THE WRITERS LITERARY AGENCY & OTHERS OF THAT ILK
Our Quick Guide on why some 'agencies' are best avoided
There are all kinds of agents & all kinds of books, But the W.L.A. are nothing but _________s |
| A literary agency that advertises for clients? An agency that has accepted your work? An agency that charges you fees? Eh - what's going on? Quite simple. It's a scam. Doesn't matter what rubbish you send these guys, they'll accept it, then charge you for critiquing it. That's how they make money - not by selling your work to publishers which is how real agents make their dough. How do we know this? Easy: we've tested it. We've sent them the entire text of Pride & Prejudice. Did they notice? of course not! Did they want to charge us for a critique? Of course they did! (Poor old Jane Austen. Just think what she could have done if only she'd had a proper critique from these guys.) Next up, we're sending them a dishwasher manual. |
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Our advice is to stick only to literary agents who appear in the Writers' & Artists' Yearbook. And if any agent ever asks you for money, then just say no. That's not what agents do. Publishers will not take seriously any submissions from agents like these.
For more info on the WLA, Visit Our Blog and search under Bandits. (NB: they used to be called the NYLA, but we helped put them out of business under that name).
The Children's Literary Agency is a sister company of the WLA and should also be avoided. The same is true of The Screenplay Agency, the Christian Literary Agency, the Poetry Literary Agency, and others of that ilk.
The Curse of the Writers' Workshop
Hill & Hill of Edinburgh were almost equally dodgy, and we advised against using their services on this page. And what's happened to them? They've gone bust & left the country. The first sign of the Curse of the Writers' Workshop ...? Crooks everywhere, beware.
And if folks like these are the only agents to have made you an offer? Then your book isn't good enough. You should either come to us for an honest opinion, or choose to give up & play golf instead. There are some great golf courses out there ...
Do also check out our general advice page on How to get an Agent.
