• Guest please check The Index before starting a thread.

[Agent] Lisbeth McManus

Katherinebs

.

Her name is Lisbeth McManus. She claims to be a semi retired lit agent. I met her at a seminar two months ago. She showed an interest in my work and told me she would love to help me get this manuscript flying. It flew alright. :teeth

She went over my manuscript,phoned me (I had her cell number only, which is now out of service) to say it needed some work and she'd do it for a small fee. :shrug I agreed. I'm having chemo and she insisted on coming to the hospital to pick up the money order for $950.00 so that she can get it done ASAP and then 'hand deliver it' to a publisher she works with often. :gone Have you seen her? I haven't, since that money order hit her hot hand. Ms. McManus was taken by aliens. :smack I guess I want this so bad, I feel like time is running out on me and I forget what's out there. Just in case anyone should go to a writing workshop/seminar, and runs into a 5 foot tall, bleach blonde, 60 year old woman with too much make up, jewelry and dresses in Chanel , tell her Katherine's not dead yet. :grr :teeth
 

astonwest

Wow!

"I'm having chemo and she insisted on coming to the hospital to pick up the money order for $950.00 so that she can get it done ASAP and then 'hand deliver it' to a publisher she works with often."

Wow! Taking $950 from a chemo patient, AT the hospital? That's the lowest of the low, I figure...

:hat
Big Daddy West
 

James D Macdonald

Re: I got taken again.

That's about the right price for a developmental edit, and I blush to admit that I'm currently at four months on a couple of the edits I've agreed to do. (In my own defense, my mom died in there sometime, and I've been dealing with the estate stuff, and I'm away from my ususal computer and email account.)
 

skylarburris

Edit

That's a fair price for development editing, perhaps. (I do standard copyediting myself and charge considerably less, but I don't do extensive revisions.) However, one expects a finished product! Also, respectable editors let you know upfront their fees are for EDITING; they don't deceive you into thinking they have some power to get your book published. And they don't pick up money orders in person. They have addresses where you can mail payment.
 

SimonSays

I got taken again

I don't want to kick someone when they're down, but I must admit I was quite struck by the fact that in her own words, she'd been taken AGAIN.

There were bells and whistles going off in every aspect of this scenario.

I hope all who hear this cautionary tale will heed such bells and whistles in the future.

I wish Katherine all the best and a speedy recovery.
 

Katherinebs

Re: I got taken again

I'm pretty much embarrassed to have allowed this to happen to me. It must say across my forehead, "Dummy". My brother is a federal officer and is looking into this. I did get the "I thought you knew better" talk from him. I find myself struggling to take one or two steps forward and then find myself going back wards. I will find a way to get my manuscript published, and am almost done with my second manuscript.

No more short cuts or trusting helpful strangers. I just want the world to know Ms. McManus is out there and I'm sure she'll find at least one more Katherine to 'help' and I hope that Katherine turns her down as I should have. :head
 

SimonSays

Re: I got taken again

Katherine - don't beat yourself up over this. Obviously your attention has been on other areas of your life.

Knowledge is power. Educate yourself about how to find a good agent and use the tools available to verify that an agent is legit.

Writers.net has some really good disucssion boards on finding an agent, writing a query, etc. Preditors & Editors is a good resource for verifying that an agent is legit, has sales etc. There are hundreds of other good resources available on the web alone, plus printed resources like Jeff Herman's Agent guide.

Good luck to you.
 

Stace001

Re: I got taken again.

www.agentresearch.com is also another great avenue for checking whether an agent is legit.

It's happened to a lot of people, myself included, and I know exactly how you feel. Don't let it get you down too much. Her time will come. Karma is a wonderful thing.
 

HapiSofi

Re: I got taken again.

Here's the simple version: none of the legit agents I know do fee editing.
 

Risseybug

Re: I got taken again.

:lol Hapi, I had to read that twice - I thought it said "None of the legit agents I know do FREE editing." I was so confused there for about ten seconds....
 

maestrowork

Re: I got taken again.

Yup, like Uncle Jim said: money flows TO the writers.

If any agent or editor asks you for money, RUN a way.
 

CaoPaux

Mostly Harmless
Staff member
Super Moderator
Moderator
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
13,952
Reaction score
1,745
Location
Coastal Desert
Lisbeth McManus

FWIW, the only Google hit is here at AW. Anyone have any recent info?