Re: Lantz Powell
YEP. He sure did just that. At least I can claim it on my taxes as business loss / expense if nothing else. Again, I had to learn the hard way not to trust in an e-mail or a voice on the phone. He phoned me numerous times and like any naive author, I was flattered by what he thought of my work. My sister tried to tell me after he told me he "could not afford cable for a website hook-up" that he was useless, but no, I would not listen to her. She said, "You are the writer with no money and he is the agent who can't spring for cable hook-up?! Even poor people have cable for heaven's sake!"
8o
I felt uneasy once he said that about splitting the fees for telling my friends I told about him and never told but one who ran and stopped speaking to me. My friend was smarter than I was.
Lantz Powell once told me that, "The first thing people will ask you about me is: Is he a Crook? People think I'm a Crook." Of course, dumb me thought he was being funny.
I found myself trapped in a contract but now it's over so I can move on. I never want to see his face and I know if he did this to me, he surely did it to others!
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In fairness, it was MY fault for not waiting and checking him out BEFORE I signed the contract he faxed me within 30 minutes of ready my sample. He never signed the contract either citing only one of us have to sign...What a dummy I was, huh? I'm very educated and published and still, I fell for his smooth talk hook, line and sinker! He promised me the moon and said everything I wanted to hear.
THEN, he :hat totally embarrassed me in NYC with his stupid letters full of typos and anyone could sense he has not read the MS rather was just trying to make a sell. He sent me a copy of the letter and I had to edit if FOR HIM if you can imagine that day at my house! He even had lied to the publisher and I called him on the carpet on that and he got really angry with me for that. I felt like I was stuck, just stuck. I was devastated and I am still not over it as you can tell. BUT I will be and that's a promise.
He claimed to have sent the MS to almost 200 publishing houses / editors. Just not true. Thus the big bucks!
When I confronted him, he shot me back rude and condescending e-mails and phoned me numerous times want to make it okay with me. I called a couple of the houses myself and told them I was no longer represented by him and asked for my MS back ... He is just a joke.
In closing, I am happy :rollin to have found your Post so that just maybe I can help one person not get snowed by him. He is smooth and such a liar that before you know it, you are sucked into his promise to make you the best seller you think you are! For the record, I'm no dummy and educated but still got fooled. It blew my selfworth right out the window for the past year thinking then asking myself, "What were you thinking?" :\
For the love of God, I hope everyone on this board is a best selling author but it sure won't if anyone signs with The Literary Agency for Southern Authors, and Lantz Powell, CLS.
All good wishes to you!