About Agent Scams

Because an increasing number of publishers will not accept any material that is not submitted by an agent, and many reputable agents are only taking on authors who already have a good publishing record, this creates a catch-22 for the un-published writer. It also means that an increasing number of writers are being "had" by individuals posing as reputable agents.

There are two very important facts to remember :

There is no national or state licensing of literary agents.

Beware of the "READING FEE"

Many unscrupulous agents will charge you reading fees, which can be as high as $500. Many times these individuals have no intention of representing your. However, there are a few successful agents who use reading fees as a way to thin out submissions, and usually rebate the fees if they take you on as a client. Generally, these fees are under $50. So how do you distinguishing a reputable agent that charges a reading
fee and a scam artist, you do research, and you do a lot of research. In addition, consider submitting first to agents who don't ask for money.

Another way is to join a writer's organization, such as:

Romance Writers of America rwanational.org
Sisters in Crime: sinc-ic.org
Mystery Writers of America: mysterywriters.org
Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, Inc: sfwa.org

Fees:

Very rarely, will a reputable agent charge their clients for routine business expenses. This includes postage, copying, and phone calls---most definitely not phone calls.

However, many unscrupulous agents require that these fees be paid. One scam is to charge a fee per publisher-submission, with all postage prepaid by the author.

In addition to theses so-called expense charges, the unsuspecting writer is also asked to pay approximately $30-$100.00 per month for as "Representation Fee". This fee is a charge for the "agent" to represents your work. This was
how I was taken to the cleaners! I did my research and found who I thought was a reputable agent because she did not charge a reading fee, but did require for me to reimburse her for mailing, coping, etc. As I stated earlier, she made $7,000.00
off of me within 18 months, oh, and the book that I that I had dreams of being published----it's in a box under my bed. This brings me to how I was made a fool of, twice, or where the other $3,000 went.

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