I have been in contact...through emial only...with the writers Literacy childrens agency about marketing my book. I have done a lot of research on agents and they seem legit. They have not asked for a penny and said they will not...which was in my research...agents should not receive $ until they sell your book. They have sent me a contract but before I sign I wanted to know if anyone has ever heard of them or have dealt with them before...any opinion?

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I have never heard anything about this agency. I checked out their website, and they appear legitimate, but they do not appear in the Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market. Also, there are things I do not like about their website. They do not name the agents in their company. They do not name the books they have successfully marketed. Both of those things could be just because they are a young, small agency, so it is not necessarily enough to make me say find another agent. But before you sign anything, have a lawyer look it over.

It's a new name for one of the most notorious agents out there. The people in charge lost a massive lawsuit (hence the new name). I would run very fast away. As a general rule, successful agents don't troll the internet looking for new talent. They have far too many people submitting to them; they don't need to look for more. Find someone whose work you like and respect, and find out who represents them. Do this until you have a list of 12 good agents. Run through those first, then do the process again if need be. If the agent is representing someone who has mass market deals, chances are that they're legit. If you're just starting out, I'd make sure the agent is a member of the AAR. http://www.aar-online.org/mc/page.do