I recently signed a contract with Tribe Lit. I was on the verge of self-publishing, but Cari convinced me it would be in my best interest to not do so. Having already signed a contract with a self-publishing company, Cari assisted me in getting out of the contract and getting my money back. She has been very supportive and communicated with me often.
My contract was standard, straightforward, and clear. Terms were fair and negotiable, and NO money was requested up or fee assessed. In fact, my contract forbids it. The names Cari Foulk and Jonathan Clements were both on the contract, and it includes a 30-day termination clause if I decide I no longer wish to be represented by Tribe Lit. As per any above-board literary agency, they only get paid when I get published.
Cari was optimistic, but realistic about my chances of publication. She has high hopes for my work, but has given me a pragmatic estimation of the time involved in finding a publisher. In other words, no "pie-in-the-sky" promises often made by crooked agents.
Several inaccurate statements have been made on this thread. Whether these are genuine mistakes or outright attempts at deception is irrelevant. Allow me to correct them here:
1. As has already been pointed out, Cari's partner is Jonathan Clements. He is formerly of the Nashville Agency, and recently started Wheelhouse Literary. He brought all his clients with him. It is unlikely that a respected, successful, accomplished literary agent would go into business with someone he didn't think was capable of getting writers published...OR one who was crooked.
2. Tribe Lit is not now, nor has it ever been, listed as an "imprint" of Wheelhouse Literary. The message claiming to "quote" that from Cari's twitter was made on 12/28/2009. I queried the agency on 12/22/2009, which was the day I followed Cari at
http://twitter.com/tribelit. On that very day, the word "imprint" did not appear on her profile. It said then, as it says now: "Doing the agent thing a bit differently.. in partnership with Wheelhouse Literary Group"
3. I scoured Cari's personal Twitter timeline at
http://twitter.com/chfoulk for dates from the 22nd back several weeks and found absolutely no mention, praiseworthy or otherwise, of Phenix and Phenix. I may have missed it.
4. Tribe Lit has not been in business for a year. As of my contract date, they had been in business for a month as per Cari's direct words to me. Cari Foulk was an independent editor, but is now a literary agent. She brings her contacts in the publishing world from her work as an editor, coupled with the professional publishing history of her associate, Jonathan Clements, to her work as a literary agent.
5. That some of Cari's clients have previously self-published their work is only "troubling" if one assumes that a writer would only self-publish because they wrote a terrible book, OR if the literary agency in question pushed the client towards self-publication with company to which they may be connected or receiving a kick-back. As Cari actually convinced me NOT to self-publish my book is evidence that this is not the case.
I'm glad I could clear all this up. However, I think it would be better in the future if any writers have any questions about an agency to contact that agency directly, or do as I did and contact authors represented by the agency and ask questions (like, "has the agent asked you for money?" or "without specifics, are the terms of the contract fair and/or negotiable?") I realize that was what the original poster was attempting to do, but the conversation was quickly side-tracked by false information.
Most crooked agents expose themselves as such right away by asking for money, trying to get you to pay for editing services, or urging you into self-publishing. Whether Cari is a good agent remains to be seen, as she's only been at it for a short time. However, she certainly has a lot of energy and enthusiasm for the work of her clients, and she has not done anything outside the accepted standards of a literary agent.