Montgomery-West Literary Agency - any good?

[m***@aol.com]

I was wondering if anyone is familiar or had dealings with the
Montgomery-West Literary Agency. I got a request from Carole
Montgomery to send her a 2-hour script, but that request came with a
flier saying the agency charges $25 to read scripts. I'm suspicious
of any agency that charges reading fees, and basically wondered if
it's worth the $25.

<<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<

Nigel Mitchell

Subject: paying for critiques.

To reply, replace the "at" and "dot" in the above
email address with appropriate symbols. Sorry for
the inconvenience, but I'm drowning in spam.
_________________________________________________
*Alternate Webserials - stories of scifi, comedy, and adventure
http://www.pipeline.com/~alterweb/serials.htm
*ERP Bridge - dedicated to the scifi TV series, "Sliders"
http://www.pipeline.com/~zikzak23/main.htm

<<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<

Dear Nigel: Re Your request about Montgomery West Agency, llc. in 1997, unbelievable, it's been so long. Don't even know if you're still writing.

There is another Montgomery West Agency, which is always getting mixed up with ours. We are no longer in Salt Lake City, we are 2 hours north of Las Vegas for the past 15 years. We do not charge $25 to read and critique. However, that said, it takes a lot of time and energy to read an entire work and comment on it. Time the readers are not paid for. Still, we have not taken on any new writers for quite some time, and have kept the 6 we have, who are exceptional. We are interested in writers who can sell. As I write myself and teach creative writing, screenplays non-fiction, novellas, journalism, and almost every writing class the university throws at me, I have no choice but to keep Montgomery-West Literary Agency, llc on the "down-low" because of volume of queries. Sorry, you had a bad experience, but I do have to make a comment, would YOU, read an entire work and critique it for NOTHING,in this economy? I don't think its feasible, and I can't get anyone qualified to work for me for nothing,so I can understand the charge. By the way $25.00, is minimal, (the cost of one dinner out); I could see your being upset if it were hundreds of dollars. I certainly wouldn't complain at such a small amount. Actually, if there is anyone qualified willing to read 7 to 8 hours and critique someone's work with no pay unless the work sells, I would be interested in talking with them. Our new economy has changed everything.Right now, apart from teaching university, taking care of my writers, I am writing a NEW SERIES. The series title is The New Breed. The first book is entitled THE FORGOTTEN VAMPIRES/FIRE GODDESS, and is based in Hawaii. This kind of vampires has never been written about before, and the reviews so far have all been very favorable. WHY I AM TELLING YOU THIS, is as this is the first book of a series being considered for TV, my agents are prepared to help launch the book with a SPECIAL PROMOTION. For anyone who buys the book and sends proof of purchase from Amazon or Barnes and Noble, Kindle, Nook, or any bookstore, along with two paragraphs of their work's premise (plot) and a couple of pages, they will take a look at your work and send you a short critique. Right now, we have lowered the price of this new book to get it started. For someone wanting comments on their work, it is the best opportunity in the country to GET AN OPINION FROM PROFESSIONALS, plus the price of the book is much lower than $25.00- Kindle is at bargain basement prices to help out. Hope you don't find this note lost in your spam. - Dr. Carole A. Western - Montgomery West Literary agency, llc
***@aol.com. Good luck with your writing.
P.SO. We are now locateD in both Souther Utah and Nevada.

[z***@gmail.com]

I guess I'll respond four years later. Better than 17 years, right?

Yes, I'm still writing. No, I still wouldn't pay $25 to an agent to read my book. You know who should pay for someone to read it? The agency which should be making enough of a profit to afford to pay a reader. If the agency can't afford to pay a reader, they aren't doing well enough that I would want to sign with them. Either that or the agent should (shocker) read it themselves. I also wouldn't want to sign with an agent who's too busy or lazy to actually read the work he or she is supposed to represent.