I received a response to a query I sent for my first novel. The agent has asked for a $35 processing fee to be sent with the manuscript. Is this normal? I thought agents weren't allowed to charge fees? She has sold some books that are now published, so she's not a total scam artist, but my gut tells me this isn't right. Thoughts?
Other people more knowledgable than me continually insist that any agent who asks for a fee should be avoided like the plague.
An agent can charge a fee if they like, but my understanding is that it is generally considered unprofessional and it's considered a warning sign for agents that you should stay away from.
Tear up the letter. Sure, she is allowed to charge you, but it's a sure sign of a scam. Even if you accepted that she wasn't a scammer, ask yourself why she would risk her reputation by charging? Besides which, if she were consistently successful, wouldn't she be able to hire an intern to do most of the routine "processing"? No - say "next, please." -Frank edit: Name and shame. Who's trying to charge fees? It may be a known bad-actor.
The Association of Authors' Reperesentatives is one of the major professional organizations of literary agents. All its members abide by a code of ethics, and one of those ethical points is that its members shaqllo not chaqrge up-front fees.
The agency I am referring to is the Charlotte Gusay Literary Agency. Thanks for your replies. I was so excited to get a response to my query, but when I received her submission guidelines, I knew something wasn't right. I will just move on.
a scammer, albeit a cagey one... here's her listing on preditors & editors: don't buy any of that... she shouldn't be charging any fee for any reason...
I found the Charlotte Gusay Literary Agency in Jeff Herman's Guidebook for Literary Agents, so I emailed him directly to let him know of the agency's practice of charging a fee. I was disappointed at Mr. Herman's reply in which he stated he is aware of CG Agency's practice but he keeps her in his book because she has a proven track record and she tells people upfront about the fee. I'm sure CG gets considerable business from the guidebook - I know I've leaned on it heavily in the past because I was under the impression only reputable agents were listed. I hope making people aware of this agency will discourage writers from sending in money for nothing.
My problem with this agency is not so much about the processing fee, although that is also wrong, it is about the fact that they only requested the first 50 pages of the manuscript. This to me screams of insincerity. It would be impossible to determine if my manuscript is worthy of publishing based on the first 50 pages. The heart of the storyline unfolds gradually with the most dramatic parts of the story explained after the first 50 pages.
Bro this is a nine year old thread For the record though lots of agents only ask for a short sample - they are not assessing the story line etc they are assessing whether you can write ... if they like what they see in the sample they then get a full read to assess the other stuff. the problem in this case is the $35 fee
Perhaps older threads can be locked? That way the info is still accessible to people but being so old, if the topic re-appears, people can post a new thread?
we don't generally lock old threads and there is nothing wrong with resurfacing them - the point in this case was that there is little point in answering the original question to the Op since she hasn't been seen for years
50 pages of double spaced 12 point works out to close to 12,000 word. Given the average novel length is somewhere between 70,000 and 120,000 words. That means the requested amount is ~10-18% a finished manuscript. If you cant hold an agent's attention for that amount of time, you're far less likely to hold a casual readers attention, which means the book is not very salable and is therefore not worthy of publishing because publishing is a business that relies on selling books.
Yeah. I suppose the ideal situation is they finish the first 50 pages, turn to page 51, and ...hey, there is no more, and they WANT more. If that happens, you've probably sold the book!
i know this is an old thread, but i just wanted to say that i queried ms. gusay. She (or her assistant) requested the full manuscript and the $35 processing fee. I paid it, and the assistant got back to me with a 2 page review and critique about a month later. Ultimately, she passed on making an offer, but I still found it worthwhile that someone in the business read my entire manuscript and gave me a detailed review of the strengths and weaknesses of it. In the grand scheme of things, $35 isn't much compared to everything else we buy in life. It's about the price of two people going out to eat. i'm making this post if anyone else is interested in receiving what gusay offers, even if it doesn't lead to representation. i wouldn't say gusay is scamming people, because she is upfront with her fee on her website, and it's not like she ignores people once she gets the money. her agency did follow through with reviewing my manuscript, and it was obvious from her review of it that she (or her assistant at least) actually read the whole thing.
doubtless shortly after that pegasus landed in a paddock full of unicorns and everyone started clapping
