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Desert Rose Literary Agency (Leann Murphy)

bloemmarc

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Yes, very true.

PMA does like to wortk exclusively with an author ofcourse, and expects to know if you have an assocation with any other agents.

But, by the time they get back to me, there'd only be like 4 mos left on the contract with DR. After I ended it with her, would I still have to tell PMA about Lean, and DR. Would they be understanding, or would it not even matter with somebody who has had a reputation like hers.
 

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bloemmarc said:
YBut, by the time they get back to me, there'd only be like 4 mos left on the contract with DR. After I ended it with her, would I still have to tell PMA about Lean, and DR. Would they be understanding, or would it not even matter with somebody who has had a reputation like hers.
Friend, we're trying to tell you to end it now. Don't wait until the contract is up. End it now. You cannot work with two agents at once on the same book, and you do not want to be with DR.
 

bloemmarc

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Yes, I know. I will end it; you are right. Thank you.
 

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bloemmarc said:
After I ended it with her, would I still have to tell PMA about Lean, and DR.
No. Being "represented" by Desert Rose is like being represented by your dog. You never need to mention it to anyone.

Until you're a successful bestselling author, that is, and need some amusing cocktail party anecdotes.

- Victoria
 

bloemmarc

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Well, thank you. I will remember that when I have reached that status:) kidding though. Very few people reach that level though like Stephen king or Tolkein, Koontz kind, but it's nice to dream about.
 

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bloemmarc said:
Thank you Hapsofi.

I will do that. I actually got an interested letter from PMA Literary film, and management agency asking to see more of my work. They are a very legit and recommended agency to.

If you were in my shoes, would you peruse them? I am planning to. Hopefully
I would pursue rather than peruse them; but aside from that, the answer is yes. Write to DR immediately and break off the engagement. Send your material to other agents.

And let me confirm an impression you've gotten: you can only have one agent at a time. If your former agent cut a deal, and the book's still in print from that publisher, they remain the agent of record for that book; but your current agent is your agent.

If they ask you, tell them that Desert Rose is not your agent. Tell them that you had a brief, unhappy association; that as far as you can tell, Desert Rose never did anything on your behalf; and that Desert Rose is clear on the idea that they are no longer your agent.
 

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You can have more than one agent at a time PROVIDED they are representing different works. Some agents represent only fiction. Some represent only non-fiction. Some represent only screenplays. It is quite possible for a writer to have several agents who each represent different works or the same work in different venues.
 

louisgodwin

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Well... It's been 3 business days now. My request for the names of the publishers Leann supposedly sent my manuscript to has gone unanswered. She's always responded to my emails within 2 business days. Usually it only takes 1. Dammit, I was afraid of this. Oh, well. At least I only got ripped off for $200 instead of the full $300 she wanted. I can be thankful I found this thread before I sent that last $100 payment. Thanks, guys. If she doesn't eventually respond to my requests for the names of the publishers, then I think I'm going to get in contact with her county D.A.'s office.
 

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You already gave her enough time. Report her now while the evidence is fresh. If you wait, you might get a different DA who sees no need to go after her.
 

bloemmarc

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louisgodwin said:
Well... It's been 3 business days now. My request for the names of the publishers Leann supposedly sent my manuscript to has gone unanswered. She's always responded to my emails within 2 business days. Usually it only takes 1. Dammit, I was afraid of this. Oh, well. At least I only got ripped off for $200 instead of the full $300 she wanted. I can be thankful I found this thread before I sent that last $100 payment. Thanks, guys. If she doesn't eventually respond to my requests for the names of the publishers, then I think I'm going to get in contact with her county D.A.'s office.

Ya, I sympathessize. I sent her 325 dollars of my money that I could not afford to spend at all. I only did that, because I thought I would have something promising maybe in the future. I have asked her 3 times for the names of the publishers, and it has gone unanswered. Like you, she has also responded to all of my e-mails, except for those. She also has never sent to me the query letter, she said she wrote that she would send to the publishers. She said she wrote this from her memory of what my story was like.
 

louisgodwin

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It's now been 4 business days, no response from Leann. I sent her another email yesterday. Zilch. I think I'm going to try calling her tomorrow. If she will answer her phone, I going to try to corner her into answering some key questions. I'm starting to get mad now, and I'm not going to listen to a song and dance routine. But, alas, I have a strange premonition that I'm just going to keep getting her voice mail when I call. If everything goes as I suspect it will, I'll be spending the weekend researching what law enforcement officials I need to contact.
 

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louisgodwin said:
It's now been 4 business days, no response from Leann. I sent her another email yesterday. Zilch. I think I'm going to try calling her tomorrow. If she will answer her phone, I going to try to corner her into answering some key questions. I'm starting to get mad now, and I'm not going to listen to a song and dance routine. But, alas, I have a strange premonition that I'm just going to keep getting her voice mail when I call. If everything goes as I suspect it will, I'll be spending the weekend researching what law enforcement officials I need to contact.

Get off your butt now to contact the authorities. Just how much attention do you suppose you're going to receive over a weekend? REMEMBER, she's relying upon you to delay and delay because you want to believe that she's not scamming you.

By the way, I believe you can find the contact name and number for one detective somewhere in the ST topic.
 

louisgodwin

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DaveKuzminski said:
Get off your butt now to contact the authorities.

Alright, Dave. My butt's moving. I just emailed Detective Brian Elkins asking for a complaint form. He was the guy who investigated Janet Kay. (By the way, James, thanks for that link) I also asked if there had been any other complaints about DR. I'll update everyone here once I hear back from him. I also tried to call Leann during my lunch break today. Got the voice mail of course. I left a pleasant message asking for the names of the publishers she sent my book to. Of course, no response. No callback.
 

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Law Enforcement and DA Contact for Leann Murphy

Contact Detective Brian Elkins and ALSO D.A. Marty Wilde.

Both are in San Angelo, Texas.

The San Angelo Police Department should be able to put you in touch with both gentleman.

Tell them exactly how much money Leann Murphy ripped you off for. Be prepared to provide documentation.

Quit shilly-shallying around. Leann Murphy is NOT going to email you, pick up her phone, or respond to your question. She is a scammer. Once the "mark" tumbles to her game, she cuts the cord.

Don't get mad, get even.

-Ann C. Crispin
Writer Beware
www.writerbeware.com
 

bloemmarc

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louisgodwin said:
DaveKuzminski said:
Get off your butt now to contact the authorities.
I think that I need to as well. she has skirted the very same questions I asked of her to.
Alright, Dave. My butt's moving. I just emailed Detective Brian Elkins asking for a complaint form. He was the guy who investigated Janet Kay. (By the way, James, thanks for that link) I also asked if there had been any other complaints about DR. I'll update everyone here once I hear back from him. I also tried to call Leann during my lunch break today. Got the voice mail of course. I left a pleasant message asking for the names of the publishers she sent my book to. Of course, no response. No callback.
 

bloemmarc

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Alright, I will try to post this one more time.

I tried to say three times now already that I am going to report her as well, because I asked her the very same questions, and she has skirted them all time and time again.
 

louisgodwin

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I finally got a response back from Leann. She said the publishers hadn't responded yet, still too early, possibly because of summer vacations (??????). She made no attempt to answer the real question: What publishers have my manuscript been sent to? Instead, she asked me to email her my synopsis. What the ****?! I sent her the synopsis with my manuscript! I think this synopsis request routine she's doing is just what she does when she doesn't want to answer a question. Ya know, like when someone gets asked an uncomfortable question and then dodges it by quickly changing the subject. (Politicians have turned this into an art.) I don't think she knows about this thread, otherwise she wouldn't have pulled the same routine with bloemmarc and myself. I sent her an email re-specifying my original question. We'll see if she responds. Meanwhile, I emailed Detective Elkins, but have yet to receive a response from him. I'll try emailing him again. I tried to look up Marty Wilde, but I don't think he's the D.A. anymore. And just so everyone knows, my butt is moving on this. Just please take into consideration that I'm an insurance claims adjuster, and Katrina & Rita have me pretty much living at work for the time being.
 

bloemmarc

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I hope everything wroks out for you. I have basically chalked her up as a loss and wasted time, and am going to move on, and cut my losses. I whish you goodf luck
louisgodwin said:
I finally got a response back from Leann. She said the publishers hadn't responded yet, still too early, possibly because of summer vacations (??????). She made no attempt to answer the real question: What publishers have my manuscript been sent to? Instead, she asked me to email her my synopsis. What the ****?! I sent her the synopsis with my manuscript! I think this synopsis request routine she's doing is just what she does when she doesn't want to answer a question. Ya know, like when someone gets asked an uncomfortable question and then dodges it by quickly changing the subject. (Politicians have turned this into an art.) I don't think she knows about this thread, otherwise she wouldn't have pulled the same routine with bloemmarc and myself. I sent her an email re-specifying my original question. We'll see if she responds. Meanwhile, I emailed Detective Elkins, but have yet to receive a response from him. I'll try emailing him again. I tried to look up Marty Wilde, but I don't think he's the D.A. anymore. And just so everyone knows, my butt is moving on this. Just please take into consideration that I'm an insurance claims adjuster, and Katrina & Rita have me pretty much living at work for the time being.
 

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louisgodwin said:
I finally got a response back from Leann. She said the publishers hadn't responded yet, still too early, possibly because of summer vacations (??????). She made no attempt to answer the real question: What publishers have my manuscript been sent to? Instead, she asked me to email her my synopsis. What the ****?! I sent her the synopsis with my manuscript! I think this synopsis request routine she's doing is just what she does when she doesn't want to answer a question.
Have you considered the possibility that you're still getting form letters, or something very close to it?
 

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Hi, Guys,

I thought I'd chime in here. She's telling her new prospects (I have a friend who's considering her. I've directed her here, but it doesn't matter, she's going to believe the agent until she does something untoward) that she doesn't charge fees. At what point does Mrs Murphy ask for money?


David
 

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Dhewco said:
I thought I'd chime in here. She's telling her new prospects (I have a friend who's considering her. I've directed her here, but it doesn't matter, she's going to believe the agent until she does something untoward) that she doesn't charge fees. At what point does Mrs Murphy ask for money?
According to my records, writers find out about the fee when a contract is offered.

Some agents who want upfront money play semantic games, claiming that the money isn't a "fee" because it's an "advance" on submission expense and will be reimbursed when a sale is made (a safe promise, given the nonexistent track records of most of these agents). Bottom line, though: you're handing over cash as a condition of representation. As far as Writer Beware is concerned, that's a fee.

- Victoria
 

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Preditors & Editors (tm) views that kind of reimbursable fee in the same manner. It's nothing more than smoke and mirrors meant to convince the victim to pay.
 

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Thanks Davie and Victoria,

I was afraid of that. I can't go into my friend's rationale without betraying her confidence. Needless to say, this won't persuade her. She'll wait until the money is requested before disregarding her.

David