tigertiger76
Has anyone had a positive or negative experience with literary agents, David Duperre or Ginger Norton, of Sedgebank Literary Associates in Fort Worth?
Given that they're being paid by the month, why would they submit a bunch at a time? Submitting nly two per month doesn't mean they're going to appropriate publishers. In fact, getting paid by the month removes the motivation to submit to appropriate publishers.Silverhand said:They do not shotgun submit. I have seen every invoice sent out, and there is NEVER more then 2 submits per month.
This is not standard practice for reputable agencies. Reputable agents work on commission, and get paid when they sell your book to an advance-paying publisher.They charge $50 / month for expenses.
Research those publishers carefully. Scam agents have been known to "sell" books to PublishAmerica and other vanity presses, and to claim sales they didn't actually make.They offered a list of authors that have been published, and though none of the publishing houses were major (All would have accepted unagented authors), the list seemed to be legit.
Silverhand, don't let your friend get caught up in playing this game. It's a distraction from what's really happening.Silverhand said:Also, she asked him to find and small agencies with 2 or less agents that do not charge something up front? Can anyone name a few?
This is really just a different variety of shotgun submission. Reputable agents don't contact X number of publishers every month; they send out one or more carefully targeted submissions and wait till they get a response before going elsewhere.Silverhand said:They do not shotgun submit. I have seen every invoice sent out, and there is NEVER more then 2 submits per month.
Most agents expect clients to bear some of the expense of submission, but they only bill expenses over and above the normal cost of doing business--i.e, expenses they wouldn't incur if they didn't represent the client, such as manuscript phocopying, postage, Fed Ex, long distance calls, and the like. Stuff they'd have to pay for anyway--stationary, business cards, general office supplies, travel--they absorb. In other words, clients aren't expected to fund every paperclip and envelope used on their behalf.They charge $50 / month for expenses.
Some of the publishers are solid; others are less so (one has an awful contract; one doesn't appear to have much ability to distribute. It's hard to imagine a successful agent letting clients settle for sales like these--let alone claiming them as part of a track record). Also, sales to reputable independent publishers are great, but the real test of an agent is getting in where an author can't--to the large publishing houses.They offered a list of authors that have been published, and though none of the publishing houses were major (All would have accepted unagented authors), the list seemed to be legit.