Saturday, October 6, 2007

Agent Scam Alert

By Heather Moore

I am posting out of sequence, but I thought this was important to notify everyone asap. Yesterday I received an email from a literary agent who said she was interested in representing my new book. I was suspicious from the beginning because I couldn't remember querying this woman. And it came to an email that I don't give out to agents.

So I quickly googled her name and discovered that she is listed on the Top 20 Worst Agent list .

She signed her name as Michele Glance Rooney. I found this agent has a track record of contacting authors and inviting them to submit. Then she charges fees for reading, submitting, etc. According a blog written by Victoria Strauss, Rooney has not sold any trackable manuscript to any publisher.

The message she sent me is as follows:
Hi Heather,
How's your writing going? I just wanted to send you an e-mail and let you know you that I'm very interested in reading your writing projects with an eye toward becoming your literary agent. If your writing project is still a work in progress, please feel free to send me a synopsis and sample chapters. My submission address is:

Michele Glance Rooney, Literary Agent
P.O. Box 2533
Birmingham, Michigan 48012-2533

You can check out my website at http://superliteraryagent.tripod.com
I'm looking forward to reading your work. I wish you great success with your writing career and with all of your endeavors.
Have a stupendous day!

Warm Regards,

Michele Glance Rooney


I, of course, emailed her back and requested a client list and her 2006-2007 sales. She hasn't replied.

My message to you: PLEASE investigate every agent by googling their name--even if they are listed in a reputable agent guide. In a previous blog, I list things to watch out for when querying agents.

2 comments:

Anna said...

Very interesting. I'm not near the point of having to get a literary agent yet, but it seems to me that there are at least two things on her website I can see that would make me question her "business".

One, I wouldn't think a business like that would have a site that has advertisements on them. If she's any good, she should be able to have a website with no ads.

Two, the only link on her site is her email address. No bio or information. It's way too basic to seem valid.

Heather Moore said...

It's been over a week now and she still hasn't sent me that client list. Hmmm.