The New York Literary Agency: Warning

Master Bedroom

Well aren’t I am a big gullible fool, thinking I look all cool wearing my rose colored glasses and stepping out into the sunshine, in which it seems, hides all the dark dregs of humanity.
I wrote a screenplay and found The Screenplay Agency at the top of the list on my google search, well, weren’t they just a bunch of nice an helpful people, really loved my script…


"Our review team believes that your work has commercial potential and we
Would like to proceed further with you. We believe we would like to represent you"


“I am on my way, “ I tell myself, “this is going to get me into the big time and most of all no more worries about paying the bills.”
Why did I have to find you people, my delusions lasted all but an hour then the sweet hand of fate came along and gave me a big slap across the face and told me to wake up and smell the coffee. Unfortunately they have a copy of my screenplay, is this going to be a problem for me?
 

MacAllister

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Naw. They'd have to actually sell it--which isn't something that they do.

Don't send 'em any money. Don't sign anything with 'em. If you'd like, you can send a letter, withdrawing your ms from consideration.
 

Aconite

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Master Bedroom said:
Unfortunately they have a copy of my screenplay, is this going to be a problem for me?
No. As MacAllister said, selling scripts is something they're not good at: it involves effort and skill. As soon as they realize they're not going to get any money out of you, they'll toss it in the garbage. The only way this would be a problem for you is if you'd sent them your only copy of the script.

Sorry to hear about the disappointment. Hope you have better news soon.
 

JonquilAries

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Yet another...

I just joined the board after a friend on Livejournal pointed out the flaws for the agency, and I'm glad she was of the right mind to tell me. The wording they gave me was exactly the same as what I've seen here- about the manuscript being a commercial success. I told them to send me the contract and a referral for the critique, but after reading this I'm emailing them back to have them withdraw my manuscript. While I believe there is a time you do have to pay to get something you want done, this isn't the way to do it. Thanks to everyone for their helpful links and enabling me to see this place as the scam it really is!
 

Master Bedroom

Yes, I fear this thread will be the ruin of the New York Literary agency.


I sent them an email after seeing this thread, titled Cold Feet, I wrote thus…


Hi Sherry Fine

Sending another email to you like this may seem silly but I got cold feet all of a sudden, because you sound to good to be true, you make it all too easy and I know that nothing in life comes that easy, especially in this business You said on my screenplay Green…

"Our review team believes that your work has commercial potential and we Would like to proceed further with you. We believe we would like to represent you"

If that is true, than why don’t you fork out the unusually small fee of under $ 100 to get my work critiqued, if it really has commercial potential? Or are you commissioned by those you refer? If you really know what you are doing, than the ten percent you earn by selling my screenplay would more than pay it back, as would the commissions you receive off of any future screenplays I write and send you. Have you sold many or any screenplays, can you give me a list of the ones you have? I know my screenplay is no Gone with the wind, but I believe that it would make a good Sci Fi movie, have you even really read it?

Trust is something that is earned not given and if I thought that you were legitimate, that is looking out for my interests as well as your own, then I would give you my all. I haven’t got any money to throw away, that’s why I desperately want to sell my screenplay and will deal with you only if you can convince me that you are legitimate Please don’t take this personal but if you are professional than you will understand.

And her reply was…

I agree with your caution, and surely you understand ours. We have no desire to argue about whether a manuscript is ready to go or not.

So I'll make you an offer/deal.

I'll have my toughest editor formally critique it for free. If it's good enough to go directly to market, then you don't pay anything and we'll issue you a contract. If it 'needs work', then you pay for the critique, and we'll still issue you a contract and you can decide about fixing your work up.

If you believe in the quality of your writing, this should be a no-brainer.

I look forward to your reply.

She obviously misunderstood what I was saying, I wasn’t saying that my script was ready to go, but if it was as good as they say, then selling it should be no trouble and they can pay for the critique, knowing full well they will receive a profit.


Anyway, I really need an outside opinion on what to do, for I am of course, driven by my desperate need to sell my script so I can pay the bills and may not be thinking clearly, after all a drowning man clutches at straws.

So what do you make of her reply anybody?
I won't reply to her until I hear some subjective views on this.
 
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JonquilAries

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Master Bedroom- That's a great reply you sent. Even though she said she'd get someone to critique it for free I'd still be wary. How do you know there won't be some kind of fee that pops up afterwards, or something else? After all the negative reviews I've read about this place, I wouldn't hold my breath about them no matter how nicely worded her response is. That last comment, about you believing in the quality of your work, clearly is leaning toward your desire to see something of yours published. At least that's what I see it as.
 

Master Bedroom

Oh yes, they will find something wrong with it, it is my first screenplay and there is bound to be something that needs fixing.

I do think that it would make a good movie though, but they were the ones that said that it has commercial potential and that was the basis of my argument to her, if they think it is sellable, then they would be willing to get it critiqued for me.

For me to judge my own work is absurd, for it would be full of biased and as you say, my own need to sell the script. But Sci Fi has a big following and I do not doubt that it would be accepted within those circles. I believe it would succeed as a science fiction movie but not be a blockbuster or anything like that, just a good old fashion science fiction movie, a fun ride, that will deliver the goods.
 

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Critique or no critique, fee or no fee: They aren't going to sell your script. I'll say it again: They aren't going to sell your script. End of story. These people are known to every reputable film and publishing professional as scam artists at worst and a bad joke at best, if they are known at all. Why would you even THINK about letting them have anything to do with you or your project at this point?

There are thousands of reputable agents out there. Find one.
 

Master Bedroom

That’s the problem, being in Australia, my choices are very limited, there are only a hand full of legitimate agents here and they have so much stuff to handle, that getting their attention is next to impossible. I just got a reply form one agent on a submission that I sent three months ago, that’s how busy they are.

There might be agents on every street corner in America but not here, if I send a submission to 3 agents then I only have three chances to be accepted, if like in America I can send it to 20, 30 or a hundred agents then all I need is one to accept it, my chances would be fare greater in that respect. Australia is good if you want to shear sheep or something, but it is not the land of opportunity that America is. So what I am saying is that I have very limited opportunities and that could be the death of my writing career.

I love writing, I put a lot of emotional and mental energy into it but getting my foot in the door from where I am standing seems impossible. I have seen plenty of crap that is being published and know I can do just as good, if not better.
 

roach

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Master Bedroom, it's understandable to be frustrated. But the fact remains that these people have never sold a screenplay. How much more frustrating would it be to go through with the "critique" and end up in no better position than you are now.

They didn't answer your questions, the most important being: what other screenplays have you sold.

I'm curious as to why you feel you are limited to Australia? I know that many American agents have international clients so that shouldn't be a barrier to you querying American (or British or where ever else) agents.
 

Master Bedroom

I am going to have no choice but to broaden my horizons and have patience. Yes, she didn’t answer that most important question; one would think that they would be eager to share their accomplishments. How do you know that they haven’t sold any though?
There is apart of me that is saying, what if they do sell mine?
 

James D. Macdonald

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I'm sorry to tell you this, but if you're looking at writing to take care of near-term monetary problems -- perhaps you should look elsewhere. The best description of the speed of the publishing industry is "glacial."
 

Garbarian

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Master Bedroom said:
How do you know that they haven’t sold any though?

Because good people on this board like James MacDonald and Victoria Strauss have dedicated countless hours finding out for the rest of us.
There is apart of me that is saying, what if they do sell mine?

This is EXACTLY the kind of thinking that allows these people to continue fleecing naive writers. What if they sell yours? What if you wake up tomorrow and the head of Paramount is in your kitchen making you breakfast? The odds of either thing happening are about the same.

And there is no reason why you can't query agents in the United States just because you live in a foreign country. I have several friends overseas with American agents.
 

Aconite

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Master Bedroom said:
I'll have my toughest editor formally critique it for free. If it's good enough to go directly to market, then you don't pay anything and we'll issue you a contract. If it 'needs work', then you pay for the critique, and we'll still issue you a contract and you can decide about fixing your work up.
I hope you noted this part of her reply. The way I read that is, "If the editor I choose says it needs more work, you pay for the critique."

What's your bet that the editor will, of course, say that it needs work?

Have enough respect for yourself and your craft that you don't accept a crap agent because you don't think you can't get a better one. Either your work is good enough to get a decent agent, or it's not. If it is, get one. If it's not, improve your work until you can. (This does not mean paying for an edit. It means learning to evaluate and improve your own work. There's no quick fix.) If the work isn't strong enough to attract a good agent, what makes you think it's good enough to get a movie deal? Believing in your work doesn't mean investing money in it. It means working hard to improve your skills, and not throwing your work to just any old so-called agent who offers to take you on.
 
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DaveKuzminski

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Do not let them choose the editor. Do not let them choose the conditions, either. That only permits them to stack the deck against you.

Do not settle for unanswered questions. You asked a question. They dodged it. That by itself ought to be a big enough warning for you that they can't sell your work to anyone legitimate.

There are not three literary agents on every street corner in the US. There generally are three scammers. Furthermore, even though there are more legitimate agencies in the US than in most other nations, keep in mind that each of those generally operates in a narrow market. Therefore, you have to do some research of agency guidelines to learn just who does represent what you have to offer. Even then, you're not out of the woods. Each agent in that market has different reading tastes (fortunately for you and everyone else) which means you have to submit to each of them until you find an agent who not only represents the type of manuscript you have to offer, but likes your individual style of writing (presuming that your level of writing is both polished and professional enough).

Legitimate agents can point to their sales record or can point to a legitimate agency or publishing house where they interned as proof that they are themselves legitimate.
 

snistrtaz

Out of the fire

Yep, canceled my contract with NYLA after doing more research, mostly thanks to this forum. Fortunately, my suspicions were aroused when they began talking about their editing procedures, wanting me to spend $150 for their mini-edit before forking over the big bucks for the real deal (yeah, right).

People should be weary of their contacts in New York that they so willingly hand out. None of them are registered with the New York Better Business Bureau, and some don't even exist. I also sent a letter to the New York State Attourney General. They have yet to reply back, and probably won't, but I'm glad others are out their trying to take these guys down. I'm gullible being a first-time author, and I'd hate to think of others out there taking the bait as I did. Fortunately, I only wasted $79 on their critique.

Thanks again! I'll be busy looking through the other forums and educating myself so I wont mess up again.

-Rich
 

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snistrtaz said:
People should be weary of their contacts in New York that they so willingly hand out. None of them are registered with the New York Better Business Bureau, and some don't even exist. I also sent a letter to the New York State Attourney General.

More of their deceit: NYLA is not in New York. They're in Boca Raton. The NY address is just a mail forwarding service.
 

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Master Bedroom said:
And her reply was…

I agree with your caution, and surely you understand ours. We have no desire to argue about whether a manuscript is ready to go or not.

So I'll make you an offer/deal.

I'll have my toughest editor formally critique it for free. If it's good enough to go directly to market, then you don't pay anything and we'll issue you a contract. If it 'needs work', then you pay for the critique, and we'll still issue you a contract and you can decide about fixing your work up.

If you believe in the quality of your writing, this should be a no-brainer.

I look forward to your reply.
This response--word for word--is sent to all writers who express the reservations you did. I've seen it several times before.

All six of these clone agencies, including The Screenplay Agency, require a critique as a condition of contract signing. The purpose of the critique is to lay the groundwork for more editing (I've heard from people who've paid in excess of $2,000). If you take this offer, you will get a "needs work" assessment.

(Although, since we know that Bobby Fletcher reads these threads and would love to prove us wrong, I guess there's a possibility that you might get a free pass to a contract. But there's no joy in that either, since as far as we know, Fletcher has never managed to sell any scripts.)

- Victoria
 

Xavier Kobel

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Online Agent Directories

Master bedroom here is an online agent directory:

http://www.agentquery.com/


and research site

http://www.agent-research.com/


Research the agent before you sign a contract. Victoria & the watch dogs at sites like Preditors & Editors, and Writers beware saved me from being duped out of over $3,000 in editing fees, from a scam agent referring my novel to their editor of choice. Actually, I have to credit my wife's intuition for getting the gut feeling something was out of sorts with the ease and speed the agent responded to my query. Then refused to represent it unless brought to commercial standards using their costly editing service.

It doesn't matter if your from Austrailia or Zimbabwe, response time for agents are ultra slow, even here in this "land of opportunity". Just be sure you have read, edited, and re-read before submitting. If your I's aren't dotted & T's not crossed the work will surely sprint straight to the rejection pile.

I've come to realize it's not an overnight process, so in light of that I'm keeping my blue collar 2nd shift job while I carefully edit.

Good luck, and be careful!

Jim
AKA:
Xavier Kobel
 

Master Bedroom

Garbarian said:
This is EXACTLY the kind of thinking that allows these people to continue fleecing naive writers.

I am like the moth to the flame.


DaveKuzminski said:
Each agent in that market has different reading tastes (fortunately for you and everyone else) which means you have to submit to each of them until you find an agent who not only represents the type of manuscript you have to offer, but likes your individual style of writing (presuming that your level of writing is both polished and professional enough).


Yeah, I just love it when they say, I don’t like it but that’s just my opinion, be sure to try someone else. I mean these people probably wouldn’t sell Star Wars, the 3 agents that I have submitted too were middle aged women, well to do types, all posh and everything, what would they know about a good science fiction horror film? My goodness, they probably watch films like, Driving miss daisy. One person cannot decide for a whole world of movie goers what is good, but of cause not everybody will like a certain movie, it’s all subjective isn’t it? Any idea can make a movie, that new Land of the dead movie, completely my idea, I posted that in a Resident evil 4 forum over a year or so ago, about the idea of an unusually intelligent zombie who comes along, shows the average Zombies how to tack up weapons and gathers to himself a huge zombie army. I called it the Attack of the Bones. It was just a joke but this famous director dude either saw the idea and used it, or coincidently had the very same idea. Either way I had the same idea and it was a good movie if you like the genre. I was watching it and going, my God, this was my idea, did this guy read my post and steal it or what, after all the Internet is open to all and it could be the case. No more posting my ideas on the internet though, that is for sure!


Xavier Kobel said:
Just be sure you have read, edited, and re-read before submitting. If your I's aren't dotted & T's not crossed the work will surely sprint straight to the rejection pile.


You better believe it, my screenplay was four years in the making, I have worked it, reworked it, made changes, added here edited there, to where it is a bloody beautiful work of modern literature thankyou!-LOL


Anyway thank you for taking the time to warn me and give me advice, I cannot reply to all cuz my post would become a novella-lol


All were very helpful and if you must know, I want to sell my script to buy an XBOX 360, nuff said.


Will I be accepting their deal… drum roll



BBRRRRBBBRRRR



NO FREAKING WAY!
 
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MacAllister

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Master Bedroom--glad to hear you've come to your senses.

Oh, by the way--I wouldn't be quite so dismissive of those "middle-aged women"...they might know a great deal indeed about science fiction and horror.
 

Master Bedroom

Let me just say, that what I said was in no way stereotypical of all middle aged women. I assure you though, that those three were not the Sci fi horror type and you know the saying, a prophet is not without honor, save in his own home town and amongst his own people. Lol!
 

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Master Bedroom said:
I assure you though, that those three were not the Sci fi horror type
I'm curious about what you base that assumption on. That they're "posh"? So what? Have you ever been to a science fiction convention? You'll find all types of people there, including middle-aged posh women. Some of them are fans, some of them are authors, some of them are agents and some are editors. Don't assume that because they rejected your script it was because they didn't "do" SF.

And if it was because they don't do SF, what on earth were you doing sending inappropriate material (material of a genre they don't represent) to agents? Target, target, target! You can't scattershot queries. That's spamming, and it doesn't work for beans. Research your agents, and make sure they represent your type of material before you send it out.
 

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Remember, we all become middle-aged eventually even if we're young at heart. Unfortunately, we also eventually become old-aged even though we might be middle-aged at heart by then. ;)