A querying author's guide to Twitter/X 🐦

Answering all your questions about following agents, pitch events & X etiquette

The book writing and publishing community has a strong presence on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter (I know, it still feels wrong to call it that). Despite recent changes to the platform, many publishing professionals still actively post and engage there, and there are plenty of opportunities for writers to join those conversations — and potentially even connect with agents.

But if you’re new to the platform — or a little anxious about the prospect of interacting with publishing pros online — getting involved can be overwhelming. Where to begin?

Today, I’m answering some of the most common questions I see about X etiquette for querying authors, including:

• How can I find agents to follow on X?

• How can I use X to be found by literary agents?

• What is the etiquette for tagging and DMing agents on X?

• Should I participate in X pitch events?

• What if I don’t get any likes in a pitch event?

• Is Threads replacing X?

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How can I find agents to follow on X?

Most literary agents have a profile on X, since it is the most widely used social platform among the publishing industry community. Many agents post actively; they talk openly about the status of their queries (sometimes even sharing insightful query stats or updates) and discuss their manuscript wish lists, which can be extremely helpful for querying authors.

Following the agents you are querying on X can be a great way to learn more about them, keep track of when they are open and closed to submissions, hear about their latest manuscript wish list, and learn about their clients’ books. All of this helps you keep tabs on the agents and agencies that you're interested in, so I definitely recommend doing that.

If you don’t know where to find agents to follow, here are some places to start:

1. Run a search for the hashtag #MSWL, which stands for Manuscript Wishlist. You are going to see a lot of authors talking about their books in that hashtag, but it is typically used by literary agents to call out specific genres or types of books that they are interested in. So, you can find a lot of agents that way.

2. You can also simply run a search for “literary agent” and then click “People,” which will bring up profiles of individuals who have “literary agent” in their bio. Agents typically identify themselves by saying “agent at ___ agency.”

   

3. I personally follow a lot of publishing professionals. So, feel free to look at the people I follow, the people that I retweet, and go ahead and give them a follow as well, and you will be part of the publishing X community!

How can I use X to be found by literary agents?