Thread by @victoriastrauss

1. Got a ?? this morning about a literary agency I hadn't heard of: Website looks reasonably attractive and professional...but it's 100% bogus. I'm going to unpack the bogosity in a thread🧵#WriterBeware #WritingCommunitytheliteraryfirm.com

2. False claims. These books supposedly sold by "agent" Allison Yototch are all repped by other (real) agents: Charles Finch by The Book Group, Stephanie Garber by The Bent Agency, etc. Similar fake rep images on all TLF's "agent" profiles

3. More false claims. "Agent" Sandra Taler (her image def looks AI-generated--check out weirdness w/ her glasses ) claims she started w/ agency in 2011...but TLF's web domain was only registered 97 days ago (another reason to be skeptical of sales claims) https://t.co/jjUWdloKzztheliteraryfirm.com/?page_id=234

4. Fake/plagiarized bios. All TLF's "agents" have impressive-sounding bios...because they belong to other (real) people. Allison Yototch has "borrowed" from @susanW1F. Nicole has appropriated Kim Perel. (Phrase search is your friend when hunting scams.)

5. Identical website content links TLF with several other scam "agencies": Tyler Literary, Inkstone Literary, WritersValue, WordTalk Press, and Right Choice Literary

6. TLF and the others (along with several other business names) operate out of the Philippines under the umbrella of parent company Innocentrix. Their business addresses are fake and their phone numbers spoofed. You can look up Innocentrix here: writerbeware.blog/scam-archive/

7. Fake agencies like TLF--& there are lots--solicit writers via email or phone, claiming to work on commission to rep writers to trad pubs & Hollywood. Real aim is to sell a "service", such as re-pubbing your book, that's supposedly required before the bigs will consider you

8. Remember, the #1 sign of a fake/scam agency is SOLICITATION. Reputable literary agents don't send out-of-the-blue emails to authors they don't rep claiming publisher interest or hawking their services. That's not how book acquisition works. But it is how scammers work.

9. Very occasionally, an out-of-the-blue contact from an agent is legit. But mostly these are scams. If you're unsure, check the link above, search the Writer Beware blog or email me: [e-mail] . FINwriterbeware.blog