Today, in our query workshop, Jessica asked: "If you had to describe your book's conflict as if it was reality TV, how would you do it?" Who hates whom? What are they going to do about it? Will they flip a table? Blow something up? Drama > summary/worldbuilding for FAST agent comprehension.

Are you panicked about platform? You can probably relax! For many genres, your story matters much more. Here's what platform actually means for each genre: manuscriptacademy.com/author-platf... #WritingCommunity #AmWriting #AmQuerying #WritersOfBluesky #AuthorPlatform #QueryTip #WritingAdvice

December vs. January querying: which camp are you in? 🤔 Camp "Just Get in Line": Send when ready, agents read year-round Camp "Wait": January agents are refreshed, hungry, in "yes mode" The real answer? Know yourself and your book. Great insights from agent Nour Sallam on timing your query 👇

"I am a big, big, big fan of people that add their voice, especially when it's a funny voice to the query letter. The tone is so great." —Ivan Taurisano, Macmillan editor, on what makes queries stand out at our latest Query & Page Feedback Panel #AmQuerying #QueryTip #WritingCommunity

Going into 2026, a reminder for everyone who's fallen off the creative wagon, game dev, writing, art, music, whatever, no matter how long:

Members! Our Interactive Query Workshop (come on up for a live query consultation with Jessica & Julie!) goes live Thursday at 2pm ET. Login + send your query here: manuscriptacademy.com/live-events#...

We can't wait! Tomorrow is our Query & Page Feedback Panel with Ivan Taurisano. 📚 Haven't met Ivan yet? Here's a clip from one of his previous events with us! youtu.be/B1dzQKyGZuU?... Learn more about Ivan here: manuscriptacademy.com/faculty-memb...

Are you running into a lack of writing energy this time of year? Writing Coach Anna Conathan has a fix! 📺 Tune in below: youtu.be/kJXLOhgz1mk?...

Need a gift for a writer friend? Or something to add to YOUR wish list? 🎁 Our gift shop is open! manuscriptacademy.com/gifts We also can accommodate a small number of custom, store credit orders good for meetings, critiques, and/or membership. Requests: manuscriptacademy.com/contact

Also loved this quote from Anna at our Goal Setting Session: "Each new word you write carries all the thousands of words before it, like ancestry, like genetics." — Anna Conan, Writing Coach

Your brain is Teflon for good news and Velcro for bad news. We're wired for survival, so negative feedback sticks while compliments wash right off. — Anna Conan at our 2025 Goal Setting Session (an important reminder for all creatives!)

Wow!! The goal setting webinar with Anna Conathan @manuscriptacademy.bsky.social was such an energizing splash of creativity and fun and community!! Grateful! Let’s go 2026!! #amwriting

I am genuinely worried about my beloved em dash. I've overused them for years--since high school, probably--because it mimics my breathless, caffeinated, tangent-filled, spiral-structured thought process--and seems, somehow, to put all the thoughts I want into a blender for a nice concept smoothie.

☕ Members! Agent 1:1 meetings are NOW OPEN for booking! Plus all our cozy December events are members-only — starting TONIGHT at 8:30pm ET with goal setting for 2025. We're also doing query feedback with Ivan Taurisano (Macmillan), a live query workshop, and an on-demand craft class. Stay warm! ❄️

Tonight at 8:30pm ET, members can join writing coach Anna Conathan & Julie Kingsley (Manuscript Academy) for a guided completion writing exercise: acknowledge wins, release what didn't work, celebrate overlooked accomplishments. Get present, then get stoked! ✨ Introvert-friendly + interactive.

Saw a piece of art today that looked like a regular office full of cubicles—until you realized every desk had a cat on the keyboard, playing with the mouse, or otherwise getting in the way of work. 📚Remember, in art and in fiction, one detail can change everything. Ripple effects create nuance.

We do sometimes feel like the Grand Central / help desk of publishing, but this is a first! 📩 We love getting mail (holiday cards!) but today we got a paper query, from someone we don't know, complete with SASE. Typing up a nice reply (saying we aren't an agency) to print, mail, + wish them luck.

We are so lucky to have such a nice group! I don’t know what we did right, but everyone is so kind and funny and talented—and in so many areas. I feel like I’m always hearing a great surprise about our members. That one has a hidden talent, an amazing job. That another found an agent.

The queries that got "YES this is great!" from agent Noelle Falcis Math at our #YourQueries Live event all had: • Strong opening hook in one sentence • Word count + genre clearly stated • 2-3 comp titles with publication years • Synopsis in 1-2 tight paragraphs • Clear stakes statement at the end

When should you query agents? According to agent Noelle Falcis Math: ✅ January (agents open for new clients after holidays) ✅ Early fall (refreshed after summer) ✅ December if they're open ❌ Major holiday weeks She's opening for queries in January 2026!

Two great options for stakes in your query: 📍 [Character] wants [goal] but can't because of [conflict] 📍 [Character] must decide if [choice/action] is worth [consequence] (The second one is from Noelle Falcis Math at yesterday's YourQueries Live!) Replay + cute notes now live for members ✨

Noelle is doing such a great job going through these queries! Such great feedback and so fast!! Plus, in the chat, we are talking about the cheese conveyor belt restaurant AND ONE IS COMING TO NYC. Let’s go! MSWLMA meeting there 2026! 😃🧀

A reminder that feedback from an agent does NOT mean they think your work is bad! If anything, it's the opposite: We invest time in the projects we think have potential. Notes, even lengthy and passionate notes, imply that they invested time, thought, and creative energy.

Monday! Join agent Noelle Falcis Math (Transatlantic Literary) for #TenQueries Live, where she'll go over member queries at inbox speed, making notes as she goes. Is your work optimized for an inbox-speed read? Tune in Monday at 2pm ET / 11am PT to find out!

A reminder: Agents are usually just English majors who want to get an A+ on the pop quiz of your book. Make sure your query is clear enough that we feel smart. If we're confused, we may think, "I must not be the right agent. I'll let someone who understands it take it on."

Oh, there's a ton of that in my most recent work. In fact, at one point, a different set of characters wonder just what the F the earlier ones were thinking when they did something assessed by the 2nd group to be potentially lethally stupid. Lots of theorizing, some accurate, some wrong. It's fun!

A lot of agents love when characters "theorize"—when they wonder, hope, fear what might happen next. This can efficiently show personality, stakes, context, and possible outcomes. In any given moment, what does your character HOPE will happen? What are they AFRAID will happen? ✨ #WritingCraft

To query or not to query in December? 🎄 Two schools of thought: (1) Just get in line! (2) Wait for January when agents return refreshed with clearer list goals. Also consider your own psychology—if you'll obsess over commas, spend December editing. ❄️ #QueryTips

Yesterday, we welcomed Nour Sallam from Caldwell Agency who gave live feedback on queries across romance, fantasy, YA, memoir & more. The talent in our community is AMAZING. Nour's exact words: "I am very, very impressed, like shockingly impressed." 💕 #WritingCommunity #AmQuerying

A reminder that agent-speed comprehension works differently than the luxurious reading pace of a critique partner, English major, or coffee shop read. How to fix? Print your query, share with someone who knows nothing about it, set a timer for 60 seconds, then quiz them. Pivot as needed.

Tomorrow! We have a members-only Query + Page Agent Feedback panel featuring Nour Sallam--can't wait! Members, your instructions to send your work are in your email. See you tomorrow!

Remember how coffee shops used to feel in the nineties--like you were surrounded by creative possibility, and maybe the next table over, someone was writing a book you'd love in a year? ✨ ☕ Members, join us for that creative boost with an e-room of good vibes, great writers, and new best friends.

We're here if you have any questions!

Agent + Editor Meetings are live for November! If you're tired of form letters and want insightful advice, our kind, thoughtful (and even warm and funny) agents are here to help. We hope everyone gets requests like Erik, below! We love good news. Learn more: manuscriptacademy.com/consultations

Agent & Editor Meetings are now live for members! If you're tired of form letters and want to know how to *really* improve your work--why not ask an agent? Here are some reviews from our October 2025 meetings! Meetings go live for non-members Friday at 3pm ET.

I've got meeting slots available in November and would love to chat with you about your work!

Agent & Editor Meetings go live TODAY at 3pm ET for members, and Friday at 3pm ET for non-members. We have a really fun month of events! Check them out here: manuscriptacademy.com/calendar And we got so many lovely notes for last month! One of our favorites, below. 😃

Can't wait for this month! 📚#TenQueries Live with Agent Noelle Falcis Math 📖Live Queries & Pages Panel with Agent Nour Sallam ☎️Publishing Help Desk with Agent Jessica Sinsheimer 📝Write Together with Julie Agent meetings go live tomorrow/Wednesday at 3pm ET for members, Thursday for non-members.☕

Querying writers -- Please give yourselves some grace and stop fretting about a few silly typos in your queries. We probably won't notice them, we're not going to hold them against you, and if we DO hold them against you, you don't want to work with us anyway.

Want to work on tension, character & querying - for free? Check out our #MSWL live replay from last week! One attendee said “I feel like I just had an entire MFA course. Except MFA programs get snooty about 'genre fiction.' " Check it out! manuscriptacademy.com/mswl-live-ag...

I really like @manuscriptacademy.bsky.social. They have a plethora of authors and edits you can choose from to book meetings with to get help on query letters, query packages, and can help researching agents to query. They also have forums and monthly zoom classes with editors and agents.

Enjoyed the #MSWL Live Panel: Horror this afternoon! It was super informative!! Thanks @manuscriptacademy.bsky.social for the opportunity!

What an amazing panel! We loved it so much! If you have any questions about the scary aspects of your work, our #MSWL Live Panel: Horror with agents Linda Camacho, Erica Bauman and Tamara Kawer will be up soon!

Editor Ruqayyah Daud @borahaze91.bsky.social gave me an incredibly insightful live critique of the first 30 pages of my middle grade, novel-in-verse. Highly recommend signing up with her through @manuscriptacademy.bsky.social! Want beginning to be spot on before querying. #kidlit #writingcommunity

The forums have been super helpful for discussing comps!

Got amazing feedback from a @manuscriptacademy.bsky.social thing I did - really smart feedback, hyped to dig in to revisions and polish things up. It’s very motivating.

Just a few hours to go! Can’t wait to see the mini classes, query critique, and what these agents forecast for the horror genre. Plus, prizes! 🎁 Join us!

🎃 Horror writers! Our FREE panel is TOMORROW (Oct 28, 2pm ET) ✨ 3 top agents share horror #MSWL 📚 Mini classes on character/fear + tension/dread 🔍 Live query critique Featuring Literary Agents Linda Camacho, Erica Bauman & Tamara Kawer Get your free ticket: manuscriptacademy.com/mswl-live-ag...

The hardest rejection: "This is great...but not for me." Agents often say no to projects they know will sell. But what does it mean? Why would they do that? Do agents hate money? Your book? Books in general? No. Join Kelly Van Sant to walk us through subjectivity, love, and finding your best fit.

@inmargivoni.bsky.social Those all sound like great creative journeys! :)