Yes, indeed, the 20 Worst....

A bounce through Making Light, the Nielsen Hayden blog, about Writer Beware, a service of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. Last month WB posted a list of the 20 worst Literary Agents -- that is, the twenty literary agencies most often mentioned in complaints/advisories/warnings. One of the 20 actually had the nerve to bluster and make threatening comments. Apparently she didn't know that WB always has all its duckies in a row before mentioning names.

Enjoy -- and make sure any friends working on publication know about these names. It always grieves me when a student tells me they paid to have something looked at. Repeat after me -- money flows to the author. If you've never had a professional eye look at something, and just can't make yourself approach buying editors cold, then find a freelance editor with a track record, like Laura Anne Gilman, Josepha Sherman, or Ardath Mayhar, to go over it for you. At least then you're paying a known professional, and will get the type of review you're going for (I know Gilman has three different levels of review, from simple read-through to line edit.)

Please don't use these agencies!

http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/007440.html#007440