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Lauren Bajek

@laurenbajek.bsky.social

2.3K followers 750 following 1.4K posts

Literary agent at Liza Dawson Associates / open to queries / art, sewing, native plant gardening / another world is possible / she pronouns

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Lauren Bajek @laurenbajek.bsky.social · Dec 20

Publishing is a business where you have to be good AND lucky-- so I feel very, very lucky to have had a good year in 2024. A roundup of this year's PM announcements:

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Reposted by Lauren Bajek

𝖛𝖛𝖎𝖈𝖐𝖊𝖉 𝖈𝖑𝖔𝖜𝖓 @novatoreanhovvl.bsky.social · 10h

rest in power miss major, thank you for everything

miss major saying "what would i like my legacy to be?"

miss major saying "she came, she cared, she left"

miss major saying "what else would there be?"

miss major, a tired old black trans woman starring into the camera

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Reposted by Lauren Bajek

tamara nopper @tamaranopper.bsky.social · 15h

@prisonculture.bsky.social Think you'll like Ursula K. Le Guin saying bring back I statements, lol.

“There was quite a long time when poets used ‘you’ when they meant ‘I,’ but didn’t want to say so. ‘You walk down the street and you feel…’ No, I don’t! Talk about yourself! Don’t dump it onto me.”

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Lauren Bajek @laurenbajek.bsky.social · 15h

Unfortunately, this is how many schools have explicitly taught children to read for years.

BeijingPalmer @beijingpalmer.bsky.social · 16h

a lot of people read like LLMs generate text: they don't actually comprehend the words so much as make a guess at what they think they are based on a few recognizable terms

pork, cheese, broccoli rabe @garlicbuffalo.gobirds.biz · 20h

so one of the things I’ve started to realize with having a notable following On Here is exactly how much of a reading comprehension problem we have in this country

Lauren Bajek @laurenbajek.bsky.social · 17h

Please don't. Just send the query. Your job is to write the book, the agent's job is to tell you if it's a good fit for them.

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Reposted by Lauren Bajek

Foone @foone.bsky.social · 18h

signing up for the hot new linguistic dating site

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P H Lee 🪬 @p-h-lee.bsky.social · 18h

its very easy to fall into "one weird trick" ideas in publishing, like personalizing queries and such. you don't have to!

unfortunately there are only two weird tricks (write a good book, get lucky) and they're both incredibly hard.

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Lauren Bajek @laurenbajek.bsky.social · 18h

I honestly have a negative reaction to personalization 99% of the time. When I first opened for queries and had zero sales, I got so many queries saying they were querying me because of my "long track record." It left a really bad taste in my mouth. Just tell me about your book.

Lauren Bajek @laurenbajek.bsky.social · 18h

Writers: I can tell when you use AI to personalize a query letter, and it does NOT reflect well on you.

Unless we have actually met/interacted, or you have something you actually want to say to me, just don't personalize. You don't need it.

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Lauren Bajek @laurenbajek.bsky.social · 2d

If you do a close line-reading, you'll see that Fantasy Elsa Smiling Elsa Trending On Artstation's shirt is slowly unbuttoning itself. Makes you think

Lauren Bajek @laurenbajek.bsky.social · 2d

I feel like there's got to be interjections where the narrator says something isn't right, and then the LLM fawningly pisses on continuity

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Lauren Bajek @laurenbajek.bsky.social · 2d

I'm sorry, this would be SO funny though

Reposted by Lauren Bajek

Mark Histed @markhisted.org · 2d

So to summarize:

- There is a pattern where Vought makes the RIFs too wide, apparently to flood the zone with sh*t and see who will draw protests.
- They restore some people after outrage and work by us.
- But we are still left with many who remain fired at the end.

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Marisa Kabas @marisakabas.bsky.social · 2d

A trend I’ve noticed after having watched too many of these despicable ICE arrest videos is when bystanders demand they let detainee go, an officer suggests they’re being picked up for a serious crime to try and deter help. But we know that’s not true of a vast majority of people and the jig is up.

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Sarah McAnulty, Ph.D. @sarahmackattack.bsky.social · 3d

Here I am. Once again. I'm out of archaeologists.

We matched 576 groups w/archaeologists, leaving 13 groups unmatched. This brings me pain! We've never run out of scientists like this before. 598 requests for one category is A LOT. But still.

Archaeologists 🥺
www.skypeascientist.com/sign-up.html

Skype a Scientist gives you the opportunity to connect with students and the public around the world.

www.skypeascientist.com

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Lauren Bajek @laurenbajek.bsky.social · 3d

Say hi to Emma at Norwich!! We used to be booksellers together

Reposted by Lauren Bajek

Lauren McKenzie @themckenziest.gay · 3d

Seeing Ms. Rachel say exactly what needs to be said to Obama is so damn refreshing

Dear President Obama,
I saw in your statement you said "Israeli families" & "the people of Gaza."
Palestinians have families, too.
This kind of language contributes to dehumanization. Dehumanization is part of what caused so many to stay silent as 20,000 children were killed in this genocide.
I've sat with wonderful Palestinian families from Gaza. They look at their children just like we look at ours - with all the love & hope in the world.
Love,
Ms Rachel

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Lauren Bajek @laurenbajek.bsky.social · 3d

I did not expect that adulthood would involve so much energy spent on the political valence of cartoon frogs.

Reposted by Lauren Bajek

Solaris Books @solarisbooks.bsky.social · 3d

A beautiful review from @libraryjournal.bsky.social for Caskey Russell's debut THE DOOR ON THE SEA, first in a new epic fantasy trilogy inspired by the folklore and culture of the Tlingit tribe

"Astounding...a highly nuanced and complex novel."

Out now: geni.us/doorsea

Against a dark turbulent sea background, the cover for THE DOOR ON THE SEA by Caskey Russell. Below, "Astounding...a highly nuanced and complex novel." Library Journal

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Reposted by Lauren Bajek

Ariana Maher @airy.bsky.social · 3d

How you read a manga, a superhero comic, and a webtoon are different due to the different design approaches in the lettering. And if a letterer understands that, is consistent, and adheres to those different styles, a reader won't even notice that they've hopped from one design language to another.

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Laura Blackwell (she/her) @pronouncedlahra.bsky.social · 4d

HWA folks! Have you recommended others' work to the Recommended Reading list for the Bram Stoker Awards? Horror writers, have you submitted your own work to the juries? Here's how! You can even click through to the full rules if you're intrepid! www.thebramstokerawards.com/submissions/

Submissions – The Bram Stoker Awards

www.thebramstokerawards.com

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Cackling O'Brien, Chief Witch-gineer 🔵 @radobrien.myatproto.social · 3d

"I chose this form to be more frightening" the angel said. "I really wanted to freak you out."

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Lauren Bajek @laurenbajek.bsky.social · 3d

Innnnteresting. Are the mistakes primarily in one direction? Like, if people tend to think everything is human-written, that would be one explanation for the HHH being highest.

Lauren Bajek @laurenbajek.bsky.social · 4d

Can you break out success rate by what percentage of the sample was LLM vs. human, and in what order? Even though you say it could be all human or all LLM, I feel like people have a bias to want it to be some of each.

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Julia Vee @juliavee.bsky.social · 4d

NYC! Come see us at PT Knitwear on Monday 10/13 💖

Matthew Kressel @matthewkressel.net · 4d

This Monday, I'll be participating in the Traveling SFF Book Festival, hosted by Yume Kitasei, with Micaiah Johnson, Veronica Roth, and Julia Vee. At PT Knitwear, 180 Orchard St, Oct 13th, 6:30pm. @yumewrites.bsky.social @micaiahjohnson.bsky.social @veronicarothbooks.com @juliavee.bsky.social

A flyer advertising The Traveling SFF Book Festival, New York City, Monday, Oct 13th, 6:30 pm, with Micaiah Johnson, Yume Kitasei, Matthew Kressel, Veronica Roth, and Julia Vee. Panel Discussion: History & Speculation. Author photos and covers of their recent titles line the bottom of the flyer.

The text of the Traveling SGG Festival full schedule and panelists can be found here: https://www.yumekitasei.com/travelingsffbookfestival

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Lauren Bajek @laurenbajek.bsky.social · 4d

Shooting you an email.