Lit agent at The Seymour Agency. Certified MHFA instructor. Dog lover, chicken wrangler, and guaranteed to ruin every movie by predicting the twist. she/her
I've read so many subs that have fantastic premises and are "so close" but just not quite there yet and so I have to pass due to time constraints. Here are some books to get you there. 🧵
I've seen so many despairing tweets from authors in my feed lately and, while I don't write anymore (personal reasons), it took me 2 years and 200 rejections to get my first agent. Another year and 12 passes to get my first book deal. Don't give up!
#WritingCommunity
It finally happened. I knew this day was coming. New doctor just told me my autoimmune issues would probably go away if I lost some weight. I'm a size 8, granted I'm super short, but the rage is real. 😒
If I pass on your query and you retaliate by attacking my authors, that's not a good look. Actually, retaliating in any form means you're not emotionally ready for the querying process. 1/2
At Seymour Agency, we stand firm against bullying in all forms. Therefore, I've ended my professional association with Cardigan due to actions inconsistent with our values.
Hi friends! I'll be popping in and out of
#questpit
today. If I like your pitch and you feel like we might be a match, please send me your query and three chapters here:
I quietly opened to queries thinking that a couple would trickle in here and there. I was wrong. Very wrong. lol. At this rate, I will probably close again at the end of July to catch up. So get those queries in now.
#amagenting
Hey friends! I'll be in and out today checking out
#pitdark
. If I like your pitch and you feel like we'd be a good team, please submit your query and 1st 3 chapters here:
Just finished editing client's third-person present-tense and moved on to editing a different client's first-person past-tense and now I've crossed into the fifth dimension where time and space have no meaning.
I meant to request a full in QM and accidentally passed. I fixed my mistake but the pass remains in our messages. What a rollercoaster of emotions for the poor author.
To be clear, it's human to be hurt by rejection. And it's human to be frustrated by rejection. These are natural reactions and should be approached with curiosity and understanding. What is not okay is the response to cause harm to another human. 2/2
#WritingCommunity
I'll be checking out
#MoodPitch
throughout the day Thursday, so if I like your pitch (and you think I'm a good fit), please submit your query & 3 chapters to me at .
#writingcommunity
Hi friends! I didn't get a chance to review as many
#pitdark
pitches as I wanted. So please check out my MSWL and, if you think we're a good match, feel free to query me!
With all this talk about agent/author relationships, I've been thinking about how beneficial it would be to develop a client charter with each author. A charter isn't a legal document, but a case-by-case outline of how the agent and author plan to communicate & work together.
When I open up again, I'd love to see more subs from "2nd Act" authors. These are authors who published a book(s), maybe hit the mid-list and were brushed aside because of it/low sales. (Where my fellow apocalypsies--2012 debuts--at?) I believe in you!
Submissions update. All queries have been responded to. I have seven fulls remaining and I'm *tentatively* hoping to open for queries again by the middle/end of June.
#amagenting
#WritingCommunity
@BHeckmanWriter
I think the biggest mistake is having a character who just "reacts" to the story instead of having clear goals and motivations that shape their journey in the story.
Hi there
#QueerPit
! Today has been a little hectic, but I'm still checking out your pitches throughout the day. If I ❤️ your pitch, and you feel like I'm a good fit, please submit your query and first 3 chapters here:
Agent friends, I'm considering buying a Kindle to read submissions on because of the versatility, but I'm worried because I won't be able to make notes. What do you use?
I have read so many craft books over the last two decades and feel these three are absolutely essential to any writer's library. If you have other recommendations you'd like to suggest please comment!
I haven't seen the sun in a month and it's affecting my
#MSWL
. Please send me more domestic thrillers, YA thrillers, stories about cults, and non-supernatural horror where the monsters are regular people.
When I climbed out of bed this morning an M&M fell out of the blankets onto the floor. If this doesn't "show versus tell" who I am as a person, nothing does.
It's actually nice some authors have taken the initiative to weed themselves out of the industry through their behavior. It saves us all a lot of time in the end.
I hate to do this, but I'm behind in my reading and have so many good things in my inbox that I'm going to close to queries at the close of today in order to catch up. I'll still check out
#moodpitch
tomorrow.
#WritingCommmunity
#amagenting
#MSWL
I’m at a bookstore browsing and this woman appears out of nowhere and says “Oh, you do not want that. And I’ll tell you why.” She then gave me a review and her recommendations. She didn’t even work there! I’m not even mad—I’m impressed! These are the people we exist for.
Just checking in to let everyone know I'm terribly behind in my submission reading. Happy to say it's because of all the distracting good news that has filled my inbox lately.
Good morning, friends. Did everyone get a good night's sleep? Did you eat breakfast? Drink a glass of water? Scream into the void until you collapse? Unfortunately, change doesn't happen overnight. (I studied change management in college.) However, we can make progress together.
I know it's inconvenient that I close to queries so often. But I'd rather manage my pile and respond to everyone than become buried and a non responder.
I have so many projects to edit, submissions to write, and subs to read. But I set it all aside today to make cinnamon swirl bread with my daughter. I'm so glad I pushed through the guilt because she's going to be out of the house soon and the work will always be here.
When you’re old and no longer grooming yourself properly, you get matted fur. Matted fur has to be shaved. And then you get to wear a sweater and look fabulous.
I need to apologize to everyone this week. Apparently, my brain went on vacation without me and all of the iced coffee in the world is not enough to coax it to return.
When will companies wake up and realize their most important asset is their staff? Pay them well, communicate with them, offer support, invest in their advancement, and guess what? Profits! The math is simple. And the research proves it.
Hi friends. I'm going to close to queries Feb 1 to focus on my clients and requests. Before I do, I would love to see some more
#nonfiction
in my box. Click on thread for
#MSWL
#WritingCommunity
🧵(screwed up first thread and trying again)
I lost five hours of my day, but I installed an external hard drive, split it into partitions, and installed it as the starting disk on my old Mac and now it's running lightening fast. I really need someone to give me a "Good Job!" sticker because I earned it!
You know, you reach a certain age (not to mention married for 19 years) when you think no one new will see you naked again. And then you get a new mammogram technician and life is interesting again.
#BreastCancerAwareness
I'm excited to announce that HOLDING OUT FOR A GYRO will published by
@entangledpub
Amara early next year!!
Huge thanks to my editor Gwyn Jordan and to my amazing agent
@LanahanCole
at
@seymour
.agency for your enthusiasm and support!
As I step further into the publishing world, I still have one foot in the mental health world and I’m so excited to get to lobby for stronger safety measures for PTSD service dogs this week.
#PTSDAwareness
Creative people have to create. I highly recommend switching mediums if you're suffering from writer's block. For me, I turn to quilting. Keep creating art and the words will return.
#writerscommunity
I’ve seen age ranges that consider me a Gen-x and others that call me a Millennial so I’m going to invent my own for all 1980’s babies. We are Gennials—not to be confused with Genitals (thx autocorrect).
I have so many AMAZING projects on my list right now. From YA to adult romance to a quirky adult GN and even a NF that will revolutionize medical decisions. I LOVE my job so much.
My dog took over my editor zoom meeting and she immediately stated she'd buy whatever he was selling. From now on please send your queries to my Dutch Shepherd.
I'll be checking out
#APIpit
this evening. If I like your pitch and you feel like I'm a good fit, please submit your query and first three chapters to this link:
That alien congressional hearing yesterday was wild. Q: "How is the government funding alien research without the public's knowledge?" A: "Misappropriated funds." I'm using this on next year's taxes.
I wasn’t on Twitter yesterday but am catching up today. I’m closed to queries right now but will happily accept any queries from any NL authors. Cole (at) theseymouragency (dot) com.
Latest quilt top (my first self created pattern) finally pieced. All that’s left is the border and then it will get quilted with minky for extra warmth. 💕
**steps onto soapbox** Friends, when writing in past tense, "-ing" verbs should used only for actions that are continuous. This is the hill I will die on. **steps off soapbox**
Taking pitches today for the RSJ convention when I notice my filtered eyebrows! I have no idea how this happened or how to turn them off! 😂 I love making great first impressions. 😂
Hi friends! Friendly publishing tip: If you want to get published, please read recent books in your genre. If you're indy and want to go trad, read trad books. If you want to have a bestseller, read bestsellers. Bottom line: read, read, & read some more.
#WritingCommmunity
All right,
@HarperCollins
, it's time for you to hire an outside Organizational Psychologist. You're not doing so hot managing things internally. Enough is enough.
So she's not on Twitter, but if you know my author Katherine Quinn, make sure to congratulate her for becoming a NYTimes bestseller with To Kill A Shadow
@EntangledTeen
!!!
Betty Gilpin was on The Daily Show tonight and described the plot of Mrs. Davis as "if a Rubik's Cube had sex with a haunted calculator" and boy do I wish I had come up with that.
Breaking news: I spilled coffee on my keyboard and the keys are sticking. So if you receive an email from me that looks like it was sent from a drunk squirrel that is why.
Another deal! Admittedly I stepped to the plate in the 9th inning on this one, but I couldn't be more excited for this fun, swoony book to hit the shelves. Congrats
@NoelStarkAuthor
!!!
Here's my take on voice: If an editor/agent says they don't "connect" it doesn't necessarily mean they don't relate to the character's background/lifestyle. 🧵