Notes from the Armchair #2

August 15, 2013 / redsofaliterary /

By Laura Zats

I have a confession to make… When I started working with Red Sofa Literary, just a few short months ago, I was terrified of social media. And yes, I am quite aware that I’m not allowed to be intimidated by Twitter, facebook and the like. After all, I’m a young twenty-something who had a Macintosh desktop in 1994. I grew up with computers and learned alongside the expansion of the internet. I once had a MySpace page, a (somewhat neglected) Xanga blog, and chatted on AIM. But all the social media that has come out in the last several years? Scary, nonetheless.

When I joined Red Sofa literary, I used facebook almost exclusively to keep tabs on friends, and I rarely posted. I was even more intimidated by Twitter; I had an account, but had a grand total of three tweets in two years. I simply did not see the point of posting random things and connecting with people I had never met before, and therefore was intimidated by the general idea of modern social media.

But then it all changed.

The ol’ college try.

Part of Dawn’s job as a wonderful agent is helping (read: convincing) authors to create an online presence. To have them become approachable, real people, rather than just a name on the cover of a book or at the top of a query letter. At her behest, I began to give Twitter the good ol’ college try.

I found Dawn’s authors, people I had never met before, and began conversations with them.

Somehow, I also ended up a part of a group of largely un-agented writers who would do things like live-tweet Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade with me, and talk about everything from bad query letters to delicious cookies. And you can’t tell me that having someone to geek out over cookies and crusades is not a wonderful thing.

Awesome.

Thank you, Twitter.

And somewhere along the line, I realized something: Twitter is perhaps the single most powerful tool for someone in the publishing industry. Writers (agented and un-agented alike), as well as publishers, editors, and agents can use Twitter as a tool to make personal connections and spread knowledge beyond the traditional channels of industry communication.

Let me give you an example: this month, Dawn signed her second author since I started working with her (!!!) This writer, Tom Torre, submitted to Dawn because she made a request on Twitter for a manuscript that was a middle-grade adventure story aimed at boys, that wasn’t overly sci-fi but still involved robots. His manuscript happened to fit perfectly, but without that tweet, writer and agent would never have found one another.

Thank you, Twitter.

In the meantime, I read the manuscript, fell in love, and casually began talking with the author on Twitter. Not only did it strengthen my belief that his work be a perfect fit for Red Sofa, but I also became convinced that Tom would be a good person to work with. He was enthusiastic, laid-back, and open to collaboration and suggestions. Now we really, really wanted to sign him.

Thank you, Twitter.

Because his book was so very good, Tom ended up receiving a few other offers of representation.

Minus the Nazis.

Of course, I’ve already spoiled for you that he chose us, but I like to think he came to the conclusion that Red Sofa Literary was right for him because of (almost daily) interactions Dawn and I had with him over Twitter. He knew us as people as well as agents, and thus we began the start of a beautiful friendship.

Thank you, Twitter.

Without any shred of a doubt, I can honestly say that my best days and my best experiences at Red Sofa are influenced, or even caused by the now-ubiquitous Twitter.