[Agent] Cheryl T. Pillsbury

necia phoenix · Oct 25, 2007

Cheryl Pillsbury said:
Hello, this Cheryl Pillsbury;
Yes I used Published America and regret it, I didn't know about there reputation until later

Didn't do your homework did you? Pretty sloppy for someone who is supposed to help others get published.

Outskirts is a self-publishing company
Roval is also a self-publishing company, one of the best because they don't charge extra fees for each item and they work with you directly.

What part of 'self publishing company' doesn't scream out to you that there is a problem?

I'm not an agent, per say, my company is small, we guide others through the process and not make the mistakes I made. We give you a list of our members who are free to work with you for you, give you access to a publishers list, a one time fee to set this up and that's it. The members are paid for their work.

A one time fee to look at information on publishers that you can find basically for FREE doing a goggle search?

Ya know, there are quite a few sites with members who are willing to assist new authors in the publishing arena. All without a fee.

We have legal proof of what Mr. Hill did and if we could find him, he would be extremely scared.

That is all fine and dandy, your actions and threats however have shown you to be a bit suspicious of a character.

I never cursed anyone, I'm not qualified to do that, but my guide and high priestess can if I ask her.

I think your High Priestess would probably remind you "...An it harm none..."
Curses are out. AND why would a professional resort to 'curses'?
Oh thats right, you uh.. aren't a professional.

The book, 'Of Atlantis' is on hold until my employee is finished comparing both books to make sure they are no longer identical.

If you had any brains you would suggest that 'Of Atlantis' be scrapped. Who would want to buy it after this fiasco?

Yes we have apologized, many times over but it doesn't seem to be enough.

No...actually you haven't. You put up a pathetic excuse of an 'apology' full of excuses very similar to the ones my kids use. How hard is it to say 'I'm sorry.' and leave it at that... and leave it up?

I know we're innocent in this, I'm sorry it happened and I'm sorry everyone is having a field day with words

You have thrown threats around from day one, that does not indicate innocence but duplicity. You have acted irresponsibly and are NOT helping your 'friend/client' by coming in here.

and when this cleared up, crow will be served with butter.

WTF is that supposed to mean? Who eats crow?
Is English your first language?

There is not much more we can do but to wait, burnings went out centuries ago.

Please do yourself and your clients a favor and go invest in some basic English classes and a few grammar books. And before you post again, study them so you can actually deliver a statement in a professional manner and not have people sporking out their eyes. For someone who wants to work in the publishing field when they grow up, you might not want to have people sporking out their eyes when reading your words.

**wanders off for some eye bleach**

wordmonkey · Oct 25, 2007

Eating crow

From:
To suffer a humiliating experience: “The organizers had to eat crow when the fair they had sworn would attract thousands drew scarcely a hundred people.” The phrase probably refers to the fact that crow meat tastes terrible.

An alternate definition might be:
The alleged "author" and alleged "agent" had to eat crow when they were busted for plageristic acts that subseqently revealed their complete lack of knowledge in the business and complete lack of moral substance.

nerds · Oct 25, 2007

Cheryl Pillsbury said:
I know we're innocent in this, I'm sorry it happened and I'm sorry everyone is having a field day with words and when this cleared up, crow will be served with butter.
There is not much more we can do but to wait, burnings went out centuries ago.

The crows, the crows, who will save the crows from burnings and butter? Where's the Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Crows when you need them?

nerds · Oct 25, 2007

Cheryl Pillsbury said:
I'm not an agent, per say . . .

It's per se.

from Lanaia Lee's long story short page:

Agent:
Cheryl Pilsbury (sic) owner and founder of A G Press

Momento Mori · Oct 25, 2007

Cheryl Pillsbury:
I'm not an agent, per say, my company is small, we guide others through the process and not make the mistakes I made.

Cheryl, if you're not an agent, why does Lanaia describe you as her agent repeatedly in her posts?

How do you "guide others through the process" when you have no experience and clearly no idea of how the publishing industry works?

Far from making the same mistakes you made, it seems that you're actually "helping" people to make far bigger mistakes.

Cheryl Pillsbury:
We give you a list of our members who are free to work with you for you, give you access to a publishers list, a one time fee to set this up and that's it.

How many of those publishers are self-publishers and how many of those self-publishers do you have connections with?

Why do you think that self-publishing is any benefit to people using your service?

Cheryl Pillsbury:
We have legal proof of what Mr. Hill did and if we could find him, he would be extremely scared.

According to Hill's victims, he's still in Scotland and not that hard to track down.

Cheryl Pillsbury:
The book, 'Of Atlantis' is on hold until my employee is finished comparing both books to make sure they are no longer identical.

It's not a question of the text no longer being identical, it's a question of whether you've substantially taken the essence of the underlying work. From the 'rewritten' part put up on the web, it seems pretty clear that David Gemmel's work is still being infringed.

Regardless of this however, how can you possibly consider putting Of Atlantis out given the terrible publicity that this has generated both for you and Lainia? Why aren't you advising your client to pulp this and move on?

Cheryl Pillsbury:
I know we're innocent in this

Maybe you're innocent of the underlying plagiarism committed by Hill, but the moment that plagiarism came to light your duty (to yourself and to your client) was to make sure that all offending copies of that material were taken down from the 'net asap. Instead, you repeatedly procrastinated, protested your innocence and made truly bizarre threats against people who spoke out about what had happened, including the original person who brought this to light. That is not the action of a responsible human being, let alone some who purports to be working in the publishing industry.

MM

nerds · Oct 25, 2007

From MOCKS NEWS:

The ATF (Bureau of Aviaries, Terrapins and Flocks) has just rescued 18,000 crows from a barn where they were found perched perilously close to a bubbling vat of butter. Oddly, the number of crows matched the number of members at AbsoluteWrite. Coincidentally, the local Ziggly Zaggly grocery store reported the overnight theft of an entire cooler case of their best butter.

Rumor had it that the Pillsbury Doughboy was the "person of interest" but that has since been debunked by his spokesperson, Phil O. Dough:

"Mr. Doughboy has been auditioning for the reality show Cardiac Arrest. He was nowhere near the scene of this heinous crime. I will say, though, it's cool they didn't use margarine."

brianm · Oct 25, 2007

Cheryl,

Every time you make an apology, you follow it up with a declaration of innocence, which is usually followed by some form of threat. You have stayed true to form here.

You are apparently unable to comprehend that making online threats of lawsuits, witchcraft, and a form of blackmail are actions unbecoming a professional in any field.

The backstory as to how Mary Kellis ended up with Mr. Gemmell’s words in her manuscript no longer matters. What does matter is that neither you nor your client acted responsibly once you became aware that the manuscript contained plagiarized material.

Eight Internet writing sites contained the offending chapter in threads posted by your "client" claiming it to be her original work. Today, only two of the sites still carry the plagiarized chapter because third parties worked hard to get the material removed. They are…

http://sick66.forumco.com/topic~TOPIC_ID~3409.asp

http://creativeconsciousness63643.yuku.com/topic/15017/t/Prologue-from-my-new-novel-Of-Atlantis.html

I repeat, the backstory as to how your “client” ended up with the material does not excuse leaving it on those sites under Mary’s name.

As to your company, AG Press, it should not exist. Period. You do not have the knowledge, background, or tools necessary to assist aspiring writers. If you want a career in publishing and/or literary representation then you need to start at the bottom and learn the business from professionals. Spend the next 5 years as an apprentice and get yourself a job with a legitimate publisher or literary agency if this is a career you truly desire.

Playing at being an agent or publisher will only harm the careers of aspiring writers. The writing community does not need yet another wannabe pay-to-play hobbyist who attempts to learn the business on the backs of her clients.

randomsome1 · Oct 25, 2007

Cheryl Pillsbury said:
Hello, this Cheryl Pillsbury;
Roval is also a self-publishing company, one of the best because they don't charge extra fees for each item and they work with you directly.

Do you really believe that, or did you somehow miss where posters here drew and quartered Roval for charging authors out the butt to print a book through Lulu.com? How does tacking an extra few hundred dollars onto Lulu's standard distribution package not count as "extra fees" again?

Monkey · Oct 25, 2007

Cheryl Pillsbury said:
Hello, this Cheryl Pillsbury;
<SNIP>
I'm not an agent <SNIP>

Well. That just about says it all, really.

As to her "services", which she describes, in large part, as giving her clients a list of self-publishers:

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=Publishers+Self+Publishing

There. Now it's free for everyone.

As if it weren't already.

*sheesh*

mscelina · Oct 25, 2007

Cheryl Pillsbury said:
Hello, this Cheryl Pillsbury;
Yes I used Published America and regret it, I didn't know about there reputation until later
Outskirts is a self-publishing company
Roval is also a self-publishing company, one of the best because they don't charge extra fees for each item and they work with you directly.
I'm not an agent, per say, my company is small, we guide others through the process and not make the mistakes I made. We give you a list of our members who are free to work with you for you, give you access to a publishers list, a one time fee to set this up and that's it. The members are paid for their work.
We have legal proof of what Mr. Hill did and if we could find him, he would be extremely scared.
I never cursed anyone, I'm not qualified to do that, but my guide and high priestess can if I ask her.
The book, 'Of Atlantis' is on hold until my employee is finished comparing both books to make sure they are no longer identical.
Yes we have apologized, many times over but it doesn't seem to be enough.
I know we're innocent in this, I'm sorry it happened and I'm sorry everyone is having a field day with words and when this cleared up, crow will be served with butter.
There is not much more we can do but to wait, burnings went out centuries ago.

*wipes tears from eyes*

I'm not sure if butter will help that big serving of crow. You might want to try salt. Oh and the last time I checked, any sort of curse would rebound upon the sender threefold. Ask your high priestess thingie about that. She'll tell you. You don't even have to kill a chicken any more.

Caro · Oct 25, 2007

Just...amazing. (There are other words I could use, but Mama taught me not to use that type of language.)

This whole train wreck has been just amazing -- and hopefully educational for some people (sadly, not the parties involved, it appears). Really, it is a primer in what not to look for in a publishing partner.

Shawn Struck · Oct 25, 2007

Cheryl Pillsbury said:
Hello, this Cheryl Pillsbury;
Yes I used Published America and regret it, I didn't know about there reputation until later
Outskirts is a self-publishing company
Roval is also a self-publishing company, one of the best because they don't charge extra fees for each item and they work with you directly.
I'm not an agent, per say, my company is small, we guide others through the process and not make the mistakes I made. We give you a list of our members who are free to work with you for you, give you access to a publishers list, a one time fee to set this up and that's it. The members are paid for their work.
We have legal proof of what Mr. Hill did and if we could find him, he would be extremely scared.
I never cursed anyone, I'm not qualified to do that, but my guide and high priestess can if I ask her.
The book, 'Of Atlantis' is on hold until my employee is finished comparing both books to make sure they are no longer identical.
Yes we have apologized, many times over but it doesn't seem to be enough.
I know we're innocent in this, I'm sorry it happened and I'm sorry everyone is having a field day with words and when this cleared up, crow will be served with butter.
There is not much more we can do but to wait, burnings went out centuries ago.

Yes we have apologized...

vs

I know we're innocent in this

So, Cheryl.. which is it?

You claim you've apologized, but not even this post of yours is an apology.

I'm sorry it happened and I'm sorry everyone is having a field day with words ... that isn't showing remorse. The only thing you're expressing sorrow for it having to deal with the consequences of your actions-- you're saying you're sorry for something other people have done, and nothing for what YOU have done.

BarbJ · Oct 25, 2007

Still flabbergasted. These people are so amazingly clueless and shun the very idea of taking responsibility and/or not rationalizing everything into "It's someone else's fault!" A simple apology without excuses and threats, and I'll shut up - maybe. I don't think I need to worry about it.

Yes, we know Hill is scum. Okay. Now can we hear something about your own actions, or lack of actions? Anything? Hello? At the very least, can we have your definition of "innocent"? Does being scammed make one innocent of all charges? I was scammed 18 years ago; does it still count?

And why would Hill be "extremely scared"? He's been scamming for years. I imagine he's rather blase about it by now.

*sigh* I wasn't going to post here any more; it feels like dog-piling. But they keep talking... Talk about foot-in-mouth disease; they must have no toes left.

Khazarkhum · Oct 25, 2007

Cheryl Pillsbury said:
Hello, this Cheryl Pillsbury;
Yes I used Published America and regret it, I didn't know about there reputation until later
Outskirts is a self-publishing company
Roval is also a self-publishing company, one of the best because they don't charge extra fees for each item and they work with you directly.
I'm not an agent, per say, my company is small, we guide others through the process and not make the mistakes I made. We give you a list of our members who are free to work with you for you, give you access to a publishers list, a one time fee to set this up and that's it. The members are paid for their work.
We have legal proof of what Mr. Hill did and if we could find him, he would be extremely scared.
I never cursed anyone, I'm not qualified to do that, but my guide and high priestess can if I ask her.
The book, 'Of Atlantis' is on hold until my employee is finished comparing both books to make sure they are no longer identical.
Yes we have apologized, many times over but it doesn't seem to be enough.
I know we're innocent in this, I'm sorry it happened and I'm sorry everyone is having a field day with words and when this cleared up, crow will be served with butter.
There is not much more we can do but to wait, burnings went out centuries ago.

Hello. Perhaps you can help me out, as I am very confused.

You're not an agent. Ok.

Now, you say your company has members? Is it a club, of sorts, like Costco? Or something else? If it's an actual club, where writers go to learn from each other, that's one thing. Or is it more of a mentor-protegee relationship? Do the mentors/members get paid for helping writers? Or do they get paid only when a book is published?

victoriastrauss · Oct 25, 2007

BarbJ said:
Still flabbergasted. These people are so amazingly clueless and shun the very idea of taking responsibility and/or not rationalizing everything into "It's someone else's fault!"

I agree. But the hostility level is getting pretty high. Could we maybe dial it back a little? Thanks, all.

- Victoria

xhouseboy · Oct 25, 2007

Cheryl Pillsbury said:
and when this cleared up, crow will be served with butter.

There's been enough victims without dragging a crow into it.

As a bird lover, I resent the fact that an innocent crow has to die when it's got bugger all to do with this.

Sitting on some fence post minding its own business, only to be netted and dragged off to be served up with butter.

Crow: What's going on?

High Priestess: It's a long story. There's this scummy, scammy agent/ghost writer from auld reekie called Hill. He plagiarised a novel and fobbed it off on my protege. You will now pay the ultimate price for this.

Crow: But what's that got to do with me? I can't even read.

High Priestess: Neither can my protege if this mess is anything to go by.

JulieB · Oct 26, 2007

Cheryl, have you considered taking the time to learn how to do layout yourself? For what Roval asks for books you could do the job yourself or perhaps hire someone local to do it on a freelance basis.

If you honestly feel the self-publishing route is right for you and your clients, please take the time to learn more about how you can do it yourself. You'll have control over the process, not to mention that you can save a truckload of money.

Should you decide to hire a freelancer, hire someone local. They'll work with you (that's their job) and you'll be contributing to the local economy.

Just a thought.

GeoffNelder · Oct 28, 2007

Cheryl Pillsbury said:
We have legal proof of what Mr. Hill did and if we could find him, he would be extremely scared.
quote]

Even though it is not difficult to find CH in his east of Edinburgh home, it wouldn't be right to publish it here. We, in the Beyond Hill forum of former clients of his (maybe Cheryl and Lanaia would like to apply for membership?) still find it odd that someone setting out to sham scam would use their own real name and address. I wonder too at the timing. He seems to have started the ghostwriting for LL roughly at the same time in 2005 when he started his Hill & Hill Literary Agency. Did he have a breakdown leading to failures in both aspects of his activities? Who else has he been ghostwriting for?

After the hoohaa relating to the non-book, Atlanta Nights at Publish America, it surprises me that folk would choose titles remotely like it such as Of Atlantis. My magic realism fantasy in progress has elements of Atlantis (as Plato envisioned it in the Mediterranean with the present Maltese islands as remnants) but no way would I want the title to have any part of Atlantis.

Geoff

RLSMiller · Oct 28, 2007

I would just like to declare that this whole saga is one of the most hilarious things I've seen online. Lawsuits, scam artists and threats of withcraft? Now there's a story waiting to be written.

And the whole "crow will be served with butter" thing? Priceless.

Khazarkhum · Oct 28, 2007

I never did find out if her business plan is modelled after Costco.

nerds · Oct 28, 2007

No. Crowco.

lanaia74 · Nov 4, 2007

You know you guys are really sad. To talk about and accuse a person with no documented proof, just a comparison between mine and Mr. Gemmel's work. See, I knew my documentation would vindicate me and yes Roval is self publishing. But I wasted two years of my life on Christopher Hill and because of my declining health, which some of you think is so funny, I wanted to see my work in print. And I hope God forgives each of you for pointing a finger, before guilt was proven
Lanaia

Marian Perera · Nov 4, 2007

lanaia74 said:
But I wasted two years of my life on Christopher Hill and because of my declining health, which some of you think is so funny, I wanted to see my work in print.

But if you hired a ghostwriter, it wouldn't be your work in print, would it?

And are you claiming your health, declining or otherwise, as an excuse for what you've done or as a reason for people to pity you and thereby overlook your behavior?

Old Hack · Nov 4, 2007

lanaia74 said:
You know you guys are really sad. To talk about and accuse a person with no documented proof, just a comparison between mine and Mr. Gemmel's work. See, I knew my documentation would vindicate me and yes Roval is self publishing. But I wasted two years of my life on Christopher Hill and because of my declining health, which some of you think is so funny, I wanted to see my work in print. And I hope God forgives each of you for pointing a finger, before guilt was proven
Lanaia

Lanaia: the documented proof was easy to find: you posted your first chapter on the internet, and it was word-for-word identical to that of Gemmel's.

Most of the comments regarding your state of health centred on the way you were intent on using your poor health as an excuse for your plagiarism.

For goodness' sake, don't get scammed again. Take note of what you find here, in the Bewares forum; share your work and take the advice you're given. It can only help.

GeoffNelder · Nov 4, 2007

I've been lucky. I've the energy, drive and health to write all my own thoughts. However, as an editor I have virtually ghostwritten a novel for someone else. He was an extraordinarily busy professional with an intriguing premise for a fantasy novel. He produced his own first draft and it was riddled with amateur writing errors such that it was easier for me to rewrite most of it rather than do a normal copyedit. It seems to me a lot of pomposity exists in the writing world, as distinct to the publishing world. If someone has a great idea, produces the plot, subplots, characters and the flavour of the novel then they can be proud to provide a story for their readers even if a ghostwriter was employed to cement the bricks together.

[Agent] Cheryl T. Pillsbury

necia phoenix

wordmonkey

ook

nerds

of all the gin joints

nerds

of all the gin joints

Momento Mori

Tired and Disillusioned

nerds

of all the gin joints

brianm

Brian Boru

randomsome1

Monkey

Is me.

mscelina

Teh doommobile, drivin' rite by you

Caro

Shawn Struck

BarbJ

Khazarkhum

victoriastrauss

Writer Beware Goddess

xhouseboy

In the Yellow Woods

JulieB

I grow my own catnip

GeoffNelder

RLSMiller

Khazarkhum

nerds

of all the gin joints

lanaia74

Marian Perera

starting over

Old Hack

Such a nasty woman

GeoffNelder