Way back in May, I wrote about Barbara Bauer and Writer Beware's list of the top 20 worst agencies. Now Bauer and others on the list have banded together to form the International Independent Literary Agents Association or IILAA. Their web site explains why authors should pay their agent upfront fees, and claims that Writer Beware, Preditors and Editors and other watchdog groups are really part of a conspiracy. It would be funny if novice writers weren't so vulnerable to such claims. That's how the scammers make their money, by convincing authors they should pay and pay and pay, even if they never sell a book to a publisher. Hopefully the word will get out that the IILAA "top ten agents" should be avoided like the plague (previously at www.iilaa.com/ten.htm).
For more details read the thread on the Absolute Write board about the IILAA, and posts by Miss Snark, Victoria Strauss, and PN Elrod.
ETA: and there's more! PN Elrod has put up a funny 10 Best Literary Agents page, and attorney C. E. Petit points out that 8 of the top "10" literary agents on the IILAA site have exactly zero verifiable sales to commercial publishers. Dawno suggests we all Digg Victoria's Writer Beware post. I dugg (digged?) it, so why don't you?
Now we have more from Miss Snark, and Agent Kristin has posted on it.
ETA 10/30: Their site is down now, but that doesn't mean the IILAA is being quiet. Victoria (and others) received a charming message.
Note: edited 06-10-2022 to remove bad links.
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