Bridget Smith

Literary Agent

JABberwocky Literary Agency

aka Breda. Literary agent at JABberwocky. Co-host of @ShipAndHandling publishing podcast. Plays with swords in free time. Way too long-winded for Twitte

Bridget Smith
@bredalot
Literary Agent
aka Breda. Literary agent at JABberwocky. Co-host of @ShipAndHandling publishing podcast. Plays with swords in free time. Way too long-winded for Twitte
77 MSWL
21 Tips

WELL, someone managed to find my personal Gmail address - which none of my clients have bc I don't use it for work - and send a query there. DO NOT DO THIS. It's not a good way to get extra attention; it's a good way to get yourself blocked on all my accounts. #pubtip

Bridget Smith
@bredalot
Literary Agent
aka Breda. Literary agent at JABberwocky. Co-host of @ShipAndHandling publishing podcast. Plays with swords in free time. Way too long-winded for Twitte
77 MSWL
21 Tips

Take care with your work! Try to show me your best side! Treat me with basic professional courtesy! But don't worry too much if you make a small human error - I know it happens and have done it myself. #pubtip

Bridget Smith
@bredalot
Literary Agent
aka Breda. Literary agent at JABberwocky. Co-host of @ShipAndHandling publishing podcast. Plays with swords in free time. Way too long-winded for Twitte
77 MSWL
21 Tips

Look, the kind of faux pas that will lead to an auto-reject on a query are like "this person seems like an absolute nightmare to work with" and "didn't even bother to run spellcheck," not "copy-paste error" or "introduced typo in last-minute tweak." #pubtip

Bridget Smith
@bredalot
Literary Agent
aka Breda. Literary agent at JABberwocky. Co-host of @ShipAndHandling publishing podcast. Plays with swords in free time. Way too long-winded for Twitte
77 MSWL
21 Tips
Bridget Smith
@bredalot
Literary Agent
aka Breda. Literary agent at JABberwocky. Co-host of @ShipAndHandling publishing podcast. Plays with swords in free time. Way too long-winded for Twitte
77 MSWL
21 Tips

Ok, having now read 100+ of the queries that came in since I opened: the most common problem I'm seeing is that they don't actually make it clear what the book is ABOUT. #pubtip

Bridget Smith
@bredalot
Literary Agent
aka Breda. Literary agent at JABberwocky. Co-host of @ShipAndHandling publishing podcast. Plays with swords in free time. Way too long-winded for Twitte
77 MSWL
21 Tips

Periodic reminder! Make sure to include something like "OFFER" or "UPDATE" in the subject line when you're following up on a query with an offer, or I won't notice that it needs immediate attention. #pubtip

Bridget Smith
@bredalot
Literary Agent
aka Breda. Literary agent at JABberwocky. Co-host of @ShipAndHandling publishing podcast. Plays with swords in free time. Way too long-winded for Twitte
77 MSWL
21 Tips

Friends, a reminder that it is in your best interest to hear from every agent who might like your work! At worst, it confirms the first offer was the right one. #pubtip

Bridget Smith
@bredalot
Literary Agent
aka Breda. Literary agent at JABberwocky. Co-host of @ShipAndHandling publishing podcast. Plays with swords in free time. Way too long-winded for Twitte
77 MSWL
21 Tips
Bridget Smith
@bredalot
Literary Agent
aka Breda. Literary agent at JABberwocky. Co-host of @ShipAndHandling publishing podcast. Plays with swords in free time. Way too long-winded for Twitte
77 MSWL
21 Tips
Bridget Smith
@bredalot
Literary Agent
aka Breda. Literary agent at JABberwocky. Co-host of @ShipAndHandling publishing podcast. Plays with swords in free time. Way too long-winded for Twitte
77 MSWL
21 Tips

Periodic reminder that self-publishing is a terrible strategy for getting a traditional deal. #pubtip

Bridget Smith
@bredalot
Literary Agent
aka Breda. Literary agent at JABberwocky. Co-host of @ShipAndHandling publishing podcast. Plays with swords in free time. Way too long-winded for Twitte
77 MSWL
21 Tips

Uh, a tip for anyone querying by mail: put the folded SASE *inside* the letter or I might accidentally letter-opener it to death. #pubtip

Bridget Smith
@bredalot
Literary Agent
aka Breda. Literary agent at JABberwocky. Co-host of @ShipAndHandling publishing podcast. Plays with swords in free time. Way too long-winded for Twitte
77 MSWL
21 Tips

Reminder: make sure to "Accept All Changes" in Word before sending a doc or copy-pasting into an email! #pubtip

Bridget Smith
@bredalot
Literary Agent
aka Breda. Literary agent at JABberwocky. Co-host of @ShipAndHandling publishing podcast. Plays with swords in free time. Way too long-winded for Twitte
77 MSWL
21 Tips

Be extra careful about breaking the fourth wall in your first page. Let me into the world before you shatter the illusion. #pubtip

Bridget Smith
@bredalot
Literary Agent
aka Breda. Literary agent at JABberwocky. Co-host of @ShipAndHandling publishing podcast. Plays with swords in free time. Way too long-winded for Twitte
77 MSWL
21 Tips

When researching comp titles, look beyond basic story elements to things like similarity of style, theme, or target audience. #pubtip

Bridget Smith
@bredalot
Literary Agent
aka Breda. Literary agent at JABberwocky. Co-host of @ShipAndHandling publishing podcast. Plays with swords in free time. Way too long-winded for Twitte
77 MSWL
21 Tips

Don't pay anyone anything up-front to submit your work on your behalf. Ever. Please. *Especially* if you wrote the pitch too. #pubtip

Bridget Smith
@bredalot
Literary Agent
aka Breda. Literary agent at JABberwocky. Co-host of @ShipAndHandling publishing podcast. Plays with swords in free time. Way too long-winded for Twitte
77 MSWL
21 Tips

#pubtip: Putting lots of ellipses in your subject line makes it look like spam.