You're so right...don't you wonder what she's doing with all of these partials and manuscripts? Maybe she just isn't having any success selling the books she likes? I feel kind of bad for her if that's the case.
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You're so right...don't you wonder what she's doing with all of these partials and manuscripts? Maybe she just isn't having any success selling the books she likes? I feel kind of bad for her if that's the case.
Until she sells something or gives someone some useful feedback that helps them out, I am not sure if it is worth your trouble.
That's kind of how I"m feeling - she's asking for a hard copy, so it would cost me a bit to print it and send it. Even if she offers to represent me, I"m not sure I would accept.
I am responding to Dwight Wannabe's comment that we should all know the truth about this agency. I think Dwight is right. Sandy Lu has had my partial for over two and a half months. Usually agents take 6 weeks at the max to review a partial. Is she a scammer or what? Is she just asking for partials so that she can steal our ideas or something? It worries me that this person has my material. Does anybody have any other info re this agent? Has anyone heard back? It's sad that some agents treat us this way...get our hopes up and then ignore us, especially when we all work so hard on our writing.
Where did you hear that agents take 6 weeks max to review a partial - not in my consideable experience. 3/4 months more like.
Agents don't steal ideas, even scammers. Ideas are 10-a-penny, it is all in the execution.
Exercise patience and continue to send out queries.
I'm just going by my own experience. Based on other people's comments re this agent, I think we can all forget about it. She has never even made a sale. So why she contacts us and makes us waste postage is beyond me. Sorry, you can kiss these people's feet if you want, but a lot of them are highly unprofessional. Just my experience.
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There are plenty of reasons to identify Sandy Lu, in particular, as unprofessional. However, an agent who spends more than six weeks reviewing a partial or manuscript isn't unprofessional for that reason--the turnaround norm is higher than that.
And Sandy Lu isn't going to steal your idea. What would she do with it? She doesn't seem to be able to sell any manuscripts.
Nobody steals ideas. Ideas are a dime a dozen.
And I have no idea where you got the idea that there's some sort of set review time on partials, but it's not helpful that you keep spreading that bit of misinformation around. How long an agent takes to respond has nothing to do with their legitimacy.
Calm down, folks. You don't have to defend the agents constantly. We all know that some are great and some aren't. I "got the idea" that many agents respond to a partial within six weeks based upon my personal experience. I am not saying that all agents do this, but that's my experience. It is not misinformation if it is my experience. Also, how do you know that agents don't steal ideas? Ideas are stolen all the time. Didn't you hear about the college girl who recently published a book and then it was determined that she stole the idea from an already published author? Many movie ideas, song ideas, etc., are stolen frequently. Good ideas ARE hard to come by and stealing does happen. Further, although how long an agent takes to respond may not indicate that agent's legitimacy, it does make a person wonder. This agent has requested material from a lot of writers and nobody has heard back. My point is just that we probably shouldn't waste our time and hope. I'm sure that others will agree, based on what I've seen here. And relax, people! You should be able to tolerate a little agent criticism now and again. Don't be so afraid to speak the truth. Maybe if more of us did that, we would be treated better.
By the way, I am NOT accusing this agent of stealing ideas. It was just a thought that crossed my mind due to the fact that she requested a lot of partials and replied to nobody. Perhaps she was just looking for some free reading material, who knows.
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Nobody's "defending the agent" here, just pointing out that your assumptions are wrong. I think the consensus is that Ms. Lu is ineffective and unprofessional.
It's misinformation when you generalize it to "usually agents take 6 weeks at the max" and draw the conclusion from it that a longer response time is a red flag about any given agent. In fact, writers who consistently get quick responses are more likely to be getting very quick rejections from agents who don't bother to read much of their manuscripts, rather than special fast-track attention. See the threads from people who have recently gotten representation, and note how long it took for them to hear back from their now-agents.
Name one case in which a literary agent stole a writer's idea. Kaavya Viswanathan, whom you cite, was not an agent. Nor did she steal an "idea"--she plagiarized text from already-published books (just like Cassie Edwards, Janet Dailey, and other famous plagiarists).
Yes, people steal ideas. But literary agents don't steal ideas from unpublished manuscripts.
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But making it sound like fact is misinformation. It's your personal experience but your experience is as much an anomaly as another former board member who landed an agent with his very first query who then sold it to the first editor she submitted to.
No, she didn't steal the idea. She plagiarized entire passages of an already published book. Huge difference.
And I don't disagree with that, but it has nothing to do with agent turnaround times or stolen ideas. If the agent can't sell a book, having a 30-page partial is useless. What's she going to do with it?
Yeah, because agent criticism is such a rarity around these parts.
Oh my gosh, I can't believe the nasty comments from Deadly Accurate re my posts! Good grief! DA sounds really sarcastic and bitter. I actually have received very positive feedback to my partials and fulls, despite what you are implying. Just because it takes a long time for an agent to get back to someone doesn't mean that the material is superior. I was only commenting about this one agent who I think is unprofessional. Isn't that what these message boards are for? Deadly Accurate, take it easy! I'm not attacking you, I was talking about an agent. I was just giving my personal opinion and I should be allowed to do that. I thought this was supposed to be a writer-friendly community....how disappointing that it isn't. And you must have a lot of time on your hands to dissect each point of my email and comment on it. Get a life.
Dwight Wannabe: I'm with you. I enjoyed your post.
Dwight Wannabe: I'm with you. I enjoyed your post.
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LiteraryChick, DA's comments were not nasty. DA was simply calling you on some of your comments--which is something you have to expect when posting in a public forum like this.
Responding to disagreement by telling people to "relax" or "calm down" or "take it easy" or "get a life" isn't constructive.
This thread seems to be running seriously off track. It's one thing to report that an agent is nonresponsive and that information on her track record is scarce. Those are facts. It's quite another thing to start talking about idea theft and tax writeoffs. That's unfounded speculation.
I'm hoping we can get back on topic now. Thanks, all.
- Victoria
Responding to disagreement by telling people to "relax" or "calm down" or "take it easy" or "get a life" isn't constructive.
This thread seems to be running seriously off track. It's one thing to report that an agent is nonresponsive and that information on her track record is scarce. Those are facts. It's quite another thing to start talking about idea theft and tax writeoffs. That's unfounded speculation.
I'm hoping we can get back on topic now. Thanks, all.
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Victoria, while we're at it . . . what's YOUR take on Sandy Lu? I think we could all benefit from your wisdom!
Another point about stealing ideas, you can't copyright an idea....so why waste time worrying about it?
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I've never gotten any complaints about Ms. Lu. Beyond that, I'm afraid I know no more about her than you all do. Information on the Internet is practically nonexistent, and there's no sales information that I can find.
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LiteraryChick, DA's comments were not nasty. = That's your opinion, Ms. Strauss. In my opinon, they were nasty. I'm sure others would agree, but they are probably afraid to say so for fear of your input.
DA was simply calling you on some of your comments--which is something you have to expect when posting in a public forum like this. ---Yes, and people should expect that I can voice my opinion as well.
Responding to disagreement by telling people to "relax" or "calm down" or "take it easy" or "get a life" isn't constructive. ---Again, your opinion. You shouldn't be so easily offended. Telling someone to relax isn't exactly strong language. This is supposed to be a website for adult writers, not children.
This thread seems to be running seriously off track. It's one thing to report that an agent is nonresponsive and that information on her track record is scarce. Those are facts. It's quite another thing to start talking about idea theft and tax writeoffs. That's unfounded speculation. ---We have the right to speculate. I believe it's a free country. I didn't know that this message board was censored. I guess that Dwight Wannabe and I are supposed to be quiet now? Okay, we'll stop, if it will make you happy.
I'm hoping we can get back on topic now. Thanks, all.---No problem!
- Victoria[/quote]
DA was simply calling you on some of your comments--which is something you have to expect when posting in a public forum like this. ---Yes, and people should expect that I can voice my opinion as well.
Responding to disagreement by telling people to "relax" or "calm down" or "take it easy" or "get a life" isn't constructive. ---Again, your opinion. You shouldn't be so easily offended. Telling someone to relax isn't exactly strong language. This is supposed to be a website for adult writers, not children.
This thread seems to be running seriously off track. It's one thing to report that an agent is nonresponsive and that information on her track record is scarce. Those are facts. It's quite another thing to start talking about idea theft and tax writeoffs. That's unfounded speculation. ---We have the right to speculate. I believe it's a free country. I didn't know that this message board was censored. I guess that Dwight Wannabe and I are supposed to be quiet now? Okay, we'll stop, if it will make you happy.
I'm hoping we can get back on topic now. Thanks, all.---No problem!
- Victoria[/quote]
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Golly, gosh, gee willikers. (To keep it clean.) What a reaction.
Just want to mention, LiteraryChick, this board is moderated and subject to the rules that are plainly listed in the facts areas. Victoria is one of the moderators (as can easily be discovered) and part of her duties as such is to keep us on track. Further. free speech includes the rights of others to speak freely, including, oddly enough, Victoria.
One more trifling matter - "they are probably afraid to say so for fear of your input". I've never met Victoria personally, but through this site and the Writer Beware blog feel I have come to know her. She's a good person, a knowledgeable one who spends undoubtedly too much of her personal time looking out for other writers. She is respectful of others. She is smart. She knows whereof she speaks. When she scolds, she scolds nicely. (The first time, at least.) When she errs, she apologizes. She doesn't write in bold, as that can be irritating. In other words, we want her input.
BTW - Did you find the "One more trifling matter" and "Golly, etc." annoying? That was how your "relax" felt. That's why what was written, was written. I'm not trying to chase you away. Seriously, look around, relax, become friends. I hope you decide to stay.
If you don't feel comfortable here, feel free to go to another area where Victoria isn't a mod; there are a variety of interesting and informative sections of AW. But bear in mind, one of the prime rules of AW is to respect your fellow writers. Mod or not, Victoria is one of them.
Well, no, we don't actually have some inherent right to speculate on this board. This board isn't a government entity, so free speech laws don't apply. If they want to forbid use of the words "the" and "cormorant," they're free to do so. If they want to prevent us from speculating on people in ways that might become libelous, they can do that, too.
OK, I put every bit of my Google-Fu to work, and I haven't found any sign that Sandy Lu has made any sales ever. I only found the one client Dwight Wannabe already found. I saw that Ms. Lu was one of Peter Rubie's students, but I don't have any additional details.
So it appears that Ms. Lu, despite apparently having contacts in the industry, hasn't been able to make any sales. When you type in the agency name, this thread is the first link. While that's hardly strange for many agencies, when this is the most comprehensive collection of information about an agency and it's not especially positive, that's not a good sign.
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Ah yes. Now I remember why I quit coming here two years ago. So much intellect so poorly applied.
When you have to put a flashing "Hyperbole Alert!" next to your post in a forum for supposedly intelligent writers, that's a bad sign.
Et tu, y'all?
Okay, enjoy fighting over your sandbox, kiddies. There's a swing at the playground down the block with my name on it.
When you have to put a flashing "Hyperbole Alert!" next to your post in a forum for supposedly intelligent writers, that's a bad sign.
Et tu, y'all?
Okay, enjoy fighting over your sandbox, kiddies. There's a swing at the playground down the block with my name on it.
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