Writer Beware's Top 20 Worst Agents

The Top 20 List is now at home at the Writer Beware headquarters at SFWA:

Below is a list of the 20 agents about which Writer Beware has received the greatest number of advisories/complaints during the past several years.

None of these agents has a significant track record of sales to commercial (advance-paying) publishers, and most have virtually no documented and verified sales at all (many sales claimed by these agents turn out to be vanity publishers). All charge clients before a sale is made, whether directly, by charging fees such as reading or administrative fees, or indirectly, for "editing services."

Writer Beware suggests that writers searching for agents avoid questionable agents, and instead query agents who have actual track records of sales to commercial publishing houses.

THE LIST:

• The Abacus Group Literary Agency
• Allred and Allred Literary Agents (refers clients to "book doctor" Victor West of Pacific Literary Services)
• Capital Literary Agency (formerly American Literary Agents of Washington, Inc.)
• Barbara Bauer Literary Agency
• Benedict & Associates (also d/b/a B.A. Literary Agency)
• Sherwood Broome, Inc.
• Desert Rose Literary Agency
• Arthur Fleming Associates
• Finesse Literary Agency (Karen Carr)
• Brock Gannon Literary Agency
• Harris Literary Agency
• The Literary Agency Group, which includes the following: Children's Literary Agency, Christian Literary Agency, New York Literary Agency, Poets Literary Agency, The Screenplay Agency, Stylus Literary Agency (formerly ST Literary Agency, formerly Sydra Techniques]), Writers Literary & Publishing Services Company (the editing arm of the above-mentioned agencies)
• Martin-McLean Literary Associates
• Mocknick Productions Literary Agency, Inc.
• B.K. Nelson, Inc.
• The Robins Agency (Cris Robins)
• Michele Rooney Literary Agency (also d/b/a Creative Literary Agency and Simply Nonfiction)
• Southeast Literary Agency
• Mark Sullivan Associates
• West Coast Literary Associates (also d/b/a California Literary Services)

My notes: Miss Snark has rightfully nominated Lee Shore as the Honorable Mention #21. From what Victoria has said before, Lee Shore gets the least amount of complaints because they act professional and treat their authors fine (to their faces... they probably make fun of them in Cynthia Sterling's office when they're not on the phone with the author/customer) and keep their sanity (unlike Martha Ivery alias Kelly O'Donnell, and the Mistress of Cease & Desist).

Victoria and Ann have announced that the Top 10 Worst Publishers List is coming soon...

Oh who, oh who, could Number One be? Oh who, oh who could it be? Is it the Stooges in the lead with a Nunn close behind? Oh who, oh who could it be?

P.S. Sorry for the generic background, I just set this up today, so I'm still trying to figure out how everything works and customizing it. Bear with me, please!