Found this website: ASAWL.com It's a website set up for authors to pitch their novels in 100 words to agents and publishers.
The owner clearly thinks they have reinvented the wheel (home page says, "Welcome to the revolution") and that agents and publishers have ample time to search a website for pitches, rather than dealing with the queries in their inboxes. That's not to say that some legit agent or publisher might stumble in there and check things out. I've gotten a request from QLH, so sometimes agents do look at different pitching places. If they can take time out every once in a while to check out #pitmad, they may also check out a site like this from time to time.
My biggest fear at looking at a site like this is that the owner is throwing authors into the path of agents/publishers without experience or who even have bad intentions, rather than the good ones. I came across it while researching the twitter feed of a new (possibly sketchy) publisher who has been discussed here lately. The owner of the site tweeted at her to check it out. Sure enough, she is one of two publishers who have commented, requesting from the authors. Under the 8 YA titles on the site so far, she has requested 7. The other publisher is reported as having a bad contract here on BR&BC.
There's nothing wrong, per se, with an author joining a site like this (and I see at least one AWer on there). My problem is that the site has absolutely no language on it--on the homepage, the FAQ, the rules, or the blog--about authors doing their due diligence in researching agents and publishers who request from it. Likewise there's no attempt to vet the agents and publishers who join and request. It's much too easy for an inexperienced or scammy agent or publisher to prey on authors there.
And it raises a red flag to me when the owner is specifically recommending inexperienced publishers check out the site.
ETA: Wow, the owner (@RaucousWriter) is quite a little twitter spammer
The owner clearly thinks they have reinvented the wheel (home page says, "Welcome to the revolution") and that agents and publishers have ample time to search a website for pitches, rather than dealing with the queries in their inboxes. That's not to say that some legit agent or publisher might stumble in there and check things out. I've gotten a request from QLH, so sometimes agents do look at different pitching places. If they can take time out every once in a while to check out #pitmad, they may also check out a site like this from time to time.
My biggest fear at looking at a site like this is that the owner is throwing authors into the path of agents/publishers without experience or who even have bad intentions, rather than the good ones. I came across it while researching the twitter feed of a new (possibly sketchy) publisher who has been discussed here lately. The owner of the site tweeted at her to check it out. Sure enough, she is one of two publishers who have commented, requesting from the authors. Under the 8 YA titles on the site so far, she has requested 7. The other publisher is reported as having a bad contract here on BR&BC.
There's nothing wrong, per se, with an author joining a site like this (and I see at least one AWer on there). My problem is that the site has absolutely no language on it--on the homepage, the FAQ, the rules, or the blog--about authors doing their due diligence in researching agents and publishers who request from it. Likewise there's no attempt to vet the agents and publishers who join and request. It's much too easy for an inexperienced or scammy agent or publisher to prey on authors there.
And it raises a red flag to me when the owner is specifically recommending inexperienced publishers check out the site.
ETA: Wow, the owner (@RaucousWriter) is quite a little twitter spammer
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