Re: okay, whatever
I'm just offering my insights from my experience as a "professional" manuscript reader here in New York and I thought these insights might be useful.
I doubt that "newsflash" is now or ever has been a professional manuscript reader. There are entirely too many things that don't add up in his/her posts. There are entirely too many things that are contrary to fact. There are entirely too many things that, if believed, would cause new writers a great deal of expense and pain for no results.
But let's see if we can figure out who "newsflash" really is, okay?
Compare:
<blockquote>
Most agents don't have a clue. They’re business people.
-- Newsflash
Anyway, A LITERARY AGENT must be an AGGRESSIVE BUSINESSMAN, tha'ts why you hire one.
-- <a href="http://pub43.ezboard.com/fabsolutewritefrm11.showMessageRange?topicID=210.topic&start=1&stop=20" target="_new">Robert Fletcher</a> (President of ST Literary Agency)
I've never actually met an agent who was truly passionate about a book. Any book. They just want to believe they can sell it.
-- Newsflash
I don't want to love you, I don't want to love your work, I want to sell it for money for you and for me.
-- Robert Fletcher
And the most compelling reason I know is that the author is a close friend of a client. Or, the author is a celebrity. Or the author is well connected to someone in the industry.
-- Newsflash
80% of all books published last year were from previously published authors, 10% were from celebrities, and 5% were from journalists.
-- Robert Fletcher
</blockquote>
How're you doing, Robert? Haven't seen you around here in a while. Sold any manuscripts lately? Sold any manuscripts ever? Don't forget to write if you do!
Now let's compare newsflash's two posts:
<blockquote>
I read manuscripts for a lot of major agents in New York and they pay very well. I make my living at it. I read slush and I read their top, best-selling clients.
-- Newsflash, yesterday
I haven't worked for any so-called reading fee agents in a long, long time but, when I did, those agents were legitimate.
-- Newsflash, today
</blockquote>
So which is it, "newsflash"? That's how you make your living today, or you haven't done it in a long, long time?
As far as "they pay very well," don't try to bullshit me, guy. I know what manuscript reading pays.
There was one legitimate reading-fee agency, once. That was Scott Meredith. They had two sides of the house: one where they kept the big name published authors (who weren't charged fees, by the way), and the other side of the house where they read manuscripts for a fee, holding out the possiblity of being represented by Scott Meredith.
In all the years that Scott was in business (he's dead now), I think that one, perhaps two, authors who came in the reading-fee side wound up getting represented. The rest were cash cows. The agents who worked on the legitimate side weren't the same guys as the ones who worked on the fee side.
Listen, everyone. Do not pay a fee to an agent. Period. End of sentence.
There are worse things than not getting an agent. Getting a bad agent is one of those things.
An agent who charges a fee is saying up front that he or she isn't making enough money off selling manuscripts to keep the doors open. That's either a not-very-good agent or a scam agent.
"Newsflash" has not been helpful.