[Hadrian (OP)]

The state of New York on Wednesday announced a judgment against an Internet literary agency that coaxed aspiring writers into shelling out hundreds of dollars, with the phony promise of getting their work published.
"The Internet is playing an increasing role in cases of consumer fraud, and this is just one example of the sort of thing consumers have to look out for," said Caitlin Halligan, head of the state attorney general's new Internet Bureau.

New York County Supreme Court Justice Abdus-Salaam found that the Woodside Literary Agency of Queens misled its clients and misrepresented its services.

Woodside charged aspiring writers an initial US$150 "readers fee" when they submitted manuscripts. Halligan said it was unheard of for legitimate literary agencies to charge fees for reading manuscripts.

An agency representative would contact the writer after a manuscript was submitted, invariably lavishing the writer with praise and saying the work was "publishable." At that point, the agency would request hundreds of dollars more from the writer, for "further review" and the cost of "processing manuscripts," according to the attorney general's office.



What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say.

[Karen W.]

What a bunch of crude! That just makes it more difficult for people like us who might want to write feel even more apprehensive about submitting works into places as the legitamacy of the places can be in such high question!

Karen