Writer's Literary Screenplay Agency, Screenplay Writers' Agency,The Screenplay Agency

Tilly

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Oct 19, 2005
Messages
746
Reaction score
160
Location
UK
There are online lists of agents. Bloomsbury has one for the U.K:

http://www.bloomsbury.com/writersarea/AgentsUK.asp

But no list is perfect, and it's important to check that any agent you query has sales to commercial publishing houses. You need to do your research.
Check agents online with the Bewares and Background checks board here, Preditors and Editors and Writer Beware. You can subscribe to industry publications like Publishers Marketplace online as well, which will help with information on sales.
Try and find out which agents represent authors who have published similar work to yours.

You don't need an agent who just hasn't been taken to court. You need an agent who has a proven track record of selling books to commercial publishers.

Some links:
http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/
http://www.sfwa.org/beware/
http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/
 

James D. Macdonald

Your Genial Uncle
Absolute Sage
VPX
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 11, 2005
Messages
25,582
Reaction score
3,785
Location
New Hampshire
Website
madhousemanor.wordpress.com

RichNice

Registered
Joined
Feb 27, 2006
Messages
18
Reaction score
0
I am glad someone wasthere to bust their bubble

I have to admit that I was almost caught by them as well until I saw that they were not with WGA. Also when I saw what you guys new about them.
Thank you very much for having the true full story on them.
 

broughcut

I Can't Get Started
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jan 6, 2006
Messages
187
Reaction score
20
James D. Macdonald said:
There isn't any licensing for agents.

Not novelists' agents. But script writers are considered "artists" in California and their CA agents must therefore be licensed with the state.

Always surprised that Grey Fox dude has never been reported to the California Labor Commissioner.

Mac H posted a great quote from Zoditch recently:

"This is one of the few industries where the sheep fight for position to be fleeced."
 

gunnerrat

This kills me

The reason I chose to give it a try was basically a banner ad at the script magazine site. It caught me off-guard - I didn't expect to be scammed by anything coming from there. Maybe I should pull out my poison keyboard and write them a nasty note!
icon8.gif
Thanks for posting a heads-up before I bothered.

On a side-note, does anyone know what happened to the Zide-Perry web submission system? They took it off-line, promising to bring it back... and never did. What's the scoop?
 

sherryfine

Registered
Joined
Apr 9, 2006
Messages
16
Reaction score
0
I'm giving you two answers to your question about what you've read. The
first answer is the short one, and the second is the long one. I apologize
in advance for any 'attitude' that you read in my reply, but it's a gut/core
issue for us and we feel pretty strongly about certain things.


The short answer ....
We told the self-proclaimed industry watchdogs to shove it.
We've drawn the battle lines and we've said that unpublished
writers have very little chance of success unless they think differently.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------------------------------------------
We told the so-called watchdogs that they are hurting authors by maintaining
'old school' ideas. We explained that the agency business is so competitive
now, that we can only focus on one thing, selling the work. The author has
to take responsibility for bringing their work to industry standards. In
short, we told the industry watchdogs that they don't get it, and they are
promulgating old ideas that no longer apply. It didn't go over very well
and they chatter incessantly, but if you think a writer has thick skin, you
should try being an agent.

We've been in business now long enough to know that our model works, and
that buyers respect the fact that EVERY AUTHOR WE REPRESENT HAS BEEN THROUGH
A RIGOROUS CRITIQUE AND EDITING PROCESS. What you read on the boards is
just authors whining about having to do more work, which they want us to do
for free. Think about it for just a minute. If you were buying an
unpublished author's work, wouldn't you want to buy work that had been
through the proverbial wringer? And wouldn't you want to buy work that
could get to market faster, because the grunt work, the editing, had already
been done.

In the end, the truth of the matter is that you really want an agency that
is willing to break a few rules on your behalf. The 'old school' doesn't
want you to get in, and that's the truth. We have 4 sales, most agencies
only have 1 or two. We will double that this year we think and you really
need to consider whether some 'anonymous' board poster really has your best
interest at heart or if you should give us a try, eyes wide open, and see if
we don't keep our promises which are * We respect what you have accomplished
thus far as a writer, * We believe that great authors are made, not born. We
are willing to
develop talent. * We pledge straight talk in a confusing and old-school
industry. * We can't promise a sale. We can promise a professional
relationship.



------------------------------------------------------------------
Here's one author's reply to this email. We hope you are this discerning.
"Thank you for the trouble you took to explain what's on those boards. I
think I understand your frustration with the critics and nay sayers now. I
have reviewed again the on-line comments and sources and agree that there is
really nothing substantive in either their remarks or criticisms. In fact
most of them whine about nearly everyone".
-----------------------------------------------------------------


Here's the long answer:
----------------------------------------
We are keenly aware of the negative material on a lot of writer's message
boards. I thank you for 'seeking first to understand". Once again, sorry
for the length of this email, but there's a lot to try to communicate to
you.

I know it is confusing to authors. Luckily most authors can detect that
there's something very negatively one sided about most boards, and a good
author will ask for more information.

I think you would agree that it's tough to even get a reply from an Agency.
Most authors (98%) can't get the time of day from an Agent. Why? Because
invariably the author's work needs improvement and if an Agent takes the
time to say, "I like the idea, but you need a little help" the Agent is
blackballed by every writers blog on the net. So, it's easier to say no, or
not reply, than to actually try to help a writer with a good idea and a good
start.

Successful writers of books and screenplays use editors and coaches, always
have, always will.. if you've never worked with an editor, you should. I
would say that 95+% of the books on the shelves today have had an editors
touch, either through the publishing company or as directed by an agent.
There are two levels of editing. The first is our internal level. The second
is the publisher level. When you pass our first level, it means that we
will put our reputation on the line for you, however, it doesn't mean that
it has been exhaustively edited, like a publisher would do. Their edit is
MUCH more extensive. Our edit requirements are related to pitching and
selling only.

THIS IS THE REAL ISSUE: If an agent assists the writer by telling them to
get editing and then the agent will represent them, they get blackballed.
So, here's a situation where potentially great work is 'waiting in the
wings' so to speak, and can't get access to the market because Agents are
overwhelmed and gun-shy.

Luckily (for those authors that can see through the bs), we've decided that
the old model is dead and we want new fresh talent. We want authors that
want to improve and have their chance. And, our management team is a group
of business warriors that basically say, "screw the naysayers because buyers
love our model".

Why do buyers (publishers and producers) love our model? Because they know
that we've forced the writer to jump through a series of hoops to prove
their mettle. And the writers whine, whine, whine, and the publishers say,
"whew, thanks for bringing us great work and for filtering out the crackpot
writers that want the world and don't have an understanding of how
competitive the market is." BUYERS WANT WRITERS THAT HAVE INVESTED IN
THEMSELVES AND THEIR WRITING.

But why all the negative press you might ask? In short, the message boards
attract unsuccessful writers. It's quite a statistical anomaly isn't it.
A successful writer isn't sitting around responding to message boards, a
successful writer is improving their craft, making submissions, and writing.
As I'm sure you've seen the pettiness on the boards.. That pettiness is, to
me, worse than a National Enquirer that you read in the grocery line, and
frankly, I think the message boards attract the same caliber of people.
Also, just for the fun of it, you should ask the people that work the boards
to be your agent, and see how many writers run to help you.

LET ME STATE THIS AGAIN.. ASK THE PEOPLE ON THE MESSAGE BOARDS, BECAUSE THEY
ARE SO SMART, WHAT THEY'VE SOLD, AND WHO THEIR AGENT WAS... And whether
they'd be your agent. <I'm sorry to be a bit cynical here, but I'm sure you
can see why? Nobody on those boards is going to work for you.. they aren't
going to coach you, prep you, and try to sell your work.>

That said, we've come to thank these boards. The boards weed out three main
categories of writers that we are actually glad to be rid of: 1) Authors
that don't have a clue, 2) Authors that can't make up their mind for
themselves and don't have any "grit", and 3) the SFN's (writers that want
Something for Nothing). I hope that you aren't in any of those three
categories. The Something For Nothing authors really get my goat, but
that's another rant. Those are the authors that think we'll bear all their
expenses because they've 'written the next bestseller'... egads...


Reread the 4 bullets under my signature. That's our promise. It's simple
and it's understandable, and we deliver on it all day, every day. (Like
this email really).

So, in conclusion, this is what I would do, if I were in your shoes, I'd
proceed with us, eyes wide open, and see if we meet or exceed our four
business tenets below, A) Respect, B) Building Talent, 3) Straight Talk, and
a 4) Professional Relationship.

Just for grins, and so that you know we provide a service of value to
aspiring authors, I would like you to see some of the unprompted quotes that
we receive on a daily basis. Our clients say it best. The quotes below are
unedited and as you can see, quite from the heart. (We have lots more of
these.) If you are really cynical, you will probably believe we made them
up, but I promise you, we can prove every one of them.

=======================

"Just a note to say, whatever the outcome of my submission, it's refreshing
to engage an agent who will a) take an email submission, b) turn it round as
quick you've committed to do and c) actively work with a writer. Submissions
are daunting enough anyway without having to wait ten weeks for an
impersonalized slip of paper. Here's to you."

"It is refreshing to get an honest professional opinion of my work, it make
me realize just how much I don't know about the written word and its
presentation."

Dear Georgina, I'd like you to know how highly and gratefully I regard the
clarity with which you explain the process as well as your reliability. I
have complete trust in both your abilities and ethical standards. Best
wishes, Judith

It's been a long time since I left school with considerable number of years
passing before I became interested in writing again. I would like you to
thank you for working with me and let it be known that I look at this as a
new beginning and rebirth of my education.

You don't know how nice it is to have such timely responses. I am sure I am
not the only writer that puts a lot of heart into their work and I have to
say, I have "kept mine tucked away in the closet" for many, many years. I
just enjoy writing, but didn't know if I would ever try and submit it to
anyone. Making the decision to do that has been somewhat of a
nerve-wracking process. Your timely responses and professional, yet
"down-to-earth" responses are making the process a lot easier. At this time,
I am not submitting my work to anyone else, because you have impressed me
the most up to this point. Even if we do not end up working together, I
felt it was important to pass this along to you.

Dear Georgina: Your professional zeal and resourcefulness cannot be
overemphasized seeing the volatile-oceanic-wave called the American
Hollywood with its impregnable sales frontiers. I hold you dearly to my
heart in my every prayers towards our mutual success now and...very soon in
subsequent works. I doff my heart after your every professional spirit
imagining the energy, sweat and traveling involved. Thanks for everything
you stand for professionally.

Thank you for your constructive feedback. I found your critique of my work
very informative, and it concluded many things that I already knew. I really
do need to improve on my punctuation skills, and that has been something I
have struggled with for some time. I appreciate your suggestions on
materials to improve this, and I plan on taking an advanced grammar and
punctuation class at the college I am attending. Several other points you
made were also very informative. I know I have a long way to go before I am
a "professional" writer, but I am glad that you agreed that the potential is
definitely there. I'd also like to thank you and your company for staying in
contact with me through this process. I would, and will, come back to your
company if I need further material critiqued. Thank you again for your time.

I just want to say I have been rejected for years by Agents and Publishers.
After awhile it all seems pointless. But I am in this for the long run and
will never give up and never give in. Whether you accept me or not you have
restored my faith and hope that someone out there is concerned and listening
to what writings go through. I look forward to learning all that I can from
you and your associates.

"After having reread all the information sent to me, I must say that I am
impressed by the way your agency has handled the science, or art of
appreciating new sources of writing. If only all agencies displayed your
model the world may be a better place. Your FAQ has answered all of my
questions and I am eager to get to work."

===========================

WE ARE CREATING THE MOST POWERFUL AGENCY GROUP IN THE UNITED STATES. Every
author that we represent has been fully edited and we know, beyond a shadow
of a doubt, that their work is good enough for publication. Unfortunately,
the ones that 'wash out', tend to grouse and *****. If you can make it
through our process, then you will be in an elite group that buyers respect.
We never promise a sale, but we can promise that if we present your work, it
will get respect from our buyers.
 

James D. Macdonald

Your Genial Uncle
Absolute Sage
VPX
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 11, 2005
Messages
25,582
Reaction score
3,785
Location
New Hampshire
Website
madhousemanor.wordpress.com
Hiya, Sherry. Who are you today?

That screed of yours was dissected in detail the last time you posted it.

Come up with new material or I'll lock your sorry, lying, spamming, scamming self off this messageboard. Then you'll have something else to whine about.

Listen up:

If the next thing you post isn't a list of your verifiable sales from the last twelve months, I'll delete it, and ban you.

Fair enough?
 

DaveKuzminski

Preditors & Editors
Requiescat In Pace
Registered
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
5,036
Reaction score
859
Location
Virginia
Website
anotherealm.com
Nah, you need to leave it, edit it to add a note pointing to your previous post, and then ban her. Then visitors will see that she was banned for a deliberate violation.
 

James D. Macdonald

Your Genial Uncle
Absolute Sage
VPX
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 11, 2005
Messages
25,582
Reaction score
3,785
Location
New Hampshire
Website
madhousemanor.wordpress.com
Reasonable enough, Dave.

Now because "Sherry" posted, I think that I'll gather all the line-by-lines on Robert Fletcher's years of whining into one place, for easy reference.

How about The Literary Agency Group Tentacles thread?

Since "Sherry" posted "her" nonsense in The Screenplay Agency thread this time, here's a link to a story about how a bunch of genuine screenwriters made "Sherry" and "her" pals look like fools.
 
Last edited:

similan

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Apr 10, 2006
Messages
89
Reaction score
1
Location
Phuket, Thailand
They're still at it. I guess they have not updated their mail system and the darn thing is on some kind of auto pilot.

They sent me 'another' one today and here's what I wrote back.

============

Hey there, Admindle. Say. Mind if I call you swindle?

Right! The check 'is' in the mail, but I haven't gotten up in days on account of me having no legs and all. But the check is in the envelope but I have no stamps. Hard to get to post office on the account that my car is a stick and answering all the spam mails takes most of the days, too.

Say! How about you give me a free critique and I tell everyone you sold 10 of my scripts?

On 5/4/06, Lynn - Payment Administration <[email protected]> wrote:
Re: Critique Payment Reminder



We are performing our monthly audits and verifying the status of your account. Thank you for taking a moment to verify our accuracy.



Our records show that we are awaiting payment of the critique fee.



If this is in error (and yes, it happens) please email me with any details you have. We sincerely apologize if we have missed entering your payment. Also, sometimes checks cross in the mail so if you have sent it in recently, don't worry, we'll pick it up*. If you need to pause for budgetary reasons, please let us know and we can make sure that your literary agency is notified.



Continued best wishes for your writing career. If you need the paperwork again please let me know.



Account Administration



p.s. We sincerely apologize if this email is in error. Sometimes we have duplicate records that contain old data. Please just let me know if that is the case.



* If your check was mailed: 14 days is the longest delay we've seen for a check to be mailed from Europe, received by our accounting department, and to notify the client of receipt. If you mailed your check earlier than 14 days from the date of this email, then it is safe to assume that it is lost. Please let us know if that is the case and we can make alternative arrangements.


 

MadScientistMatt

Empirical Storm Trooper
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 30, 2005
Messages
1,692
Reaction score
252
Location
near Atlanta, Georgia
Website
madscientistmatt.blogspot.com
It's starting to look like the Literary Agency Group is little more than an enormous computer program. We already know that submitting a logline on the Screenplay Agency website will automatically trigger the same response for a good logline or a bad one - even if you submit a logline for a movie that can't legally be filmed or can't possibly be filmed.

But it looks like there's more to it. The way they handle letters from clients who have gotten wise - they read like an automatically generated response triggered by key words in the emails. When they try to defend themselves on this board, they frequently do nothing but cut and pasted lines that are identical to what they send out on the emails. You could easily write an automated script, similar to the programs used by blog comment spammers, to automatically post a screed here on this forum every time some particular trigger occurred, such as sales dropping a certain amount.

I don't know if that's the case. Maybe they aren't using a script to post here. But the way the Literary Agency Group's own members try to defend themselves here shows no signs of an actual human intelligence reading posts and crafting a response to them.
 

MadScientistMatt

Empirical Storm Trooper
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 30, 2005
Messages
1,692
Reaction score
252
Location
near Atlanta, Georgia
Website
madscientistmatt.blogspot.com
Now that the Screenplay Agency defenders have returned, can I get you to answer one question?

I sent the Screenplay Agency the logline "A fish of soap reflected green velvet and turned on the wooly log." They acted enthusiastic about it and said they wanted to see the whole thing. If the Screenplay Agency is legitimate and takes on screenplays to sell them, why did they accept that nonsense?
 

Max_payne

Registered
Joined
Apr 27, 2006
Messages
10
Reaction score
0
Location
The land of the blind
MadScientistMatt said:
Now that the Screenplay Agency defenders have returned, can I get you to answer one question?

I sent the Screenplay Agency the logline "A fish of soap reflected green velvet and turned on the wooly log." They acted enthusiastic about it and said they wanted to see the whole thing. If the Screenplay Agency is legitimate and takes on screenplays to sell them, why did they accept that nonsense?

I'm not a defender and I think you all know that by now but to tell the truth I sent to them a real screwed up logline and gibberish under a pen name with a new e-mail address and they haven't replied back... maybe they developed their system or maybe they learned the trick:D,,, I really don't have a clue!
 

Sassenach

5 W's & an H
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
2,199
Reaction score
339
Location
Southern Calif.
Max_payne said:
I'm not a defender and I think you all know that by now but to tell the truth I sent to them a real screwed up logline and gibberish under a pen name with a new e-mail address and they haven't replied back... maybe they developed their system or maybe they learned the trick:D,,, I really don't have a clue!


It takes a few days.

Believe me, they accept anything.
 

DaveKuzminski

Preditors & Editors
Requiescat In Pace
Registered
Joined
Feb 12, 2005
Messages
5,036
Reaction score
859
Location
Virginia
Website
anotherealm.com
Max, I've been tracking them for years now. They don't have any legitimate sales. The ones they claim were made by the authors, not them. They don't have an office in New York. It's a mail drop. They have claimed to have 15 agents. So you tell me. How do 15 agents live off only 4 sales over a five year period, especially since none of those books have ever become bestsellers which might conceivably bring in lots of royalties?

Believe me, those agents are not living in Mr. Rogers' neighborhood. They're not going to treat you fairly. All they intend to do is mug your wallet.
 

victoriastrauss

Writer Beware Goddess
Kind Benefactor
Absolute Sage
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 11, 2005
Messages
6,704
Reaction score
1,314
Location
Far from the madding crowd
Website
www.victoriastrauss.com
I'm closing this thread for a few days to let things quiet down.

Winter, your posts are in the Bob on the Run thread in the Take it Outside topic. Feel free to continue the conversation there.

- Victoria
 

razormoney

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 7, 2005
Messages
192
Reaction score
6
Location
Texas
Thanks...

Add me to the list of people you kept from being scammed. I only got as far as sending the initial e-mail. I will go no further.

Razor
 

Roger J Carlson

Moderator In Name Only
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 19, 2005
Messages
12,799
Reaction score
2,499
Location
West Michigan
razormoney said:
Add me to the list of people you kept from being scammed. I only got as far as sending the initial e-mail. I will go no further.

Razor
Great! Welcome aboard.
 

Relaxnhere

I need help and advice!

I made a stupid mistake and sent my script in to "The Screeplay Agency". I know, I know this was absolutely idiotic of me to do it without researching. My screenplay is registered with the writers guild and copyrighted. Do I need to worry or is that enough? This was my first time sending it to anyone so I don't know what to think now. If anyone has any advice on what I should do (other than researching next time) I would really appreciate it. Thanks!
 

Maddog

Super Member
Registered
Joined
May 4, 2005
Messages
264
Reaction score
29
Just don't pay them anything and they will go away. Did you sign a contract?