Friday, July 31, 2009

Stupid-Just Plain Stupid

My dreams of becoming a published author seem to have died when the contract was resent to me a second time under a different name. On the brighter side had I signed the contract they wouldn't have sent me a second one with a different name for me to google and find that I was about to be scammed.

I will try again but this time I will just purchase the book that lists all the creditable agencies and query again. If only my pay check could clone itself so I can afford such a pricy endeavor. None the less I have to ensure my brainchild lives to see the glory of publication.
The WL Writers Agency was the eventual name I was given which is on the "Writers Beware" site. I was given the WB Agency first and they sent me picture from a book convention where all the banners around them said AEG.
My advice is to keep googling always be googling.

3 comments:

  1. You can find all the credible agencies over at www.agentquery.com, and double check them over at Preditors and Editors and the AbsoluteWrite forums. Save your money ;)

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  2. An agent or agency's presence in a book doesn't make it legit. Check their sales, check their reputations. See if they've repped any books you've heard of or can at least Google.

    Check the book out of the library, then take your list of possibilities to a site like Agent Query or Query Tracker to give yourself a better picutre of the agent/agency in question. Google each one's name with "scam" and see if anything comes up, then Google each name with "complaints" to see if anything comes up.

    You put effort and time into making your book the best it can be, don't blow it now by not doing extensive research on who you're going to trust with it.

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  3. Try not to be downhearted: you've managed to sidestep a less-than-desirable agency. That's better than many manage.

    Just be aware that the listings in agency directories like Writers' Market aren't vetted at all, they're just compiled: you have to check each agency out before you submit, and make sure that it has a record of good sales to legitimate publishing houses. If you're in any doubt then check the "Bewares and Background Checks" section at Absolute Write to find out what others have said.

    And the very best of luck with your writing.

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