As questionable as heresay is, I'll nevertheless relay (though keeping with AW's respectable philosophy, do your own diligence) the caution from a freelancer who mentioned the following to me:
"WD takes kickbacks to list agents, I believe."
(end of that person's comment).
That possibility and/or Filigree's post, between the two possibilities, likely explains what's what. I loosely understand that WD is segmented in its management structure, so it seems that someone, say, managing one aspect of its business might not be directly aware/involved in another division asleep at the wheel (competence) or outright possible kickbacks.
Looking through their 2015 NOVEL AND SHORT STORY GUIDE -- which they have the gall to add the subtitle of it being no less than "The most trusted guide to getting published" it yet again contains numerous obvious misguided charlatans posing as agents (however sincere some of them might be out of sheer ignorance, or calculated greed). That WD routinely blows off having being alerted to this ongoing stunt of listing these bad apples defies my reach that it could be sheer incompetence in listing them, year after year, despite being alerted several times. It would take a college kid, what, two hours to weed out those listings by checking AW forums and other sources. I'm usually not a conspiracy theorist, but the kickback scheme, regrettably, sure would connect the dots (ethics notwithstanding).
I'll end here since this broadens the scope beyond the agency listed in this forum, but I really do take an issue with what WD is doing on an ongoing basis. While I and others who've been around know about AW and other forums to cross-check, I wouldn't completely fault a newbie just getting their feet wet (who would discover sooner or later, if they're diligent, how to cross-check and what to check) but if the first thing they did is splash down the considerably expensive annual WD guides (there's at least three of diff't types of guides containing these bad apples, year after year), they might mistakenly both their chances by hooking up with such an agent. Shouldn't WD be strongly called for such? Or is it that long-time folks at AW are fairly well aware of WD pulling this and haven't had luck compelling them to operate their biz more responsibly? Personally, I found The Writer (mag) to be more in-depth anyhow. There's a few nice aspects of certain items from WD, but this needlessly tarnishes them.
I'd love Chuck to post a defense of their clear wrongdoing. Or at least someone over there to wisen up and pledge to clean house once and for all on said literary equivalent of ambulance chasing/kickbacks/whatever demons possess them.
Final point: by WD providing these scammers (be those unqualified agents misguided 'n well-meaning, or knowing frauds) a showcase, it is enabling them. Providing them a vehicle. Rather than
giving them a literary kick in the pants and chastising them.
I've noticed that this syndrome of deluded wanna-be agents (who don't shave enough off their inflated egos or greediness to pay their dues by interning/starting at the bottom as a junior agent at a real agency ran by a real agent) is far more prevalent in America than in Great Britain. For some reason, agents over there (generally) are almost always well qualified. There just doesn't seem to be that deluded or scammer mentality as wide over there. Perhaps it's in part due to a smaller population there vs. here. The bad apple agent just sticks out here, and should be called out, rather than supported by WD. WD should be SHAMED for this ongoing behavior they're getting away with. WD claims they're in the business to HELP writers, not sabotage them. And yet...
