Publishing Whispers

rumors, gossip, and opinions on bad actors in the publishing industry. on twitter @tradpubwhispers (tumblr for tea + submissions, twitter for interacting)

[publishingwhispers]

Welcome to Publishing Whispers

Publishing Whispers is meant to be a whisper network for those interested in being traditionally published.

The road to traditional publishing is paved with literary agents, editors, and other gatekeepers and potential bad actors who have the power to make or break your career. Writers should have the right to know about the people with whom they are potentially entering into a business agreement.

As of now, much of the most important information about red flags and bad actors is hidden within "whisper networks" or private channels of writers, but this makes the information inaccessible to a new querying author who lacks community. Having connections in the industry should not be the only way to protect yourself from being abused by the industry. That is why we have created this blog, sharing both well-known and lesser-known information on potential bad actors who could impact your career.

We want this space to be an open forum to anonymously submit experiences with publishing professionals.

Disclaimer:

The contents of this blog and all submissions are allegations, rumors, gossip, and whispers, not necessarily fact-checked or proven to be true. The contents of this blog should be considered opinion in a public forum. Those mentioned in a negative light are welcome to offer their own arguments and perspective in this public forum. We do not knowingly or maliciously post information known to be false, inflammatory, or defamatory. The purpose of this blog is not to discourage querying or working with any particular people, nor to harm their careers, but rather to empower authors to make informed choices and consider all perspectives before committing to a business relationship with someone.

Submission Guidelines

Be careful of including any specific information that could identify you despite submitting anonymously

Avoid inflammatory and definitive statements. For example, rather than "X Agent is racist" you could say "X agent allegedly has a bad history in their work with BIPOC authors" or cite a specific example or experience.

While it's not always realistic to have sources or references in whispers and gossip, please provide links, screenshots, or other sources where possible.

🍵 💅 Got some tea to whisper? Send us an ask.

[publishingwhispers]

Also I cannot share details as of now but from what I'm hearing I would be hesitant or at least very careful and alert when querying/considering an offer of representation from Peters Fraser + Dunlop. Speak to clients and ex-clients beyond just who they offer as references.

[publishingwhispers]

Any idea what just happened at the Irene Goodman Agency? Looks like a whole bunch of their agents (most of whom work on kidlit, including Victoria Marini and Natalie Lakosil) split and started their own agencies? And is it just me or is there a fair amount of agency implosion/drama recently?

As far as I've heard, it's nothing red-flaggy. Irene Goodman is just gearing up to retire (allegedly? IDK if this is common knowledge or just an open secret) so a bunch of the agents have divided up to start their own agencies. There are 3 agencies launching out of IGLA's ashes.

Looking Glass Lit

Highline Literary Collective

Word One Literary

Even though the agencies are technically new, all of the agents have experience from being at IGLA and other literary agencies, so I think these places are safe to query at least for now! Of course, always do your research on the individual agent you are querying too.

[publishingwhispers]

Now, in the fallout of Gold Dust Literary's twitter shitstorm, some of their ex-agents are talking about starting their own agencies.

It's vital to note that these agents still have absolutely no publishing experience with any reputable literary agencies or publishing houses.

I do genuinely believe these folks have good intentions; they're not intentionally looking to scam people. But that doesn't change the fact that literary agent roles are based on apprenticeship and mentorship which these folks do NOT have. It doesn't change the fact that working with a bad agent can, at best, stall your career for months or years, and at worst, can tank your opportunities and chances with a particular project.

Anyone can call themselves an agent. It doesn't mean they have the qualifications, tools, experience, or connections to sell your book.

*hand waves* allegedly or whatever

[publishingwhispers]

Gold Dust Literary

New talks on Twitter about Gold Dust, check out this thread of an author about a lack of communication after their agent was fired.

Then, the agent Gwyn Jordan responded with a really angry and dismissive email. I don't care what happened or what the author said, this is no way to talk to an author or in any professional setting.

Not to mention, Gold Dust has been a schmagency in my opinion for a while now:

None of the agents including the founder have ever worked at another literary agency, or anywhere in publishing.

It has a sister company selling editorial and marketing services. Talk about conflicts of interest?

According to Publisher's Marketplace, which admittedly doesn't always report everything, they've made a grand total of THREE sales as an agency. Those three sales were all to digital-only presses, and those digital-only presses all are presses that accept unagented submissions, meaning the agents don't seem to have any special connections. And they're acting like this to their clients?

And now, predictably, everyone's beefing on Twitter.

What a mess. In my subjective opinion, allegedly, or whatever.

[publishingwhispers]

Do you know anything about Great Dog Literary? I'm not finding very much in my research, but also not finding anything negative.

This one is difficult to say definitively.

So, if you look at the agency staff's credentials, the founder (Nealon) has mostly worked in TV and other media, and had no experience as a literary agent before founding Great Dog. This would usually be a big red flag to me.

However, the media experience clearly gave her lots of connections, because she has a good sales history. On Publisher's Marketplace, the agency has a good amount of deals, including big 5 houses, auctions, and at least one six figure deal. The majority of the deals are picture books and non-fiction books or books from authors with existing followings, though there are a few debut sales to good publishers. To me, this is a green flag: they're capable of making sales, and not just to small/digital presses.

My hesitation with saying they're safe to query comes from the fact that none of the agents have experience at any other agency, including the founder. Some have other media connections, but none have agenting experience outside of Great Dog. Each new agent is getting mentored by someone whose publishing experience and connections come from a completely different world of media.

Anecdotally, I have heard that some agents have allegedly pressured clients to accept deals they weren't happy with at small presses, without notifying other editors.

So if I were to speculate, I think it's possible that the lack of experience in the literary agenting world outside of their siloed agency means they don't follow some of the industry norms, or aren't as familiar with the nuances of publishing that make it vastly different from other media industries.

This is not to say that the agents don't have good intentions or can't represent your book well or sell it. It's just to say that I personally would be a little bit iffy about the experience beyond just connections.

At the very least, I'd personally want to ask questions about this stuff before considering an offer of representation. Like, what is their experience with contracts and how do they approach negotiation? (Contracts are the biggest area where you absolutely want someone on your side who's well-versed in book publishing specifically, not just entertainment law, so this would be a big one.) If they're a newer agent, what does mentorship look like at the agency? What is their submission strategy, which editors or imprints do they have in mind? (If it's mostly smaller presses, does that align with your goals? If they can't name any specific imprints, run. If they say they want to leverage an offer from smaller presses to get a better offer, run.)

This is a lot of explanation to basically say I don't have a solid answer, but there's lots of factors to consider and at least be aware of when querying or considering an offer.

If anyone has experience to share, the ask box is always open.

[publishingwhispers]

Hey! Do you know anything about this publisher? I've heard to be wary of anyone requesting an exclusive submission, but maybe the rules vary with small presses? https://shaherazadshelves.com/

Hey there!

Unfortunately I don't know anyone who's worked with them, but here's what I've noticed looking into them myself, keeping an eye out for common red flags in small presses:

Submissions

I agree you should generally be wary of exclusive submissions, but this is more of a "Think About It" pink flag and less of a "Run Away Right Now" red flag. Considering they say their read time is 4 weeks maximum, it seems they do this to streamline their submission process, not to pull one over on authors.

They accept both agented and unagented submissions, which theoretically means they respect writers' need to negotiate and advocate for themselves.

Payment

They offer small advances to authors and do not take any reading fees or payment up front. This is a green flag for a small press because that means the money flows toward the author. You should never be asked to pay up front to be published, that is a vanity press (even the "hybrid" ones that claim they aren't vanity...).

Their Books

Their covers are decent quality. This is a green flag signalling that they actually invest in their books.

They mention an editorial process, and do not expect perfection from a submission, another sign that they invest in their books and in quality. They specifically say they pay for editing, marketing, design, and production, as a traditional publisher should, without expecting authors to pay for it or do it themselves.

Their website is geared toward marketing their books, not marketing their publishing services. This is a green flag showing that they're trying to sell books, NOT selling their publishing services, which would be another common sign of scammy behavior.

Social Media

A pretty barren Instagram but a good Twitter feed; both with small followings but this isn't a red flag for a small press. Their Twitter shows good engagement, so even if the follower count is small, the followers are real and actually interested in their content.

Social medias are both only a year old; the publishing house itself looks to be 2 years old.

On Small Presses

It's important to note that the majority of small presses fold within 5 years. Generally, the longer a press has been around, the better. At a minimum, I wouldn't personally recommend submitting to a press that is under a year old and that doesn't have at least 3 books under its belt; Shaherazad surpasses that at least.

With small presses, the main thing you want to consider is what your goal in publishing is, and how realistic that is in the hands of that publisher. For example, this publisher does not mention distribution such as if they're partnered with someone to get the books out into the world. This means you're not likely to find your book in Barnes and Noble or be a bestseller; you might need to look for a bigger press for that. But that doesn't mean you can't have a great experience with a small press if you have reasonable expectations.

Overall, this publisher seems like a legitimate and viable option to pursue if you're considering small presses, and I admire the work they're doing to uplift Muslim voices. I haven't heard of any scandals, author mistreatment, or negative experiences, and they don't demonstrate any overtly scammy tendencies that I would really be on the lookout for. (This doesn't mean it can't happen or that you shouldn't advocate for yourself if you work with them! Just that they don't have a negative reputation preceding them.)

I hope this helps answer your question a little even if I don't have other insights from the inside. That said, I would love to hear from anyone who has worked with this publisher if they want to share their experience and thoughts!

[publishingwhispers]

Watch out for Birch Literary:

https://twitter.com/cardiganwinters/status/1661488579216900101

This thread is a bit confusing to me and while I don't necessarily think All the things in this thread are always red flags, I will say that Birch Literary seems like they're not super equipped to make good deals just based on their experience and sales history. Almost all of their sales are to small presses that are digital only or don't even require an agent to submit, so they don't seem to offer any access that an author couldn't get on their own. I wouldn't personally query them.

Here's an additional thread from Absolute Write that talks a bit more about solid reasons they might not be best to query.

[publishingwhispers]

Jordan Hamessley on New Leaf

And, there it is. Wow.

[publishingwhispers]

Resources for Researching Agents

When it comes to agents, we are constantly telling each other to do our research and due diligence to make sure we're making the best decision possible. But so much of publishing is opaque, and so much discussion of bad actors is hidden in whisper networks.

So, besides this blog, which I'm doing my best with but is far from comprehensive, here are other resources to scour.

Publisher's Marketplace This is absolutely essential to consider because it shows sales histories for individual agents and agencies, and you can see which publishers and imprints they are selling to. It is unfortunately a paid service ($25/mo) but they have a day pass to just do some binge-researching ($10). If you have writerly friends you can split and share with, that's even better. But more importantly, I have a subscription; if money is an obstacle and there's ever anything you want to look up, feel free to send me a DM or ask here and I will look into it for you. I'm not about gatekeeping or paywalling information.

Query Tracker QueryTracker is a great tool for querying, and the most valuable aspect in my opinion is the comment section for each agent. Read as far back as you possibly can for a given agent if you're considering an offer of rep.

Writer Beware This is often more for big scams rather than warning bad treatment from established agents, but it's still an invaluable resource.

Absolute Write Forums Agency Index This forum can be overwhelming to dig through since it goes back as far as 2004, but in general, looking at the more recent posts on a given thread from the past few years for an agency can give really good information.

Social Media & Other Writers!!! This might not seem helpful when I can't exactly link you to my group chats and writing communities, but it's absolutely vital you find your own support network so that you can compare experiences. When you get an agent offer, it's an industry norm to ask them for client references to talk to, but I would go further than that and try to talk to clients (and ex-clients) beyond the people they provide to you. You want to hear from someone who has had a negative experience just as much if not more than the person who has had a success story.

And of course, the Publishing Whispers blog here on Tumblr does its best to keep track of public or widely discussed industry whispers while keeping an open inbox for folks to share their experiences.

[publishingwhispers]

NONE of the New Leaf agents have commented on the mess that has happened, and a bunch of their retained clients are deflecting the issue (and using their marginalization as a shield)??

None of the agents have commented publicly on Twitter, but just today, Publishers Marketplace posted an article about the whole thing with comments from agents at New Leaf, Erin Murphy, and Harvey Klinger.

Here's the article, but it's behind a paywall, so I'll gladly share screenshots:

I know PM doesn't necessarily claim to be an objective journalistic source but I do think it's hilarious how they have so many quotes from the literary agents trying to save face, and absolutely no commentary from the authors who were screwed over, not even so much as a link to the many twitter threads.

That said, re: the second part of your ask - I don't think it's fair to blame the authors who were not dropped for the actions of their agents. They are also in a position in this industry of having very little power compared to agents who can greatly impact their career. I mean, yeah, it might be a good show of solidarity for the remaining authors to speak out, but I also completely understand that they were also put in a terrible and scary position by this. So I don't think those authors are who we should be holding accountable - save that energy for the agents and agency heads.

[publishingwhispers]

More on New Leaf - Joanna Volpe

We've established New Leaf overall is shady, but here's a reminder that even "top agents" who are regarded highly in the industry can act really unethically.

Here we have one horror story of red flags:

And more terrible behavior, especially for disabled folks:

There are so many writers whose dreams and careers have been harmed by New Leaf at this point and I'm glad people are finally talking about it outside of the whisper network. It doesn't change the harm done, but hopefully it can help keep new authors from experiencing it themselves.

[publishingwhispers]

So Tara Gonzalez from EMLA had 12 clients leave. Why? This sounds so unusual.

Definitely a red flag! From what I've heard, she was basically ghosting clients, not answering their questions, missing deadlines without communicating, etc. Here's one ref in addition to general talk I've heard.

[publishingwhispers]

Beware of agencies who don’t provide new agents mentorship. There is an agency named after Marsha Brady’s boyfriend that seems to provide little to guidance for Junior agents. One left and mass dropped clients, they don’t seem to be selling, etc. If you’re offered rep from a Junior agent, do not hesitate to really question the involvement of the mentorship there.

I did hear about a Harvey Klinger agent quitting and dropping a lot of clients with no notice or assistance in transitioning. From what I've heard, there's more to that agent's specific situation that makes me think it wasn't an intentional wrongdoing but it still left a lot of writers dumped and aimless.

And yes, absolutely - when considering a junior agent, strong mentorship is an absolute must that you should not be afraid to ask them about on the call. Who specifically is mentoring them and what does that mentorship look like? Is the person mentoring them experienced and making sales? Etc.

Thanks for sharing!

[publishingwhispers]

New Leaf mass-dropping clients, again

We've mentioned in a previous post that New Leaf seems to liberally drop clients, and they seem to be at it again with no support for the dropped authors who are finding themselves back in the query trenches

[x] [x] [x] [x]

[publishingwhispers]

I noticed a few posts about The Continent and wanted to add that on the book cover is an edited photo of a mosque. It's literally the first one if you Google "The Blue Mosque." Several Muslim readers commented about this at the time, but nobody cared. Maybe now that it's 2023, someone will care how hurtful, disrespectful, and Islamophobic it is to have an IRL mosque on your book cover, upside-down, as an evil building. We're not even humans to them, they just take our things without a care.

Wow, thanks for this additional info, that is absolutely terrible.

For context, the cover...

And since I didn't include it on the original post, here's the PM deal, by Jim McCarthy, to Natashya Wilson (who is now a freelance editor)...

[publishingwhispers]

a bunch of bipoc writers originally with Eric Smith of PS Literary left once they got “big” (Samira Ahmed, Adam Sass, Sangu Mandanna). They all have different agents now.

Something is not right. Anyone know?

This is interesting. I've honestly only heard good things about this agent but that doesn't necessarily mean anything and I agree that a pattern of BIPOC authors leaving him isn't a great sign so thank you for that info!

Would love to hear if anyone has any experience or tea to share.