however I had to send them $78.00, after which time I received an email from them stating that they had received the money and would take up to 2 weeks to critique, then send a copy of their findings to me and also to Children's Literary Agency. Who said that after they received a copy of the critique they would begin to help me. Have I been bilked, screwed-glued-and tattooed or what?

(Reply to this) (Thread)

Re: Unfortunate
[info]smokeandtears
2006-06-08 04:34 pm UTC (link)
Sorry to say, it sounds like you've been had.

That is a classic scam, and is the way these agencies make money.

I'm not sure what recourse you'll have--possibly you could file a grievance with the Better Business Bureau. Though I'm not sure what good that'll do, and it certainly won't get your money back.

A good rule of thumb is to check any literary agent or agency out with Preditors and Editors (http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/) or Writer Beware. Also remember that no reputable agent will ever charge a fee, or send you to an "editing" company for kickbacks. That is highly unethical and is against the Association of Authors' Representative's guidelines.

Another thing to do when querying agents, is to see if they're a member of AAR (www.aar-online.org). They have a specific set of guidelines agents must follow in order to join.

You should also check the agent's list of clients and sales. If you've heard of the agent's clients, and if they have sales to ACTUAL PUBLISHING HOUSES (ie NOT POD or vanity presses), that's a good indication they're on the level. If an agent refuses to tell who they've sold to or who their clients are, that's a good indication they're scammers.

(Reply to this) (Parent)


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