Robins Agency / Writer for Hire (Cris Robins)

[ronjohn]

Too bad I was so early...

My experience with Robins goes back to the early years in Arkansas. Fortunately, I didn't pay the current price in dollars. I signed on for a year, paid for editing, but opted out when they called for more money. They sent my manuscript to inappropriate publishers for my genre. The end result: wasted time, wasted money, and it has taken me years to get my courage up to look of a legitimate agent!

 

[James D. Macdonald]

Cris's website is down hard.

 

[victoriastrauss]

Never fear. She has another.

- Victoria

 

[Peggy]

Never fear. She has another.

Her resume is just a wee bit padded. I'm not too impressed that she was "considered for a Pulitzer Prize" and a "Neiman[sic] Fellowship" at Harvard (hopefully she spelled the name of the foundation correctly when she applied), since all that requires is filling out an application and sending in the money. The Marcam Gold Finalist Award sounds fancy, but it turns out that 15% of applicants win platinum and another 15% win gold, with about 1500 winners every year, so it's not particularly exclusive (and since she says she was just a Gold Award "Finalist", it's not clear she won anything at all). The "Jamilli[sic] Wellness Program" (for which she won a "Communicator Award") has no web presence, and the web page she cites for them ( www.jamili.com ) is simply a placeholder page - and yes, she spelled the company name incorrectly on her resume. All in all, not an auspicious advertisement for her writing skills or attention to detail.

 

[James D. Macdonald]

More on those Communicator Awards here.

 

[DED]

Try, Try Again

I made the mistake of firing off a query letter to the Robins Agency a day before I subscribed to AbsoluteWrite. By the time she called, I was able to formulate an excuse to drive her away. Unfortunately, my email address is in their system. I thought that you might want to see what I received this evening:

================================

Subject: Want to sell your work? We can show you how.

Good afternoon.

Recently you submitted your work to our office for representation consideration. We've an exciting new service that we thought you might be interested in and at a price to fit nearly every budget.

One of the biggest hurdles with being a writer is determining if the work is marketable and if it is what markets to address and how to succeed at selling the work. Most writers believe that they really do need an agent to get a good price and a good deal for their work. This is not always the case and we can show you how. But first, you need to have a solid work.

With all of this in mind, we've created a market review system that you and your work could greatly benefit by.

Market review:

1. Your full work is reviewed and evaluated by one of our editors based on the genre of your work and your writing style. A whole host of factors, from grammar and punctuation to characters and story line, are evaluated against the current editorial needs of the publishing and film industries. A report is generated to highlight the good, the bad, and what is needed for your work to compete in the open market with recommendations for changes to increase your placement and possible sales to those markets.
2. Upon completion, our marketing staff reviews all of the information (your work, the evaluation, and recommended changes) and compiles a list of publishers with contact information who may be interested in purchasing your work if the changes are made to conform to their standards. But, that’s only part of it. We will also provide you with a cover letter to attract their attention, that can be changed to meet the needs of each contact, and will show you how to format your synopsis and sample pages to increase your acceptance possibilities.
3. When you find yourself with a contract for publication, our staff will review it and tell you exactly what it says, what it means, and how it affects you and your work. You will be put in a situation where you can make an educated decision and feel confident that you know what you are getting into.

So, why would you want this service? There are several reasons:

• Your work is sitting in a drawer (or a computer file) right now collecting rejection slips that don't tell you WHY it was rejected.
• You think it’s a good work, but, you need to KNOW how to make it marketable.
• You’re spinning your wheels trying to get someone to read and buy it.
• Your frustration level is to the point where you just want to quit – and it doesn't have to be this way.

And the price tag for all of this: $1,250. (Don't worry, it’s paid in two installments, one when the contract is signed; the balance when the work is ready to be sent back to you.)

Why would you WANT to pay that much? Because, quite simply, what you are doing right now isn't working; and you need for your project to start making you money. Yes, you can continue down the path you are walking now; but why would you want to when you've got a guide who’s been doing this successfully for 10 years?

In four weeks your work can either be on its way to making you money; or sitting where it is right now. Which do you want it to be doing? If this sound like a service that is right for you and is more in line with your budget, let me know and we'll go from there.

With regards,
Syd Michaels


*******************************
Robins Agency
*******************************
1001 Craig Road Suite # 260
St. Louis, MO 63146
Tel: [314]-569-5259
Fax: [314] 569-9424
e-mail: [email protected]
=========================================

 

[roach]

Why would you WANT to pay that much? Because, quite simply, what you are doing right now isn't working; and you need for your project to start making you money.

By giving us some cash...

Oh brother!

 

[James D. Macdonald]

Shorter Cris Robins: You have more money than sense. To correct this problem, send us your money.

 

[victoriastrauss]

Verrrry interesting.

DED, could you contact Writer Beware directly at [email protected] ? I'd like a copy of that email for my Robins file.

- Victoria

 

[trmonet]

I got that same email about how I 'recently' submitted work to her agency...even though it's been at least 6 months and I turned her down flat once I learned of her scam.

 

[DED]

Just fwd it. Sorry for the delay.

 

[mbagrad]

strange link

I too received an email from the Robins Literary Agency asking for $3,200 in fees to represent me which brought me to this website where I read about the other writers that received similar requests.

But just for the fun of it I went to their website (www.robins-agency.com) where there is only a couple of generic paragraphs with no information about their services or clients along with a link to a porn site.

 

[CaoPaux]

If I'm interpreting the Wayback Machine correctly, she removed all but the welcome page in Dec '06. I expect the porn video is a hack.

Her Writer for Hire site is still "good", though.

 

[DED]

The Latest

Here's the latest. I'm still on her mailing list. I'll forward a copy to: beware at sfwa dot org

================================

Good morning.

For over ten years I ran the largest literary agency in the Midwest
(we ranked about 10 in the states, and 18 on the globe) and I made a
difference in the industry by bringing out the potential of new
writer's' works and showcasing them to some of the largest publishers
and studios in the states. I closed the agency last year because the
industry changed and I found that I could show new writers how to
sell their work to publishers who didn't work with agencies;
additionally, my clients found that our editing service increased
their chances of being published and overall, made their work better.

Currently, I'm in a position of taking on a few new clients, and I'm
cutting my price to do it. Although my editing service normally runs
$6.50 per 250-word page I've dropped my price to the first ten
respondents to $5.00 per page, and includes the initial editing and a
finishing review. But, editing is just the first part of it; when the
work is ready to be presented, I will also put together the package
for submissions, the list of publishers looking for your work, and
the methods that they prefer for submissions.

If you are serious about selling your work, now is the time to act.
Are you ready to give your work the professional polish it needs to
sell? Just think, you could be presenting your works to some of the
highest paying publishers (or to the agent of your choosing) in the
market by the New Year?

By using my expertise, you can make your writing dreams a reality. To
be considered, please submit a synopsis, the first three and last
chapters of your work. I will get back to you in a few days to show
you the changes needed to make your work marketable to the industry.

With grace,


Cris Robins

********************************
Cris Robins
*******************************
11511 Craig Court Suite # 320
St. Louis, MO 63146
Tel: [314]-569-5952
Fax: [314] 569-9424
e-mail: [email protected]


"You're braver than you believe.
You're stronger than you seem.
You're smarter than you think."

What you need to remember
from Christopher Robins to Winnie-the-Pooh

"Words are not flowery creatures
to be tossed about lightly;
but trusted friends we call upon
to do a job well."
Cris Robins
==================================

 

[DaveKuzminski]

I guess Cris thinks that calling her business an editing service will get her off ground zero.

Nope, Cris. It doesn't work like that. If you help prepare packages for submission to publishers, P&E is going to still treat you like a literary agency. I strongly recommend, Cris, that you take up something that doesn't involve making submissions to publishers.

 

[OneTeam OneDream]

I strongly recommend, Cris, that you take up something that doesn't involve making submissions to publishers.

11511 Craig Court Suite # 320
St. Louis, MO 63146

Like moving out of the ghetto!

 

[emsuniverse]

11511 Craig Court Suite # 320
St. Louis, MO 63146

Like moving out of the ghetto!

Yeah... and I did a little googling. Turns out there's a lawyer's office in the same building as her office.

Too bad they don't focus in criminal law... At some point she's going to need legal representation.

 

[Popeyesays]

I like her notion that "showcasing new writers" is what an agent does. An agent sells. If the individual does not sell to reputable publishers, that individual ain't an agent.

If she could not sell in the first place, what does she know about preparing a manuscript for submission to publishers?

Regards,
Scott

 

[CaoPaux]

Writer for Hire is gone now, too. No immediate sign of other incarnations.

 

[James D. Macdonald]

Just because Cris's website is down you don't need to feel left out! You can see it all at the Wayback Machine.

For example, Cris's Reply to Ann is here: http://web.archive.org/web/20060614181207/http://www.robins-agency.com/ann.htm

Fun for the whole family!

 

[JulieB]

Writer Beware: She's Ba-aaack!

 

[DaveKuzminski]

She's still listed on P&E so she's not getting a free ride back. Her rating with P&E is still the same. About the only thing needed is her new web address if she has one.