Amanda Raybould
@ALRutter
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Commissioning Editor at Solaris Books. Owned by three hellhounds. Talks a lot about politics, sports, books and dogs. Knitter, crocheter and lover of loud music
Joined August 2009
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So, since I am getting my feet under the desk now, here's a little flavour of my
#mswl
. In general, I like all facets of SFF, including horror, and I like my books to range from serious thought-inducing works to read-in-a-flash commercial fiction.
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I would like to announce publicly that I have resigned my position as an agent of Red Sofa Literary. I could not, in all good conscience, call myself an ally and not react in this way to what I perceive as racism. I want to thank my authors for being incredibly understanding
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I am really sad to see
#WritingCommunity
#amagenting
posts that talk about rejections from agents that say you are wasting their time. I just want to say, your submissions are NEVER wasting my time. I am proud of each and every one of you for completing a novel and sending it out
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Well, that's that. My company is shutting its doors for good. I am jobless. So, if anyone does need any editing or proofreading work done, please do contact me (magemanda at gmail dot com). Otherwise will struggle to find rent 😥😥 Please RT if possible.
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A thread.
My new favourite pastime... seeing how utterly beautiful all the
#GhostsBBC
cast are behind the makeup 🥰
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You know one of the things that I am realising. There are a lot of 30/40-somethings who are bisexual but didn't realise until they were adult because they had ZERO bi rep as kids. It wasn't normalised AT ALL. I barely heard the word until I went to university.
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This has been a difficult day. And some of my personal dreams have died. But this is more important than me. Thank you for reading.
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under the circumstances. I would like to find another position with another literary agency if possible, but if this proves to be difficult, I would like other agents to consider my orphaned authors who are all spectacular writers and don't deserve what has happened.
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So, I have news! I am over the moon to be taking on this role and I cannot wait to see the submissions that will be coming my way. Agents, please let's chat!
Rutter joins Solaris as senior commissioning editor
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It's in Publishers Lunch so it must be true! I am delighted to announce that I am now part of the Azantian Literary Agency. I couldn't be more thrilled to work with
@jenazantian
Looking for adult, YA and MG fantasy and science fiction 🥰🥰🥰
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Querying writers are so professional that they have better spreadsheets than I - an editor - have. They are their own agents before they get an agent. They do their own sales and marketing while querying. And they choose to do it over hobbies because it is a business.
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Just seen a book announcement for a novel that I had the privilege to read as an agent. I lost out on it, but man, that book has haunted me since and I am so over the moon for the author and the agents and all associated because it is going to be HUGE.
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No author should ever feel as though they are worth less if they don't have an agent or a publishing deal. Or if it took them hundreds of rejections to get the agent/deal. Or if the deal is with a small house, or the agent is just starting out.
You are always worth it!
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I'm an editor and I would never expect an author to take all my suggestions! It's your book. It's your name on the cover. I point out what *I* feel could be improved, but the author has final say. (And what's to say what I think needs changing another person wouldn't love)
Don't 👏argue 👏 with 👏 your 👏 editor 👏 over 👏 minor 👏 details
they are better than you at writing, it's their job to be, that's why they're an editor
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Authors who are seeking agents, I beg you, unless you have a good reason for withdrawing your query right now (dealing with an R&R, closing up a book on submission, going out with a new book, produced substantial edits), then don't withdraw!
#amquerying
#writingcommunity
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I need to make this public
#amquerying
authors, because I just had a person withdraw due to the fact I had replied to other authors who submitted after theirs. I mostly do Query Tracker in order, but only mostly. Sometimes I will do it in order of page count. Sometimes genre.
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Just a reminder to
#amquerying
authors - agents are in a *very* similar boat to you when we take authors on sub. We prepare carefully, we research who we send to, we comb through our email (and yet still miss odd typos), we hold our breath, we cross our fingers, we buckle in.
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Open question - if you have purchased a book due to something on Twitter, what made you do it? A handy link in the post? A reminder that you were going to buy that book anyway? A stunning cover? An amazing review? Something else?
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So we're all killing ourselves trying to find the best titles and
@seananmcguire
is creating absolute poetry instead:
Every Heart a Doorway
Down Among the Sticks and Bones
Beneath the Sugar Sky
In an Absent Dream
Come Tumbling Down
Across the Green Grass Fields
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If this is the front view of Ros Canter taking the jump which caused her penalty, how on earth did the judges decide that she didn't clear it? Because that looks pretty nailed on clear to me... I think Ros can feel very aggrieved, honestly
#BBCOlympics
#OlympicGames
#eventing
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@Joannechocolat
I saw my grandma yesterday for the first time in a few months (I live away) and she didn't know me, and was so uncomfortable and confused that she ignored me, which was the first time it's been that difficult to see her.
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@lewis_goodall
There will no doubt be one rule for him, and one rule for everyone else. The government have form like that!
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It's a bit spicy for a Wednesday morning, but on the one hand agents are criticised for ghosting, and on the other authors laugh or get annoyed at receiving a reply months later - what are agents to do? I was open to queries for four months, and received over 1,000.
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I know
#amquerying
authors are starting to put trigger warnings in their submissions - would it be equally useful for agents to include their particular triggers on their
#MSWL
so they don't receive potentially triggering manuscripts and authors don't submit to them?
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My greatest wish - that established publishers and new start-ups realise that the biggest properties across all media are science fiction and fantasy, and give us more imprints, more editors and more, more, more of everything!
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I am absolutely over the moon to announce I have signed
@tom_nieboer
. He has written a stunning Count of Monte Cristo x Redwall adult fantasy novel, with such exceptional voice and memorable characters that I just could not stop reading. Editors, you will want to see this one!
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Completely, completely understand
#amquerying
authors thinking that self-publishing might be easier - gets round those gatekeepers and all the mentions of 'not knowing how to sell' your particular story. However... In order to self-publish well, you will need at the very least...
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Lovely
#amquerying
writers - I never, ever mind if you withdraw and resubmit your queries when you realise you attached the wrong file, or missed off part of your pages, or made an error - mistakes happen. I make them when submitting to editors who are all very kind!
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@FightTilITheEnd
@juniordrblog
I think you'll find a lot of Tory party voters agree with him on this one. It's not a party issue. It's an issue of right and wrong, and Cummings is wrong. He can't be defended.
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I dunno, as an agent I realised I would have very little job/very little money without the professional authors who committed time, energy and heart to their business of writing novels.
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Agents can sign a book from an author and think that it is absolutely certain to sell (as certain as we can be in this industry). And as the rejections from publishing houses roll in, we grieve and we feel heartbreak. And we question ourselves. Do we even know anything?
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Dear debut authors: other debut authors are not your competition, they are your friends, sounding boards, and the only people in your unique position. You should surround yourself with debut authors who will champion you, as you should them. No reader ever buys just one book!
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@matoxley
After watching his documentary and seeing how much work he did to reach full fitness again - the mental strength to get him to the positivity he went into this season with - it's actually heartbreaking to watch his dreams in tatters. And because of the bike, not his performance.
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Please, authors, I know rejection is hard. I feel rejection from authors who pick other agents or from editors who pass on my clients' books, but you have to find a way to cope that isn't... this.
Response to my pass (that was, in fact, personalized). I love this industry 🙃
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#amquerying
authors - it's been pretty much exactly two months since I reopened to queries and I have received 1,017. I've had some health problems and day job deadlines, so reading slow right now, but I will reply to all of them.
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Well,
@dbuzz6589
and
@chrismccausland
have just made me weep buckets again. Have to say, Dianne is showing that SHE is the pro of the show - the teaching is astonishing. And Chris' trust in her is so emotional
#StrictlyComeDancing
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Finished a proofread of a SF novel last night for a big 5 publisher that I know is going to absolutely haunt me. I think it might win awards.
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I KNOW there are some agents who will never reply past a certain point, but there are LOADS of us who are simply behind. We are getting hundreds and hundreds of submissions a week, we have loads on our plate, but if we are an agent who replies to all, then you may miss your shot!
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This is why we NEED bisexual rep in books now - for MG and YA readers. They need to see themselves in the novels they read. They need to understand that being attracted to both sexes is a defined type of queerness, and they aren't just going through a phase!
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Like, I just wanna raise
@KeirAlekseii
up here. She took absolutely everything she could from her mentorship with the brilliant
@jenazantian
. She read SO many submissions, she wrote reading reports, she learnt the business end of agenting, she went above and beyond.
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So
#amquerying
authors - you get told a LOT to start your book with a BANG, with some exciting event that grabs reader attention immediately!
WRONG! Or RIGHT, with CAVEAT! (which isn't as punchy)
The start of a novel can be slow or fast, it can have an explosive event or...
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Heads up
#amquerying
authors - I have 1,126 queries to decide on, so I am going to close to queries on 10th July to get myself caught back up!
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I am so utterly delighted to announce that I now represent
@mkhardywrites
. From the moment I started reading their SF space opera, I knew this was something incredibly special. Their character Caspien, the disaster lesbian who finds herself in the unusual position of diplomatic..
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I want to give every query a fair chance. YOU WILL GET A RESPONSE FROM ME EITHER WAY. Silence is not a no. A no is a no. So, please don't take yourself out of my potential pool because you think I have disregarded you, it's not the case.
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Call for freelancers: Solaris are looking to expand their pool of copy editors and proofreaders (not dev editors). If you have experience in this field, then please DM and I can provide the email address to send through your info. Looking for details of your previous work!
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I said this in another post recently, but it's just occurring to me again seeing a couple of acquisition announcements recently - SFF publishers are *killing* it at the moment. The discerning eyes of these editors, the exciting books they're bringing to bookstores, the COVERS 😍
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I just wanted to chat about the writing of fantasy novels, even when they have their roots in a particular part of history. If there were distasteful parts of that history (such as children being given into arranged marriages), your novel is fantasy and YOU DON'T HAVE TO INCLUDE!
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So Boris Johnson saw the report, saw the 90 day suspension recommendation, and ran away instead of facing proper consequences. Of course.
Committee recommends a damning *90 day* suspension (which Johnson circumvented by resigning).
"We would have recommended that he be suspended from the service of the House for 90 days for repeated contempts and for seeking to undermine the parliamentary process."
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Authors, I know sending your queries out is nerve-wracking and makes you feel like you've put yourself out there but I want you to know that agents feel the same upon offering rep. Do they want to work with me? Are they happy it's me who has offered? I must just refresh my email!
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This is a fabulous body on a good looking man. Hollywood fucked everyone up when it comes to sizes.
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As an agent, know that if I have read your full and enjoyed it (whether I now represent you or not) I am basically your forever cheerleader! Which means it is a good time to tell you all to preorder
@lindenalewis
's third novel in her BRILLIANT series. And
@s_e_c_underwood
's debut
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A quick question for any
#amquerying
writers who are around - which day is acceptable to start replying to queries again? I have held off Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and today, but I am thinking tomorrow would be okay? What do you think?
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I was working for a company that couldn't furlough and remember needing to carry a letter in my car to and from work just in case I was stopped by police. In June I couldn't see my mum for her birthday, just as she couldn't see me on my 40th.
I remember washing groceries, terrified I might infect the elderly mother I was sheltering with. I remember assessing whether I could justify a solitary walk. I remember loneliness, but also pride at doing 'my bit'.
Do you remember June 2020? QT this adding your memories. ~AA
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When I open to queries, I am fully fine with comps like 'the feels of Yuri on Ice' or 'the atmosphere of Bly Manor' or 'the character bonds of The Good Place' - I don't have to see book comps necessarily. But obvs check your agent, because not all will accept same
#amquerying
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I have to hand in my resignation letter to my boss on Wednesday because I have a new job. I am terrified of his reaction and the way he will treat me during my notice period. This is why I need him to be an ex-boss. Genuinely feel abused since last July.
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I am begging you, pay your freelancers. I have just over £4 in my account, and am waiting for roughly £1700 in payments from companies. If your accounts department only do one monthly pay run, perhaps ask them to make exceptions for freelancers, esp. in Jan.
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The thing that gets me about people ragging on trans folx is that IT COSTS NOTHING TO BE KIND. It costs nothing to use their preferred pronoun. It costs NOTHING to you to not deadname them and use their chosen name instead. It COSTS NOTHING to you but means everything to them.
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SFF can be whatever the fuck you want it to be.
SFF is NOT ABOUT ROMANCE! There can be romance in it but it is not primarily about the romance. If y’all want romance so bad, I promise you there’s no shortage of romance books out there. Go read those.
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Just to add to my previous thread,
#amquerying
authors. I have said this elsewhere, but feel it needs saying again. I know that querying is horribly hard and that one of the hardest parts is the non-standardised approach from different agents. I sympathise.
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I am actually really proud of all but one of my followers who have not seen fit to follow this nasty, anonymous, hate-filled little network. If you do follow it, it's a block because this is reprehensible. Trans authors, lit agents and booksellers, I am a safe space for you.
A publishing network for those “concerned about the impact of gender ideology on our sector and wider society” launched today for publishing professionals, authors and creatives 👇
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I may pop my head into
#pitmad
- if I like your tweet, please send the full query letter and the first 3 chapters to amanda
@azantianlitagency
.com with Pitmad and the book title in the subject line 🥰🥰🥰
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i have just discovered cemetariums and i am 100% here for this
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Just to update all those who were sending me warm wishes about it, I found out that I am going to be allowed to stay in this house with all three dogs. A rent increase, but I'll take that to keep them and keep my home.
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@PaulBrandITV
We wouldn't have gathered together in close proximity with alcohol because we knew the rules didn't permit it...
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How many of the journalists who wrote this piece are still working from home? 🤔
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We have the same flutter of excitement when an editor responds, we sit and wonder if/when an editor is reading the sub, we daydream about auctions and movie deals and prepare ourselves for less, we wait endlessly for emails (or it feels like an endless wait), we HURT at rejection
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Surely 'the heir and the spare' is a familiar phrase to people?
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This is just getting worse and worse. I would not want to place an author of mine with a company that avoids its talented, trained, capable editors and other staff in favour of bringing in temps who don't have the same expertise or history, so it's time to email Brian Murray.
Do you want untrained temps to edit, design, and promote your books? HarperCollins management does, but we know you don't. 🧵
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And yet more!
Where the Drowned Girls Go
Lost in the Moment and Found
Mislaid in Parts Half-Known
In Mercy, Rain
Skeleton Song
I mean...
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I hate it, but sometimes I am a mood reader. If I've just been blown away by an SF novel in my personal reading, say, I sometimes steer clear of SF to avoid any unfair comparisons on books I would love on another occasion if I tried it then.
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Sometimes I will see a query come in, which either doesn't match me at all or that isn't a genre I am really looking for, and I snap out a quick reply to avoid that author waiting for too long on someone who isn't going to take their book.
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Apparently your Query Manager can only look like this when you are tying up loose ends to leave agenting...
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Can I have an urban fantasy where we find that magicians and illusionists in Las Vegas shows are actually supernatural creatures? :-D
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I don't know anything more awkward in my editing and proofreading life than working through a sex scene and having to make corrections 😂 Like, "I'm afraid you used hard two sentences ago - how about rigid or stiff in this occurrence instead?"
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Is there *another* publishing/submitting discourse?
My take: Concentrate on making your query letter sparkle. Research the agents that you think you could work with. Submit away.
That's it.
In all seriousness, it feels as though everything is getting too complicated.
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Just to let
#amquerying
writers know - one of my dogs went under anaesthetic, I got diagnosed with high blood pressure and have been going for tests, and I've had two tight day job deadlines, so query reading has stalled but should be moving again now.
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The sight of Tim Stanley, the very definition of mediocre middle-class white man, mansplaining and talking over certified expert Naomi Klein - damn, they are some super poor optics. And Coburn once more party to this shit
#PoliticsLive
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When she became an agent, she defined her boundaries and became a fierce advocate for marginalised voices. She had about a million calls with editors where she really got to know their tastes, and then she absolutely nailed her first submission. She is a superstar.
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