The New York Literary Agency: Warning

Roger J Carlson

Moderator In Name Only
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 19, 2005
Messages
12,799
Reaction score
2,499
Location
West Michigan
DaveKuzminski said:
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. ;)
Unless you're like Asimov who died in his "late youth".
 

Master Bedroom

No offense intended towards middle-aged people, I am 35 and will be there soon myself.

I find middle aged women very sexy, especially if they are rich.
wink.gif


Their track record shows, that these agents like more down to Earth stuff and anyway, they don’t have a picture of Mr. Spock on their office desk. One of them did say that it was an interesting read, but that she didn’t see a market for it in Australia, they just have fare to much on their hands and can afford to pick and choose what they deal with and I think they just like to stick with what has already worked for them.

Also I had no choice, but to go to these agents because of limited opportunities, the link that Xavier Kobal gave me was very helpful. Look, just let me say that I don’t think that my work, (I have only written a novella, a novel and a screenplay) is best-selling material, but I know, because of what’s out there already, that there is a market for it, I just need to cross that threshold of getting it out their and its only been early days yet. Already I have learned so much from just being here and been saved allot of grief as well. Hey, no one saw George Lucas’s vision until it became a blockbuster hit, I mean the guys that are professionals did not see what he had to offer. Stephen King got rejected a few times before he was published; when the people got hands on his work they loved it. Agents are not all knowing god’s, they are just people that want to make money (and who doesn’t?).
 

Master Bedroom

If it weren’t for Stephen King, I wouldn’t have even bothered to write. I was watching a documentary on him and he was saying how, after finishing his novel Carrie, he threw it in the bin because he thought it wasn’t any good, lucky for us his wife, she encouraged him to try anyway. The rest is history. After seeing that, I thought, maybe I should be more confident, for we can be wrong about allot of things, even concerning ourselves.
 

travNastee

in a bulletproof vest...
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 21, 2005
Messages
466
Reaction score
61
Location
with the windows all closed
First time posting...fun with NYLA

Hi, first time out in these parts.

I had done what a lot of folks did, queried, got a "send it along" response, sent in a piece of my manuscript to NYLA, only the first three chapters or so. Afterwards (like a moron, instead of before) I did a little research to find out about the agency, so on and so forth. I haven't been writing long, so hence I knew not of "Bouncin' Bobby" and the like. Thankfully I stumbled upon here, and shall henceforth be playing games with these people.

After visiting this forum once, and a few other websites/forums, I emailed "Sherry Fine- V.P. Aquisitions" with this:


[font=courier new,monospace]I have read on many writer's websites that your organization is a scam, making writers believe that you are a real agency, when in fact you are a funnel sending people to an editing company that you own and/or get a cut from, that editors from name publishing houses have never heard of your agency, so on and so forth.

As a writer interested in your agency, I was curious as to whether or not you could provide a partial list of clients, no contact information or anything like that, just a list of names, or a list of novels or nonfiction you have negotiated into contract, perhaps something I could find in my local bookstore, or a list of names of agents within your agency, possibly with contact numbers. Or maybe editors from publishing companies that you have negotiated sales with in the past, not even being specific in what book.

Any information you could provide would be appreciated.


Sincerely,


Her response?

[/font]We really don't spend time proving ourselves.

She then followed that with the "stock, non-determinal bios" from the faq.

So in other words, they don't like to brag. They're modest, one would figure, they don't like to go shouting at the rooftops or anything of the like when they make a sale. Either that or it's all very hush hush, top levels of government secrecy, level five clearance and the like.

Oh, and you try telling a "real" agency that they're a scam, or that they don't do anything but take people's money. See if they take you on as a client.

I also noticed this in a different email sent to me by them:

If we make a mistake,
or if you don't like the way we do things, you DO NOT have permission to
flame me. People describe me as 'laid back - with attitude'. Any
snippiness on your part and I have the full support of my managment to fire
you on the spot, and I will, and it's irrevocable.


"Flame me"? As in "Start a mean topic on a message board" flame me?

Do you really ask permission before flaming someone anyway?

And besides, what in the name of Hemingway is "laid back - with attitude." And who tells you how people describe them? And what does that have to do with flaming?

If that sounds like a professional agency to anyone else that comes anywhere near this topic, please remove yourself from the internet, as you are a chimpanzee.
 

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
They didn't list any titles or authors? What a surprise!

Any real agency would be eager to give you titles and authors that they'd sold recently.


BTW, agents don't fire authors. Agents work for authors. Authors can, and do, fire agents.
 
Last edited:

taru

sherry fine and my contract

so far so good. i have heard of the new york literary agency many times before but cared to bother about it as i was not into look out for any agencies to be doing the job of negotiating the publishers for my book. the same thing happened to me like any one had faced before.. but frankly speaking.. google is what made me feel desperate. i trust this search engine so much so that... i google atleast 200 times in a day. that would contribute to i/millionth of the googlers.. in a day. so when i had browsed through the google that fine day.. to look for some literary agents and free publishing houses for my book. i was sure of the catch.. 'new york literary agency was everywhere in the right side showing their bold ads.' on further enquiry into the link provided i started browsing their website.. it wont surprise anybody now because by now many might have seen this threads and also already read the threads that had been posted before. i wanted to tell others the reason why i started crawling over and over again the web to find out the truth about this fake agency. firstly,two days back i reacieved an e amil claiming to have made me a millionaire overnight,then secondly and most prominently, sherry fine s prompt reply.. she had asked me to wait for atleast two weeks to hear from the review commitee ,or in case we did not hear her reply.. to send them a reminder. so that they could come in touch with us... all this while i was thankful to her for being such proffessional. and never thought that they were fake ... but thanks to absolute writer... i have not only saved my pocket being drilled by nyla.. but also got other relevant information on the agencies and fake groups.
Now i think i have got a clue as to why sherry fine is such a proffesional. if anyone got her e mail.. these days one might have come upon an interesting note attached from her. she might have read the earlier post in this coloumns so tried to make me feel that her e mail was not automated. the first page of her reply was a sincere dedication to highlight her hardwork involved when she had lost most of her preciouse times to look in to our work. and to some point she does exceedingly wel... she will make you feel like a winner and if you are a heavy smoker somewhere you will have smoked three times more then usual that time. so i give her a brilliant 6/6 scorecard.
but as one keeps getting mail after mail... we will find that dollars creep in..and then after a slash line in her short reply you will find most of the long e mails will be a cut paste from the website.. the usual faq s and the right to fire kind of thing. thereafter, one might get the third e mail, and that will suddenly show you like the ball is in your side.. the contract and the critique group. the dollar 80 submission as a critique fee... she scores wel here too.6/6.... then the 90 days agreement and a year s contract.
somewhere i have been benefited by sherry s attempt. she made me complete my work in time as my exams are approaching i really needed some boosters to get my work acccomplished in time.. so in a way her motivation worked wonders.
i am sure ms fine must be amongst one of us today here reading this long thread...and if there is ms fine amongst us then i would like to pay her back my obligations .
1. your website is just one page which by far under performs and will only lead to authors doubting your agency. you may have a look at my website and blog. www.arunachalonline.co.nr i am a one man webdesigner so my website contains more relevant information then that you can send.
2when you reply back your "here s what someone wrote back to us and thanked us in advance for the job.. which bears testimonyto our claims that we work different from other agencies and our promised turnaround time will be faster.. we dont promise a sell but we can work with you... to incubate the talent.."
this aprticular format of reply will surely make people to google so that they can save themselves... from one like u all. and by the look at your website one will surely feel that the agency is a fake one.

i still wish to thank you sherry for having helped me accomplished the daunting task to wrap up wel before in time and it saved my skin.
3 one last.. change the name to washington literary agency. that will do a better business.. as now people are already alerted of the fact that your agencies are just cloned and faked[and to tell you.. our relation ship so far is cut and dried ]
best of luck foryour next adventure!!!!!!!
 

CaitlinK18

"Sephiroth is my bishie!"
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 15, 2005
Messages
202
Reaction score
29
Location
In the zombie room
Ohhhh, he was talking about the NYLA! That clears up a great deal of the confusion I was feeling.

Taru, I'm still not clear on whether your experience was good or bad...
 

Roger J Carlson

Moderator In Name Only
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 19, 2005
Messages
12,799
Reaction score
2,499
Location
West Michigan
CaitlinK18 said:
Ohhhh, he was talking about the NYLA! That clears up a great deal of the confusion I was feeling.

Taru, I'm still not clear on whether your experience was good or bad...
Must be a stream-of-consciousness thing. I never was much good at that high-brow literary stuff.
 

Donna Pudick

Banned
Flounced
Joined
Dec 21, 2005
Messages
290
Reaction score
10
Location
Florida
New York Literary Agency

Ask them for a list of books they rep, where they've been placed, and with whom. IF you get a list, be brave and call the editors they mention to see if they really do have the manuscripts.

My understanding is that their "sales" technique is to send emails to editors with a website listed. On the website is a list of manuscripts and a short pitch for each one. IF an editor is interested in a specific book, she can send for the manuscript. They do not cold call or write individual queries to individual editors. I doubt if they even know the names of the editors at the big eight (now five).

Big problem with that is no editors anywhere have the time or the inclination (I say that a lot, don't I?) to look at an agent's website. They prefer query letters or cold calling.

If you would like a list of editors at the big eight and most of their imprints, email me, and I'll tell you who they are. Then you can compare those names with any you might squeeze out of Fletcher.

dp
 

CaliWave81

Master Bedroom said:
If it weren’t for Stephen King, I wouldn’t have even bothered to write. I was watching a documentary on him and he was saying how, after finishing his novel Carrie, he threw it in the bin because he thought it wasn’t any good, lucky for us his wife, she encouraged him to try anyway. The rest is history. After seeing that, I thought, maybe I should be more confident, for we can be wrong about allot of things, even concerning ourselves.

I totally agree. Stephen King is my inspiration as well. He was the big name growing in my house and like you, after hearing what he did with Carrie and how is wife rescued the story, I began thinking about the 504 page book I had just thrown away. My husband found out what I did and all he could say was "Why? I liked what I'd read so far. You shouldn't have thrown it away. Who knows, you could be like Stephen King." Gosh, if that didn't send me scurrying around to someone else who had a copy of the book. Thankfully, a dear friend did have another copy and so now I am working the final revisions. I plan to be looking for a publisher soon.
 

Dave Sloane

Registered
Joined
Nov 7, 2005
Messages
28
Reaction score
1
I know b******t when I hear it...

A few weeks ago I was accepted by NYLA and after I was I e-mailed Sherry
Fine back telling her that now it was time to talk...She e-mailed back with an
866 no. and I called a few days ago.
I got this older woman with a British accent on the line. I asked her if the
critique was mandatory, she said yes, and I said no way, and that I didn't
need their critique and and that I didn't believe that anyone had even read
my book "Methadone Clinic." I also said that I wanted to hear NYLA's side of
the story vis-a-vis what's said about them on Ab Write. She brushed that
aside and said I had a negative attitude. I said 'bye and thank you and
hung up.
I know b******t when I hear it and who the hell could ever fall for their line of
s**t anyway? The ONLY reason I even submitted to them was out of curiosity
and because I have a few comp copies of my novel. Still, it was a shame to
waste a copy on them.
 

travNastee

in a bulletproof vest...
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Dec 21, 2005
Messages
466
Reaction score
61
Location
with the windows all closed
Has this happened to anyone else...

Okay, so the other day I'm at work, on the floor, and my cell phone rings with a number in another area code. I have an agent looking at my manuscript, so I was kind of pumped, thinking it may have been him.

I pick it up and whoever is on the other end hangs up. Ok, maybe a wrong number, but where was it from? So I called it back.

It didn't even ring, not once. It was thirty two seconds, according to my cell phone, of dead silence and then a busy signal. So it wasn't a calling card, because it would have redirected me to a message.

So I did a little research into where the number was from.

Florida. I know no one in Florida.

If you've been paying attention to this thread and other threads about Bouncin Bobby, you know this is his true home base.

Any chance it was them calling me to make a vein attempt at convincing me to go with them? Or should I be even more worried about a number that doesn't exist in any phone books and apparently doesn't exist when you call it has rung my cell phone?
 

HapiSofi

Hagiographically Advantaged
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Feb 16, 2005
Messages
2,093
Reaction score
676
Donna Pudick said:
Ask them for a list of books they rep, where they've been placed, and with whom. IF you get a list, be brave and call the editors they mention to see if they really do have the manuscripts.
Some editors are aware that fake agents are a problem. Others may not be. Agent/editor relationships are fraught, full of etiquette and taboos, so if you talk to an editor, keep it clear and keep it simple.

Explain that you fear you're being imposed on by a non-legit "agent," and that said agent has given you this editor's name as an example of someone with whom s/he/it has an ongoing business relationship. It's unlikely that an editor would be able to tell you exactly who has or hasn't sent them manuscripts, but they'll know which agents they're acquainted with.

Don't use the phrase "I sent my manuscript" in any context until you're sure the editor understands what you're asking. Short of that point, it'll make them think you're calling to find out what happened to your submission.
My understanding is that their "sales" technique is to send emails to editors with a website listed. On the website is a list of manuscripts and a short pitch for each one. IF an editor is interested in a specific book, she can send for the manuscript.
NFW, unless the house says in their submission guidelines that that's their preferred procedure--and I don't know of any who do it that way.
don't know of any who do that.
They do not cold call or write individual queries to individual editors.
Hey, that would be work.
I doubt if they even know the names of the editors at the big eight (now five).
They might know some names at major publishing houses. However, I doubt they know those editors' tastes, preferences, work methods, or track records, or what their houses are looking for right now.
Big problem with that is no editors anywhere have the time or the inclination (I say that a lot, don't I?)
It's called having an editorial bent.
to look at an agent's website. They prefer query letters or cold calling.
Nope. Some of them prefer that. Others prefer an outline plus three chapters. Others just want you to send the manuscript.
 

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
Used to be that ST Literary Agency provided the author with two things: A website (with a URL not linked from anywhere) and a "letter of representation."

The letter of representation was a form letter that the author was expected to put in the submission packet when submitting works on his/her own ... that way the submission would get right by those "no unagented" doody-head publishers because they'd see that this writer had an agent!

The web page (the "On Line Pitch Page") URL was supposedly sent to Secret Contacts Inside Publishing Houses by Bobby Fletcher. Those worthies (who Fletcher could never name because then they wouldn't be Secret) were the folks who had the real buying authority at those publishing houses. If they liked what they saw, they could request a copy of the manuscript.

Weirdly, no books ever sold that way.

At some point in their career, Bobby claimed to be sending out partials to ten publishers per month (for $14 per submission). An informal poll among editors showed none who recalled getting these submissions. Be that as it may, again weirdly, no books ever sold that way either.

Now Bobby has gotten cagy and isn't revealing how exactly he's marketing books, so we can't nail him on specifics. One thing that still shines through: He's yet to sell anything.

Within the past few months Bobby's been spotted advertising for vanity presses. We'll see if any bite.
 

taru

hi! sorry ya!

welo,Juat wanted to tell you all that... these threads have answered my doubts... and yes,I did have a bad experience.. writing back and back to Ms Sherry..




CaitlinK18 said:
Ohhhh, he was talking about the NYLA! That clears up a great deal of the confusion I was feeling.

Taru, I'm still not clear on whether your experience was good or bad...
 

taru

thanks!

thank you, I ve read the threads and its been wonderful so far...
earlier i had a chat with lulu people , but i was still doubtful as sherry's cast overshadowed all my new hopes of finding one really reliable.Now it seems lulu will help me out. I ve completed a short fiction and want to publish it. i want it to be cheap in all the way it can be. Iam in NEW DELHi any idea as to get it done cheaper then the normal $8 rate fixed by LULU for 200 pages as i think.. people from my community would be only interested to hear abt it if it comes dearth cheap for them and .. as you know.. the currencuy value.. here 8$ is like 500 Rs .. which is pretty a sum.
 

Aconite

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Mar 22, 2005
Messages
3,589
Reaction score
956
taru, you may want to see if you can get it locally printed and bound at a copy store or something similar. At any rate, you'll want to take this discussion to the POD Self-Publishing and E-Publishing board, which is focused on the kind of information you want.
 

taru

thanks for that link. I ve checked it out and it seems i can choose from the threads to reply to... moreover theres this radar blip that i ve to read . will write to you again incase i've doubts arising in my mind.
thanks,taru
 

Cathy C

Ooo! Shiny new cover!
Kind Benefactor
Absolute Sage
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 5, 2005
Messages
9,907
Reaction score
1,834
Location
Hiding in my writing cave
Website
www.cathyclamp.com
Are you in New Delhi, India, taru? That's going to make any web service you use to print (such as Lulu) more difficult just due to shipping costs. Lulu is located in the United States, as I understand. What you might consider is finding an Indian publisher for the book. Here's a list I found that might help:

http://www.sagar.com/search/Business/Publishing/index.shtml

Also, I noted in your original post that you Google quite a bit. You should know that businesses located on the right side of the page are only there because they PAID to be in that box when certain search key words are entered. Google is not endorsing these companies as good ones, or suggesting that they're honest or reputable or better in any way. Just so you know.

Good luck with your book, and I really do hope that you choose to end your relationship with New York Literary. They won't help you find a publisher. :(