The Inspira Group

This one seems to be legit. They not only list their authors, but they also list the books placed recently. That is usually the sign of a good agency. Having said that, if they ask you for money for anything whatsoever, say thanks, but no thanks. www.lorrainemace.com

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,923-2307171.html http://accrispin.blogspot.com/2006_08_01_archive.html http://www.danutakean.com/blog/?p=142 http://www.speculations.com/?t=480189 I could go on, but I won't.

Ewan, the only law of writing is that you never pay to place your work or to get it published. Admittedly you could sleep with an aspiring editor or threaten someone's children (that is acceptable) BUT never pay them! Look at the tiny unheard of presses which publish the Inspira list including 'Laugh I nearly Shat..' How can the payment of money guarantee saleable book quality? It can't. Agents in the real world represent you because they believe in the writing, not in some down-payment.

To be fair, their list also includes some larger publishing houses such as Headline, Piatkus, Robert Hale, Macmillan and Robson Books. Having read through the links given by Lisa, though, I wouldn't submit to them. www.lorrainemace.com

Interesting stuff. I suppose Lulu and similar no bullshit self-publishing operations have serious diluted the market for vanity publishing so much so that people who want to prey on the desperation of aspiring writers have had to start pretending to be agents instead of pretending to be publishers.