Thought Patterns

I got the Writer's Network News paper the other day and finally got around to reading it today. There is a huge article written by Nicki Leone (board president) concerning the Sobol Award and its validity.

Here's the problem contest in a nutshell:

• Sobol Award will grant $100,000 (and a contract with the Sobol Literary Enterprises, Inc.)to the top winner, $25,000 to the second, and $10,000 to the third prize. Winners 4-10 will receive $1000.
• The registration cost is $85. To be paid only by credit card on-line, non-refundable.
• Entrants reaching a certain level must sign a statement saying something about they will not seek another agent until the contest is over (or something along those lines)
• They are seeking 50,000 entrants, maximum.
• Oh, and the major sponsor/promoter of this contest is Sobol Literary Enterprises, Inc.

Red flags began shooting up almost as soon as the contest was announced. The primary problem with it, the one that has everyone rolling, is that the registration cost is far too similar to a "reading fee", something no legitimate agency would do. Ms. Leone put it so well in her article:

…a practice that goes solidly against the canon of ethics established by the Association of Authors' Representatives (AAR). Under the terms of the AAR, no literary agent is allowed to charge a reading fee to look at a manuscript.

Here are some links to further information.

• The Sobol Award site | official rules (subject to change)
• Absolute Write Water Cooler Forum thread on this subject
• Yahoo! News articles
• Victoria Strauss' thoughts | another Strauss post on Sobol
• MediaBistro's thoughts
• And last, but not least, is Miss Snark herself going off on this topic

Since I've been so busy with edits and have opted to not get into agents for a while, I've not hung out at Miss Snark's place in a while. My friend Sophia mentioned her so I went over to see what's going on in Snarkdom lately.

Came across a post with a link to the Ultimate Bad Query Letter. If ever you even briefly consider contacting an agent, you need to read this. While it is funny to the point of almost wetting my pants, it is sad, sad, sad. (shudder)

Okay, here goes. (some of this I mentioned yesterday)

Barbara Bauer promotes herself as an agent. She is also listed on the 20 Worst Agents List. Writer Beware (part of the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association) compiled the list based on the number of complaints received but is presented in alphabetical order. Absolute Write (a writer resource/forum) posted the list as well. So did Miss Snark, so did I, so did countless other writers/bloggers.

I receive an email from Barbara Bauer, telling me I must take down the list.

Making Light hears of other Barbara Bauer moves, including my post of her email, and a discussion begins there (if one did not already exist).

Barbara Bauer allegedly called Absolute Write's site host and manages to get the host to shut down their site. This shut down has resulted in an internet explosion of the 20 Worst Agent List as well as Barbara Bauer's actions. Making Light has posted about the site's shut down and is mentally (and perhaps other ways) supporting Absolute Write until they can get their site back up.

Okay, there. I think that is it. There is a crap load more but I wanted to keep this to a nutshell.

Absolute Write believes it has everything, including the database, and will re-open the site soon. Meanwhile, lawyers have gotten involved which, in this case, is a good thing. For more details including a kind of soap opera like series of events, go to the Making Light post: Absolute Write is gone

Links:

Miss Snark:

20worstagents.com
Hey Barbara Bauer! Put up or shut up!
Miss Snark is Damn Mad
and several others

Sophia's post
Rambling Prose's post

Writer Beware
20 Worst Agents List

Okay. As Rambling Prose said, Barbara Bauer could have just sat back and let folks forget about the list. Newbie writers are a dime a dozen and many of them don't know bad agents are out there. But no, she just keeps opening her mouth and proving them right.

For a background, I have two prior posts about this:
Bad Agent, No Cookie
Silly Agent

Basically the first post was about the Top 20 Worst Agents. The second post is about Barbara Bauer sending me an email, demanding I delete the other post. Ha.

I've just learned that Bauer somehow managed to kinda sorta shut down Absolute Write, a writer resource site with a huge forum.

I surfed over to Miss Snark's blog where of course she has posted about Bauer. I did what Miss Snark did. I even followed a few links. I found some folk who actually lists Bauer as her agent, but, you guessed it, nothing sold.

If Bauer's goal was to get some attention, she's got it. Will it get her any business? In a word? Hell no.

I got an email today that had me first scratching my head and then laughing said head off.

Back story:

There's a group called Writers' Beware
They collect and investigate and educate about bad agents.
One thing to remember with agents and writers: The money flows TO the writer not to the agent. Agent gets paid when the books sells. Writer gets paid when the book sells. Writer does not pay agent. Remember that.

Writers' Beware has listed the top 20 bad agents they get the most complaints from.

Miss Snark posted the list on her blog which is where I found it.

I used Miss Snark's post and posted about it here.

The email I got today was from one of the agents in the list. Here is a screenshot of the email:

And here is the text, in case the image is all wonky for you:

Barbara Bauer, Ph.D. wrote:
Cease and Desist: Regarding your post of the 20 Worst Agents which you have copied from an Anonymous Competitor "Miss Snark," it is disparaging, and inappropriate as well as libelous and defamatory. Remove it promptly. Thank you. Sincerely, Barbara Bauer, Ph.D.

Website:
IP: 4.186.117.7

(I even have a screenshot of my email window in case someone doesn't believe me. but why on earth would anyone not believe me? :wink:)

So my point is, if you are searching for an agent or publisher, if you have been offered a contract by an agent or publisher, there are several places to go to check them out. And you should, really. But then, it's your money and time they could be wasting.

Writers' Beware
Preditors and Editors
Bewares and Background Checks forum at Absolute Write

See update: Revisited

Miss Snark has a post where she talks about the top 20 bad agents according to Writer Beware.

Writer Beware's 20 Worst Agents

THE LIST:

1. The Abacus Group Literary Agency
2. Allred and Allred Literary Agents (refers clients to "book doctor" Victor West of Pacific Literary Services)
3. Capital Literary Agency (formerly *American Literary Agents of Washington, Inc.)
4. Barbara Bauer Literary Agency
5. Benedict Associates (also d/b/a B.A. Literary Agency)
6. Sherwood Broome, Inc.
7. Desert Rose Literary Agency
8. Arthur Fleming Associates
9. Finesse Literary Agency (Karen Carr)
10. Brock Gannon Literary Agency
11. Harris Literary Agency
12. The Literary Agency Group, which includes the following:
Children's Literary Agency
Christian Literary Agency
New York Literary Agency
Poets Literary Agency
The Screenplay Agency
Stylus Literary Agency (formerly ST Literary Agency)
Writers Literary Publishing Services Company (the editing arm of the above-mentioned agencies)
13. Martin-McLean Literary Associates
14. Mocknick Productions Literary Agency, Inc.
15. B.K. Nelson, Inc.
16. The Robins Agency (Cris Robins)
17. Michelle Rooney Literary Agency (also d/b/a Creative Literary Agency and Simply Nonfiction)
18. Southeast Literary Agency
19. Mark Sullivan Associates
20. West Coast Literary Associates (also d/b/a California Literary Services)
21. Lee Shore Literary Agency gets the No. 21 Honorary Runner Up mention here.

(full post)

See updates:
Silly Agent
Revisited

I've recently been turned onto the blog of Miss Snark, literary agent. Concealing her identity via this pseudonym, Miss Snark is able to tell truths normally reserved for those with enough money to survive litigation.

I don't like Writer's Digest. I got a one year subscription because, well, it was almost a rite of passage. Not all rites are pain free. Miss Snark reveals her thoughts behind a contest WD is holding.

It's not quite bait and switch cause they'll probably do exactly what they say. But if you have dreams of Binky Urban or Esther Newberg taking you to lunch at Michael's and signing you to a multi book deal, you're clearly cut out to be a novelist cause you have a great imagination.

It's probably not a scam in the true sense of what a scam is: what it is, is bunk.

(full post)