Dear Author: Romance Book Reviews, Author Interviews, and Commentary

Individuals who are, or once were, associated with PublishAmerica are suing  the Preditor & Editors site for libel. Barbara Bauer is an agent who claims that P&E libeled her by calling her a scammer.  Victor E. Cretella, an attorney with PublishAmerica and a member of the Maryland Bar, is suing P&E for harming his reputation.

Barbara Bauer is on SFWA’s twenty worst agents list.   NielsonHayden also noted that Barbara Bauer is a “well known scam agent” and so did Miss Snark.  As everyone and their cousin on these sites note, calling someone a scam agent is defensible if it is the truth.  (I don’t think it’s entirely accurate to say that it is not libel if it is the truth. Truth is just an absolute defense to libel).

On the P&E website, it claims that Victor E Cretella infringed on a contract.  I am not sure how you can infringe on a contract.  You can breach a contract.  You can tortiously interfere with a contract but infringe?  In any event, this is a bit more interesting.  Apparently some had made complaints to the Maryland Bar Association regarding Cretella’s activities as PublishAmerica’s attorney.  Any complaint made to an …

Jane Dystel, of Dystel & Goderich launches our July Interview with an Agent series. Dystel & Goderich was established in 1994 and represents a huge variety of clients from No. 1 bestseller non fiction authors like: Joy Bauer (Joy Bauer’s Food Cures) and Robin L Smith (Lies at the Altar) to best selling fiction authors like Jacqueline Carey and Anne Stuart.

Dystel & Goderich believe in the slush pile and read every submission that is sent to them, even if they chose not to represent that author. They are committed to finding the best talent and giving the authors the best representation.

The Dystel and Goderich blog is filled with fascinating posts on the book industry and literature. It’s a blog that I read every time that it is updated. When Dystel agreed to do an interview with us, I told her I would like to ask about her client, Anne Stuart, but that she was free to skip the question if she liked. Dystel responded that she was not averse to answering …