The Screenplayagency.com

"Just when you thought it was safe to write...."

Page draft version 1 (Work in progress)

Updated: 19/12/2006

Utopia-1    KillerApp   Blood Brothers  Operation Eagle  The Lone Rangers  

The Human Hive   Blood Trail (updated)

Angel and Devils(short)      Short Screenplays (updated)    Concepts

Tips on how to get a "real" agent safely. (Thanks to Loaded Dog for link)

This page was constructed to both advise against using this company as well as document my experience with them thus far.

I stumbled across them on the web. Visited their web site and entered my synopsis for Utopia-1.

(October 2006)

Thank you for your query to the Screenplay Literary Agency.  Based on your
query form information we would like to see your work and learn a little bit
more about your goals and your work.


   1)  Would you please send us an electronic copy
       of your screenplay for further evaluation?

       Please email your manuscript to
       manuscript@thescreenplayagency.com .

   2)  Would you please answer these 2 questions
       in the body of the SAME email? (Just copy and paste
       the questions).

A.  How long have you been writing, and
what are your goals as a writer?

B.  Do you consider your writing 'ready-to-go',
or do you think it needs some polishing.


You may send either 30 or so pages, or the entire screenplay, whichever you are more comfortable sending to us.  Your screenplay is completely safe within our company. We take care to properly manage all access and if we don't end up working together, we delete all files.

Please  DO NOT include any questions with your submission. If you have a question, please send it to question@TheScreenplayAgency.com where the proper people may address your question. Most of the questions you may have are answered on the website and at the bottom of this email.  Please see the FAQs below.

About a week later I got a follow on email saying they like my work (bla, bla, bla) and requested a copy of my screenplay. Excellent!!!

I email a copy in PDF format which was acknowledged with an auto response. About a week later they got back....

(October 2006)

Thank you for everything that we have received from you thus far.  Our
review team believes that your work has commercial potential and we would
like to proceed further with you. We believe we would like to represent you.

Basically, we feel that your concept and writing thus far has potential and
that if polished and presented properly, we can sell it.  To take the next
step, please let us take a minute to tell you a little bit about how we
think and the way we do business.

If you agree with our business process, instruction for the 'next step' is
at the very end of the email.

Best regards,
Sherry Fine - VP Acquisitions

ps.  Please forgive this form letter.  I don't like to receive them, and I
don't like sending them.  However, this is at the behest of our lawyers.
They like it when we say it the same way every time. If this email appears
truncated at the bottom, please let me know.

Also, we have just finalized our 'Book-to-Film' adaptation division. If your
work is a novel, the following still applies and we will discuss it with you
after we contract together.

Great. Feeling really good about someone reading and liking my stuff enough to want... But 'ang on what's this bit about paying for a critique at the end of the fecking email???? What happened to no fees??????????

(October 2006)

Q) I need a referral.
A) We will provide you with a referral to someone we trust and who discounts
their prices to our clients. You can certainly use any qualified person to
do the critique if you know one, but they MUST have been in the industry.

Q) How long should a critique take?
A) It should take about two weeks.  It should cost less than $100. It should
be thorough.  Many "old style" critiques are long on plot and short on
mechanics.  The critique that we desire will not only include commentary on
the plot, it will also critically review grammar, spelling, punctuation, and
the mechanics of writing.  We know, we know.. it's all of our least favorite
aspect of writing, but to succeed as a writer, your mechanics must meet or
exceed industry standards.

So I decide to do and old spot of internet detective work and don't like what I find. The best of which I find on http://www.screenwritersutopia.com/ So I drop Sherry an email with my concerns.

(7th November 2006)

So she replies with an offer. OK seem to be interested in defending their reputation.

(7th November 2006)

I agree as it at least will allow me to see what standard the critique is, without spending or wasting money.

I reply as my concerns at this stage as in relation to paying for a critique, then a rewrite, then another rewrite until you are so far in fecking debt with these guys you have to shit or bust and keep going, thus pissing more hard earned down the toilet.

(7th November 2006)

To which Sherry relied:

(8th November 2006)

Send me your manuscipt again please.

I do and ...

(9th November 2006)

Thank you for sending us your work for evaluation. It has been received

No WTF!!!!. Isn't this the same as the automatic response you get when you submit a screenplay?

And then I get, which isn't it the same as when you submit something. Eh yes.... 

(16th November 2006)

Thank you for everything that we have received from you thus far. Our review team believes that your work has commercial potential and we would like to proceed further with you. We believe we would like to represent you.

I send a mail to Sherry to ask this and

(18th November 2006)

I goofed and duplicated emails, sorry.

I ask her about the free critique and I get a mail of:

(20th November 2006)

xxsppr

So I drop her a mail to ask about xxsppr is?

(20th November 2006)

Sorry..

Then I get a contract mailed to me. Still no sign of the critique. Getting the feeling that they are trying to blind me with the "smell of success".

(24th November 2006)

Congratulations and my warmest wishes for our mutual success! And again, we thank you for your understanding and your acceptance of our business philosophy. We look forward to working with you and because you have indicated such a strong commitment to your work you can rest assured that we will be excited and committed to doing what we can to work just as hard for you!

The contract in question is: here Worth a read.

I ask again about the "free critique" and Sherry replies.

(27th November 2006)

You should be getting a critique at this time. Please contact adminj@writersliterary.com and get started. Tell them that you are with our Literary Agency so that you receive your discount and priority treatment.

So ahem, this is indeed a money scam? Had they forgot what I asked about them being such and displayed proof of such? So I ask again and get an email from Carole

(29th November 2006)

Dear Sean, 

I have received your faxed contract and have it ready for mailing but I cannot read your address. 

Please email your address to me so I can mail your contract. 

Thank you, 

Please find your electronically countersigned contract attached.  Thank you for using the program. 

Within the next several days, you will receive an email with details and instructions on the “next steps”.   

If you have not received the “next step” email within seven days, please let me know.

 Carole – Contract Administrator

The Literary Agency Group

I email my address: Carole replies, but now with Sherry's email address and gets my name wrong????

(29th November 2006)

Hi Ryan, 

I cannot believe how quick that was!  I will mail your contract out to you today. 

Thanks so much, 

Carole – Contract Administrator

The Literary Agency Group

I asked why there was no attachment and get. Again as Sherry's email.

(29th November 2006)

Dear Sean, 

I am so sorry, I did not mean to send that message-too early in the morning. 

Thanks, 

Carole – Contract Administrator

The Literary Agency Group

So I send an email to the screenplay agency.

(30th November 2006)

Re: Discounted Screenplay Critique for The Screenplay Agency

I send an email regarding the critique from the writersliterary. I sent a mail to writersliterary and amazingly (since there was money involved) I go a quick reply of "Thank you for requesting a Screenplay Critique from Writers Literary. Congratulations on your acceptance by a leading Literary Agency. You’ve achieved quite a milestone and we are honored to assist you with your writing career." - well assist when you pay $95 (at a discount - yeah right).

(30th November 2006)

I didn't fill this out or send money. Instead decided to wait for my so called free critique.

and get another reply from Carole regarding the attachment (WTF x 10), this time as her email.

(1st December 2006)

Hi Sean, 

No,  that message was not supposed to be there and I am sorry for the mistake. 

Thank you, 

Carole – Contract Administrator

The Literary Agency Group

So feck it. I decide Utopia-1 s too big budget for a spec screenplay and amateur, so I sign it and fax it, just to see if they get back and follow the con.

The co signed contract comes back in the post. Listed as in New York but with Palm Beach post mark. Scanned envelope (click below)..

Co-signed Signature on the contract of: (no I can't work out the name either)

I then got an email of

(3rd December 2006)

Dear Sean,

You may have already received your agency-signed contract, either by email or mail (depending upon how you requested it be returned to you).   If you have not received it within the next five days, please contact me and we will resend it. 

I decide to start a "daily email campaign" by asking about the "free critique" on a daily basis. after several mails Sherry gets back.

(7th December 2006)

Services, LLC. (anton@writersliterary.com) and get it underway ASAP.

So I sent my screenplay Utopia-1 for the third time. First was the original submission which they lost and obviously didn't read. The second was after I challenged how legit they were and Sherry offered a "free critique" which never came, but a contract and offer to spend money did. So now the third after sending half a dozen mails to Sherry regarding the offer.

On receipt they sent a mail

(11th December 2006)

Time will tell, will be interesting to see what they come back with. Next step is to sign up with a "made up" screenplay, just to see how they react and read (or not) the material sent to them.

Excellent sample of this and other stories with the screenplayagency.com here and here. Oh and here.

screenwritersutopia Thread sample

The story continues:

On getting the contract I got:
"Congratulations and my warmest wishes for our mutual success! And again, we
Thank you for your understanding and your acceptance of our business
philosophy. We look forward to working with you and because you have
indicated such a strong commitment to your work you can rest assured that we
will be excited and committed to doing what we can to work just as hard for
you!"

To which I obviously asked what happen to the offer of the free critique - no reply(big surprise).

So I sent in the fax and Sherry now turned in Carole. Who sent me "Please find your electronically countersigned contract attached. Thank you for using the program."

But alas no attachment. So when I asked. Carole replied (as Sherry's email this time) with "I am so sorry, I did not mean to send that message-too early in the morning."

I was informed to (by Sherry - I think) to "You should be getting a critique at this time. Please contact adminj@writersliterary.com and get started. Tell them that you are with
our Literary Agency so that you receive your discount and priority treatment. "

So the free critique was indeed gone (and a hoax) and now we were back to square 1. "we like your work, even though we haven't really read it, please pay for a review and then we will kinda be your agent and trap you in a circle of pay for rewrite hell".

I sent a mail to writersliterary and amazingly (since there was money involved) I go a quick reply of "Thank you for requesting a Screenplay Critique from Writers Literary. Congratulations on your acceptance by a leading Literary Agency. You’ve achieved quite a milestone and we are honored to assist you with your writing career." - well assist when you pay $95 (at a discount - yeah right).

Just made a couple of hundred bucks on a rewrite job. So I'm going to pay for the "so called" critique and see how detailed this shame is.

So like I said I'm going to waste the $95 dollars and get the critique (or just get ripped off, which ever occurs first) and document every step (keeping all mails with this thread).

Because I am sick to the tits with companies "assisting" writers and other individuals in separating with their money, because they have dreams of making it and perhaps doing something they love.

Hence I have decided to push on with their "crowd" to see how deep the rabbit hole goes........

Will edit this page (as it is a big rough at the moment) and add further info as I progress with this. Maybe I will contact Google as I noticed the jammy bastards advertising through google adds on my own website (AAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!).

"Loaded Dog) did manage to did a bit deeper. Here is some of the thread from screenwritesutopia

Hi Y'all!

Had time to dig a little deeper today.

It would appear that Robert Fletcher (aka Sherry Fine) is running The Literary Agency Group Inc. N.Y., from Boca Raton, Florida.

In one way or another, he appears to have been connected at the top end
of each of the following chain of companies.
Sydra Techniques > ST Literary Agency (name later changed to - Stylus Literary Agency) > The Literary Agency Group Inc.

As each company has folded in line (due to a diligent literary world, and possible investigation) the next company has emerged - Same setup - Same B.S. - Same course of defense when confronted on their unethical business practices.

The good news is - The N.Y. BBB have just commenced an investigation into The N.Y. Literary Agency. Keep an eye on this link for updates in coming weeks and months.

http://www.newyork.bbb.org/reports/businessreports.aspx?pid=44&page=1&id=91182

Apparently there ARE photos and contact details out there on Robert Fletcher.
When next I find time

L.D.

Another Note from Loaded_dog that is worth a mention:

Footnote:
Robert Fletcher, in his lack of wisdom, is threatening to take legal action against all forum moderators and posters across the world who dare defame his company on their forums.

Now there us irony for ye. So much for freedom of speech.......

I don't like people trying to con me, what I dislike more is treating me like an idiot. From what I have read this group has swindled writers out of thousands (before refusing to answer later queries).

In a market that is damn near impossible to break in, within a craft that more people will hate your work than like. We have enough to deal with, without vultures picking on our bones.

2006. A year of almost getting a short filmed, almost getting an option on a feature and almost getting an agent. Well I guess almost getting ripped off as well. Perhaps 2007 will be better (yeah right!).

Time for a change me thinks, or at least spread the word of avoidance.

Thanks to loaded_dog, Schnitzel, Leo9, mwc, willwriteforfood and everyone else that helped with this case and information regarding this ahem..... "Agency".

As of 12th December 2006 I am left waiting for " .... have my toughest editor formally critique it for free..... Which appear to be ".....Vicki and Anton for the critique...."

Well, well, well. A reply with my Critique HERE.

(16th December 2006)

Dear Sean,

Now you can make of this what you will. But the pitch(from my end) is to kick off the ball in doing a rewrite and making improvements. Of which you pay for (right???).

The next day I get another mail and an attached copy of the same critique. Now be warned this is long winded. But I have underlined the important pieces that mention MONEY.

17th December 2006)

Dear Sean,

To be blunt, if money's not a problem, then use an editor (fyi, you can get started with an editor for as little as $179)*.  If money is a problem then we can work with what you can do. Many of our authors have different financial situations and we try to work with each author based on the full set of circumstances that apply.

Script Coaching is for those who need personal, hands-on editing and guidance -- with an industry professional close by their side. You can instruct the coach to do the work, you can do it yourself, you can design any process you wish with the goal of bringing your work to the highest standards. It may turn out that you need only 1, 2, or 3 blocks of time to accomplish a 'full edit'. Youur agency has negotiated a discount price for a 3 hour block of time for only $225.

Did I follow up? Did I fuck!!!!!

For my mind an agent works with you to sell your work for a percentage. They never charge you for work on making it "better" to sell and get a percentage.

Oh and every screenplay in existence can and could be improved by a good enough writer.

Meanwhile loaded_dog at http://www.screenwritersutopia.com/  got this reply from VICTORIA STRAUSS @ WRITER BEWARE.

19th December 2006)

E-MAIL REPLY FROM VICTORIA STRAUSS @ WRITER BEWARE.

The Literary Agency Group is an umbrella organization for a number of  literary agencies and "divisions" (Children's Literary Agency, Christian Literary Agency, New York Literary Agency, Poet's Literary Agency, The Screenplay Agency), and an editing service (Writers Literary &
Publishing Services Inc). The Literary Agency Group was originally run as a single agency called Stylus Literary Agency (formerly ST LiteraryAgency, formerly Sydra-Techniques), which began operation as a fee-charging agency in 2001. LAG's Manhattan address is a mail drop; the
operation is based in Boca Raton, Florida, where the owner, Robert  Fletcher (a.k.a. Robert West) lives. In 2001, Robert Fletcher was fined for violating the Washington State Securities Act by selling
unregistered securities, acting as an unregistered broker, and making  material misrepresentations and/or omissions in connection with his company ByteAudio Inc.

I have extensive documentation that the original agency, Stylus/ST/Sydra-Techniques, engaged in questionable practices, including charging upfront fees (reputable agencies don't ask writers to pay
upfront), recommending that writers buy services--including critique, editing, and illustration services--from self-owned companies (this is a conflict of interest--if the agency can make money from recommending services, how can the writer trust that the recommendation is in his/her
best interest?), haphazard and ineffective submission methods, failing to make submissions even though writers paid submissions fees, and possibly offering vanity publishing deals to clients.

In its current form, the business is mainly focused on persuading writers to pay for critiques and editing services. A critique is required as a condition of representation; the critique company to which writers are referred, Writers Literary & Publishing Services, is misleadingly described as a "sister" company, but in fact is a branch of the larger operation. Once writers have paid for critiques and/or editing, they are offered the chance to buy other services--a website for $140, children's book illustrations for $300, an "Aggressive Agent Program" that charges around $19 per publisher submission and claims to send bound manuscripts to publishers (this is unprofessional: publishers
want loose sheets). The operation employs a boiler-room approach, with writers getting identical form emails and responses, depending on what questions they ask or where they are in the process.

A special note on Poet's Literary Agency: apart from well-known authors and celebrity projects, reputable agents don't represent poetry, which is a tiny, non-lucrative market. Agents who claim to represent poetry are nearly always either inexpert or fraudulent.

To Writer Beware's knowledge, the operation has no commercial book or script sales under any of its names, despite its claims to the contrary.

- Victoria

--
Victoria Strauss
THE AWAKENED CITY (HarperCollins Eos)
Personal Website: http://www.victoriastrauss.com/
Writer Beware: http://www.writerbeware.org/
Blog: http://www.accrispin.blogspot.com/
 

Looks like I am finally finding out where the rabbit hole leads...... Straight into my bank account.

Watch this space.....