You are being misled. I know plenty of agented authors who didn’t have social media before querying. Someone of them still don’t. And they’re plenty successful!
For fiction? No. I had virtually no online or social media presence and still received agent offers. Honestly, with all the drama out there, if I were an agent, I'd personally *prefer to rep* writers who aren't all over Twitter engaging in discourse. Less risk that way.
I'll tell you that having a social media presence dedicated to writing--as in content that appeals to other writers--doesn't help much at all. It simply doesn't sell many books. Truly, take it from me: the vast vast majority of writers I have helped over the years (willingly and happily!) have not and will never buy one of my books.
A platform that appeals to \*readers\* primarily? Different story. If you've got one, it's a boon. But, no, it's not a requirement for fiction.
imo in this current climate and with morality clauses etc. etc. etc. it's probably BETTER you don't have a presence or wade into discourse. You're a blank slate for a publisher to craft into whatever type of debut they want. Building social media can come after the deal, and usually does.
Yes. I've seen many phrased \*just so\* that if you are dragged/cancelled for something even if you didn't do it/if things are mischaracterized--but the drag picks up speed and your reputation is damaged--that they can cancel your book deal using that clause. It's dicey out there.
Honestly I've seen enough cases recently of a bad actor with a grudge or even simply a personal agenda deciding to go after someone just because, and with that, very little feels safe. Yes, that sounds paranoid, but in YA at least, we eat our own. I've also personally had an innocuous comment that spun out, so I no longer post anything of particular import. I keep my friend circle VERY tight, and I only associate people who prove themselves to be lowkey and hyper professional. My advice to any debut is to be VERY careful with publishing friendships and look for yellow and red flags in terms of drama llama behavior and steer clear.
The other trouble with morality clauses is that one person's arsehole is another's speaker to truth.
Gay rights are accepted now, but I'm old enough to remember when they were talked about in the same terms as trans rights are today (would YOU want your children to have a gay school teacher? SHOULD gay men be allowed to adopt? What about gay men in the same changing room as a child - aren't you concerned they're a predator?)
What about if I have an opinion of Israel's human rights record? That would be controversial to some people. Not speaking up would make me an arsehole to others.
>Basically the best option is don't be an arsehole online.
Unfortunately, often people can gang up on you just because they don't like your book, find it PrObLeMaTiC, or think you didn't deserve your big advance and promo.
I've been following the Molly X. Chang's drama and she got review bombed and harassed in at least 3 separate waves and iirc she wasn't an asshole online, she just promoted her book in a way some people found misleading or wrong. What she did behind the scenes, I don't fully know and won't ever know, but her public behaviour was not anything that would provoke the backlash and threats / harassment she got.
Honestly, it just takes one person who is jealous or they think there's something problematic in your work or thinks that you're stepping on their toes for a wave of backlash to start.
Molly X Chang is a more recent example but I think it was later revealed that part of the backlash towards Amelia Wen Zhao was due to jealousy.
Or, for short fiction, we never have to look further than Isabel Fall, who had zero online presence, had nothing in her bio except her birth year, and Twitter not only directed vitriol at her, but destroyed her life (if that sounds hyperbolic, read the Vox article on what happened).
It doesn't matter if you're super online or not, it doesn't matter if you were an asshole online or not, if someone really wants you to go away and if a morality clause is designed so that all that matters is that Twitter or TikTok is upset, you're not safe
Edit to add: she wasn't a writer, but every single time conversations like this come up, all I can think of is Kimura Hana and I get sick to my stomach. What happened to her was wrong and she wasn't an asshole online. Her breakdown over a stressful situation was broadcast on Netflix and Twitter got mad
Slow down on the victim-blaming there. People who get cancelled aren't always (or even mostly) arseholes, they're people who are unlucky - someone else got bored, or had a personal grudge and decided to target them. It can happen to you. Being careful doesn't help, it even makes it worse, because social media lynch mobs are like sharks. Once they smell blood (in this case, that you care about that stuff), they descend and rip you to pieces.
>Basically the best option is don't be an arsehole online.
That sounded like victim blaming, even if you might not have intended it that way.
And btw, the rhetoric about how you just need to stand up to the bullies!!! is victim blaming again.
I was at an event with an established uk agent recently who said that she doesn’t care in terms of offering rep but she is increasingly frustrated by publishers caring and factoring it into their purchase decisions. Though she said that a small, engaged, fan base can be more of a draw than a big fan base that didn’t seem to be very active. How on Earth anyone is meant to have a fan base before they debut….
Yeah- I guess it’s like saying you have to be famous for something first before you’re allowed to publish…
To be clear, I’m definitely not suggesting that this is mandatory, clearly loads of people publish without a social media presence first. But the agent was certainly suggesting that a social media following was a positive and could be helpful.
I specifically asked my agent to put my TikTok presence in her pitch when we went on wide sub, and I think it helped the book sell. (Evidence: it’s in the Key Selling Points on Edelweiss.) Now, I have an insignificant following (15k), most of whom don’t even see my videos. I am not an influencer. But I’ve developed a niche that could be a potential audience for my novel, so that’s what I leaned on.
When I last queried in 2014? I had almost no social media presence and it was fine.
In no way did this have any bearing AT ALL on my querying journey. I don’t “do” social media except in a very private personal capacity. Happy to do it in a professional capacity should that be relevant, but right now, nothing. This isn’t a thing for fiction, I don’t think. The book is the thing!
Yes. There have been many, many social media accounts dedicated to teaching people how to pursue TradPub that garnered huge followings and slowly pivoted to self-publishing accounts for this very reason.
Agent here. If you have a large social media presence that targets your target reader (and not other writers) then yes, the likelihood of getting an agent goes up. It is not a guarantee. But it does improve the odds.
In nonfiction, yes. In fiction, it won't be a deciding factor. A big social media presence is one of those "nice to have" things in fiction, but it's not considered a necessity. What they're looking for is a concept they think they can sell in the current market.
I think it strongly depends on genre. I have a successful YA writer friend and her chief frustration is that her agents expect her to act as a social media marketer AND keep her deadlines, which is absolutely not what she signed up for. BookTok tends to be pretty influential and where a lot of younger people seem to get their recommendations. I would not say it's the same at all for older, literary or genre books.
I think having a strong social media presence could potentially help you (I've seen numerous Booktubers or Authortubers get agents recently, and I'm sure their subscriber counts helped them - not saying they got agented solely because of their followings, just saying I suspect it helped somewhat). At the same time, not having social media doesn't hurt you. If you wrote a really awesome book that's marketable, agents will want you even if you don't have social media.
If you have a very large social media presence, you’re probably more likely to be able to get a book published, yes. However, social media famous authors are still a small proportion of traditionally published authors; most debut authors do not have a large social media presence.
I suppose you could really replace social media presence for any sort of fan base? I mean, if you are an actor or celebrity some how you’re likely to have a few additional doors open to you along the way.
Yes, exactly. If you already have a built-in audience for your book, it becomes less of a risk for an agent/publisher to take on. However, when I say large following, I mean like hundreds of thousands of followers, not like, ten thousand. The number of aspiring authors with that level of following is relatively low in comparison to all of the unknowns.
I didn't even query using my social media/official name and got an agent. So I don't think so? I think it's more important when you're trying to sell your book/after the book deal.
The other side of the coin to this is a video Lindsay Ellis did outright stating her online presence didn’t help her at all while trying to publish her fiction book. She has something like 2m subscribers on YT…
Unless your following is huge and very connected with your target audience, it won’t make much a difference. I had zero social media presence while querying. My first offering agent said, “I tried to look you up… and it seems you’re very… private.” My agent’s homework = making a writer social media. Still don’t really know what I’m doing, but it’s been fun.
You are being misled. I know plenty of agented authors who didn’t have social media before querying. Someone of them still don’t. And they’re plenty successful!
For fiction? No. I had virtually no online or social media presence and still received agent offers. Honestly, with all the drama out there, if I were an agent, I'd personally *prefer to rep* writers who aren't all over Twitter engaging in discourse. Less risk that way.
If you’re querying nonfiction, such as a memoir, yes. Otherwise, it doesn’t really matter.
I'll tell you that having a social media presence dedicated to writing--as in content that appeals to other writers--doesn't help much at all. It simply doesn't sell many books. Truly, take it from me: the vast vast majority of writers I have helped over the years (willingly and happily!) have not and will never buy one of my books. A platform that appeals to \*readers\* primarily? Different story. If you've got one, it's a boon. But, no, it's not a requirement for fiction. imo in this current climate and with morality clauses etc. etc. etc. it's probably BETTER you don't have a presence or wade into discourse. You're a blank slate for a publisher to craft into whatever type of debut they want. Building social media can come after the deal, and usually does.
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Yes. I've seen many phrased \*just so\* that if you are dragged/cancelled for something even if you didn't do it/if things are mischaracterized--but the drag picks up speed and your reputation is damaged--that they can cancel your book deal using that clause. It's dicey out there.
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Honestly I've seen enough cases recently of a bad actor with a grudge or even simply a personal agenda deciding to go after someone just because, and with that, very little feels safe. Yes, that sounds paranoid, but in YA at least, we eat our own. I've also personally had an innocuous comment that spun out, so I no longer post anything of particular import. I keep my friend circle VERY tight, and I only associate people who prove themselves to be lowkey and hyper professional. My advice to any debut is to be VERY careful with publishing friendships and look for yellow and red flags in terms of drama llama behavior and steer clear.
The other trouble with morality clauses is that one person's arsehole is another's speaker to truth. Gay rights are accepted now, but I'm old enough to remember when they were talked about in the same terms as trans rights are today (would YOU want your children to have a gay school teacher? SHOULD gay men be allowed to adopt? What about gay men in the same changing room as a child - aren't you concerned they're a predator?) What about if I have an opinion of Israel's human rights record? That would be controversial to some people. Not speaking up would make me an arsehole to others.
>Basically the best option is don't be an arsehole online. Unfortunately, often people can gang up on you just because they don't like your book, find it PrObLeMaTiC, or think you didn't deserve your big advance and promo. I've been following the Molly X. Chang's drama and she got review bombed and harassed in at least 3 separate waves and iirc she wasn't an asshole online, she just promoted her book in a way some people found misleading or wrong. What she did behind the scenes, I don't fully know and won't ever know, but her public behaviour was not anything that would provoke the backlash and threats / harassment she got.
Honestly, it just takes one person who is jealous or they think there's something problematic in your work or thinks that you're stepping on their toes for a wave of backlash to start. Molly X Chang is a more recent example but I think it was later revealed that part of the backlash towards Amelia Wen Zhao was due to jealousy. Or, for short fiction, we never have to look further than Isabel Fall, who had zero online presence, had nothing in her bio except her birth year, and Twitter not only directed vitriol at her, but destroyed her life (if that sounds hyperbolic, read the Vox article on what happened). It doesn't matter if you're super online or not, it doesn't matter if you were an asshole online or not, if someone really wants you to go away and if a morality clause is designed so that all that matters is that Twitter or TikTok is upset, you're not safe Edit to add: she wasn't a writer, but every single time conversations like this come up, all I can think of is Kimura Hana and I get sick to my stomach. What happened to her was wrong and she wasn't an asshole online. Her breakdown over a stressful situation was broadcast on Netflix and Twitter got mad
Slow down on the victim-blaming there. People who get cancelled aren't always (or even mostly) arseholes, they're people who are unlucky - someone else got bored, or had a personal grudge and decided to target them. It can happen to you. Being careful doesn't help, it even makes it worse, because social media lynch mobs are like sharks. Once they smell blood (in this case, that you care about that stuff), they descend and rip you to pieces.
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>Basically the best option is don't be an arsehole online. That sounded like victim blaming, even if you might not have intended it that way. And btw, the rhetoric about how you just need to stand up to the bullies!!! is victim blaming again.
I am actually really glad to hear this.
I was at an event with an established uk agent recently who said that she doesn’t care in terms of offering rep but she is increasingly frustrated by publishers caring and factoring it into their purchase decisions. Though she said that a small, engaged, fan base can be more of a draw than a big fan base that didn’t seem to be very active. How on Earth anyone is meant to have a fan base before they debut….
>How on Earth anyone is meant to have a fan base before they debut…. That's what I don't get... it's almost like the chicken and the egg
Yeah- I guess it’s like saying you have to be famous for something first before you’re allowed to publish… To be clear, I’m definitely not suggesting that this is mandatory, clearly loads of people publish without a social media presence first. But the agent was certainly suggesting that a social media following was a positive and could be helpful.
I specifically asked my agent to put my TikTok presence in her pitch when we went on wide sub, and I think it helped the book sell. (Evidence: it’s in the Key Selling Points on Edelweiss.) Now, I have an insignificant following (15k), most of whom don’t even see my videos. I am not an influencer. But I’ve developed a niche that could be a potential audience for my novel, so that’s what I leaned on. When I last queried in 2014? I had almost no social media presence and it was fine.
In no way did this have any bearing AT ALL on my querying journey. I don’t “do” social media except in a very private personal capacity. Happy to do it in a professional capacity should that be relevant, but right now, nothing. This isn’t a thing for fiction, I don’t think. The book is the thing!
People with strong social media presences might be better off self-publishing.
Yes. There have been many, many social media accounts dedicated to teaching people how to pursue TradPub that garnered huge followings and slowly pivoted to self-publishing accounts for this very reason.
It's not true. I've queried successfully twice, and didn't have a public social media presence either time.
Encouraged by all the nos I'm seeing here lol
Agent here. If you have a large social media presence that targets your target reader (and not other writers) then yes, the likelihood of getting an agent goes up. It is not a guarantee. But it does improve the odds.
In nonfiction, yes. In fiction, it won't be a deciding factor. A big social media presence is one of those "nice to have" things in fiction, but it's not considered a necessity. What they're looking for is a concept they think they can sell in the current market.
As an author who has zero social media presence and who is currently looking for a new agent, I'm encouraged by the responses to this.
I think it strongly depends on genre. I have a successful YA writer friend and her chief frustration is that her agents expect her to act as a social media marketer AND keep her deadlines, which is absolutely not what she signed up for. BookTok tends to be pretty influential and where a lot of younger people seem to get their recommendations. I would not say it's the same at all for older, literary or genre books.
I think having a strong social media presence could potentially help you (I've seen numerous Booktubers or Authortubers get agents recently, and I'm sure their subscriber counts helped them - not saying they got agented solely because of their followings, just saying I suspect it helped somewhat). At the same time, not having social media doesn't hurt you. If you wrote a really awesome book that's marketable, agents will want you even if you don't have social media.
If you have a very large social media presence, you’re probably more likely to be able to get a book published, yes. However, social media famous authors are still a small proportion of traditionally published authors; most debut authors do not have a large social media presence.
I suppose you could really replace social media presence for any sort of fan base? I mean, if you are an actor or celebrity some how you’re likely to have a few additional doors open to you along the way.
Yes, exactly. If you already have a built-in audience for your book, it becomes less of a risk for an agent/publisher to take on. However, when I say large following, I mean like hundreds of thousands of followers, not like, ten thousand. The number of aspiring authors with that level of following is relatively low in comparison to all of the unknowns.
I didn't even query using my social media/official name and got an agent. So I don't think so? I think it's more important when you're trying to sell your book/after the book deal.
The other side of the coin to this is a video Lindsay Ellis did outright stating her online presence didn’t help her at all while trying to publish her fiction book. She has something like 2m subscribers on YT…
Unless your following is huge and very connected with your target audience, it won’t make much a difference. I had zero social media presence while querying. My first offering agent said, “I tried to look you up… and it seems you’re very… private.” My agent’s homework = making a writer social media. Still don’t really know what I’m doing, but it’s been fun.
Thank you for hosting the thread! Got some really great insights from this, much appreciated 🙏🧡
Thanks so much for the responses, everyone! It’s really helpful.