Currently making the rounds of various literary agencies (by his own random submissions) is a proposal from one Scott Den Herder, who calls himself a "writer for a comedian and a multimedia reporter for The Washington Post." (We suppose that's technically true, but the only stuff we could find with his byline was from the Post's "Loudon Extra," which seems to be some online regional paper for Loudon, Virginia.) Basically Scott posts oh-so-funny real estate ads on Craigslist, from made-up over-demanding people, and then mocks the people who respond. (Craig Newmark should shove his boot in his ass—really, do we need more crazy forces mucking with the insane Manhattan real estate market?) The full proposal, including his idea for a screenplay (maybe he's going for a twofer?), follows.

My name is Scott Den Herder. I'm a writer for a comedian and a multimedia reporter for The Washington Post. I am in the process of finishing a proposal for a book entitled Room-for-Rent and would like to invite you to review it and consider representing me.

I moved to New York City for an internship three months ago and began searching for a room on Craigslist. A few of the ads were incredibly bizarre, and I wondered if anyone really responded to them; so I decided to create my own fictional ads.

Room-for-Rent is filled with humorous ads that I write and then post on Craigslist; including the responses, some of which are intentionally humorous; others are strikingly accommodating. For each ad posted I received 10 to 20 responses. Below are a few samples of my ads and a couple responses.

• I have a wonderful apartment for a reasonable price. I found out by living with other people that I have some habits that can be difficult to deal with and have now decided to list my habits in hopes of finding a stable roommate.

  1. I have a cat. You must love cats and not be allergic.

  2. I brush him everyday from 7 until 8 p.m. in the living room.

  3. Sometimes I don't feel like talking. I will let you know and you are to go to your room.

  4. My mother comes over once a week to pick up some things and she also yells at me for being a homosexual. I am not a homosexual.

  5. I have a problem with metal kitchen utensils. I only permit disposable utensils in the apartment. You are not to bring anything else.

  6. All the food in the fridge is labeled with different names. You can be sure that they are all mine. You are to label your food "Mortimer." I will not eat Mortimer's food.

  7. Once a week I come home reeking of fish. You are not to ask about that.

  Response:

  Hey I am very interested in this apt. Please let me know how big the room is, if I can fit a TV in there than I wont have any problem following any of your rules. I am an easy going 24 year old male who works in advertising in the West Village. If there is anything else you would like to know, please feel free to email me back. Maybe we can set up a time for me to come see the place. Thanks alot!!

• I am offering a very sweet deal for the right person. basically i will pay the rent and you cover the utilities, take out the trash two times a day, and buy organic groceries. that's it! all i ask in return is that you perform these various duties and let me perform hypnosis on you liberally. nothing sexual, unless we both reach a mutual agreement that is binding in a spiritual sense.

  i have reached a high level of spiritual awareness that allows me to levitate and perform several real magic moves. i am now working on breathing underwater. i can also hypnotize you in bed so you can sleep nice.

  once a week i come home reeking of fish and you are not to ask about that.

  Response:

  I might be a stupid I know, but the offer is also for a straight male 25y old?

  I'm very curious about what you wrote, and i would like to know more.

  I would also like to be hypnotized.

  As I told you i'm 25y old, i'm from ITALY and I just moved to nyc for the third time.

  I'm taking lessons at the John Strasberg studios, it is a kind of acting school, but we work more on our personal creative process then on classical acting techniques.

  please answer to my mail, maybe you don't want me as your roomate, but we might have a coffee together and have a very pleasant conversation, I am a really good listener, and i am very interested in everything you said.

• This apartment is a real treasure. It's a small, furnished bedroom in an organized apartment. My last roommate had to leave abruptly due to behavioral issues and so I'm looking to fill the space immediately with a quality male or female.

  I go out drinking several nights during the week. I often get locked out of the house and sometimes will need to call you to let me in or meet me at the apartment if you are away. You must always come to the house if I contact you.

  After listening to music loud for years, I now have no choice but to listen to music loud to enjoy it because my hearing is bad. I go through music phases and right now I listed to a lot of Reggaeton and Pat Benetar. You must be comfortable listening to my favorite songs.

  I have a box set of ally McBeal and Full House (I'm from San Francisco) and like watch them often. I have seen ALL the episodes but I like to watch them when I get home from a stressful day to unwind. I watch at least three episodes every night from about 7 until 10 and you cannot watch tv, cook, or make noise during this time.

  The television is right outside your room and sometimes I fall asleep on the sofa watching my favorite shows with my boyfriend. If the noise bothers you let me know when I'm not sleeping and I will lend you one of my electric fans to help with the noise.

  The apartment is small and I have a lot of stuff. I keep many of my things in the room you will be moving into. I am willing to temporarily loan you extra refrigerator shelves in return for keeping my things in your room.

  End.

  I recently finished writing a feature-length comedy screenplay that was produced and is now in the editing room. Synopsis: Evil slam poets take over a high school and seduce a special ed kid's dream girl. To win her back, he must learn slam poetry and defeat a rhyming monster known only as the Super Beast.

  If you are interested in seeing a proposal for the book, please contact me as soon as possible.

Contact information for this author is not available.