lit agent tasneem motala
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seraphecda.bsky.social
lit agent tasneem motala
@seraphecda.bsky.social
✒️ literary agent at belcastro agency + 🗓️ programming advisor for the muslim literary festival + 🎨 branding expert at litmotif + 👚 merch designer at popdiary

kpop multistan and d20 enthusiast

find me everywhere: https://linktr.ee/seraphecda
Pinned
Nov to Dec Updates!

GENERAL QUERIES: closed until sometime in 2026

BIPOC QUERIES: still and always open

BRANDING SERVICES: 3 slots available until New Year's!

POPDIARY SHOP: open! please check out my cute apparel designs uwu

all relevant links can be found here:
linktr.ee/seraphecda
these are rly good. I've tried the melon mint and the lavender lemon, and today im trying the grapefruit basil one!

they're dumb expensive tho but meh, a treat is a treat, and theres 5mg of fibre SO
November 24, 2025 at 1:05 AM
Reposted by lit agent tasneem motala
In the US, Muslims are seen as antisemitic by default. I've experienced this my whole life.
November 23, 2025 at 4:38 PM
Reposted by lit agent tasneem motala
this just shows how the Western family unit has completely broken down because in Asia we all have uncles to fulfill this function in our lives
November 23, 2025 at 11:21 AM
thinking about time as a nonrenewable resource just clicked smth in my brain, idk what it was or what change it'll cause me to make (if any!), but it certainly did Something.
November 23, 2025 at 6:47 PM
i started kickboxing and have done two classes so far and wow today my body HURTS AAA
November 23, 2025 at 4:38 PM
Reposted by lit agent tasneem motala
I said what I said
It is extremely funny to me that Erika Ishii said this in a year she was the protagonist in a major video game
November 23, 2025 at 1:48 AM
still not over the absolute insanity that was the White House press junket w Mamdani
November 22, 2025 at 5:31 PM
Reposted by lit agent tasneem motala
Almost a year now since I received this absolutely classic burn from the Canadian government.
November 21, 2025 at 9:10 PM
2 options, personally!

1) sometimes people suck at writing pitches, so until I personally have time to take a look at the sample pages there's just No Decision

OR!!

2) it's one of those pitches that i could totally be into but i'm going thru one of those "i don't want this RIGHT NOW" phases
Curious to know how you/other agents you know deliberate on queries (response timeline makes sense in my brain for fulls but for initial pitch, it's not just a hell yes or no for you?)
November 22, 2025 at 4:01 AM
every time i see lisa gilroy in something im like "THAT'S MY GIRL!!!" (as a dropout addict and fellow canadian). most recently, it was in A Man on the Inside S2 and idk how she does it but no one can outdo her in the category of "insufferable white woman" and i love it.
November 22, 2025 at 2:54 AM
who else just saw the new mel winterblessed skin and wants to play league again?
November 21, 2025 at 7:33 PM
this week we accidentally ended up streaming a "reunion" of The Good Place with:
- Nobody Wants This S2 (Kristen Bell + D'Arcy Carden)
- A Merry Little Ex-Mas (Jameela Jamil)
- A Man on the Inside (Ted Danson)

now we need to complete the crew with William Jackson Harper and Manny Jacinto!!
November 21, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Reposted by lit agent tasneem motala
This is fantastic!
Solange Knowles’ Saint Heron has launched a free digital archival library of literature by Black and brown authors, poets, and artists. Readers can borrow rare and out-of-print books for up to 45 days
Solange Opens Free Digital Library Of Rare Black Books
Solange has launched a digital library archive of Black and brown authors where readers can borrow books at no cost.
peopleofcolorintech.com
November 19, 2025 at 5:38 PM
btw since im here and posting, if my laptop can handle it would anyone be interested in "office hour" streams? i did a couple early on in my agenting career but was thinking of changing up the format a bit.
November 19, 2025 at 4:14 AM
"so hey why start a branding business and not do freelance editorial?"

bruh, my attention span is trash. i do enough editorial work for my clients as an agent and i'm good at it, but if i did it on a freelance basis i'd burn out TT__TT
November 19, 2025 at 4:10 AM
alternatively: there are so many people out there, including fellow agents, who do editorial, pitch, and querying services. i used to as well! but i feel like my expertise in marketing is a lot more valuable to y'all because there are very few guiding resources for marketing in comparison to editing
November 19, 2025 at 4:00 AM
so when the book's out and you're officially a published author, how much do u look forward to marketing the very thing you put your heart, soul, time, and effort into to the world?

or would u rather not?
November 19, 2025 at 3:56 AM
added a matcha mix to my usual smoothie today and its banger actually.
November 18, 2025 at 5:44 PM
gojo cat
November 17, 2025 at 11:09 PM
is it too soon to talk about the cloudward, ho! finale bc i wanna just acknowledge how olethra/ludmila is a vibe
November 16, 2025 at 6:42 PM
this leather vest top is so cool, but the way they styled it in the photos is so boring. just paired it with jeans.

this would be so interesting layered up in a steampunk or post-apocalypse look tho, right??

ciderhere.com/yBJhvO
Faux Leather Faux Leather Asymmetrical Neck Metal Detail Zip Through Tank Top For Daily Casual
Check out this this cute Faux Leather Asymmetrical Neck Metal Detail Zip Through Tank Top featuring a Asymmetrical Buckle Button Pocket Zipper design for Daily Casual on CIDER. Free shipping available...
ciderhere.com
November 16, 2025 at 6:38 PM
tbh this is actually pretty cool? weird, but cool.

shein is gonna start selling books by partnering with bookseller alibris to bring their demographic (which is already full of readers) books too.

how is everyone feeling about this?
November 15, 2025 at 11:29 PM
not to rattle anyone bc this is more funny than anything else and the mistake isn't something that would impact my decision at all, but...

i got a query that called me "mrs. motala"

GIRL, SINCE WHEN?? i didn't know i got married!! where the heck is my ring??
November 15, 2025 at 11:18 PM
qrp for everyone's knowledge!

so, spreadsheets/airtable/notion databases etc are how a lot of agents keep track of and regularly update all our editor contacts, wishlists, emails, and other important info!

but we also build new ones for submission lists and keep those updated as responses come in.
Interesting! Out of curiosity, why so much time on Spreadsheets?
November 15, 2025 at 10:57 PM
the daily activities of a literary agent, ordered by sheer amount of time i spent on each this past week:
- spreadsheets
- emails
- queries
- actually reading
November 15, 2025 at 1:52 AM