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McCool
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Despite being enthusiastic about my work, the agent I use in the US has not sold anything yet despite submissions. He is, I would say, a middle weight agent who has had some successes but hasn't sold anything yet in my genre. He is on first name terms with many editors and essentially submits by snail mail or email but I don't think he gets on the phone and sells (does that ever happen).
I happened upon him by chance and was lucky. I think my work is suited to the US market and I have been sending partial submissions myself to some UK editors (always with my US agent's name attached).
Should I try to find another agent?
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PaulE
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"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush" as they say.
Have you asked him for some sort of strategic plan - a list of publishers he intends to contact - his reasons for selecting those particular ones - and timescales.
From his point of view he's probably treating US as "home market" and selling rights would be secondary.
If it's the US market you're after (and why not) ask him for a plan and hold him too it. If nothing happens then think about the UK market and look for a new agent.
Just a thought.
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Wendy Wynde
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Hi McCool, I had some dealings with a very dodgy agent who would quite happily reel off a list of the people he was connected to and the number of submissions he'd made on client's behalf. He even managed to get a few books into print... but these turned out to be with a vanity company and he turned out to be a BIG CON man, ripping off all and sundry. He actually had some of his clients on his books for over 7 years, keeping them dangling with false promises and in the mistaken belief that they were about to hit the big time. I am not saying that your guy is a con man but if he is in the US and you in the UK, have you ever actually met him? Do you have proof he is doing what he says he is doing and have you checked out he is all he says he is? If so, then ignore me. I was badlly stung and I would hate anyone else to suffer the same fate. On the other hand, if you have doubts about him, trust your concerns and find a new agent. I know they are like a needle in a haystack, but a bird in the hand that shits on you, is definitely not worth one in the bush. Just to round off this little sorry tale of mine, my guy will be coming to court this year on major fraud charges, along with a string of other charges and I hope he goes down. Good luck.
You always get more of what you focus on in life...
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PaulE
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Hi Wendy,
Sorry to hear about your experience, and you're so right to sound a warning.
I wish the magazines and others in the writing industry and media would do something about exposing these frauds.
I also wish they would inject a little more realism when they build up the expectations of writers. They are quick to headline the six figure advances and the "overnight" success stories, but seem reluctant to discuss the odds of ever getting published, or the struggle involved in finding an agent/publisher and the pitfalls involved, or the likely earnings of a new unheard of writer for their first book.
Building false expectations creates opportunities for the sort of scumbag you encountered, and each of us is prone to making the same mistake having ridden on the publishing roller-coaster.
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PaulE
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See "New York Literary Agency" post by Richie D
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weiden
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There are several sites dedicated to exposing literary frauds. Try editors and preditorsThe site is organized by agent and agency names. It gives contact info for agents and when there is a suspicion of fraud it lists it too. Example for an entry under letter M: Manuscripts International: Not recommended. A literary agency? Editors's note: quoted to an individual in a contract that they wanted $1,830 for revisions before submitting to publishers. Contact at: 400 E. Main St. Dayton, WA 99328-1357
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Patrick G
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Quote: PaulE, Tuesday, 12 Aug 2008 09:24See "New York Literary Agency" post by Richie D Got stung by these people myself - the only "offer" they came up with was a "publisher" that was a subsidiary of their own company. Fortunately I like to know who I'm dealing with and they slipped up and I discovered what it was all about. Read the small print carefully - it certainly paid in my case.
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I'm in the UK - my agent is in the US - but he hasn't sold
09 Aug 2008, 16:55
