WT Literary Agents

hev_2

Hi,

Just in case this applies to anyone.

I have written a novel (fantasy novel, @ 69,000 words, really good if any publishers/agents are looking ) and I am looking for an agent.

I found W L Writers Literary Agency through Google, went through the registration process and got back a really interesting email. It looks like the email finishes, but below that is a huge amount about how honest and trustworthy the company are!

My DH looked into them, and found a lot of bad press about them. To test the waters he sent them a file of corrupted data, renamed as a document. They said that it definitely showed promise and that they were happy to act for him. They are scammers

They start off with a small fee (less than $100) for getting some editing done, then there is some proof reading, preparation for publishing, introduction fees etc etc.

I took it in my stride. I am confident I have a commercial work (if I can ever find an agent) and I am already working on a second novel. Some people, however, get really caught up in their work and can spend years on their novel. The worst thing about it for me was how upset my DH was when he had to break it to me that it was a scam.

I suggest you avoid. I am taking the position that if my work is good enough, then someone will pay me, not the other way round.

Hope this helps.

Hev

RadoJo

Literary agents, like any other professional talent spotters such as modeling agencies, are there to make themselves money. Good ones do it by developing an eye for what will be popular and succeed within their chosen industry. Bad ones will just ask for money from any Tom, !!!!!! or Harry with a dream, and produce, in response, a long list of excuses. Well done to you and your OH for being savvy and remember how any times Harry Potter was rejected by publishers...!

hev_2

Thank you for that encouragement.

It is true, there are some dreadful people out there and I am sure that most literary agents are decent and honest people. I am, despite the evidence on this board, convinced that there are far more nice people than nasty people out there, and there are some real angels!

Hev

trisontana

With all due respect this is called "Vanity Publishing" whereby these rip-off agencies will publish any rubbish as long as you pay them. As RadoJo has already pointed out, a respectable publishing company will not ask for any money up front.

I am not implying that your particular book is rubbish but you would be much better off signing up to a "proper" publishing house who will be able give you constructive criticism and advice about your book.

rosysparkle

I presume you have got this year's edition of the Writers' and Artists' Yearbook? This will give you all the info you need about finding a reputable agent. The new one comes out in July/August I think. Amazon linkylink. There's an edition for authors who write children's books, too.

Don't touch vanity publishing, if your book is good enough you will find a publisher.

hev_2

trisontana wrote: »

With all due respect this is called "Vanity Publishing" whereby these rip-off agencies will publish any rubbish as long as you pay them. As RadoJo has already pointed out, a respectable publishing company will not ask for any money up front.

I am not implying that your particular book is rubbish but you would be much better off signing up to a "proper" publishing house who will be able give you constructive criticism and advice about your book.

The trouble is, it isn't even vanity publishing - the book would never get into print with these people, they would just keep taking money and promise that the publication (and movie deal!) would be 'soon'. At least with Vanity Publishing you get something at the end of it.

I am going through the process of sending my manuscript to an agent from Writers & Artists Yearbook, waiting three months for them to get back to me, sending it out again, checking that the agent deals with genre fiction, waiting three months, sending it out again... The process got a little disrupted by the arrival of DS in December, and I thought trying to Google something might be a short cut

Ah well, back to the Writers & Artists Yearbook.

BTW I really appreciate the support & suggestions - thank you!

Hev

hev_2

I am really sorry - it has been a few days since I discovered that the agency was a scam, and it only just occurred to me that I may not be the only one looking for an agent.

The actual name of the scammers is WL writers literary agency and they are, unfortunately, not even vanity publishers. As I said in the original post, they said that a corrupted file of data was 'promising and worth pursuing'.

I sincerely apologise to any WT agency out there - though I don't think there is. Can any moderator who sees this change the title of the thread, and I will edit my posts.

barvid

As a novelist myself, I would highly recommend one of the many commercial reader's services available. If you really want to know what's good and what's bad about your novel, a good reader will tell you. Yes, you have to pay for it, but if you go with a good service then you'll get pages and pages back detailing exactly what you've done right and wrong. And yes, it will be a difficult read at times... Some of the readers out there act as talent scouts for literary agencies and novels which have commercial potential will be fast tracked to the agency for review, i.e. you can avoid the slush pile and get an instant turnaround. Typical rates are about £2.50 per 1,000 words so it's an expensive business... but the quality of the advice I've received from the reader I use is worth thousands to me. Just a thought. Oh, and don't forget that you don't technically need an agent - you can go direct to a publisher. Up to you. But I thoroughly recommend the Writers and Artists Yearbook - you can't go far wrong if you've got a copy on your shelf.

hev_2

Thank you, barvid.

I think I shall investigate these services. Fantasy novels are a niche market, and the number of agents willing to deal with them (according to the Writers & Artists Yearbook) is limited.

I know I shall have to grit my teeth when the comments come back. A first attempt at a novel is never going to be perfect. It is worthwhile, however, and your suggestion is really helpful. I shall just have to stock up on chocolate for when the m/s comes back

Is it within the forum rules for you to recommend one? It just seems such a minefield, even for someone like myself who is trying to treat the whole thing on the same level as a full time job (except for the writing - I treat that as a vocation).

Thank you.

Hev

barvid

The reader I use is Hilary Johnson. You can find her website at http://www.hilaryjohnson.com and I really can't recommend her service highly enough. Over the course of about five novel-length submissions, her advice has been perceptive and invaluable and by following it I've seen the quality of my writing improve vastly. If you're serious about writing, which I certainly am, I think the initial outlay of paying for this kind of service is outweighed a thousand-fold by the benefit of having people with experience of the publishing industry read and comment on your work and the improvements you can make as a result - if you're doing something wrong, you really need to know about it so you can stop doing it, and equally if you're doing something right, you need to know.

As I said before, a lot of readers or advisory services act as talent scouts for agents - Hilary certainly does - so if the novel is good enough then it can end up on an agent's desk. That's happened to two of mine, but neither picked up representation. I'm hopeful for the latest...!!

If you don't fancy Hilary Johnson's services for whatever reason, there are others out there. I approached her initially because another author (published) who reviewed my second novel recommended her, and I'm now at the point where I wouldn't even consider sending anything out before it's been via Hilary and then been subject to a rewrite to pick up on 99% of the points she raises.

hev_2

I shall certainly give her a try.

Thank you for your help.

Hev

And good look with your novels. We writers need to stick together!