The WMF Archives

By Angela Atkinson

This was originally going to be a Writing Opportunities post--but after a little research, I learned some interesting facts about Strategic Book Publishing that I thought our readers could use.

The company's website says that they're a traditional publisher, currently seeking children's books, Christian books and non-fiction books. Their website says that they're VERY interested in the following:

* Authors with a built-in following or 'platform'. If you have a built in market for your work due to your job, your association, or your subject, we want to know about it.

* Authors that have been working with a literary agency or other 3rd party that can provide validation of the quality of work.

* Self-published authors that have sold a minimum of 1000 books in the last year. We can assist you in republishing your work and add our sophisticated marketing techniques to expand your sales.

And, says the website, "We are a smaller "boutique" publisher. We seek authors that want a close relationship, and trusted counsel from their publisher. Our turnaround times are faster, and we believe we are more responsive than larger publishers."

Sounds great, right?

I thought so too. Heck, right on the front page of the site, it says they're always looking for new talent. This seemed like it would be an ideal Writing Opportunities post.

But, I thought, to be safe, I would do a quick Google search and find out if this place was legit. Good thing I did, because Writer Beware had some interesting things to say about Strategic Book Publishing.

Apparently, according to Writer Beware's report, the company's owner, Robert Fletcher, has owned several incarnations of the publishing company/literary agency under various names--and WB received a lot of complaints from writers regarding the services and charges involved with publishing and agents.

The following is an excerpt from the Writer Beware report on the company:

"Other names the business has used include Sydra-Techniques, ST Literary Agency, Stylus Agency, Children's Literary Agency, Christian Literary Agency, New York Literary Agency, Poet's Literary Agency, The Screenplay Agency, and My Editor Is A Saint (an editing company).

Since the business began operating in 2001 under the name Sydra-Techniques, Writer Beware has received hundreds of complaints and advisories of fee-charging for literary agency services, fee-based publishing, critique and editing referrals, and other questionable practices. We're not aware that the literary agency branch of the business has a significant track record of commercial book or script sales under any of its names.

In February 2008, Robert Fletcher and The Literary Agency Group filed a retaliatory lawsuit against Writer Beware, alleging defamation, loss of business, and emotional distress. On March 18, 2009, the suit was dismissed with prejudice by the Massachusetts Superior Court, due to Fletcher’s failure to respond to discovery or otherwise prosecute the lawsuit. SFWA has issued an official press release.

The office of the Florida Attorney General has opened a public consumer-related investigation into Writers' Literary Agency and its associated businesses.

Writers who have had trouble with Robert M. Fletcher or any of the above-named businesses, and who wish to file a complaint, may contact the office of the Florida Attorney General, regardless of their place or country of residence, or the date of their involvement."

Here's a link to a summary of the retaliatory lawsuit filed by Fletcher against Writer Beware.

Please note: The WM Freelance Connection is in no way making assumptions about Strategic Book Publishing or Robert M. Fletcher. We are simply offering both sides of the story, so to speak, so that our readers can make informed decisions when considering which publisher gets the first (or fifteenth) query letter.

Strategic Book Publishing: Too Good to Be True?