Author: Ken Mills
Date:   09-08-05 16:39

I'm a first time writer. I know very little about the business of getting published.

I want to know if anyone out there had any experience with the Stylus Literary Agency in New York. Are they a scam company?

I signed a two year contract with them. So far I've been charged $99 for a critique and $99 for initial editing. Are these legitimate charges?

I would apreciate any feed-back from anyone that's had experiences with this company.

Thanks,

Ken

Author: Jeanne Gassman
Date:   09-08-05 16:57

You need to get out of this contract. They will continue to bleed you for fees. To learn more about them, do a search on Stylus here or go to:

<http;//www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/>

Author: BPM BPM
Date:   09-08-05 17:19

Yeah you should bail on this. Fees are BS. Try and avoid them in the future and also do more research before signing with anyone.

Author: C Bets
Date:   09-08-05 17:41

Oh, great. One of my main characters has a last name "Sylus" - different, but damn close. Do you think I should change it? Not being superstitious or anything. :-O

Author: BPM BPM
Date:   09-08-05 18:05

Babe you can name your character anything and i'll read it. ;-)

Author: Mya Bell
Date:   09-08-05 18:07

Ken, they make their money off writers who don't do their research before contacting agents.

Get out of the contract. As far as we know, they have no clout with publishers and it's debatable whether they even make any attempt to contact publishers.

Legitimate agents only charge postage and photocopying charges after they make a sale. They don't have up-front fees.

For more info, see these links:

http://www.writers.net/forum/search.php?f=10&search=stylus&match=1&date=180&fldsubject=1&fldbody=1


Then do your homework.

Go to agentquery.com, the AAR site, Preditors & Editors, Writer Beware, and Gerard Jones' site (all of them, not some of them) and then start again.

--- Mya Bell

Author: Ken Mills
Date:   09-08-05 18:31

Thanks for the info.

Author: C Bets
Date:   09-08-05 18:34

BPM - I'll send you a signed copy. :)

Author: Ken Mills
Date:   09-08-05 18:50

Thanks for your insight BPM BPM

Author: Wonky
Date:   09-09-05 10:17

Too bad this agency was not located in New Orleans.

Author: Ann Crispin
Date:   09-09-05 11:31

Stylus Literary has never made a single sale to an advance and royalty paying publisher. (The sales they claim are bogus...we checked them out, and in each case the writer had already made the submission and sale BEFORE Robert Fletcher and his company(ies) entered the picture.)

Robert Fletcher is a very successful con man who is fleecing thousands of writers. Unfortunately.

Get out of your contract. Threaten to report Bobby to the BBB in Boca Raton and to the local police and the FBI unless they give you your money back IMMEDIATELY.

That strategy has work for quite a few writers who have been taken by Mr. Fletcher and his bunch of crooks.

Best,

-Ann C. Crispin
Writer Beware
www.writerbeware.com

Author: Carol O
Date:   09-09-05 11:42

Also be aware that Stylus/ST/Sydra founded The Literary Agency Group, Inc., which now poses as the “parent” agency of:

The Children’s Literary Agency

The Christian Literary Agency

The New York Literary Agency

Stylus Literary Agency

(which in turn refer writers to the paid services of)

My Editor Is A Saint

The Writers Literary & Publishing Services Co.

RapidPublishing.com

AVOID THESE COMPANIES!!!

Author: Roy Abrahams
Date:   09-09-05 12:04

Good shot, Carol!

Author: Nils Odhner
Date:   09-09-05 16:12

Ditto what most people said. Probably about a few dozen similar agents and faux publishers tried the same withe me, but I knew about Preditors and Editors.

Author: Robert Raven
Date:   09-09-05 19:29

I'm so bad at this not even Fletcher will accept me.

RR