Thread: The Pyramid of Publishing Success

That's okay - I didn't think you were putting words in my mouth at all. I think it's really heartening that people are scoring agents via the slush pile. I'm sure a lot of it depends on the agency and circumstance. Most of the people I was referring to already had a body of work - stories in magazines, prize nominations, etc - that caught the eye of people.

In any case, just because you don't have a referral or whatever doesn't mean you can't get an agent. That's pretty clear. I just wanted to refute the claim that 'honest' agents don't approach people.

Oh, okay. I agree. Plenty of folks get approached by honest agents who have seen their work, both for prizes and just in good mags. There are plenty of better indicators about who's a scam agent.