• Guest please check The Index before starting a thread.

Nancy Ellis Literary Agency

UrsusMinor

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 23, 2005
Messages
439
Reaction score
51
Location
Butt in chair
No, not insuperable, but...

HapiSofi said:
Look, let's say I have a submission from an agent. Then I hear that agent's parted ways with that author. At that moment the submission's dead. If I'm nice, I send it back to the agent, though it could be recycled just as well from my office as from theirs. Whether or not I get it resubmitted to me by the new agent is up to the new agent.

It would only be a little bit different if I'd read it and loved it and gone through the whole whoop-te-do and rigamarole of selling it to my house. It'd still be a dead submission when the author broke with the agent, but I'd more passionately hope the new agent submitted it to me. I might even be Forward and Immodest about asking for it.

If I'd decided I didn't much like it, but hadn't got round to writing the letter yet? The changeover wouldn't much matter.

I'll grant, absolutely, that it would be a good thing to find out what Ms. Ellis did with one's manuscript. I just don't think it's an insuperable barrier.

I am given to understand that once thing many agents hate is to send in an ms., only to find out that it has already been rejected by the recipient. Or, worse yet, is loved by the recipient, but has already been turned down by the recipient's boss, or the boss's boss.

If you don't tell an agent that a manuscript has been shopped around, you'll be in deep kim chee if she finds out otherwise.

If you know it may have been shopped but you're not sure where or to whom, no, this may not be a deal-killer vis-a-vis a second agent repping it, but I'm guessing it would give most of them pause...
 

eqb

I write novels
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
4,680
Reaction score
2,055
Location
In the resistance
Website
www.claireodell.com
HapiSofi said:
Look, let's say I have a submission from an agent. Then I hear that agent's parted ways with that author. At that moment the submission's dead. If I'm nice, I send it back to the agent, though it could be recycled just as well from my office as from theirs. Whether or not I get it resubmitted to me by the new agent is up to the new agent...

That's interesting. I would not have guessed that the new agent could resubmit the manuscript.
 

mswindy

Any recent complaints

I recently recieved a request for a manuscript from Ms. Ellis and was all ready to send it out until I stumbled upon this thread. She seems to have a record of sales, and the information I'm getting is mixed about her. *sigh* Does anyone know of any recent sales by her or any complaints within the last year? Thank you in advance.
 

UrsusMinor

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 23, 2005
Messages
439
Reaction score
51
Location
Butt in chair
I find it bizarre that you would ask...

If, after reading the above thread, you consider information about Nancy Ellis to be "mixed," I don't know what to say to you.

All of her recent sales are trumpeted on her website, http://www.booksatbulldog.com/index.html .

She HAS made important sales, particularly back when she was at LitWest, which was a very reputable agency.

She is NOT a member of the AAR. She has stolen money from her clients. Her most important clients do not thank her in their acknowledgments. She offers all kinds of paid "workshops" and special "intensives" to her clients, and does referrals to book doctors and editors. She has been disinvited from at least one major writing conference because of complaints and her well-publicized legal problems.

If you call that 'mixed,' then by all means send her your book.
 

Tilly

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 19, 2005
Messages
746
Reaction score
160
Location
UK
If your book is good enough for Nancy Ellis to want to take on, then it's quite likely another agent (one who doesn't steal money) would want to take it on.

If it was me, I'd strike her off my list. In fact I'd run very fast in the opposite direction.

Good luck. :)
 

waylander

Who's going for a beer?
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 24, 2005
Messages
8,279
Reaction score
1,567
Age
65
Location
London, UK
MsWindy.
Go here www.agentquery.com and find lots of legit agents to send your query to. These people do not ask for money upfront, and they all have verifiable records of sales to real publishers.
 

mswindy

Ouch...

Wow, I didn't mean mixed on this thread, I meant mixed as in from other sources I've heard.

I'm a newbie, so please no biting off of heads. : (

I chose not to send out the manuscript and I'm shopping for other agents who are less scary, thanks to everyone here. I know she's got a sales records, but trust is everything, right?

Thanks again.
 

WindWeaver

Registered
Joined
Aug 30, 2006
Messages
14
Reaction score
1
WOW I'm so glad I checked out Nancy Ellis "just for fun," because after I met her at a conference two years ago in Colorado, I was sold. She was the agent for me. I liked the way she spoke, her confidence, detailed information on how to approach an agent, and her great sense of humor. Fortunately for me I was too shy at the time to approach her about my MS in progress. Hindsight is always 20/20, and I can see my shyness was working for me that day. And here I come to find out my favorite pick is a bad apple!
 

rugcat

Lost in the Fog
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 27, 2005
Messages
16,339
Reaction score
4,110
Location
East O' The Sun & West O' The Moon
Website
www.jlevitt.com
Aeneas said:
Has anyone heard anything more about Nancy Ellis? Anyone cares to share?
I have a friend who is being represented by her. He is aware of her previous problems, but feels that she has turned her professional life around recently, and believes she can place his book with the best possible publisher. (Speciality Non-Fiction)

I haven't been too supportive of his decision, but he feels if he watches carefully and checks up periodically, she can be an effective agent for him. I'll let everyone know what happens.
 

Aeneas

Registered
Joined
Sep 11, 2006
Messages
28
Reaction score
0
Location
California
Thank you for letting me know. May be non-fiction is easier to place. I wish your friend great success. I've heard from an acquaintance who's a bit puzzled about what's really going on (fiction). I won't repeat here because it's just a 'feeling,' and it's someone else's experience. May be she (my acquaintance) is being hasty in her worry.
 

Judith Gofor

Registered
Joined
Feb 6, 2006
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
True to form, Ellis did not produce the requested list of places to which my ms was sent, but claimed she had done so. In a package that looked like something wrapped by a six-year-old she returned cc of my ms when our contract expired, said this was all of what she had. In fact she had another project of mine but denies that was so. THIS LADY IS A REAL LOSER. I'm back to shopping for an agent--a real drag--but am relieved to be rid of this inept, dishonest woman who flatters you into a contract and then abandons you to the winds.
JG
 

Lauri B

I Heart Mac
Absolute Sage
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 14, 2005
Messages
2,038
Reaction score
400
rugcat said:
I have a friend who is being represented by her. He is aware of her previous problems, but feels that she has turned her professional life around recently, and believes she can place his book with the best possible publisher. (Speciality Non-Fiction)

I haven't been too supportive of his decision, but he feels if he watches carefully and checks up periodically, she can be an effective agent for him. I'll let everyone know what happens.

Well, based on the information from the lawsuits, she does a fine job placing the books; she just seems to forget to give the authors their money.
 

Aeneas

Registered
Joined
Sep 11, 2006
Messages
28
Reaction score
0
Location
California
Judith Gofor said:
True to form, Ellis did not produce the requested list of places to which my ms was sent, but claimed she had done so.
JG

As for the list--from a legal point of view look at it this way: if you place your work with a publisher within the term in the contract (I assume there is a time frame after the termination of the contract where she can claim her cut), if the name of that publisher is not in the list she sent you, she cannot claim her percentage; unless the editor collaborates that he had received something from her and insists on it. Otherwise...

At least you only lost a year. Although, if it's non fiction, that could result in missing the window of opportunity for the subject.

A good lesson for all of us.
 

JeanneTGC

I *am* Catwoman...and Gini Koch
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 23, 2006
Messages
7,676
Reaction score
5,784
Location
A Little South of Sanity
Website
www.ginikoch.com
Earlier in this thread, it was referenced that Nancy Ellis either is a big part of or runs a conference in Northern California. Does anyone know the name of this conference? I ask because I am able to go to a variety of conferences and, being on the western side of the continent, have looked at many NoCal conferences as potentials. I'd like to avoid one run or hugely supportive of an agent like this, if at all possible.
 

UrsusMinor

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 23, 2005
Messages
439
Reaction score
51
Location
Butt in chair
Some of the conferences she lists DON'T mention her: Maui, Willamette, Aspen, Mendocino, Pacific Northwest, San Diego, Santa Barbara...

The only West Coast conference I can find where she really seems to be on the list is the Jack London Writers Conference, so I'd give it a miss [N.B. THIS IS INCORRECT. SEE NEXT POST--Ursus].

If you're looking for a good conference in NoCal, I'd attend the San Francisco Writers Conference in mid-February; they are relatively new, but a class act:

http://www.sanfranciscowritersconference.com/

If you can venture a little farther, I--and a number of folks who've been from conferences ranging from Maui to PNW--think the best writers conference running is the venerable SDSU Writers Conference (now in its 23rd year).

http://www.ces.sdsu.edu/writers/

[Note that this is the conference sponsored by San Diego State University; there are two other conferences also calling themselves the San Diego Writers Conference.] There was a time that Nancy Ellis attended this conference, but those days are long gone.
 
Last edited:

UrsusMinor

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 23, 2005
Messages
439
Reaction score
51
Location
Butt in chair
A BIG CORRECTION!!!!

In my previous post, I asserted that Nancy Ellis still attends the Jack London Writers Conference; she lists it on her website, and is listed on the JLWC websites as having attended in 2005.

I contacted JLWC to check into this, and they are quite aware of all the problems associated with Nancy Ellis, and made it clear that she is no longer invited to their conference. (Indeed, they were somewhat alarmed that I thought she was still attending!)

So, my apologies to the Jack London Writers Conference for my previous post, and my congratulations to them for keeping their conference clean.
 

Bartholomew

Comic guy
Kind Benefactor
Poetry Book Collaborator
Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 2, 2006
Messages
8,507
Reaction score
1,956
Location
Kansas! Again.
I hear a lot of badmouthing about this agent, but I also hear that she sells a lot of books.

Is it a matter of her being unpopular, or is she actually someone to avoid? I've read the whole thread, and the only thing I see that is bad, that I can substanciate (horror stories aside) is her (GAG) association with Barbara Bauer's IILAA.

I'm confused. I'd be willing to submit my novel to a shark if I knew she'd sell it. But I have no idea how much about this woman is true and what isn't.

I wish I knew who to believe. :(

[Editted to remove quarrelsome content.]
 
Last edited:

UrsusMinor

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 23, 2005
Messages
439
Reaction score
51
Location
Butt in chair
Bartholomew said:
II've read the whole thread, and the only thing I see that is bad, that I can substanciate (horror stories aside) is her (GAG) association with Barbara Bauer's IILAA.

Apparently you "read the whole thread" rather inattentively. The first six posts discuss the judgments already handed down against her in court.

I might add that some of these "horror stories' of which you are so dismissive are pretty serious business, costing writers years of their time, and causing them to abandon attractive possibilities from other agents. Which of these horror stories sounds to you like "writers behaving badly"?

You say you'd be willing to submit your manuscript to a shark if you thought she'd sell it? Go ahead. Maybe she will sell it. And when she does, maybe she'll even pay you some of your share of the royalties.
 
Last edited:

JennaGlatzer

wishes you happiness
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 9, 2005
Messages
9,703
Reaction score
3,460
Website
www.jennaglatzer.com
Bart, it's not a fair question if you're not going to bother reading the thread (but pretend you have) before asking it. Dial down the defensive insults. Ursus made very fair points. Back to topic, please.