A recent post by the wonderful ladies over at Writer's Beware brought an interesting thought to mind.
I've often heard writers proclaim, oh so-and-so has to be legit, they rejected me.
Hey, that SOUNDS logical. After all, would a scammer reject ANYONE?
YES.
I truly believe the 'good' scammers (what an oxymoron that is) have learned to smell a writer who may be 'too slick'. Someone with enough experience behind them that they would be able to recognize a scam when confronted with it in full frontal.
I believe those scam agencies do reject such writers on account of they hope to avoid scrimmages--it does catch up with them though.
So beware, it is tough sometimes to know the good from the bad from the ugly--but a rejection letter isn't always a sign of the good.
7 comments:
That is enlightening, to say the least. The book I'm working right now deals with scammers, and pretty damn bastards they are.LOL. Although no literary scams, my two-year scar still hurts...
That's an arresting thought, Tami. Makes sense.
Thanks guys. I've known folks 'rejected' by shady agents and going around crowing about how this or that agency must be legit.
And when it comes to the one in particular being spoken about in the Writer's Beware article, I was rejected by them myself. It never got to a correspondance stage so I have no personal knowledge of the dealings of such person, but one has to wonder now seeing that article.
Disclaimer: I am in no way saying my work is beyond reproach and any reasonable agent would accept me, or my work. I am simply stating a fact of events that transpired and could have led to me running around shouting about what a legit agency this was because they did indeed reject me.
On the other hand, a list of healthy references on my query letter could have had a very reasonable affect upon their decision.
effect, lol
Great post, Tami. It's true. These slimeballs have gotten slicker over the years.
Sad to say, I think my ignorance of the whole publishing industry makes me prey waiting to happen. I did stumble across Writer Beware's website and if I see a person/group/company/whatever listed there, I avoid them.
Cup
Good girl, cupie... and the fact is, as a writer, you learn quick or you die in this business. It is cut-throat, and can be vicious. It sure doesn't help that there are sharks in the waters making it even more dangerous for unsuspecting swimmers.
One really great thing about the Internet is that it is a great help in giving writers the resources to avoid such deep waters... the sharks still feed, however. The water is that vast.
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