is this a scam?

Are these events where you pay to attend the event and as part of the event the agents give feedback? This would not bother me because events have entry fees, where agents are present for various workshops, etc.

Or, is it an WD event where you have to pay the agent for feedback? This would both me, and I would not be interested.

I was thinking pitch session, but I've never heard of one you'd have to pay for.

I think the old rule of "Money should flow to the author" should be thought of here.

I wouldn't pay for something like this.

I'm not completely clear about the situation.

Is it a conference type event which you pay to get into and while there can sign up for pitch session (or similar) from which you will get feedback?

If so, not a scam. Events cost money to organise, if agents/editors are there offering consulting services they should be paid or (at the very least) have their expenses met. While there are plenty of stories about people getting requests from such events, they are not a way of paying to circumvent to slush pile.
That said, pick your events carefully. I remember doing some research on an agent once and found an online conversation about an event like this he'd done. He was shocked to learn the price which had been charged to the writers and the way it had been pitched to them.

Look up the agents attending on Twitter. Are they excited to be going? Are they looking forward to it? Do they regard it as a chance to connect with writers? Those are probably the kind of events you want to go to, but look on it as having a good time yourself, not getting closer to being published.


That said, Writers & Artists in the UK (the standard volume anybody looking to be published needs to get a copy of) has started offering Writers' Services, including an Agony Agent service. For £25 you can email their agent (newish but legit - one of the books she reps is in my local Tesco) a question, or for £45 have a 15 minute Skype call, for (with my bolding:

Our Agony Agents are here to answer your questions, whether it's; what do literary agents do? How do you know what genre you’ve written? Will agents still look at my MS if I've self-published? Or, how on earth do I sum up my whole novel in just one or two pages?

This service connects you directly with a literary agent of your choice. Whatever your question, whatever your conundrum, even if you’re just looking for a little reassurance, our Agony Agents are here to help.

Click to expand...

Now, it is right and fair that somebody is paid for their time, but my face is not amused at this considering these are all the types of questions which get answered on #askagent sessions (7:30pm GMT on a Sunday usually has a UK #askagent session going on).

I've also seen somebody talk about the advice they've been given from this service. I've seen more agents state the opposite opinion on the matter (mentioning the MS has been professionally edited).

So, pick your event carefully. Get judgemental about what the agents do

I recently paid to attend a WD online course/workshop, and it included a query critique. I definitely didn't consider it a scam . . . not sure if this is what you mean, though. Regardless, I really like the advice upthread about doing some research on the agent who is giving the critique to see if it would be worth your time and money.

It's fine to pay to attend a conference and receive a "free" critique as part of the deal, so long as the people who are giving the critiques are qualified to do so: so, are agents with a good track-record of selling books, established editors who work for good publishers, or writing coaches with a good history behind them.

However, there are plenty of conferences run by people who failed to find a publisher, set themselves up as a publisher to get their books out there, and who then expand into running such events without sufficient experience, knowledge or understanding to help anyone. Be wary of these.

In moderation, such conferences can be good, not only for the critiques, but for the networking with other writers. But if you spend more time learning about writing, i.e. attending conferences, reading books, posting here , you've got your priorities wrong. People sometimes mistake learning about writing with writing itself.

I'm not accusing you of doing this, just adding a caution. I've occasionally been guilty of it.

I regularly see WD announcements for online workshops with agents that include partial critiques. My understanding is that those are always workshops--such as querying or editing--that focus on advice and hands-on practice. The critiques are just part of the learning process in the workshop.

My perception is that they're not pay-to-pitch situations. The fees are for the value of the workshop info, not just to put writers in contact with agents.

I recently did my first Writers Digest webinar, which included a query critique for participants. Do note it is a QUERY CRITIQUE -- it is NOT "you are querying me and paying to do so." Anyone can query me for free at any time they like. This is very different - I am not considering these query letters for representation at all. I am critiquing them. (If something sounded totally cool, I might contact the author to ASK THEM TO QUERY ME -- but being involved in the critique is not the same as querying me.)

My hope is that the authors will have learned something from the combination of the long webinar that I worked hard to pack with info, the extensive list of questions that participants asked and I answered, and the query critique. Hopefully all those things will make the fee they paid feel WD (and from which WD pays me a percentage) well worth it, and will give them tools to become better at what they are trying to do.

WHY do I do this kind of thing (conferences, webinars and the like)? Well, again, I have knowledge that might help others, so I like to share it. I like working with authors, and I can't abide watching them get screwed over, so I like to do what I can to spread GOOD info and be helpful. And I do so for free in tumblr and twitter #askagent, and on fora like this.

But something like a class or workshop is A LOT more work. The webinar for example took days to compile, two hours to present, and doing 100 query critiques at 20+ minutes each will take me several hours a day for probably a few weeks at least. So for that kind of thing, I get paid. That's not altruistic OR greedy, it's just reasonable.

Generally speaking, it's easy to tell a scam. Just look at the agent's credentials. If she's a pro with a good sales record, you're getting important feedback. Whether it's worth the money is up to you, but it is not a scam.