Yes, but change happens. When I first got into the biz in the late 1970's, agents did business on a handshake basis, commissions were 10%, and agents didn't expect clients to reimburse any submission costs. Oh yes, and most publishers were what we today would identify as "independents," galleys and page proofs were two different things, and most first-time novelists sold their books over the transom.
Those days are gone. Rather than bemoan them, it's best to acknowledge change, and deal with it as necessary, which may periodically require a re-definition of acceptable and unacceptable publisher/agent behavior. My sense--call it a hunch--is that arrangements like Osprey's and Accent's are going to become ever more common--along with literary agency consolidation and the offering by large agencies of various fee-based adjunct services, such as editing and PR. Right now, ethical agencies that offer such services put a wall between agency clients and the consumers of these services, but if such adjunct services do indeed become more common, it wouldn't surprise me to see the wall crumble over the coming years.
Not saying it's a good thing; just saying that I can see it happening.
- Victoria
