Laura Zats
Literary Agent
Headwater Literary Management
Founder & Agent @HeadwaterLit . Host of the award-winning @printrunpodcast . Publishers Weekly industry MVP. She/her & Ms/Mx. Open to queries!
Literary Agent
8) If someone wants to give you their card/contact info, they will offer. If they don't offer, don't ask. #pubtip
Literary Agent
7) Go in to make connections, not to get things from others. People know when you're trying to use them #pubtip
Literary Agent
6) Have your convo, and then move on. Authors/editors/agents can tell when we're being followed. It's awkward. And sometimes scary. #pubtip
Literary Agent
5) Buying a drink for someone does not mean they owe you time/attention/whatever. Don't be a dick. #pubtip
Literary Agent
4) BATHROOMS ARE ALWAYS OFF LIMITS WHEN TRYING TO INITIATE CONVERSATIONS WITH STRANGERS #pubtip
Literary Agent
3) As an author, DO NOT go up to other authors and request/demand they read your book/blurb you. It puts them in a weird position #pubtip
Literary Agent
2) If they ask about your book in conversation, THEN you can tell them about it. But we'd like to chat informally as actual people #pubtip
Literary Agent
1) Unless it's a formal pitch session, don't come out swinging to editors/agents with a book idea. It's rude/Awk #pubtip
Literary Agent
Well, it's Thursday afternoon and I have cons on the brain. Let's talk etiquette! #pubtip
Literary Agent
Do you see how you can still say the same thing but in a way that's physically possible? Yes? Good. Carry on. #amwriting #pubtip 9/9 FIN.
Literary Agent
EXAMPLE:
"I love cheese." She sighed. "If only I weren't lactose intolerant."
#pubtip #amwriting 8/?
Literary Agent
The solution? PERIODS INSTEAD OF COMMAS. Don't link those verbs to the text itself, but rather, to the speaker #pubtip #amwriting 7/?
Literary Agent
HOWEVER, there are STILL ways you can use laugh, sigh, etc in dialogue tags w/o being physically imposible #pubtip #amwriting 6/?
Literary Agent
You can talk AND sigh. You can say words that come out of you like a sigh, but notice that it is simile, not truth #pubtip #amwriting 6/?
Literary Agent
You can't BREATHE a sentence. Nor can you SIGH words. Or CLUCK or any other nonsense #pubtip #amwriting 4/?
Literary Agent
Notice that these tags are way your TALK. Many fiction writers INSIST on creating dialogue tags that aren't possible #amwriting #pubtip 3/?
Literary Agent
Appropriate ways to tag writing include the following: said, replied, asked, yelled, muttered, etc #amwriting #pubtip 2/?
Literary Agent
Okay. Let's talk about dialogue tags, shall we? #pubtip #amwriting 1/?
Literary Agent