Re: andrew whelchel national writers literary agency
>>I found out that he attends numerous conferences with big name agents, authors and publishers.<<
This means very little. Many marginal (and some scam) agents are frequent conference attenders. Writers' conferences, unfortunately, don't always do all they could to vet their guests.
>>Many of his sales are in the film area (unpublished novels).<<
I suspect that "many" is kind of an exaggeration, at least based on the sales info the agency sends out, which lists just one unpubbed novel that has been optioned (the studio's website, however, makes no mention of the project). The sale of unpublished novels to Hollywood is one of those writerly pipe dreams, like the million dollar advance. Sure, it happens, but it's fairly rare.
>>During my research, I found several articles that said that Western agents often charge a postal deposit since the cost of sending MSS to NY is more expensive.<<
Those articles were misguided. Charging upfront--for anything--is nonstandard practice among successful agents, and this doesn't vary based on the part of the country they're from.
>>I also like that he talks to Hollywood since many of the Central Park Westers never leave CPW!<<
No, they use co-agents for this, recognizing the limits of their own expertise. They also use co-agents to sell overseas, which, as I noted in my previous post, isn't allowed for in NWLA's contract.
- Victoria