Laura Zats
@LZats
Literary Agent
Founder & Agent @HeadwaterLit . Host of the award-winning @printrunpodcast . Publishers Weekly industry MVP. She/her & Ms/Mx. Open to queries!
213 MSWL
176 AskAgent
3124 Queries
162 Tips

#pubtip: comic sans is never a good idea.

Sara Megibow
@SaraMegibow
Literary Agent
she/her Literary Agent at KT Literary. Reading, parenting, table top gaming, baking challah, hiking and wine tasting. Always LGBTQIA+ friendly!
17 MSWL
13 AskAgent
298 Queries
525 Tips

Query Red Flag, "The first 55,000 words follow the story of hero coming to the throne..." = seems setup for mostly backstory. #pubtip

Marlene Stringer
@MarleneStringer
Literary Agent
Literary Agent, pop culture follower, Opera lover, birder, early am beach walker, knitter, & my best work: Mom of four
19 MSWL
103 Tips

Can you risk opening your Q with a question if the answer may be no and an immediate turnoff? Something to consider. #pubtip

Sara Megibow
@SaraMegibow
Literary Agent
she/her Literary Agent at KT Literary. Reading, parenting, table top gaming, baking challah, hiking and wine tasting. Always LGBTQIA+ friendly!
17 MSWL
13 AskAgent
298 Queries
525 Tips

Sample Pages Red Flag, "She looked over the vista while sipping coffee and thinking about..." = too passive especially in opening. #pubtip

Sara Megibow
@SaraMegibow
Literary Agent
she/her Literary Agent at KT Literary. Reading, parenting, table top gaming, baking challah, hiking and wine tasting. Always LGBTQIA+ friendly!
17 MSWL
13 AskAgent
298 Queries
525 Tips

Query Red Flag: "Hero wasn't prepared for how life was going to change once XYZ happened" = weak description (and too obvious) #pubtip

Greyhaus Literary Agency
@greyhausagency
Literary Agency
Literary Agent with the Greyhaus Literary Agency in the Puget Sound Area. Representing exlusively romance and women's fiction!
67 MSWL
83 Tips

#pubtip - If you get a rejection letter from an editor or agent, don't argue with us. It will not change our opinion.

Sara Megibow
@SaraMegibow
Literary Agent
she/her Literary Agent at KT Literary. Reading, parenting, table top gaming, baking challah, hiking and wine tasting. Always LGBTQIA+ friendly!
17 MSWL
13 AskAgent
298 Queries
525 Tips

If I've met you at a conference, YES it's ok to say, "we were at the XYZ conference together" in your query. #pubtip #queries

Stacy Whitman
@stacylwhitman
Other
Founder & publisher of @tubooks , an imprint of @leeandlow . Diversity in SFF, mystery, GNs & more for kids & teens. K-dramas. And cats. Opinions my own.
57 MSWL
1 AskAgent
11 Tips

Oh my heavens, authors, stop taping down the part of the envelope that lets me OPEN your submission. #pubtip

Shana Asaro
@shana_asaro
Editor
Editor at Harlequin's Love Inspired imprint and mom. I love my dog, monkeys, cupcakes, HGTV, Starbucks, Gilmore Girls and weather disaster plots.
26 MSWL
55 Tips

Don't mislead readers with false suspense (heroine hears a noise...but it's only the hero...or a dog). Make the danger real! #pubtip

Greyhaus Literary Agency
@greyhausagency
Literary Agency
Literary Agent with the Greyhaus Literary Agency in the Puget Sound Area. Representing exlusively romance and women's fiction!
67 MSWL
83 Tips

#pubtip - Keep track of your submissions. Today I had to respond to people I had already passed on with the same project.

Renee Nyen
@Renee_Nyen
Literary Agent
kt literary. Wife. Mom. Podcaster. Lover of mountains, seltzer, and plants. Black Lives Matter. She/her
1 MSWL
20 AskAgent
3 Queries
10 Tips

A lot of amnesiac main characters in the query inbox this evening. It's not bad per say, just a warning. Agents see a lot of it. #pubtip

Alice Speilburg
@alicespeilburg
Literary Agent
Literary Agent & Founder of Speilburg Literary Agency. Mother. Wife. Feminist. Ally. Kentuckian. She/her.
23 MSWL
14 Tips

Authors: don't give me a pg count of your ms -- too many variants with font size/style, spacing, margins. Word count is standard. #pubtip

Alexandra Machinist
@amachinist
Literary Agent
Literary agent at ICM. Sybarite. Lefty (both kinds). Feminist. My patronus is a fox. Must have plot.
27 MSWL
60 Tips

Everyone thinks they can write a picture book. Everyone is wrong. #pubtip

Sara Megibow
@SaraMegibow
Literary Agent
she/her Literary Agent at KT Literary. Reading, parenting, table top gaming, baking challah, hiking and wine tasting. Always LGBTQIA+ friendly!
17 MSWL
13 AskAgent
298 Queries
525 Tips
Gordon Warnock
@gordonwarnock
Literary Agent
Founding partner @FuseLiterary representing commercial and literary fiction, nonfiction, and graphic novels. #VoteLibraries
12 MSWL
130 Tips

Seriously, if you craft a solid query and follow guidelines, agents will at least read your writing sample. #pubtip

Gordon Warnock
@gordonwarnock
Literary Agent
Founding partner @FuseLiterary representing commercial and literary fiction, nonfiction, and graphic novels. #VoteLibraries
12 MSWL
130 Tips

If you query unsolicited via social media and misspell both words of the agency's former name, we will not sign you. #pubtip

Jessica Sinsheimer
@jsinsheim
Literary Agent
Ravenous reader, lazy gourmet, literary agent + cheese-obsessed human. Co-creator of #MSWL , Manuscript Wish List® + ManuscriptAcademy.com. ☕📚She/her.
118 MSWL
12 Queries
10 Tips

Check-in to me that's always okay: "Dear Jessica, I'm writing to check in on [title], sent [date]. Hope this finds you well, [Name]" #Pubtip

Alec Shane
@alecdshane
Literary Agent
Literary Agent at Writers House, LLC. Wannabe Patriots sportswriter. ashane@writershouse.com
100 MSWL
1 AskAgent
346 Queries
122 Tips

#pubtip if you receive an offer of rep from another agency, make sure you let other considering agents know as a professional courtesy

Laura Zats
@LZats
Literary Agent
Founder & Agent @HeadwaterLit . Host of the award-winning @printrunpodcast . Publishers Weekly industry MVP. She/her & Ms/Mx. Open to queries!
213 MSWL
176 AskAgent
3124 Queries
162 Tips

As long as I haven't already read it, I don't care if you send an updated MS. But I go by date, so you go to the back of the line #pubtip

Anna Sproul-Latimer
@annasproul
Literary Agent
Founding Partner, Neon Literary. Get in, loser, we’re making it art. neonliterary.com
28 MSWL
95 Tips

I often get queries that begin along the lines of "I have written 13 books for your consideration." Eek - only query one at a time. #pubtip