Writer's Resource: Search Twitter for Relevant Information

Hello out there! This is our first Writer's Resource post in a while, but it's a good one.

I talked about how useful Twitter can be in a previous post (Twitter-ific: Twitter for Writers), but did you know you can also use it as a tool to find specific information?

I learned about this method from one of the Literary Rambles website's brilliant Tip Tuesday posts.

You can use Google to search through an agent's posts to see if they've said anything recently that might be relevant to you or your manuscript (such as "Even though my website says I like contemporary, I'm not the right agent for contemporary romance" or "You can send me queries, but I'm really not looking for new clients right now"--both statuses I've actually seen!). Often you'll find much more up-to-date information via Twitter than on an agency website or blog.

Here's how it works: in the Google search bar, type site:twitter.com/[twitter user name, without the @ sign]. Then type your search term.

Here's an example. Let's say I wanted to find out what Janet Reid (one of my favorite Twitter agents!) has been saying about mystery novels recently. I would type the following:

This takes me to a list of her recent comments on Twitter that include the word mystery.

Pretty cool, huh?

Writer's Resource: Literary Rambles

Literary Rambles, the brainchild of literary intern Casey McCormick, is an invaluable resource for YA and MG writers. Even if you already know about the website, read on--there may be more to it than you think!

First and foremost, the website hosts an extensive database of literary agents who accept YA and MG submissions, called Agent Spotlight. Each entry contains info about what the agent has stated they're looking for, what they definitely are not looking for (just as important), submission guidelines, links to blogs and interviews around the web, and more. I use their profiles as an excellent jumping-off point for the rest of my agent research.


Over on the blog, there's a regular feature called Tip Tuesday where they share reader-submitted writing tips. Some previous tips I've found particularly helpful include one on how to search Twitter for specific agent information and one with rules for writing magical fiction.

Casey and her blog partner Natalie Aguirre also host interviews with authors (such as Kim Harrington), interviews with preteen/teen readers (today's is with a twelve-year-old blogger), and loads of book giveaways (like this one, which unfortunately ended yesterday). Presumably Casey and Natalie find some time in there to sleep, but I wouldn't put money on it.


Thanks to the constant addition of new agent profiles and regular interesting blog posts, Literary Rambles will continue to hold an honored place in my blog subscription list!


Every Tuesday, we post a review of a tool--website, book, software, etc.--that we think might be helpful for writers. See previous Writer's Resource posts here.