Comments on: The Case Against Reading Fees

By: Nancy Fulda

Nancy Fulda — Sun, 04 Jul 2010 18:27:37 +0000

This post seems to be lacking paragraph markers. Perhaps an error in the automated import from Writer Beware?

By: Jennifer S

Jennifer S — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 14:00:35 +0000

When I was much, much younger, and thought I was ready to find an agent, I was told that the Scott Meredeth Agency had an “excellent reputation.” I balked at the reading fee. My father, attempting to be supportive, said, “Oh, I’ll pay it for you!” I remember trying to explain to him that there was something *wrong* with charging $200 to read an MS. He went ahead and sent a check anyway. So. I actually got a *four* page (single) spaced, evaluation, meaning that Dear Old Dad had paid $50 a page for it. If the first digit of my age had been higher, I might have been stronger about trying to talk him out of it. The letter was kind and encouraging, but certainly not worth the cost.

Reading fees don’t just scam the uninformed. They are also a trap for the young, and in the case of the young, the hopeful parents.

As for “working for nothing,” agenting is like prospecting. To find the diamonds, you’ve got to dig through a lot of Kimberlite.

By: SF Signal: SF Tidbits for 7/2/10

SF Signal: SF Tidbits for 7/2/10 — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 06:05:23 +0000

[...] Science Fiction #2 is Up.Sacramento Book Review reviews The Third Bear.ArticlesVictoria Strauss on The Case Against Reading Fees.Jay Rubin on "Literal Translation".Catherynne Valente on The Future/I mean/wow.Karen Lord on A [...]