Legit Literary Agents and Scammers: Tools to Separate the Two

Seeing as I use the searchable Agent Query database whenever I decide to query a project, I spend little time worrying about ‘fake’ agents or scammers. However, scammers hooking unsuspecting writers happens everyday and it is worth gaining some tools on how to identify the ‘bad guys’.

Over on Pub Rants, blog by agent Kristen Nelson, she discusses scammers and the handy websites Writer Beware and Preditors and Editors. She made a call to those of us with blogs to mention that scammers are indeed out there in case we have newbies checking out our sites. (It’s nice to know someone is looking out for us, isn’t it?)

Basically, an agent should never ask for money. (Check out the excellent article by Victoria Strauss for more tips on how to spot a scammer.) Agents get paid when you get paid. That means, you pay them NOTHING until they have made a book deal with a legitimate publisher. Now, some agencies do ask for a small fee to cover office expenses. However those fees should not be asked for upfront. Generally, they are taken off your cut of the book deal and should be mentioned in the contract you sign when you land your agent. And yes, it is common for agents to ask for 15% of what you make on book deals as their cut and 20% from foreign deals. It may seem like a lot at first glance, but agents work very hard for that money and in fact, often you wouldn’t even earn that 15% if you were dealing without an agent. Fact: agents almost always get a better deal for writers than writers do for themselves. Look at that, your agent just paid for him or herself AND you have more time to write and less worries. Awesome!

(If you are new to the game and aren’t sure what sort of things to expect from an agent, check out agent Rachelle Gardner’s list of things to expect of an agent and a couple things not to expect. They are worth checking out. As well, agent Ethan Ellenberg has an excellent article on how to pick a good agent.)

Back to scammers. If you are looking for an agent, you can also check to see if they are a member of AAR (Association of Authors’ Representatives) as those agents HAVE to act within the association’s code of conduct. That is NOT to say that if an agent is not a member that they are going to scam you. No, AAR is just another way to help you sort through your pile of potential agents. As well, check out Agent Query for a good agent. Check writer boards like Absolute Write Water Cooler and of course, the already mentioned Preditors and Editors and Writer Beware. You can also check out books on literary agents at your local bookstore like this one or this one.

Shop Indie Bookstores

Shop Indie Bookstores

Good Links, February Edition

There have been some great blog posts online this month, so I thought I’d share some of the one’s I’ve enjoyed the most(and can actually remember at this moment in time).Today I donated 99 cents ($1.30 Canadian) to help a writer replace his GPS. Seriously. The story sucked me in. Pulled at my heartstrings, made me laugh. All that good stuff. I even navigated around my computer’s security software to make my donation. And then, guess what? I discovered I got something for my $1.30. Huh. I was actually a little disappointed in that my goodwill was going to get me something directly (not karmically). But I got over it quickly because I got a book. Shot of Tequila by JA Konrath. Uh, huh. So there you go. Check out the story and get a PDF of the book. Woo!

In other news, JA Konrath also has a nice checklist for writers. Are you delusional about your abilities as a writer? Maybe confident? Unsure, check it out. It is a good attitude check if nothing else.

Over at Bookends Literary blog, I discovered a fab querythat really helped me with my own. (The post is actually from January, but I only discovered it this week.) The query also wants me to buy the book which is part of the Gray Whale Inn Bed-and-Breakfast mysteries. This is the sentence that made me sit back and go ‘cool’: “But she’s barely fired up the stove when portly developer Bernard Katz rolls into town and starts mowing through her morning glory muffins.” Good stuff! Voice and all that jazz. Plus, her query packs in the protagonist’s stakes in the story. Good job!

If you are working on your synopsis, Kristin Nelson has five helpful things to keep in mind when creating that summary masterpiece over on her Pub Rants blog.

Nathan Bransford (literary agent with Curtis Brown) has a post on characters. He discusses sympathetic and unsympathetic characters and the issue of redeemability. “We’ve all read moments where this happened: a character did something so horrible and shocking and irredeemable that there was no going back. We’re officially done with that person.” That’s pretty much what happened with a book I’m reading right now (but I won’t disclose which one it is). But it has to do with these twisted, evilish little kid twins. And freakishly enough, it isn’t the first instance of twisted, evilish little kid twins that I’ve encountered in a story this year. So, if you think you know which book I’m talking about, think again. It seems to be a popular subject, but sadly for me, not enough conflict to keep me engaged in a story.

And news of my own: I finished the website It’s All Kids’s Play (dot ca) last week and have been listing activities on the blog. Be sure to check them out. There are over 700 activities waiting for your kids to try out!

If you are looking at an easy, fun way to improve your writing, check out RWA’s list of online classes. There are a handful of great, helpful classes being offered each month for reasonable prices. And they are great. I’ve taken two and am signed up for two more. You don’t have to be an RWA member, nor do you have to write romance to get something out of their classes. Very recommended!

And last but not least, some depressing news if you were ‘delusional’ as Konrath would say, and thought you’d make a mint being a writer. Thanks to Nathan Bransford for breaking it down for us aspiring-in-the-dark writers. Now I know I’m really going to have to work hard to sell those books when I get published!

Okay, I can’t really leave you on that depressing note! Let’s think of something fun, like make your own superhero! Yay! Thanks to agent Kate Schafer Testerman and her blog followers for this one.

Enjoy!

Literary Agent Chat Tonight With Jamie Brenner

Welcome literary agent Jamie Brenner!

Jamie is a literary agent at Artists and Artisans Inc. in New York and will be chatting with AQ members on Agent Query tonight at 8 PM Eastern. If you are not a member, you can join for free.

Jamie has been involved in the world of publishing for the past ten years. She has been involved in literary publicity at HarperCollins, editing YA at BarnesandNoble.com, and scouting books and manuscripts for major film companies. She is now a literary agent and editor of the fabulous website Girl Meets Book. Talk about a list of fun jobs!

Jamie is currently looking for thrillers, commercial and women’s fiction, literary fiction, memoir, narrative nonfiction and books about pop culture/entertainment, but is eagerly seeking YA fiction and women’s fiction. If you are interested in submissions, check out the agency’s submission page.

I’ll be serving as chat moderator tonight, so come stop by and say hello to Jamie.

Literary Agent Chat: Jamie Brenner

If you are looking for the opportunity to ask a literary agent a question, the time is now! Okay, actually, it is next Tuesday (January 27th at 8PM Eastern). Agent Query will be holding a free online chat with literary agent Jamie Brenner of Artists and Artisans Inc.

“Jamie Brenner has spent the past decade in book publishing. Her experience includes literary publicity (HarperCollins Publishers), book selling (BarnesandNoble.com), and manuscript analysis and book scouting for major film companies (Miramax Films, Davis Entertainment).” –From the Artists and Artisans website.

She is also the editor of the fabulous site Girl Meets Book. “Whoever said that diamonds are a girl’s best friend clearly never understood the power of a great book.” Hi, my name is Jean and you had me from ‘hello’. Each week the site chooses a hot new release, and I must say there are some great looking books on that site. If my to be read pile wasn’t so huge I had to give it its own shelf, I’d be in there ordering like a dirty shirt. If say, dirty shirts could order books online.

“Jamie Brenner is actively seeking thrillers, commercial and women’s fiction, literary fiction, memoir, narrative nonfiction and books about pop culture/entertainment. She is happy to read first-time writers.”–From the Artists and Artisans website. Hmmm. That sounds like me. I wonder what her definition is for ‘women’s fiction’. Oh, would you look at that, I might just have my first question for her.

If you would like to join me and my best buddies over at Agent Query, make an account (it’s free) if you don’t have one already and log in on the 27th to ask her a question during the chat. You are also welcome to simply listen to her dispense wonderful literary knowledge to the many writers that will be there. And if you miss it, you can catch the ‘replay’, aka, transcripts.

Enjoy!

Career Plans for the New Year

2009 is approaching rapidly. And while I know that we haven’t even ‘done’ Christmas yet, my mind is already moving towards the new year.

In January, I plan to begin querying agents for The 15 Date Rule. While I am querying, I will work on two of my works in progress that are currently in the editing stage. 2009 will be my year. It’s time to take the next step. I can feel it. I’m ready.

In case you need some ‘science’ to back up my feelings check out my January horoscope:

“There’s new hope for a project of relationship you almost gave up on last year. Your expectations–whatever they are–will be met.” (From Chatelaine, January 2009. Holiday Mathis.)

I know it’s a horoscope, but it gives me a strange sense of ‘yes, this will work’. 

What are your career goals for the upcoming new year?