Red Sofa Literary Agency (Dawn Frederick)

Corvid said:

Pretty sad that these are the gatekeepers so many people work so hard to impress. It's time for a culling. Agents like this don't deserve clients.

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I think you're extrapolating a bit. It's only one agent.

Corvid said:

Pretty sad that these are the gatekeepers so many people work so hard to impress. It's time for a culling. Agents like this don't deserve clients.

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You know you're kinda missing a key point in your desire to be bitter. As Publishers Weekly notes, three agents quit Red Sofa Literary because of Dawn Frederick's actions: Agents Kelly Van Sant, Amanda Rutter, and Stacey Graham quit.

That says rather more about "gatekeepers" than the actions of their former employer.

mccardey said:

I think you're extrapolating a bit. It's only one agent.

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I thought it was the owner of that agency?

AW Admin said:

You know you're kinda missing a key point in your desire to be bitter. As Publishers Weekly notes, three agents () quit Red Sofa Literary because of Dawn Frederick's actions: Agents Kelly Van Sant, Amanda Rutter, and Stacey Graham quit.

That says rather more about "gatekeepers" than the actions of their former employer.

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Yes. The agency fish was bad, but apparently only because the head was rotten.

I think it says worlds that someone as creative & capable as *Foz Meadows* doesn't have an agent in 2020, and doesn't feel welcome in SFF.

Or that Fredericks was *still* playing the 'Of Course We Value Diversity' card in public while making diverse authors feel like stage props.

Something else this highlights is the danger of phone calls and video chats for important discussions that you might need to reference later. I'm seeing a lot more pressure on authors to use these things more, and use email and other text communication less. Voice is not objectively better, but it is a lot easier to hide what's going on and suggest that someone is just misremembering what was said.

I think we need more of a push that you can say no to voice. You can say you're not comfortable discussing this on the phone and to send an email. You can say you don't do video chats, but you can talk in IMs if they want. It's a formal business relationship. If you want it in writing, you should be able to have it in writing.

Introversion said:

I thought it was the owner of that agency?

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You're quite right - sorry. Thank you. It wasn't even one agent; it was one head of agency, and a bunch of her agents AND writers left the agency. So can we not bag out agents for that, was the point I was trying (pre-coffee) to make.

Do your research. Question the things that matter to you. Someone was saying (#216) that politics should never be part of the discussion - you'd better bet they should be. Politics, ethics, beliefs - these things matter more than ever. If you don't like the answers, you're not going to fit in with their business culture. That's okay - don't sign on. Ethics and beliefs matter - to your writing and to your presence as well as to you.

ETA: My agent's twitter feed is full of agents' and editors' offers for Black, Asian, Minority or Ethnic (that's how they say it in the UK) writers to submit works for (free) editorial feedback.

Filigree said:

I think it says worlds that someone as creative & capable as *Foz Meadows* doesn't have an agent in 2020, and doesn't feel welcome in SFF.

Or that Fredericks was *still* playing the 'Of Course We Value Diversity' card in public while making diverse authors feel like stage props.

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Exactly. It's hardly "one agent," it's the entire publishing industry. The writer of that article makes it very clear.

AW Admin said:

You know you're kinda missing a key point in your desire to be bitter. As Publishers Weekly notes, three agents quit Red Sofa Literary because of Dawn Frederick's actions: Agents Kelly Van Sant, Amanda Rutter, and Stacey Graham quit.

That says rather more about "gatekeepers" than the actions of their former employer.

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Yeah, but the article really makes you wonder what else they were complicit with before the straw broke the camel's back.

Corvid said:

Exactly. It's hardly "one agent," it's the entire publishing industry. The writer of that article makes it very clear.

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What is?

Corvid said:

Exactly. It's hardly "one agent," it's the entire publishing industry. The writer of that article makes it very clear.

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Foz Meadows isn't in a position to speak of, for, about the "entire publishing industry." Foz Meadows works in some publishing niches. It's a big industry. It's an international industry.

I'm going to remind members, ONCE about respecting your fellow writers.

That includes writers in the broadest possible sense; and yes, agents, editors and publishers. Many of whom are members.

Be specific. Be factual. Use evidence, including your own experience.

But bitter attack fests and mean-spirited speculation out of personal angst aren't going to fly.

I am a former Red Sofa client who had my own troubling interactions with Dawn (though nothing on the level that Foz describes). For what it's worth, I've also spoken with more than one other former RS client who has shared similar stories with me, i.e., that when Dawn caught wind of something she didn't like, she would insert herself between her agents and their clients to chew out the clients, sometimes looping the agents in as silent participants. It seems like it was a very bad working culture, and I'm glad that this latest incident has brought things to light. I do, however, feel bad for the agency's clients and for those agents who were honestly trying to do right by them.

I also had troubling interactions with Dawn. She was not the only reason I left Red Sofa, but she played a big part.

amergina said:

FYI, Dawn sent a C&D letter to several authors demanding that they delete their twitter comments about her tweets.

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Well, that seems to be exactly the smartest thing to do in this moment.

Foz Meadows got this letter too, but the lawyers muffed it and sent a second email “recalling” the first, which gives a pretty clear picture of the legal acumen being brought to bear here.

https://twitter.com/fozmeadows/status/1270882073436286979

And now she's sent one to Laura Zats (former employee who now has her own agency) over RETWEETS.

https://twitter.com/LZats/status/1271171068808527874

They've never heard of the Streisand Effect?

I see Ari Cohn has offered an opinion on the C&D: https://twitter.com/AriCohn/status/1271189009620963329

If Dawn Frederick and her lawyer want to write me one of these half-baked letters that display the legal acumen off a scented candle, Marshall Tanick can DM me for my email address so I can tell him that his client has done a racism and that he can shove it.

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This is just ridiculous, and Dawn is effectively ruining what was left of her own career and reputation. It's such bad move on so many levels, and of course everyone who was sent a C&D is fighting back and gathering legal fees.

Foz's accounts of dealing with Dawn were horrific to read.

Kay Taylor Rea reports that she has also received a C&D from Frederick's lawyer. (Link) So far that's four people Dawn has targeted, and possibly more.