Athena...well I never....
...I was completely taken in by their website; I've had a book with an agent in New York for a couple of years now, so I haven't stopped looking for a likely publisher myself. Didn't interpret "author funded" as meaning vanity pub. Duh.
All I can say is, and this is heartfelt, thank fuck for sites like this.
I was nearly stung by Publish America once; after that, I made it a habit not to get too excited and do some background checks. Well, that's not true; the New York Literary Agency (lol) got their mitts upon my wallet, and I forked out for an "independent" critique of my novel. It was all very flattering and exactly what a new author wants to hear.
It took about five years to find a genuine agent, and even then I had to approach agencies in the States (agents over here liked the book, but said that the market was already cornered by Pratchett, et all).
Still not published, constantly tinkering with the bloody thing to see where I went wrong. It's tough enough dealing with my own insecurities without being bamboozled by the arsewipes trying to steal all my hard graft.
Anyway, thanks be to the site (found it while doing background on Athena) and those who posted. That was a close one.
Frothy, man.
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