Resources and Events For Agents and Editors

Manuscript Wish List® and #MSWL are for more than just writers seeking agents–they’re also for agents seeking interested editors, editors building their agent contacts, and collaboration within the publishing ecosystem.

We have tools and events to help you network, have better meetings, and meet the people who can advance your career–wherever you may be located. Our goal is to enhance accessibility, collaboration, and communication.

Below, you’ll find the best ways to search for new publishing friends, new contacts, and new homes for the manuscripts you represent, using #MSWL on Twitter and ManuscriptWishList.com.

Wherever you are in your publishing career, we’re here to help.

New: Editor #MSWL on Twitter

Editors and agents: So that you can find editor and JUST editor #MSWL tweets, we’ve opened a new protected Twitter account, @EditorMSWL.

This account is ONLY for editors, agents, and agented submissions. Editors can DM or tag @EditorMSWL, and the account will post the tweet in the feed.

If you don’t want authors (and the general public) to see your wishes and tweet you back about whether their work applies, please us the DM option, and only those following the account (agents and fellow editors) will be able to see it.

Click Follow, and the lovely and talented @KKHendin will have the account follow you back so you can DM and view tweets.

To search for specific editor #MSWL on Twitter, please use the advanced search option and ask for tweets from @EditorMSWL.

For example, if you are an agent looking to send out a thriller, type this into Twitter Advanced Search:

We realized that a lot of our agent and editor friends are not based in NYC–and wanted to give them access to quick, face-to-face, speed meetings from home.

You know those wonderful events at Housing Works, where every three minutes, an editor moves to a new agent table? It’s like that, but from anywhere with internet and a webcam.

This is useful if: 

• You don’t live in NYC and want to expand your network
• You’re an agent about to send out a project, and want to be sure to reach the right editors
• You’re an editor looking for potential projects, and want to be sure agents keep you in mind
• You’re an introvert and don’t love trying to have conversations in loud rooms
• You’re not able to easily attend one of these events in person, in NYC
• You want to meet about 15 new agents/editors (we’ll pair agents with editors and vice versa) in about two hours to expand your network

You will need:

• Good internet
• Headphones or earbuds
• Access to a computer (yours or a friend’s) with a webcam and microphone
• A quiet workspace
• A notepad to so you can remember what each person said, and follow up

Interested? Join our waitlist here. We’ll be in touch when everything is ready for our first group to test. This event is free. 

Join the List (For Agents + Editors)

We’re So Happy You’re Here

On this page, we’ll walk you through:

• One-click Search Smartlinks (agent version + editor version)
• Targeted Genre Searches (search by agent, editor, genre, age group)
• Twitter Advanced Search (for specific wishes outside of genre conventions)
• Saving #MSWL tweets that may be a good fit (one click and you’re good)
• Using this information to make new connections (plus our new events!)
• FAQ (we’re here to help)

Not tech-savvy? Don’t worry! We promise you can do this. (But if you do get stuck, you can always email us.)

One-click Smartlinks: For Agents

Looking for an editor for a submission? Our smartlink searches are a great place to start. Simply click the link below to view a list of editors interested in that genre or age group.

Even better, as we add new editor profiles (and there are a LOT on the way), they will automatically appear in the correct link below. 

Here are some of the most frequently searched genres, age groups, and keywords. Please click, below, to see a list of agents who represent them.

Please note: You will need to click on each link, then scroll down to see search results. Your password to view the protected posts was sent with your posting confirmation, from info at manuscriptwishlist dot com. Let us know if you need it again. 

Picture Books
Middle Grade
Young Adult
Graphic Novels
Women’s Fiction/Romance
Thriller/Horror/Crime
Science Fiction/Fantasy
Literary
Commercial
Historical 
LGBTQIA (fiction)
LGBTQIA (nonfiction)
Memoir
Pop Culture
Science
History
Cooking
Illustrated

One-click Smartlinks: For Editors

Are you an editor looking to expand your rolodex of agents? Want have some (e-) coffee meetings and expand your network? Use our smartlink search results to find agents who may have the projects you’re longing for. Simply click the link below to view a list of agents interested in that genre or age group.

Even better, as we add new agent profiles (and there are a LOT on the way), they will automatically appear in the correct link below. 

Here are some of the most frequently searched genres, age groups, and keywords. Please click, below, to see a list of agents who represent them.

Please note: You will need to click on each link, then scroll down to see search results.

Picture Books
Middle Grade
Young Adult
Graphic Novels
Women’s Fiction/Romance
Thriller/Horror/Crime
Science Fiction/Fantasy
Literary
Commercial
Historical 
LGBTQ (fiction)
LGBTQ (nonfiction)
Memoir
Pop Culture
Science
History
Cooking
Illustrated

Targeted Genre Searches

You can also, of course, search for exactly what you’re looking for.

Let’s say you’re an agent about to send out a graphic novel.

We recommend that you check all boxes that could apply, so in the example below, “Editor” and “Graphic Novel” are selected. If it’s a graphic novel for a specific age group, add that to your checked boxes. Hit search, and you’ll receive a list, below that, of all of the editors with their areas of interest listed.

Custom Search Steps:

1. Check the appropriate boxes (agent/editor, genre, age group)
2. Hit Search
3. Scroll down to view results

Twitter Advanced Search

To make sure you’ve found all of your possibilities, we also recommend you perform a Twitter Advanced Search.

Keep in mind that you will want to use related words, just in case that’s what the agent or editor used to describe something similar. You’ll have a lot of #MSWL tweets to choose from–which is great!

Many people ask for amazingly specific things, so the more tweets you see, the better.

For example, if you’re an editor who really wants to buy a cat book, you could try looking for agents to meet with this search:

Saving Tweets (And Agents, And Editors) Who May Be A Good fit

We know you’ll likely see a lot of potential matches–but how (without copying and pasting–or filling multiple Moleskines) will you save all this info?

The classic approach: Heart your favorites! This will both make an automatic, one-click list for you–and make the agents and editors feel good, too.

You can always view your favorites on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/[your Twitter name here]/likes. For example, you can see the things Margaret Atwood (@MargaretAtwood) likes by going to https://twitter.com/MargaretAtwood/likes

The tech-savvy approach! This comes from the lovely and talented Brittany Constable (follow her at https://twitter.com/constablewrites). She says: If you’re like me and not quite ready to start reaching out, you can save tweets in Tweetdeck! Create a new column for collection, then use the four-way arrow to drag tweets into it, or click the ellipsis and say “Add to collection”

Agents: Ensuring Each Editor Is Still A Good Fit

As you know, it’s sometimes difficult to be sure you’re submitting to the correct editor at each imprint–and, often, you only get one chance.

Once you’ve created a list of possible editors (good job!), it’s smart to do the following:

• View their full #MSWL profile
• Click the “See my latest #MSWL tweets” button on their profile. This will show you their very most recent wishes. Do they still match your manuscript? Sweet. Send them that amazing manuscript.

• 

  You can find this button on every ManuscriptWishList.com profile. Click it, and you’ll see that person’s #MSWL tweets.

What To Do With All Of This Information

If someone looks like they have projects that would be a good fit for you, we encourage you to reach out, send them an email, and set up a phone call or coffee!

Most editors and agents are delighted to receive a “Hi [Name], “I saw on #MSWL that you’re looking for [totally awesome book], and so am I! Let’s get a coffee” note. Rather than slide into their DM’s (though you could), you can find work email addresses on most profiles.

Further Resources

Want help getting traffic to your profile? We are always looking for blog posts for ManuscriptWishList.com, and will happily link to your profile from there, and share the information with our thousands of followers. Just drop us a line to pitch your idea.

Have an author you want to promote? Same! Just get in touch with us to pitch your idea.

Need help setting up your profile? We are happy to help. Here’s the basic guide, but we are also happy to hop on the phone with you, if needed.

Lost your password? We got you. Send us an email we’ll reset from here.

Waiting in the help/set-up queue a long time? Due to volume, waits can be several weeks (it’s on par with query volume, and this is 100% volunteer-run). We promise we’re getting to everyone as quickly as we can, and have put you into a help queue. That said, you are welcome to check-in, with the understanding that there is always a queue. Please use your agency/house/work email when you do so for verification purposes.

Need anything else? We’re here to help.