Stay away from Leslie Gardner. My experience with her was entirely negative. She asked for the full after reading the query. Then, after reading the manuscript, she wanted me to agree to allow her to obtain what she called a 'professional reader's opinion.' (She didn't trust her own judgment?) I agreed. Some months later, I learned that the professional reader was a senior editor for Random House. The editor did not buy the story but stated 'the author clearly has talent.' As a new author, I was enthused by this (in spite of no sale) as the quality of my writing had been validated in a manner of speaking. I wish to emphatically state that, after getting the opinion she sought from Random House, she refused to offer me a contract. But, on this opinion, Gardner sent the manuscript to an editor at Hachette, a gentleman that works for Orbit Books. He contacted Gardner via e-mail in reply and told her that Orbit doesn't handle works of the paranormal, only science fiction and another genre I do not at this moment recall. So I went to their website and, sure enough, there was no reference to anything having to do with vampires, werewolves, ghosts, you name it. So I began to wonder if Gardner knew what she doing. She then sent it to a woman at another major publisher that replied by telling her she doesn't read horror stories. I contacted Gardner to ask her to disabuse the woman of the notion that my story is horror as it is much more an intellectual type of ghost story with only a nod towards horror. She refused! I also asked her to send the manuscript to Simon & Shuster as this is the publisher that handles Stephen King's works. She never did. Why? Because I don't think she knows anyone there, that she's not all that well connected. In six months, I remember receiving only three e-mails from her forwarded from publishing house editors. If I did receive more, it was only one more. And in spite of my additional requests to have her extend a contract, she just ignored me. Then! Six months after 'taking on' the manuscript, she sent me an e-mail to say she was 'withdrawing' from representing me. By that act, leaving me hanging as the manuscript was allegedly on the desks (unread) at this time, she severely damaged my story by doing that. No agent wants to pick up where another left off. And she knew that. (I should mention that during the time she was sending it out, another agent contacted me to say this could be 'a big book.' I turned this woman down in the false belief that Gardner would work with me until we had sold the novel.) In short, Gardner is bad news. There's no doubt in my mind that she would not have offered me a contract until/unless the manuscript sold. Probably the way she operates for any new author. Sending it to a mere handful of editors, some of them not even taking the time to read it(!) for the reasons you read here, is a breathtaking example of her work ethic. If I had known she was going to pull a stunt like that, was going to submit it to people that had zero interest in reading it, would have sent it to as few editors as she did, did not submit it to Simon & Schuster(!), I never would have agreed to let her send it out to anyone. Fortunately, my new novel is complete and is even better, now in the hands of a number of agents that have no complaints lodged against them on this board or any other.