5 reasons to follow literary agents on Twitter

Getting an agent is a goal for many writers. And finding the right one is essential. To avoid wasting your time, and theirs, you should only submit to agents who represent your genre and are open to submissions. There are lots of ways you can find out more about agents, to help you make your choice. And if that agent has a Twitter account, be sure to give them a follow. (This is assuming they have a public account with a focus on their work.) Here are five reasons why:

Calls for submissions
Yes, some agents will post calls for submissions. If you are lucky, they’ll even post the kind of book they are looking for or even some of their preferences. This makes sure you are targeting them at a time when they are actively looking, and if your book matches something they’ve asked for, you can mention this during your submission.

Book talk – what’re they reading?
Most agents will list their preferred genres on their website, and you can also look at their current list of authors to find out what kind of writer they represent. Another fantastic way to find out more about their tastes, is to keep an eye on Twitter. They may post updates on what they’re reading, alongside books they have particularly enjoyed. This is a valuable insight when you’re trying to choose an agent.

Find out more about them
Alongside their reading preferences, Twitter can offer a glimpse into who the agent is as a person. Be it flashes of their sense of humour, posts on topics they are passionate about, and even just the things they love and hate. Again, this is a valuable asset in finding an agent you’d love to work with.

Tips and advice
Agents want writers, and they want them to do well. As such, you will often find agents share tips and advice on writing and querying. They are also up to date with the market, and can share valuable insight into the publishing world, in turn giving you knowledge that can help you succeed.

Make conversation
Twitter is a social media platform, and you have every right to use it as such. Especially in a time when face to face networking is discouraged, Twitter opens opportunity to chat. Be it to ask a questions, discuss a topic they’ve posted about, or to congratulate them and their authors on new releases. These snippets of conversation can be a great icebreaker, which you can include in your query letter to prove you have targeted that agent for a reason.