Heather Garbo

#MSWL Let’s hear it for more 40+ protagonists!

Hello Friends! Welcome to #MSWL Day 2026! 🎉

This is our second ever #MSWL Day on Bluesky. We’re happy you’re here!

You can, as of TODAY, search Bluesky and ManuscriptWishList.com posts at once: manuscriptwishlist.com/smart-search. All posts are verified by a human who works in publishing. ☕

Thanks for sharing! 😊

Glad it’s helpful! Thanks for sharing! 😊

Thank you for sharing!

"I'm on the hunt for a submission on misandry. I'm open to all categories and formats: essay collection, narrative nonfiction, short story collection with misandry as a common theme, memoir manifesto, etc."
CeCe Lyra #MSWL

psliterary.com/submissions/

If you’re zip-tying grandmas protesting losing health care maybe you’re not the good guys in the story?

a white cat is laying on its back with the words gimme gimme written above it ALT: a white cat is laying on its back with the words gimme gimme written above it

I am now open to all the genres I represent through till 31st August. That includes: Fantasy, Sci Fi, Horror, Romance, Thriller, Action and Adventure, and YA Fantasy.

I look forward to reading your subs.

"You Don't start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it’s good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it. That’s why I say one of the most valuable traits is persistence." —Octavia E. Butler

Literary Agent and Industry Veteran Erin Niumata on the Future of Women's Fiction The Folio Literary Management Senior Vice President discusses pitching women’s fiction, female midlife protagonists, quiet stories, and what she’s currently hoping to acquire

This week I got to interview lit agent @ecniumata.bsky.social about pitching women’s fiction, female midlife protagonists, quiet stories, and what she hopes to acquire next! open.substack.com/pub/writeyou...

From Small Press Director to Book Coach What is the path to becoming a book coach? Author Accelerator Certified book coaches answer 7 questions about their journey. Today, we feature Heather Garbo.

Such a thrill to be featured by Jennie Nash for doing this work that I love!

12 Literary Agents Who Want Your Weird Girl Fiction Lately I’ve noticed an uptick in agent deals for what I was thinking of as “hot mess protagonists.” You know the ones…you see words like bizarre, twisted, perverse, obsessed, humiliated, or even unhin...

Is your weird girl fiction ready to query? One of these 12 literary agents might be your perfect match!

I don’t understand why he thinks it’s necessary to put on his gravestone… Obvious to everyone who knows of him. 🙄

The Quirky Genre That’s Sucking Up All the Oxygen and Other Surprises in This Week’s Deep Dive on Debut Book Deals. Most everyone knows it’s a tough market, but what’s selling?

What is Weird Girl Fiction and why is it seemingly so in demand right now? @karingillespie.bsky.social has the scoop…

Interview with a Small Press Debut Author: Alexandria Faulkenbury (Plus Read Her Query Letter!) Alexandria's Debut, Somewhere Past the End, Releases on May 20, 2025

I’m only a few chapters into small press debut author Alexandria Faulkenbury’s new book, SOMEWHERE PAST THE END, but I’m already hooked! I loved doing this interview with her on her experiences working with a small press.

Should You Stop Pitching Your Manuscript as Women’s Fiction? What We’re Talking About When We Talk About Women’s Fiction

Did you read the article in Jane Friedman’s newsletter on pitching women’s fiction? I have some additional thoughts…

The Griffin List A list of 60,273 North Carolina voters – these are registered voters who showed ID to early vote in the November 2024 election – whose votes Jefferson Griffin wants to not be counted. ...

Hey North Carolina friends! The NC court of appeals just upheld a challenge against the validity of 60,000 votes in the state’s Supreme Court election which means 60k people must reverify their votes for them to count. Check if you’re on the list at thegriffinlist.com. And please share!

Bookshop: Buy books online. Support local bookstores. An online bookstore that financially supports local independent bookstores and gives back to the book community.

Just a reminder…if you have a book emergency tomorrow, visit your local indie bookstore, order it through bookshop.org (also indies!), buy it used from ThriftBooks.com, or check it out from your library. And you can actually do this any day but especially tomorrow for #economicblackout.

CALL TO ACTION: Call your representatives at (202) 224-3121 and ask what criteria they plan to use when “vetting” their constituents.

10 Insights I Learned from Analyzing the 2024 Women’s Fiction Debut Deals '90s Nostalgia, Feminist Rage, and The Most Frequently Used Comp Titles

I analyzed 164 women’s fiction debut deals announced in 2024 to see what I could learn about which types of stories publishers were acquiring. Here’s what I found…

The Midlife Pivot: If Not Now, Then When? What Do Moving Cross-Country and Writing Have in Common? A Lot More Than You'd Think

What’s the biggest leap you’ve ever taken? This year we made a cross-country move. We’d only visited once, knew no one and had no jobs there. Some days it’s hard, some days it’s exhilarating. You might think this has nothing to do with writing, but here’s why I’ve learned it totally does…

Thank you! 😊 Most of the credit goes to my amazing designer!

Are You Still Seeking Permission to Write? The Insidious Internalized Beliefs that May Be Stifling Your Writing Voice

My first Write Your Next Chapter Substack is all about the insidious internalized beliefs that stifle our writing voices, which I’ve found is especially true for women writers. I know I’m guilty of doing some of these. How many ring true for you?

Yes! And thanks for letting me know… I’m not seeing it in either of my profiles though. Where did you see it? Definitely want to fix that so thank you!

And do we ever need that today!

Yes! It’s been on my TBR forever and I started reading it 2 days ago. Exactly what I need right now.

Yep. I reread Parable of the Sower so many times the first go around. Octavia knew. 😞

Congrats!

Hey writers, #MSWL Day is coming to Bluesky this Feb 12! See details below…

"Tolerance becomes a crime when applied to evil."

Thomas Mann