how i got my literary agent from twitter
the story of how i got my agent from a twitter pitch
I’m the type of writer that will never shut up about her books on social media. Ever since I joined Twitter/X’s #WritingCommunity in 2022, I create moodboards and graphics when I really should be writing instead.
Never in my life did I think that one of my silly little graphics would help me with one of the biggest steps of my writing career: signing with a literary agent!
I’m represented by Carey Blankenship-Kramer at Belcastro Agency, who is EVERYTHING I’ve ever wanted in an agent for my Discord Book. And funnily enough, we didn’t connect through traditional cold querying; instead, we met through one of my Twitter pitches.
My query journey is pretty unconventional and I recognize that, but my hope in sharing every step of my journey is to provide insight on the querying process and to act as a resource for advice—for social media pitching, writing a query letter, and handling an offer of representation.
Entering the Trenches
My query journey started in October 2023, after spending almost two years drafting and revising my YA Contemporary novel. I joined the pitch event #DVPit—and since it was hosted on Discord, it felt very fitting to begin Discord Book’s query journey this way.
I got three agent likes in total, all of which I queried! My first full request was from a DVPit like, which came an hour after I submitted my query.
Between October-December I queried about 9 agents (I queried in smaller batches, only doing 3 at a time). But I learned later on that publishing slows down as the holidays approach. Aside from 1 personalized query rejection, my inbox was silent for the next three months.
The DVPit pitch that received 3 likes
The Query Letter
I genuinely have no idea if this query letter worked because all of my submission requests came from online pitches and networking rather than cold querying. However, I’ll still include my original query letter below.
When structuring my query letter, I used Alex Moran’s blog post as a reference, as well as Jessica Brody’s Save the Cat! Writes a Novel pitch guide:
Paragraph 1: Setup, flawed hero, and Catalyst
Paragraph 2: Break into Two and/or Fun and Games
Paragraph 3: Theme stated, midpoint hint, and/or All is Lost hint, ending in a cliffhanger
I had 4 versions of my query letter but in the end, I think the latest version is the sharpest. This is the one where I most clearly stated my character’s goals and found better comparable titles.
Also as a note, I got this query letter critiqued by an agent before sending out my first batch of queries.
Query Letter (version 4)
Dear Agent,
It is my pleasure to present [BOOK TITLE], a novel that XXX per your #MSWL request.
This story is a dual-POV YA contemporary complete at 92.8k words, blending the epistolary narrative structure and mental health discussion in Francesca Zappia's Eliza and her Monsters, and the friendship dynamics in Kelly Loy Gilbert's When We Were Infinite.
Social outcast Vincent Lim wants to live a life unnoticed, especially after a bad friendship breakup puts him as the subject of nasty rumors. Outgoing yearbook editor Ivy Tolentino wants to get over her first breakup... but that's not easy when she shares a friend group with her ex.
So when Vincent unexpectedly wins a yearbook superlative, he's suddenly pushed back into the spotlight and into Ivy's world. The talkative girl can barely hold a conversation with the guarded introvert, but once they become online friends on Discord, they discover more similarities than they would have thought.
Vincent and Ivy become best friends, growing close over late night Discord calls and League of Legends games. Yet Vincent still keeps secrets to himself: including his growing crush on Ivy and battle with depression. When their bond is threatened by unrequited feelings and online rumors surrounding their friendship, they're at risk of losing their connection.
I am a Filipino-American author that is currently based in [CITY]. I was inspired to share this story to bring comfort and healing to people struggling with these issues, serving as a reminder that hope is possible. [BOOK TITLE] is the very story I wish I had when I was a teen.
Thank you for your consideration, I look forward to hearing from you!
Warm regards,
Jude Lee Baet
The MSWL Pitch
2024 approached without any good news, or really, any news at all.
At the beginning of the new year, I saw a lot of agents and editors make tweets updating their MSWLs (Manuscript Wish Lists). I took this opportunity to shoot my shot and make a tweet of my own, in case anything came of it.
Turns out I was right because one agent excitedly replied with interest! The agent, Carey Blankenship-Kramer, was closed to queries at the time so she messaged me her personal QueryManager link, and I uploaded my full manuscript on her form.
She was the only agent to reply to my post but as it turned out, one reply was all I needed.
The pitch that connected me and my agent
I plan to make a more detailed post about social media pitching, but the main tips I would recommend:
Create an eye-catching visual. Eye-catching is the most important aspect of your post since in this society of social media, many people are visually driven.
Twitter/X allows up to 4 photos per post, but I recommend using a single image per tweet. This will help your post stand out since that is THE first thing that anyone will see when they see your tweet.
Make your bullet points quick and easy. It’s good practice to know what marketable elements are in your book and being able to list them in a short bullet point.
I also recommend using different emojis per bullet point just to help guide your reader visually as well!
Bullet points formatted for your intended audience (in this case, agents)
I usually write posts like these very differently for Canva trends or positivity pitch events, since these are for writers & readers. For agents, however, I looked at a variety of MSWLs to research trends of what agents are looking for and of course, what was in my book. (ex. I made sure to mention that it’s a character-driven story, ownvoices, and BIPOC written).
The Offer(s)
My first offer came from a full requested from DVPit! The offering agent sent the email at 3 a.m. on a Saturday morning, and told me they were reading late into the night because they couldn’t put down my book.
Once I received the email, I excitedly contacted the other agents I queried with the Notification of Offer. However, there were a couple things I wasn’t prepared for when I entered my vague era:
1) Rejection still sucks even when you already have an offer.
2) You’re much more likely to get rejected when you have an offer.
Even though I was over the moon with my first offer, I still had mixed feelings from receiving rejections, especially from some agents who I really wanted to work with. Carey, the agent that reached out on Twitter, was one I was hoping to hear good news from, but I was getting nervous that it would be a rejection from her too.
But I was pleasantly wrong, because an offer from Carey came two days later! She had read the entire book in a day and told me she was a little sleepy that morning, as she had stayed up reading it as well. So now that I had two call inquiries, it was time to prepare for my author calls.
A small note: I’m actually still not sure if the call and the offer of representation is the same thing so I nudged when I got my call inquiry, not when I was formally offered representation on those calls. Nudging at that time still worked out for me, but I’d still take caution and not rush into nudging like I did.
The Calls
Both of my calls were in the same week, and I used Ann Zhao’s blog post as a base for “The Call” questions. In my first call, I had been very focused on the business side of the questions—which is good, and you should definitely be asking those questions. However, I found myself wishing I had asked more questions about vision.
In my second call, I threw in a few vision questions, using my “beta reader questions” list as a reference. I liked those questions because though they’re simple, the answers from the betas/agents gave me a lot of information on how they received my book and their vision for it.
Here are a couple of the questions I ended up asking on my second call:
Why did you choose my book for representation?
What about my book resonated with you?
Favorite character? Favorite scenes?
The Decision
Choosing your agent is one of the most important decisions you’ll make in your publishing career, and it can be a very difficult choice.
However, Carey made it easy to choose her.
There are so many reasons why I wanted her as my agent. I could immediately sense her passion for the story just from the enthusiasm in her voice. I also appreciated the level of care and attention to detail in our conversations—from being prepared with multiple editors and imprints in mind, to sending me an offer information packet that was personally designed with the aesthetics and colors to match my book (which isn’t necessary and not something every agent does, but that extra mile really showed how thoughtful and passionate she is).
On the business side, I asked many, many questions—which both agents were very willing to answer. Carey also answered many of my questions without me having to ask them, which displayed her vast knowledge and confidence in navigating the publishing industry.
I also did my own research as well, which included doing the following:
Researching the agency they’re from. This is a very helpful point especially if you’re looking to sign with a newer agent. Look at the deals made from others at that agency, because these people will be your prospective agent’s mentors.
I got a one-month subscription to Publisher’s Marketplace (which is $25 USD), but you can also look at rights reports via Publisher’s Weekly.
Ask the agent about their publishing background. Even if they just started their agenting career, they may have a strong publishing background based on who they were mentored by, or worked in another publishing position such as an editor!
Speak to the agent’s current clients. I had conversations with two of Carey’s clients about their personal experiences, coming back with only nice things to say. Here are the questions I asked the agent’s clients, referenced from a Bookends’ video:
Is the agent editorial? If so, in what ways?
How do you two normally communicate? Do you feel that the agent is open to matching your preferred communication style, and do you feel comfortable reaching out to her about any type of questions?
How fast do they usually respond? What is their turnaround like on revisions?
How transparent is the agent? Do you feel they consistently keep you in the loop, and are you satisfied with the amount of updates that you receive?
Have you ever had a moment where you two disagreed? If so, how was it handled?
In short, there wasn’t really one singular reason for the reason I chose my agent; there were a plethora, and that gave me the confidence in my decision.
What I Wish I Had Known
October-December is the quietest time to query.
I knew going in that the holidays were a quiet period for publishing, but I thought there would be some leeway if I started in October. But NOPE. During this whole period, I sent about 9 queries and only heard back from 1 agent.
Take a moment to ground yourself before acting, even if you’re excited.
When I got my first offer, I was of course very excited, but I made a few rash decisions in that excitement. For example, I was eager to send out my Notifications of Offer and did it immediately after receiving my first call inquiry, but after sending them out, I realized I had messed up the date of my author deadline.
I also didn’t realize that the call inquiry isn’t always the same as an offer of representation, and that agents formally offer representation on The Call (at least in my case). But I had sent out the Notifications of Offer when I got the call inquiry, not when I got the formal offer.
Rejection still hurts, even during your offer period.
It’s not easy to get a rejection from someone you really wanted to work with or who you thought truly enjoyed your story, and even when you have an offer of representation, that feeling doesn’t go away.
Speaking of your offer period, you’ll receive more rejections than offers.
I always thought a Notification of Offer would increase the chances of an agent wanting a submission, but it doesn’t. Agents are more likely to step aside because of the author deadline, and also unless they’re very interested in your story, they won’t want to compete with other agents.
Questions about vision are equally as important as business/publishing questions.
You’ll want to make sure that you and your prospective agent’s goals align, and that includes vision for the story!
Closing Thoughts
Even though a huge chunk of this journey outlines how I got my agent through an online pitch, I had already been planning to query Carey regardless when she reopened.
Did Twitter connect us? Absolutely. But if Carey had been open to queries at the time, I would have queried her regardless of the pitch—not because she’s a lovely human being, but I had also peeked at her MSWL a few months before and felt that my book matched to a T. And I’d like to believe that we still would have begun our partnership if I had cold-queried her, even if our meeting point would have been slightly different.
Also before Carey, one of my partial requests came from another agent sliding into my DMs, but it still ended in a rejection.
All of this is to say that yes, there is a beauty in creating connections with agents and industry professionals on social media. And yes, it is possible to get your agent through Twitter/pitch events.
HOWEVER, you can still land an agent through cold querying. Even if that wasn’t the journey I had, many many authors are still successful with landing their agents this way. So if you’re anxious about navigating the Twitter landscape or you simply don’t want to, don’t worry. As long as you continue to strengthen your query letter and manuscript, the right agent will find you.
tl;dr morals of the story:
Social media is a powerful tool for networking, and it can and does work to your advantage!
However, connecting through social media is ONE way to get an agent, but it’s not the only way.
If you got this far, thank you for sticking with me! I hope this post was helpful for gaining insight into the querying process. And to all my #amquerying authors, you got this! ♡
