It's no secret I'm looking for an agent. So I was surprised to receive an email from a literary agent yesterday whom I had never queried. I immediately became suspicious and googled her name.
I discovered that she is listed on the Top 20 Worst Agent list.
She signed her name as Michele Glance Rooney. I found this agent has a track record of contacting authors and inviting them to submit. Then she charges fees for reading, submitting, etc. According a blog written by Victoria Strauss, Rooney has not sold any trackable manuscript to any publisher.
The message she sent me is as follows:
Hi Heather,
How's your writing going? I just wanted to send you an e-mail and let you know you that I'm very interested in reading your writing projects with an eye toward becoming your literary agent. If your writing project is still a work in progress, please feel free to send me a synopsis and sample chapters. My submission address is:
Michele Glance Rooney, Literary Agent
P.O. Box 2533
Birmingham, Michigan 48012-2533
You can check out my website at http://superliteraryagent.tripod.com
I'm looking forward to reading your work. I wish you great success with your writing career and with all of your endeavors.
Have a stupendous day!
Warm Regards,
Michele Glance Rooney
I, of course, emailed her back and requested a client list and her 2006-2007 sales. She hasn't replied.
My message to you: PLEASE investigate every agent by googling their name--even if they are listed in a reputable agent guide. In another blog, I list things to watch out for when querying agents.
5 comments:
Great, great advice. I don't know if you know about this website but:
http://www.agentquery.com/ -- it's a great place to start. Also, I have three literary agents blogs posted in my Recommended Blogs list. Hope that helps.
and the reason I dropped by:
There are 23 days left and counting, ladies . . . if you have the most wonderful husband in the world, you need to nominated him!
I know there are other wonderful husbands out there. Until midnight November 30, 2007 I will be taking nominations via this email address ces@candacesalima.com. The six finalists will be posted, please send a picture with the nomination, on December 1, 2007 when voting will commence and the winner will be chosen by you. Sadly, because it would just be skewed, my husband cannot win although I think he'd be a shoe in. On December 15, 2007 the winner will be announced.
We have some great husbands already nominated, but I know there are more out there. So start nominating! Tell me about your husband and why you think he is the Best Husband in the World! That would be world . . . ladies, no geographic boundaries.
Great advice, Heather. I had a similar experience and, thankfully, didn't enter into any kind of an agreement. Why do people like that prey on writers? Money, I'm sure. But how do they sleep at night?
Someday I hope to be in a position to be approached by bad agents! LOL!!
Believe me Avery, you will be soon enough (not that we are striving for bad agents to contact us).
Good for you! Obviously this so called agent didn't know she had a slueth on her hands and would be wise. :) Go Heather!
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