And here I was wondering what my next blog entry would be.
The following is courtesy of a link via Miss Snark's blog. I haven't had such a good laugh in a long time.
Apparently this bunch of qualified nouns have wearied of people like A.C. Crispin & Victoria Strauss working their butts off with others in an effort to shine a light in the slime pit world of publishing preditors.
Instead of earning an honest buck by actually SELLING a book, it's easier for the miserable leeches to attack defenders of integrity.
So here's their website addy. And I agree with Miss Snark, it is TOTALLY a crock of shit.
http://www.iilaa.com
A few choice, fair use quotes:
"There are numerous websites trashing agents." (Only the dishonest and/or inept ones.)
"Their agenda is to destroy the reputations, and therefore, the business of independent agents. They do not do this out of the kindness of their hearts, or because they truly care about you, the writer. They do this for a reason!"
Which is....? C'mon--inquiring minds want to know! How does a writer benefit from putting an agent out of business? It's not like we're competing for territory.
There you have it, kids, the shrill voice of the guilty who hates when someone cuts into their scamming operation. My gawd, they might have to get a REAL job like the rest of us!
I fully support Crispin, Strauss, Jenna Glatzer and others on AbsoluteWrite-dot-com and I get NO recompense for it. You wanna agenda? Not gonna find one with me. I'm too freaking busy writing and earning a living.
I could rip into every false statement on the page titled "How to spot hate sites who prey on the insecurities of writers." but you guys can go first.
A legit agency will list writers you have heard of and titles of books they've sold to real publishers. I have yet to see a single site that makes a point of posting a "warning" against dishonest types.
An honest person doesn't tell you he's honest. An honest person wouldn't think to do that; it just wouldn't occur to him. It's the scammer who puts hand to heart and declares you can trust him. Yuh-huh. Nope, I don't think so, sport.
The biggest crock of shit is their Top Ten Best Independent Literary Agents
Here's their list--and some links to back up my comments on them:
Barbara Bauer Literary Agency, Inc On the 20 Worst Agents list. http://www.sfwa.org/beware/twentyworst.h
http://p-n-elrod.livejournal.com/12120.h
Capital Literary Agents Also on 20 Worst Agents list.
Desert Rose Literary Agency ALSO on 20 Worst Agents list.
Harris Literary Agency Rinse, repeat.
Martin-McLean Literary Associates Again. (Yawn.)
Milligan Literary Agency Guess what?
Mocknick Productions Literary Agency Oh, hell, yes!
The last two are on the http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/p
Nancy Ellis Literary Agency Charges fee. Not recommended. A literary agent and member of IILAA.
Sligo Literary Agency LLC Charges fee. Not recommended. Publisher's in-house literary agency and member of IILAA.
The second biggest crock (I'd save my watch, but ain't wearing one just now) is the "publishing myths" page, which is a true work of art when it comes to bald-faced lying.
This page is also fair game, my friends.
Rip into them and let's read what you have to say. Post warnings on your own blogs. Get the word out. These guys are real vampires, and we need an army of Buffys to take 'em out with a literary stake in the ticker.
Sic 'em! BWAHAHAHAHA!