Opinions on Agents who recommend (not push) an editor
For a brief and hopefully humorous background on me before I ask the question. I’m an actor, and as an actor, you get use to the hustle. You get use to showing up at an agency where they call you buddy even if your name and picture are in their hand and then to make a big show they'll shout to someone in the next room that someone to get their buddy(you) a coke. And then someone from the next room with respond, yes Mr. Bill. Side note, if you are going with Mr./Mrs. followed by your first name. Yuck. So, anyway, I'm use to that because the following words from their mouth as you wait for your coca-cola (that's really RC cola or some other crap) is, “We could do this and that together, oh, it would be amazing, holy cow pie, thinking about it just yesterday I was booking so and so on this. But, first we need you to get some new head shots and I got the perfect guy and we also have to package you with a website and coincidentally I have a guy for that too!"
To which, I say no. It's a simple bait situation so I say, give me the coca-cola in a cup. I'm out!
So that aside, here is the current set up I am in. I sent my query and chapters to a Secret Agent Man (Scott Mortenson) and he liked it. He did say, hey I like it but it meanders, it's 168,450 words and the average novel is half that. So, edit it down or split it in two and let me know. If you need someone, I can recommend them. So, like a used car salesman, I said, no, I'm good and I walked. But that deal lingered in my mind and a few days later out of curiosity I said, Oye! (I was feeling rather British) who do you have just so I know. He recommends a guy (who he told me in advance was a client) named Eric Dalen (the writing freak) and I got in touch with him. So far, all of this seems dandy and normal. Eric wants to charge $5 a page to edit but all checks should be mailed to his agent. Who is Scott Mortenson (by the way, I feel if I were amateur script writer, this would be the part where I'd feel like genius. And the person behind all of this. THAT GUY! Wah wah wahhhhhh!) So, that is when all a sudden I though, huh. Fishy. Odd. Strange.
I looked on publisher marketplace and it doesn't seem as if Secret Agent Man (Scott Mortenson) is selling stuff out the wazoo, actually it looks like he has only sold stuff for Eric Dalen. So, yeah. Scam?
Has anyone else run into anyone else or anything similar?
Thanks for any and all help and hopefully you giggled.