From the blog of an editor at Harper Collins.

A salutory tale, methinks.

Salutary indeed. From what I remember of coming across warning rumbles about this odd affair in the last few weeks, the agent concerned doesn't seem to have been doing it for profit in quite the same way that the big scam operators do in the US (see Miss Snark at the moment). But that's no comfort to the cheated writers.

Emma

I knew I'd spelled salutary wrong the minute I posted. One of my many word blindness words.

I always think it looks a bit odd whichever way you spell it.

Emma

Yes, the Hill Agency's a well known scam. It's on the Preditors & Editors website with great warnings against it, I think!

A
xxx

The euphoria of thinking major publishers were interested inspired them to write more. Now, they have lost their reason.

I thought this was the saddest quote from one of the 'victims'. I think most of us would have given up by now if 'major publishers' were our Muse.

Alas, we all know that 'major publishers' aren't - mustn't be - the only motivation for writing, but how long you can go on without a publisher of some kind does depend on a) whether you can find other avenues to communicate your work. And b) how long you can go on existing on credit cards and baked beans, specially if you have the guilt of making life harder for others in the family. If I hadn't sold TMOL, I would have had to give up writing in any serious way, until my children were practically and financially independent of me, which is another decade or so.

Emma

until my children were practically and financially independent of me, which is another decade or so

Do they know that the clock is ticking?

I hope not. I swore when the little blue line appeared that I'd never, ever take the self-satisfied or guilt-trip line of telling them how much I gave up/spent/suffered for them. Fortunately the clock isn't ticking - well, not so quickly - because I did get the deal. If I had had to give up writing because of what they cost me (in all senses) I don't know whether I could have managed another forty or so years of self-restraint on the subject.

Emma