At 11:46 AM 5/2/98 -0500, Cindy Smith wrote:
>Thanks to everyone who saved me from being ripped off! Bill Appel
>called me back _three times_ yesterday, encouraging me to sign up and
>asking me whether I wanted to use visa, mastercard, or amex, and I
>just kept telling him I'd get back to him. I refused to give him my
>home phone number, even when pressed. I strongly suspected scam but
>am grateful to hear it confirmed. I thought reading about a literary
>agency in a legitimate publication implied that agencies listed were
>legit, but, alas, I was wrong. I will continue trying to find a
>legitimate agency but am unsure now of how to proceed. I would
>appreciate any further advice.
Cindy,
One standard (and good) piece of advice in this regard is to get the list of
members of the Association of Authors' Representatives. The AAR has a
code of ethics for its members that, among other things, forbids charging
reading fees.
I know that you can get the list of member agencies by sending a SASE to
Association of Authors' Representatives, Inc., 10 Astor Place, 3rd Floor,
New York, NY 10003. Unfortunately, I can't remember if you also need to
send them any money for this list; I don't think so. Perhaps someone else
on this list will supply that detail.
You could call the AAR and ask them: (212) 353-3709.
That list isn't all inclusive. There are good agencies that aren't members,
or at least that don't appear on the list I have, which is a couple of years
old. It's a good starting point, though.
David Dvorkin
mailto:[log in to unmask]
http://www.csd.net/~dvorkin
|