Carly Watters

Literary Agent

P.S. Literary Agency

SVP & Senior Lit Agent @PSLiterary MA in Publishing Studies @CityUniLondon Co-host of @TSNOTYAW VP of Professional Assoc. of Canadian Literary Agents

Carly Watters
@carlywatters
Literary Agent
SVP & Senior Lit Agent @PSLiterary MA in Publishing Studies @CityUniLondon Co-host of @TSNOTYAW VP of Professional Assoc. of Canadian Literary Agents
153 MSWL
229 AskAgent
334 Tips

#querytip easy rejections: 120+k (I don't rep SFF), 3+ settings (I don't rep spy novels), pitching themes instead of plot, query 600+ words.

Carly Watters
@carlywatters
Literary Agent
SVP & Senior Lit Agent @PSLiterary MA in Publishing Studies @CityUniLondon Co-host of @TSNOTYAW VP of Professional Assoc. of Canadian Literary Agents
153 MSWL
229 AskAgent
334 Tips

#querytip: Don't tell me your character is ordinary & we follow their day-to-day. It's your job to pitch what's special about their story.

Carly Watters
@carlywatters
Literary Agent
SVP & Senior Lit Agent @PSLiterary MA in Publishing Studies @CityUniLondon Co-host of @TSNOTYAW VP of Professional Assoc. of Canadian Literary Agents
153 MSWL
229 AskAgent
334 Tips

Pitching your book this summer? Read this #querytip: "Why Your Query Letter Should Focus On Plot Not Theme" carlywatters.com/2015/07/13/why…

Carly Watters
@carlywatters
Literary Agent
SVP & Senior Lit Agent @PSLiterary MA in Publishing Studies @CityUniLondon Co-host of @TSNOTYAW VP of Professional Assoc. of Canadian Literary Agents
153 MSWL
229 AskAgent
334 Tips

ICYMI: Why query letters should focus on plot not theme #querytip ow.ly/PyNtE

Carly Watters
@carlywatters
Literary Agent
SVP & Senior Lit Agent @PSLiterary MA in Publishing Studies @CityUniLondon Co-host of @TSNOTYAW VP of Professional Assoc. of Canadian Literary Agents
153 MSWL
229 AskAgent
334 Tips

Why Your Query Letter Should Focus On Plot Not Theme carlywatters.com/2015/07/13/why… #MondayBlogs #querytip

Carly Watters
@carlywatters
Literary Agent
SVP & Senior Lit Agent @PSLiterary MA in Publishing Studies @CityUniLondon Co-host of @TSNOTYAW VP of Professional Assoc. of Canadian Literary Agents
153 MSWL
229 AskAgent
334 Tips

Bookmark this one, folks! Don't miss it! "Foolproof, never-fail query opening" via @johnmcusick ow.ly/PcfHR #querytip

Carly Watters
@carlywatters
Literary Agent
SVP & Senior Lit Agent @PSLiterary MA in Publishing Studies @CityUniLondon Co-host of @TSNOTYAW VP of Professional Assoc. of Canadian Literary Agents
153 MSWL
229 AskAgent
334 Tips

Blog backlist: "5 Things You Didn’t Know About Querying as a Debut Author" ow.ly/NYiXK #querytip

Carly Watters
@carlywatters
Literary Agent
SVP & Senior Lit Agent @PSLiterary MA in Publishing Studies @CityUniLondon Co-host of @TSNOTYAW VP of Professional Assoc. of Canadian Literary Agents
153 MSWL
229 AskAgent
334 Tips

Rookie query letter mistake: pitching themes instead of pitching plot. Themes don't win over readers, plot & character do. #querytip

Carly Watters
@carlywatters
Literary Agent
SVP & Senior Lit Agent @PSLiterary MA in Publishing Studies @CityUniLondon Co-host of @TSNOTYAW VP of Professional Assoc. of Canadian Literary Agents
153 MSWL
229 AskAgent
334 Tips

An hour of #querytip advice + a query critique. Sign up for HOW TO GET AN AGENT my Thursday @WritersDigest webinar: ow.ly/Mv8xp

Carly Watters
@carlywatters
Literary Agent
SVP & Senior Lit Agent @PSLiterary MA in Publishing Studies @CityUniLondon Co-host of @TSNOTYAW VP of Professional Assoc. of Canadian Literary Agents
153 MSWL
229 AskAgent
334 Tips

HOW TO GET AN AGENT, my @WritersDigest webinar, is next Thurs! Instruction + a query critique: ow.ly/Mv6H9 #querytip

Carly Watters
@carlywatters
Literary Agent
SVP & Senior Lit Agent @PSLiterary MA in Publishing Studies @CityUniLondon Co-host of @TSNOTYAW VP of Professional Assoc. of Canadian Literary Agents
153 MSWL
229 AskAgent
334 Tips

About those ‘Have you ever wondered?’ query letter questions. Why they don't work: ow.ly/Mv9qd #querytip

Carly Watters
@carlywatters
Literary Agent
SVP & Senior Lit Agent @PSLiterary MA in Publishing Studies @CityUniLondon Co-host of @TSNOTYAW VP of Professional Assoc. of Canadian Literary Agents
153 MSWL
229 AskAgent
334 Tips

ICYMI: "5 Things You Didn’t Know About Querying as a Debut Author" #QueryTip bit.ly/1EraFKA

Carly Watters
@carlywatters
Literary Agent
SVP & Senior Lit Agent @PSLiterary MA in Publishing Studies @CityUniLondon Co-host of @TSNOTYAW VP of Professional Assoc. of Canadian Literary Agents
153 MSWL
229 AskAgent
334 Tips

Overly wordy queries make me think overly wordy manuscript. Query's purpose is to make me want more, not to tell me everything. #querytip

Carly Watters
@carlywatters
Literary Agent
SVP & Senior Lit Agent @PSLiterary MA in Publishing Studies @CityUniLondon Co-host of @TSNOTYAW VP of Professional Assoc. of Canadian Literary Agents
153 MSWL
229 AskAgent
334 Tips

Agents round up their best tips: "Query Letter Basics" ow.ly/JNDfa via @writersdigest #querytip

Carly Watters
@carlywatters
Literary Agent
SVP & Senior Lit Agent @PSLiterary MA in Publishing Studies @CityUniLondon Co-host of @TSNOTYAW VP of Professional Assoc. of Canadian Literary Agents
153 MSWL
229 AskAgent
334 Tips

You have some leeway with word count. But I will never sign up a 230k novel. Never. I don't even sign up novels half that length. #querytip

Carly Watters
@carlywatters
Literary Agent
SVP & Senior Lit Agent @PSLiterary MA in Publishing Studies @CityUniLondon Co-host of @TSNOTYAW VP of Professional Assoc. of Canadian Literary Agents
153 MSWL
229 AskAgent
334 Tips

"8 Query Tips No One Tells Writers" ow.ly/JIZKC #querytip

Carly Watters
@carlywatters
Literary Agent
SVP & Senior Lit Agent @PSLiterary MA in Publishing Studies @CityUniLondon Co-host of @TSNOTYAW VP of Professional Assoc. of Canadian Literary Agents
153 MSWL
229 AskAgent
334 Tips

"Successfully Publishing Your 1st Novel" my @writersdigest webinar is on Thursday! w/ 5pg crit! Sign up: ow.ly/IaJKC #querytip

Carly Watters
@carlywatters
Literary Agent
SVP & Senior Lit Agent @PSLiterary MA in Publishing Studies @CityUniLondon Co-host of @TSNOTYAW VP of Professional Assoc. of Canadian Literary Agents
153 MSWL
229 AskAgent
334 Tips

Yes, it's this simple! There's a formula! "How to Write a Great Query Letter" girlfridayproductions.com/2015/02/how-to… #querytip via @GirlFridayProd

Carly Watters
@carlywatters
Literary Agent
SVP & Senior Lit Agent @PSLiterary MA in Publishing Studies @CityUniLondon Co-host of @TSNOTYAW VP of Professional Assoc. of Canadian Literary Agents
153 MSWL
229 AskAgent
334 Tips

#querytip Avoid excerpt/quote from your book in your query. I know it's done in cover copy, but it doesn't work for queries. Just confusing.

Carly Watters
@carlywatters
Literary Agent
SVP & Senior Lit Agent @PSLiterary MA in Publishing Studies @CityUniLondon Co-host of @TSNOTYAW VP of Professional Assoc. of Canadian Literary Agents
153 MSWL
229 AskAgent
334 Tips

#querytip If you call yourself a bestseller, I need to know which publication. If you call yourself award-winning, I need to know the award.