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A Picture Of You Literary Agency (Lenny Minelli)

jamiejc

PMA (Peter Miller)
Audra Barrett (Barrett Books)
A Picture of You (Lenny Minelli)
 

James D Macdonald

Re: Know anything about these agencies?

<a href="http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/pubagent.htm" target="_new">Preditors & Editors</a>

Note that agents are listed by their first names there.
 

vstrauss

Re: Know anything about these agencies?

PMA is a successful agency. It cohabits with an editing service, which isn't the most desirable arrangement, conflict of interest-wise, but you can't argue with this agency's track record.

Haven't run across Barrett Books before. I found this website: www.barrettbooksagency.com/about.html. The site lists a small number of clients, most with small publishers (one looks self-published).

A Picture of You charges an upfront fee of $125, and to my knowledge has no recent sales.

- Victoria
 

sunrisepro

Re: Know anything about these agencies?

I just sent a query letter regarding my filmscript to Lenny Minelli, (A Picture Of You Agency). Have not yet received a reply from them. Good to know they charge an upfront fee and have no recent sales. This company is listed in the Writer's Market. I just learned that anyone can advertise there.

Instead of having to go through a trial by fire, send out our scripts at the request of unknown agents, how about someone providing a list of legitimate screenplay agents who will accept new writers. Does anyone have any agents they can recommend from positive experience?

:shrug
 

jamiejc

Re: Know anything about these agencies?

Stay clear of A Picture of You. They can't do anything for you.
 

kevacho

Re: Know anything about these agencies?

:head I too had a an experience with A Picture of You Literary Agency that was far less than exceptional, and somewhat demoralizing.

I feel your pain, jamiejc.

Live to write. Write to live.
 

DaveKuzminski

Kind of author ripe for scam

I get emails like this frequently enough that it reminds me not to forget that there are still many writers out there who just don't know how the business actually operates. I took out the writer's name so no one would know who to contact. However, I doubt if that matters as I believe that his email was spammed across the Internet to more than my writing site. His email now:

Hello!
The author is looking for literary agent for the world superbest-seller - the book that was called by the doctor Michel Nostradamus "rose - science - religion". See Centurie 3 katren 67 where the doctor talk about United Europe firstly in which and then the world over this book will be distributed and "will not be limited to Germanic mountains..."
Everyone has a chance to become the first publisher of the global superbest-seller and to take the honourable place in history corresponding to this high title.
The contact is only in Russian. In order to avoid stoppage of work - only the personal contact. I am not a speak english.

. I`m beginner in literary business - I`m 42, I had been writing my first book for 11 years. I don`t know the rules of this business. In 2005 I will finish my second manuscript. It contains the sensational information about stars Julia Roberts, Marilyn Monro, Madeleine Stowe, the French singer Mylene Farmer, Sharon Stone, about the Swedish group ABBA and its soloists Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Agnetha Faltskog. These extraordinary and marvelous facts are the supplement to the first book about that Nostradamus wrote.
For convince you of the exclusiveness of my proposition please see Greatest Hits ABBA video clip "Bang-A-Boomerang" - between Frida and Benny you will see my face with moustache for two seconds. Frida knew that I was behind her back. See clip ABBA "Fernando". If it will not help me to fight my way from the icy Siberia I don`t know how can I prove the exclusiveness of my material.
He recommends me - doctor Michel Nostradamus (1503 - 1566), man of Future - all World: 1555 - 2034 years.
Thank.
 

aka eraser

Re: Kind of author ripe for scam

Dave, I get the sense he not only doesn't know how the publishing business works but is probably baffled by a hairbrush too.

He needs a caregiver more than an agent but I get your point. He's grist for the shark mill all right.
 

Forrest Gabitsch

From SFWA's warnings & cautions for writers:

[font=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif][size=-1]Offering writers a choice of providing a large number of manuscript copies at their own expense, or paying an upfront "marketing" fee.[/size][/font][font=Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif][size=-1] The idea here is that copying is so expensive that the fee looks like a bargain. Agents don't usually need large numbers of ms. copies anyway--most agents ask for just one or two.

Hell, I didn't even get the fee option. I was told that APOY would make a number of copies, but after that I would have to send them myself. Again, this is why I stopped sending material to my own damned agent: I couldn't afford to go to Kinko's every week and get groceries.

The guy didn't even finish the term! I contacted him to see if he was up for another year (yeah, I'm that naive), and he said he was sick and couldn't stay in the business any longer. I checked a recent Writer's Market, and he's no longer in there.

Someone call Harvey Birdman!
[/size][/font]
 

Anya Smith

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Sorry about your experience. Thanks for sharing this with us.

The name sounds like a scam too. It's too much like Liza Minelli. Have you checked if it was his real name?
 
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Aconite

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It bears repeating: Ladies and gentlemen, legitimate, reputable agents do not charge upfront expenses. Do not pay an agent out of pocket. Reputable, effective agents recoup their expenses from the money that comes in when they sell your manuscript. If they're so hard up that they can't cover mailing costs without your check, they're not good agents or good businesspeople.
 

Lauri B

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Neo, that's an unbelievably offensive word. Can you edit, please.
 

ATP

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Can't mods edit posts if they wish?


ATP
 

Aconite

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ATP said:
Can't mods edit posts if they wish?
We usually give the original poster a chance to edit first, when possible--especially in another mod's forum.
 

Sassenach

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I've been wondering when a mod would note the offensive last line in the original post.
 

Aconite

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Sassenach (and everybody), whenever you see an offensive post, please use the Report Post icon (the little red triangle with the exclamation point in it) to report it to the mods. We don't always catch everything on our own, especially if there are a lot of posts to get through.
 

Silver King

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Neo, what does being an Italian born out of wedlock have to do with the person perpetuating this scam? I'm not offended, just curious. Would it soften the blow if he were the product of the same national origin as you?
 

JennaGlatzer

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Yowza.

And after the third racist slam, this one far worse than the others, Neo has been banned.

Love,

Italian Jenna
 

Liam Jackson

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I know Peter Miller very well. He's the real deal.
 

roach

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While I'm all for fighting the good fight against scammers, putting this sort of information on a publically accessible board makes me feel a bit icky. (I especially don't like to comments about his children and posting his home phone number). Perhaps it would be better to forward this information to Victoria and Ann at Writer Beware instead?
 

James D. Macdonald

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I should make it clear that Lenny Minelli is a fee-charging no-hoper, that A Picture of You Literary Agency has no history of selling books, and that you'd have to be nuts in the head to go with this scammer.

Nevertheless, there are some lines we don't cross here.
 
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Bartholomew

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Eeek.

... well, at least I can still get the stamps off the envelope.

Thanks for the warning!