Dear agents, please stop sending inquiries to Tyrant. We no longer consider agented writers. Writers w/agents: feel free to send, just know you have to drop your agent if we want to sign you. Thanks,
Tyrant staff— New York Tyrant/Tyrant Books (@tyrantbooks) 22. November 2017
Dear writers, Agents earn every penny. They don't just get you more money; they protect you from predatory publishers who want you to enter into contracts without expert advice. https://t.co/1WCA9l377r
— Kate Harding (@KateHarding) 22. November 2017
Dear writers, please step into this wonderful box where someone will totally not punch you in the face and steal your money, it's cool, just shut up and get into the dark box, we no longer consider writers who won't step into the cage I mean BOX https://t.co/mgmoQcMoq1
— Chuck Wendig (@ChuckWendig) 22. November 2017
But agents protect you, check contracts, advocate for your interests, help sell your work internationally, get you paid, and dozens of other things. Writers write, of course. Agents watch our backs. https://t.co/B6SnTRApNM
— Maureen Johnson (@maureenjohnson) 22. November 2017
What Maureen said. Agents do all that. And they reread contracts and find magical things in the small print that result in people giving you unexpected money… https://t.co/BvTTlCQDyX
— Neil Gaiman (@neilhimself) 22. November 2017
For those calling me “predatory” trying to “scam” writers for that big indie-lit cash… have you seen where I live? pic.twitter.com/rsPu5FBmIW
— New York Tyrant/Tyrant Books (@tyrantbooks) 23. November 2017
I had to publish 6 titles to be able to buy this one bag pic.twitter.com/SBxQpBkyEW
— New York Tyrant/Tyrant Books (@tyrantbooks) 23. November 2017
I am the predatory Harvey Weinstein of indie-lit. pic.twitter.com/z8R1CI8QSl
— New York Tyrant/Tyrant Books (@tyrantbooks) 23. November 2017
If predatory means publishing a pamphlet of tweets from a former student/friend that no other press would touch, getting her in the Village Voice, Playboy, etc and giving her 35% royalties, then yeah ok, I’m predatory
— New York Tyrant/Tyrant Books (@tyrantbooks) 23. November 2017
Tyrant’s entire history is finding unknown writers in my friends, publishing them, making them famous, then an agent comes along and destroys the friendship .
— New York Tyrant/Tyrant Books (@tyrantbooks) 23. November 2017
All this fuss has caused many book sales from the Tyrant site. Unintentional, but thank you all anyway 🤩
— New York Tyrant/Tyrant Books (@tyrantbooks) 23. November 2017
Guys, I’m running out of drugs here so can we make this a little more interesting or I’m going to bed
— New York Tyrant/Tyrant Books (@tyrantbooks) 23. November 2017
while everyone’s watching, i recommend reading the @tyrantbooks website archives. lydia davis, joe wenderoth, ariana reines, leopoldine core, bryan evenson, tao lin, chelsey minnis, [all of yr favorite authors] … https://t.co/NFmAL0uQQW
— jordan castro (@jordan_castro) 23. November 2017
who else publishes names like that next to writers with no books, degrees, or agents? please link me.
— jordan castro (@jordan_castro) 23. November 2017
I AM THE ANTIFA OF INDIE-LIT
— New York Tyrant/Tyrant Books (@tyrantbooks) 23. November 2017
beware of any publisher who thinks they’re doing you a huge favor by publishing you
— Mira Gonzalez (@miragonz) 23. November 2017
also, it’s not like agents just go rogue and force indie presses into bankruptcy. an agent’s job is to asses contracts based on the success of the press, and then make sure their writer isn’t getting a bad deal. for many, an agent is the difference between eating and not eating
— Mira Gonzalez (@miragonz) 23. November 2017
wanting to be compensated for your work is *not* greedy. it’s not like presses are giving authors money the press earned elsewhere. any money an author gets is a percentage of money their book earned
— Mira Gonzalez (@miragonz) 23. November 2017
1. “no other press would touch”
I was supposed to be published by another press and he stole me
2. he didn’t
3. the only reason I have high royalties is bc my agent fought for them after he got me to agree to forego an advance for higher royalties and then offered me the standard pic.twitter.com/ApyudTQSSD— darcie wilder (@333333333433333) 23. November 2017
Authors accuse publisher of exploiting writers by banning literary agents: https://t.co/i049xnLQxA pic.twitter.com/A7LxOcsuR3
— The Daily Dot (@dailydot) 23. November 2017
As someone who got $500-$1500 advances and 8.5% royalties (off net, not retail) for my first 6 books, I feel writers expect too much money, especially from independent presses & especially from ones not trying to make money but run by one person who loves literature. @tyrantbooks
— Tao Lin (@tao_lin) 23. November 2017
when you're a writer and/or book publisher, your books are largely ignored by media because journalists are overworked & reading takes too much time, but if you're at the center of an easily digestible scandal or twitter fight, you get a daily dot article https://t.co/QXzu67LnYs
— Guillaume Morissette (@anxietyissue) 23. November 2017
Many of my favorite books are by writers who couldn't get an agent or who didn't want to get one. I praise @tyrantbooks for being willing to work only with unagented authors. Most publishers require you both write a book and get an agent before they will look at your work.
— Tao Lin (@tao_lin) 23. November 2017
this situation is worth talking about, but I also wish I could live in a world in which websites like the daily dot would write normal articles about cool books like the sarah book or darcie wilder's book without needing a prompt
— Guillaume Morissette (@anxietyissue) 23. November 2017
Writers who don't have literary agents aren't helpless. They're their own literary agent. They get the 15% the agent would get. They negotiate the contract. They decide who to send their work to, where to publish, etc.
— Tao Lin (@tao_lin) 23. November 2017
Let’s all meet up next year at the same time and have another @tyrantbooks themed Thanksgiving
— big if true (@mollybrodak) 24. November 2017
i encourage all writers to use agents if possible. a publisher who doesnt want you to get a professional's opinion cant be trusted
— sorry house (@sorryhouse) 24. November 2017
an agent, an author, and a publisher should all want the same thing
— sorry house (@sorryhouse) 24. November 2017
.@tyrantbooks we get it; you like cocaine 🙄
— Leigh Walton (@leighwalton) 24. November 2017
I don’t “like” cocaine. I love it. https://t.co/ZQ6ztmH2Y2
— New York Tyrant/Tyrant Books (@tyrantbooks) 24. November 2017
Wait did we not do coke together and was my job not selling your book and lining your pockets when u got fired from being too shitty of a writer for MTV? Or was that someone else? pic.twitter.com/u5duubwnwx
— New York Tyrant/Tyrant Books (@tyrantbooks) 24. November 2017
i’ve literally never done coke with gian, i guess he was too fucked up to ever notice that. and he doesn’t know what systemic lay offs are because he’s never had a real job. and yeah man i guess sorry my book made money? pic.twitter.com/ftyp5Men95
— darcie wilder (@333333333433333) 24. November 2017
also, the only reason i’m doing this publicly is because I asked him to stop publicizing our disagreements, that our mutual friends were losing respect for him, and he said he didn’t care
— darcie wilder (@333333333433333) 24. November 2017
all i’m sharing is my experience: I was bullied and belittled, he tried to scam me. he bragged to other people about lying to me. he can’t help but have public meltdowns while claiming he misses me
— darcie wilder (@333333333433333) 24. November 2017
all I was saying was watching out publishing with him. but go head, go for it and when u assert ur independent or worth deal with this dude slandering you
— darcie wilder (@333333333433333) 24. November 2017
also, lmao at the idea he could “legitimize” anything/one
— darcie wilder (@333333333433333) 24. November 2017