WriteRead said:
CHERYL WROTE: It's intersting what you say, b/c when I gave it a looksee in the Writer's Market 2005, the agency was listed in the index w an "ED" annotation beside it and no page no., of course.
Such entries in the index say that the entry appeared in 2004 but it doesn't appear in the '05 directory, and the reason for the omition, as encoded by these annotations, but w/o further explanation.
ED says - Editorial Decision.
I would conclude that they blew it, somehow.
I have to respectfully disagree with Dan. I checked Sally Stuart's Christian Market Guide and it says that Allred & Allre Literary Agents are a "new and not yet recognized in the industry" agency. That simply means that they have not yet made a name for themselves. They are in Sally's 2005 directory and their fee is only 10% - which is reasonable considering they aren't overly established. Most agents charge 15%.
Being that they are new, you should consider a few things.
CON: They may not have the connections other agencies have within the industry and they may not be experienced enough to get you the best book deal.
PRO: On the other hand, this agency realizes they are new and they want new writers to take a chance on them. They accept new authors and they charge a lesser fee to compensate. This sounds legit to me.
If you want to know more about them, you should ask them. If they balk, a red flag goes up. If they answer willingly, you can check into what they said. When you call them, mention that Sally's book says they are a new agency but that you realize they may have years of experience within the publishing industry. These guys may have worked for Broadman & Holman, Bethany, Zondervan or any of the "big ones". They may know dozens and dozens of editors at other houses (editors change publishers like the rest of us change our socks
). Ask them where in the publishing world they worked before they opened their agency and how many years they were there. Ask the same questions of each agent within the agency. Also ask them if they've written anything that has been published. That is often the case with editors who turn agent. These are not unreasonable questions.
IMHO this agency should not be discounted so quickly. (We all have to start somewhere.) If you feel more comfortable with a large established agency, you can always try one of them first and if you get rejected, you can go back here.
BTW, my agent, Janet Kobobel Grant (Books and Such Agency), is a PEACH!
God bless,