After browsing through some more Writer Beware blog posts, I got to thinking more about my previous advice to "beware anxious agents." In a previous post, I talked about how agents seldom take on new clients, so writers should approach overly enthusiastic reps with extreme caution. I mentioned that any agency who advertises, especially, is a big fat scam.

But there's more, my friends. Make sure you run away from any agency that directly solicits you or that uses testimonials. Let's think about this: How ridiculous is it to use a testimonial? "Randy McMasters sold my book for big bucks! He's awesome!"

You know who uses testimonials? Freelance editors and script doctors - because they want your money. Legitimate agents never charge upfront fees, so an agency posting a testimonial on their blog or Web site is loony; nay, it's inconceivable.

Thanks to a tip from another WD blog, Poetic Asides, I heard about a good article on the Writer Beware site addressing how big-name literary agents never accept poetry submissions. Here's a snippet from the article:

      "Listen up, poets. Apart from celebrity projects and writers who are already well-known, successful literary agents rarely represent poets. Even in the best of circumstances, poetry collections are a tough sell, and the poetry market, which is dominated by small presses, simply isn’t lucrative enough to make it worth most agents’ while. Poets generally get their start by selling individual poems to reputable markets. Once they've built up a track record, they can submit their collections to small publishers on their own. Beware, therefore, of literary agents whose guidelines say they represent poets or that they're seeking poetry collections. Nearly always, they’re unscrupulous operators looking to charge a fee, or amateurs who know nothing about the realities of the business. Most have no track record of sales to paying publishers of any kind." Check out the full article here.

Basic Agent Info:

About 99 percent of what literary agents represent is novels and nonfiction books. Some agents specialize in handling plays. Some will represent collections of short stories, but such collections are a hard sell, which is why very few agents do this. Poetry is even worse, with almost no literary agents accepting poetry submissions. And, of course, literary agents do not represent magazine or newspaper writing. Poetic Asides and other sites will tell you much more about how to legitimately get your poetry published, but I will tell what I know - and what I know is that writers should stay the heck away from Poetry.com. (By the way, the Poetic Asides blog was recently declared "Blog of the Week" by the Institute of Children's Literature. Coolness.) 

If you want to know who agented a particular book, there are a variety of ways how to discover the individual literary rep who made the deal. Here are three ideas for starters:

1. Simply check the book's acknowledgements. Sometimes, it will be as simple as a writer saying, "And a special thanks to my agent, Randy Masterson."

2. Use search engines. Try Googling the book's title (or author) and the word "agent," and see what you come up with.    
      Also, lots of times, authors will have their representation listed online. So if you want to know who the agent was for Joe Smith's book, The Neptune Paradox, find Joe Smith's official Web site. Check the bottom of the home page, and then the "Contact" page. The site may say, "Joe is represented by Randy Masterson Literary Agency, 245 Manhattan Road, New York, NY."

3. Worse case scenario, you can call the publisher. If you see that Knopf published the book, for example, call Knopf's main line and speak to the operator. Ask for the editorial department; better yet, if you can, explain your goal and request to speak with the editor who worked on The Neptune Paradox. The operator will say, "Oh, that's Judy Smith. I'll transfer you." You won't talk to Judy, but rather her assistant. No matter. Ask the assistant if Judy did indeed edit The Neptune Paradox. When the assistant confirms Judy's involvement, kindly request to know who the book's acting literary agent was. She'll be happy to tell you.

If you want to try your hand at screenplays and take Hollywood by storm, attending a writers' conference on the west coast is probably worth the money. Agents, script managers and producers are the power players out west, and they attend conferences to keep an eye out for new talent.

There's two types of conferences for your consideration: traditional writers' conferences that have a number of good scriptwriting professionals (such as the Maui Writers' Conference and Willamette Writers' Conference). And then there are gatherings specifically devoted to screenwriting. Concerning the latter, no conference is more well known than the Creative Screenwriting Expo in Los Angeles. It's the biggest such conference, and widely hailed as a great event.

I got word today that the 2007 dates are locked down: Oct. 25-28, 2007.

Some Expo basics:

• "Golden Pitch Sessions" allow writers to pitch executives
• Sessions and panels are everywhere, with plenty of writers and producers discussing trends, craft, business and more
• I haven't checked out the prices, and I'm guessing it's not cheap—but it promises to be a Mecca of scriptwriting talent, and could be worth your while. Check out the Web site to learn more.