Just signed a contract with the Children's Literary Agency for a collection of stories about a girl who lives on CapeCod and so far they seem friendly and enthusiastic. My first contract in thirty years of writing! Has anyone worked with them. I am suspect because they "advertise" on line for children's authors but they clearly do not charge anything ever and it says so in contract. Guess I'm just a born skeptic. Love to hear from you about your exper. with them. Cape Cod Wordsmith.
p
I hate to break your bubble, but Preditors and Editors gives them a STRONGLY NOT RECOMMENDED. http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/pealc.htm
Sigh! What happens to people when they go to do business via the web?
Did you perform the slightest due diligence with this company?
Just plug "Children's Literary Agency" (including the quotation marks) into the Google search engine and read the first few postings!
When you've dried your tears and calmed down, start your agent search with legitimate ones who are members of the Association of Authors' Representatives. You can even search from their website.
Cape Cod W,
Two days ago, the Children's Literary Agency contacted me about sending my work to them. I had contacted them two days earlier. The last time I send in my manuscript (to a different agent), 12 weeks later I was contacted by a law enforcement agency who had confiscated my manuscript in her office, after they had gone in and arrested her. So, I'm a burned skeptic. What I saw on this site about C.L.A. was not too favorable. So, what have you found out? I haven't sent them anything, yet. It seems dodgy happening this fast. Advice?
Aunt B
5/11/06
Hi all,
This is in reply to all the above questions about Children's Literary Agency' I just went through an experience with them. What a joke!! I was foolish enough to send them my book via email. Sherry responded right away saying they could do something with it. All they wanted was a signed contract and(here's where they make their money) a critique .
Although they say you can use a critique from anyone, it must pass the standards set by the critique service they recommend. They supply a link to the recommended service (Which happens to be owned by the same snake who owns the literary agency). If you spend the $70-$90 they charge for the initial critique you have then opened the door to having to pay someone else (another fake company owned by the same snake)to edit,rewrite, illustrate confab and generally jerk you around each time you must pay some service owned by the snake himself (his name is Robert fletcher) As long as you are willing to pay for more of his recommended sevices to "improve your work" he will continue to take your moey. But just try to ask him a direct question about anything that might help you determine his agency's actual trak record and watch the guy slither aroun. If you persirt in asking uncomfortable questions He will decide he no longer wants to work with you. Also ..in his contract (if you make the mistake of signin) you will be forbidden to say anything unkind or damaging to his "agency" I defy anyone to come up with a positive testimonial to the 'agency' they are on the 20 worst agents list which can be found on the web. I was going to display examples of their emails to me here but they are long winded form emails which would take up too much space. I recommend sending them a bad manuscript just to watch how they operate. There are lots of other forums warning of this guy and his many incarnations. I'm so sorry for any of you who have fallen prey to him. I urge you to not pay any more fees to his recommended critics. editors illustrators etc. If you have already paid just write it off as a bad dream. I gaurantee this 'agency' will not get you a book deal with any publisher.
I almost signed with them, and decided not to after seeing all of the negative feedback about them. So, I contacted Sherry Fine "VP of Acquisitions about my concerns. Here is her response. She's not doing a good job of defending herself against the accusations against her and the company she works for.
The emails are "backwards", so read from the bottom on up.
From: Sherry - VP Acquisitions [mailto:Sherry@WLchildrensagency.com]
Sent: Tuesday, July 24, 2007 3:34 PM
To: Pollock, Lisa
Subject: RE: Editor for my story?
We always take note of those people that can make up their own mind. Thanks!
What's your real risk?...that you get a terrible critique and you spent less than a hundred dollars? If the critique isn't valid, I'll personally see
that you can have your money back. I know it's a quality product and if
you are willing to go through the process you will improve as a writer.. and that's what we want to see.. a proper attitude.
Are you afraid that we will 'steal your work?'... That's not going to happen either, but if you're worried about that, then you're not for us anyway.
Your real risk is that you miss an opportunity because of some old school blather that has gotten bloated over time.
So, if it were me, I'd enter the arrangement with my eyes open and let us prove ourselves to you. The contract gives you the right to fire us at any time.
However, the one thing I can't change is that you'll get much more personalized interaction after you meet the agent. My job is just too cut-throat and busy, as you might imagine given the volume and the misconceptions of first-time authors that I deal with.
ok?
Best regards,
Sherry - VP Acquisitions
Our Pledge To You:
==================
* 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.
p.s. Missed Emails, Spam, Whitelists, and other reasons for lapses in communications. There's an old joke in showbiz that asks the question, "What do you get if you cross an agent with a turnip?" The answer is "A turnip that doesn't return your phone calls." That won't happen with us. We are very, very diligent about returning every email that we receive within a couple of days. The same is true for our vendors and suppliers. IF YOU DO NOT RECEIVE A COMMUNICATION AND YOU BELIEVE THAT YOU SHOULD HAVE, PLEASE, CHECK WITH US AND WE WILL SEE WHAT HAPPENED. Please don't jump to negative conclusions. The Internet is not 100% foolproof and we are very sensitive to our clients' expectations and our promises about timely communications.
-----Original Message-----
From: Pollock, Lisa
Sent: Monday, July 23, 2007 9:01 AM
To: Sherry@WLchildrensagency.com
Hi Sherry,
Thank you for your email.
Here is the information that I obtained:
http://www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/warnlag04.htm
http://cs.writermag.com/forums/67920/ShowPost.aspx
http://www.verlakay.com/boards/index.php?topic=12943.0
http://www.sfwa.org/beware/twentyworst.html
http://users.boardnation.com/~bradymagazine/index.php?board=66;action=di
splay;threadid=427
http://www.writers.net/forum/read/11/38051/38051
http://www.write4kids.com/wwwboard/messages/202963/203369.html?114528920
4
http://www.writing.com/main/forums/message_id/1090044
I am still thinking over my decision, and will let you know by tomorrow what I plan to do.
In the meantime, I will send this email on as you requested.
Thanks,
Lisa
Sent: Monday, July 23, 2007 6:15 AM
Thanks for bringing this to my attention. We've seen it before (sigh), and we've researched it pretty thoroughly. Basically, there are less than 5 main sites and they all copy each other. They are run by Ann Crispin, Victoria Strauss, and Dave Kuminisky, and James MacDonald, and they purport to be the watchdogs of the industry. Ann Crispin has sold TWO books in 10 years, Victoria maybe one, and Dave and Jim, I don't think any.. ..
(hmmmm,
can you see a trend here?)
We call them Negative Nelllies... in every industry you can find the people that are unhappy. In every industry you can find the successful people (not hanging out on message boards though). These people haven't made enough money to support themselves as writers and they are bitter and negative about companies that are successful but don't match their outmoded views*.
They also have way too much time on their hands. Time better spent improving their writing if you ask me, ha ha.
If you want them to be the advisors for your career please don't let me stop you.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
----
----------------------------------------
But, I would be very wary about listening to anyone with that kind of sales record and that kind of negaive bias. They are writer-wannabes, not agents.
They don't have a clue about agenting because they've never made a living at it. Ask them if they've ever sold someone elses work? I think you get my drift.
*Outmoded Views
-----------------------------
Let me tell you where their outmoded views come from. Basically, we only accept edited work. But, we will accept a new writer that will commit to getting their work edited. We don't care who edits your work, we just want edited work. As Literary Agents, we don't edit, we just sell. We try to let the editors work with our authors for creative, for mechanics, for everything related to the work itself, and then, we'll work with the writer for packaging, pitching, and presenting the work. Our core competency is selling what you write, not writing what we sell. (And editors and writers make lousy salespeople, so it works out.)
We have sent them copies of contracts of recent sales, and we have tried to engage them in a spirited dialogue about what does constitute agenting in the new world of publishing. They don't reply and they seem to enjoy creating dissension and hurting our business. We used to try to set them straight, but it was a useless task. We've tried to get these people into a dialogue. They just keep dragging old information around. They talk about people and processes that are at least 5 years removed from what we do now.
Please read this and you will see what I mean.
http://www.writersliterary.com/acquiretlag.html
Mainly we feel sorry for those writers such as yourself that are caught in the crossfire.
Luckily our clients (and the publishers we work with) laugh with us at their foibles. So, in general, we ignore them, and just keep working on behalf of our clients. Our lawyers are on this and we'll get it all straight and out in the open one day, but until them... in the meanwhile, would you do me a favor.. email them this.. and read below... we've seen all this before and we keep trying to get them to come out of their hiding and address the real issues, but they won't. Eventually our lawyers will take care of them but for now, would you send this to them please.
=========================================================
"Dear Moderator - Once again I ask you to engage us in a public debate about these issues. I'll answer any question you want and we can both post the answers on our websites so there will be no "spin doctoring" of the answers.
If your message board is all
about helping writers, then why won't you debate us? The innuendo and wrong data you are promulgating are hurting writers and we think a nice public debate would help everyone.
==========================================================
This author said it well.
-------------------------------
"Having been with the FBI and a homicide detective, I take this type of derogatory information with a grain of salt, as anyone can say anything about anyone on the Internet".
Yes, we have clients that are FBI agents, lawyers, policemen, etc.
Believe
me, if there was any actual truth to the lies and innuendo out there, they would know it.
Here's another author (I like his use of the word unemployed).
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Hello Sherry,
I am dually impressed by your company's speedy response time and professional mannerisms. There are many writers all over the internet claiming that your agency is not legitimate and that your company falls under an umbrella co-oporation owned by a convicted internet fraud. I must admit after reading this I was quite rattled, but eventually I came to realize that in your emails you never once concealed any obvious or ominous information from me. You were concise and dare I say very polite. It was my choice to divert the rumors and take the risk and I stand by my choice to this very day. I look forward to working with your agency, because everyone should know that nothing comes without sacrifices and that things are difficult because we do not dare to endeavour their limits. I thank you for your kindness, "professionalism" and prolix emails (because they help a
lot.) Let those unemployed writers talk, when I get my book published, I'll take your agency for the ride, because I know you stood by me all the way.
Thank You. Tyson
Interestingly, we had a publisher make this comment
-----------------------------------------------------
The publisher said, "the more they scream, the more we know you are doing the right things and forcing discipline and business reality on these writers". What the publisher was telling us, was basically, "thanks, you're doing your job", which is weeding out the writers that won't get their work edited or brought to professional standards. We get a lot of comments about how good a job we do, but of course, real writers and real publishers don't hang out on message boards.
Please, you owe it to yourself to take this one step further!
-------------------
That data is so old, and so distorted by writers with an axe to grind, that
I cringe when I hear a writer making a career decision from it. You've
been with us this far, and I think you will agree that we have treated you professionally and in a timely fashion. Read what I say below and tell me if it doesn't make sense, and that it is worth your time to gather a little bit more info.
Let me tell you where that stuff comes from. First, we insist on working only with edited work. There is an entire camp of people that believe that we should pay for the writers' editing. If the writer's name is Hillary Clinton, we'll pay for the editing, but for a new author, we just can't afford it. Also, because the value of editing and critiquing stays with the owner/writer of the script, even if we were fired, then it would make logical sense that the author would pay for editing.
The next group is basically just upset that they can't make it as a writer and they are spiteful and generally upset with the way the world treats
them. And to add to their angst, telling a writer their story isn't
good
enough to sell is like telling a parent that their kid is ugly. And, when a
writer is upset, they write hateful things. We just toughen up and
ignore
them. I suggest you do the same.
Here is what I would do if I were you.
----------------------------------------------------------
1) Please spend a minute or two asking them for concrete proof of their allegations or what they say. See if they will give you anything substantial. We have asked and never received an answer. I don't think they will either answer you or give you anything concrete either. I've seen their answers, there is nothing concrete, just allegations of more complaints from internidiots.
Then, once you've weighed all the facts and done your diligence, please feel free to return to us. We are willing to work with new authors and that's what everyone holds against us (and unfortunately, new authors know less about the business than anyone.)
Good luck to you, really! I hope you will give us a chance to prove ourselves. (We won't waive our quality standards though).
And, one final thought. The people on the boards, even the moderators ARE NOT AGENTS. THEY CANNOT KNOW WHAT OUR BUSINESS IS REALLY LIKE. They are writers who think they know, but they don't know, they can't, because they have never agented someone elses work.
Do you understand that if someone hasn't gone through the tribulations of being an agent, they really can't comment accurately on what being an agent is like? John Kennedy said it best....
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"It is not the critic that counts: not the man who points out
how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better.
"The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena,
whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood,
who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions,
and spends himself in a worthy cause; who at best, if he wins,
knows the thrills of high achievement, and, if he fails,
at least fails daring greatly, so that his place shall never be
with those cold and timid souls
who know neither victory nor defeat."
Oh yes, one final ps... email this to them for us if you don't mind.. .
If your message board is all about helping writers, then why won't you debate us? The innuendo and wrong data you are promulgating are hurting writers and we think a nice public debate would help everyone.
Help us help the industry, those boards are running amok and they need a good dose of reality. They won't come out of their dark little holes and debate us, but we keep trying.
Tell 'em I said, "high noon at the OK corral" (grin).
Sheriff Sherry
Sent: Friday, July 20, 2007 1:35 PM
Sherry,
After viewing unfavorable reports on the Children's Literary Agency, I have decided not to sign the contract.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Lisa Pollock
Sent: Friday, July 20, 2007 11:31 AM
Your person sounds fine, but you must match our format. Please have her match this format or consider using our recommendation if your person doesn't have time to turn this around in a timely fashion.
Sent: Thursday, July 19, 2007 4:55 PM
Subject: Editor for my story?
Would *Amy suffice as someone who could critique my story?
Please let me know, thank you!
*Amy is an editor I know that I planned to use in lieu of paying $70-$90 for a critique recommended by Ms. Sherry Fine.
I am happy with The children's literary agency. I researched through various agencies before deciding to go with them, they have done exactly as they said they would do. As for the critique, I found it pertinent and helpful, with one very valid point, that I addressed immediately, and did not have to pay any extra. Very little in the way of alterations, and it is the only fee I have had to pay . As for illustrations, as a professional artist I was able to provide my own and therefore have incurred no other fees. I think one must pay attention to the prepared manuscript before sending, so the editing process is reduced. As for example,I was surprised to be congratulated on sending a manuscript that needed no spelling corrections or any grammatical errors, as being exceptional. Clearly the expectation of this agency is that most authors send them manuscripts that are half-finished. I'm sticking with them, as they explain their process clearly, don't charge for all sorts of unecessary extras, and you have the choice of sacking them. The choice is ours, and I think we must speak as we find.