- Joined
- May 4, 2007
- Messages
- 573
- Reaction score
- 64
Thanks guys. Makes me feel much better. I'll keep you guys posted. I don't know what I'd do without my friends at AW! =)
God bless you all!
God bless you all!
Thanks guys. I agree. That was quite odd - with all their sales, they are hard to irnore however. Does everyone think they are reliable?
You're kidding, right? Publish America? They are Strongly Not Recommended on P&E, by the way.
Instant reply to my query -- asked for full ms by email -- in one day "took it upon myself to send it to _______, Editor at ______ Publisher. After publisher rejected it, he said he had too much on his plate to represent me. Go figure.
I think Cookie is referring to the agency, not the publisher. And with no other information, it's seems likely that the agent couldn't place the book, or didn't want to rep it, so the author took it to PA.
I've heard that he does that and that is why I would not query him. This is just my opinion, so take it for what it's worth, but if he is showing it around without actually signing you, isn't he "using up" your chance with that editor? Can the next agent (who might actually sign you and be with you for the long haul) still pitch to that editor? I want an agent who will commit to representing me BEFORE going to editors on my behalf.
I would be interested in other people's opinions on this.
In my opinion, an agent should never show your manuscript to a publisher if you have not signed with him. It's bad business for the agent, and bad for the writer.
A few agents don't use a contract, but Diforio isn't one of them. Still, what if he'd asked first? What if he called and said, hey, I'm kind of booked up, but I have one editor in mind where this might be a good match. What if I shoot it over to him? Would you have bitten your tongue to keep from screaming yes, my God YES! Or would you have said, no thanks, I'll keep looking?
FWIW, before I signed with my agent, she told me that she mentioned my novel to an editor she knows well, and does a lot of business with. But she didn't SEND the editor my ms.