Tomorrow begins the @/thirty30writingchallenge in place of #NaNoWriMo I created a group but am sort of flying by the seat of my pants here (shocking) Join! Let's encourage each other!!! thirty30k.com/groups/6904d...

Any time I work with a nonfiction client, I ALWAYS refer them to Eric’s resources. If you’re writing nonfiction, this workshop is absolutely sure to be gold.

“Agents can’t possibly tell if they’re gonna love the book in just the first five pages!!!” Right. But they can tell if it’s not right for them in that amount of time. Sample pages are a filtering tool, and if the agent isn’t hooked, then they’re never gonna fall in love the way they need to.

Today I told A Man what I do for a living and in the course of that conversation he laughed at the phrase “self published rapid release romances” So, in case you need some spite and rage to fuel your work today 🫡

Literary agents are paid on commission. When you receive money from a publisher, your agent takes a 15% cut. They do not charge reading fees or submission fees or maintenance fees. Do not pay for representation up front.

I don’t know why the pro-book-pirating crowd keeps popping up in my algorithm but I don’t support piracy. Use your library. Shop used. Borrow from your friends. Ask for books/bookstore gift cards as gifts. Unless you live in a place where the book is literally illegal: Don’t. Steal. Books.

I’ve been doing “premise and plot” chats with authors, helping them work through stories that are giving them trouble and it has to be some of the most rewarding work I’ve done. There’s always one question that the author hadn’t thought of that unlocks the whole story. It’s like magic.

Absolutely love when someone asks for advice and I give advice to that person and basically the advice is “that’s gonna be hard to sell and here’s why” and dudes come from all over to tell me I’m wrong because their favorite something something whatever did it forty years ago so I must be stupid

1. Scam alert thread! 🧵 Watch out for out-of- the-blue emails from supposed marketing experts claiming they just happened on your book & are eager to promote it. This is something I'm seeing more and more of. Marketing scams aren't new, but this is a new twist.

I’m just an editor, standing in front of your manuscript, begging you to stop making your characters wink every couple pages

If you think traditional publishing doesn’t do *any* marketing, you might just not understand what marketing is. They can and should do more, especially for their marginalized authors and mid list authors. But they are never doing “nothing”.

If you start writing a new wonderfully weird idea, but you run into trouble executing that wonderfully weird idea, there are two possible causes: 1. it’s a dumb idea that won’t work 2. you’re a visionary genius & the only person who can pull it off The only way to know? Keep writing.

Woke up to lots of A.I. and… em dash discourse? If you’re a new writer getting stressed over that, please know using the beloved em dash, en dash, or just a regular ol’ dash is normal and perfectly fine. Don’t let social media twist you into knots over here.

My ten-year-old is playing Fortnite in his Homer Simpson slippers with headphones on, singing along to Kpop Demon Hunters soundtrack at the top of his lungs and it’s the cutest thing to happen in my house in a long time

I don’t know what to do. I voted. I volunteered. I called my reps (though they all voted against it from the start). I donated. I had hard conversations, so many that I lost friends and lost contact with family. I’m raising my children to do the right thing. But I’m at a loss. What else is there?

Does anybody remember that Adam Sandler movie where he gets a remote control so he can skip over all the fun parts of his life and get back to work? No reason.

Considering the AI summary of my text messages routinely tells me the exact opposite of what the 12-word text message actually says… It’s gonna be a hard “no” from me on this. Do not ever under any circumstances trust an AI summary of your contract.

Popping in on this Friday afternoon to tell every aspiring writer on #Bluesky what a wealth of expertise @ginad129.bsky.social is. Seriously—her TikTok, Patreon, editing/pitch services are all exceptional. A treasure! #writersofbluesky #querying #WIP

I did not summon the Star Wars guys to my comment section. I never summon Star Wars guys to my comment section. And yet they have arrived anyway.

Today I learned that Carla Gugino has a brother AND a father named Carl Gugino

There is no such thing as “just” self publishing. Trad pub is not impossible. Both paths are difficult for different reasons, both paths can be the right path for you for different reasons.

Writing is an art. Publishing is a business. Your desire to pursue artistic expression does not require you to pursue the business of publishing. You are under no obligation to monetize your joy.

If a literary agent is saying they only take clients who are easy to work with because the book-to-film adaptation process is stressful… run. That person has no idea what it means to actually be a literary agent.

There is a site obviously created by AI that is pretending to be a continuation of Pitch Wars. It is not, has nothing to do with anyone involved in #pitchwars, and looks quite scammy. Please beware & tell your friends. @brendadrake.bsky.social @kellyekell.bsky.social @authorsoniahartl.bsky.social

“As a writer who is also a reader—“ Babes. I’m gonna stop you right there because if you’re not a reader, you’re not a writer.

Called out by a Green brother wasn’t on my list of things to get done today but here we are

If I had a dollar for every time someone said “I wish I could sell my book as adult fiction but it’s not spicy so I’m forced to sell it as YA” I would be able to stop making social media content entirely Folks. No one is gonna force you to spice up your book. Adult books can be G rated.

Every day, someone will ask me some form of “what if I have too much X in my writing?” X can be dialogue, description, time jumps, scenes where nothing happens, whatever The answer is so simple that it sounds like I’m mocking you: Delete it. If you have too much, delete it.

my hottest educational take is that schools should actively, non-punitively teach students how to admit when they don't know something, aren't sure or have made a mistake, with various teaching frameworks adapted to support this ideal, because people who can't admit fault are breaking the world

Reposting with alt-text:

Does your query letter answer the following questions: Who is the protagonist? What does she want? What is standing in her way? What is she willing to do to get it? What happens if she fails? Sometimes, you might also need: Why her? What “chosen one” attribute does she bring to the table?

Semi-regular PSA for writers that “POV character” is not a synonym for “protagonist”. You can have POV characters who aren’t protagonists and (less commonly) vice versa. In fact, your POV/narrator, main character, hero, and protagonist *could* conceivably all be different people.

Look at your first scene as if it's a play. Are your characters simply standing on stage, thinking? Are they moving things around? What does it look like, visually? Is there dialogue? Visual interest, movement + change you can see make the scene feel more dynamic and alive.

We are moving house and downsizing so I am now forced to defend my emotional support blank notebooks that are too pretty to write in

Best general writing advice: - every character is the protagonist of their own story, it’s just not this story - good stories come from stupid decisions - actually this is all life advice - you are your own protagonist and maybe you should let yourself make stupid decisions for the plot

Hey. You should be writing.

Yet again, I am telling the publishing world to ignore the voices that are making you panic, especially if they stand to profit off your panic. Publishing takes talent, hard work, perseverance, and some luck. Anyone who says a certain amount spent will shortcut the line is flat-out lying to you.

Are you a writer pursuing publication? You need a writing group and you need to read a lot. It doesn’t matter what skills you brought with you to this endeavor. It doesn’t matter how much time you’ve already devoted. Join a writing group. Read a lot. Best ROI you could ever imagine.

Prior to April 1, Storyteller Talent Agency was OptionAvenue, a "showcase" for authors wanting to connect with Hollywood that also charged $95/mo & never publicly shared any evidence of successful acquisitions. Ditto, so far, for Storyteller's client list 5/6 storytellertalentagency.com/authors/

This week I’ve blocked people for saying: - there is no merit in trad pub - audiobooks don’t count - agents are discriminating against straight white authors - teachers are to blame for the rise of AI usage - romantasy sucks Fights would boost engagement rates but I choose peace 😇

anyway, I always like it when people realize you can read ROMEO + JULIET as an absolutely absurd comedy and remember that "Two households, both alike in dignity" means they both can have *no dignity at all* and why am I thinking about this right now, no reason at all

A legitimate literary agent will not charge you a monthly fee for representation. A legitimate literary agent will not call a bookstore in a mall to set up your book signing and ask how many copies of the book you should bring with you for that signing. That’s not how ANY of this works.

It is raining in Phoenix on June 2nd. It also rained in Phoenix on June 1st. This is the second time in recorded history that this has happened. Last time was in 1914.

I don’t rate books publicly but my personal rating system, for my own reference and enjoyment, is: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️=I never set it down out of boredom. Absolutely would recommend. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️=I enjoyed this. Would recommend to fans of the genre. ⭐️⭐️⭐️=I enjoyed this. But it’s book Taco Bell. ⭐️⭐️=I finished this. ⭐️=DNF.

Don’t comment on strangers bodies. And, no, being visible on the internet is not actually an invitation for you to speculate about my health or personal life based on my appearance.

It’s extremely rude of my inbox to be waiting for me to return from the long weekend

Gentle reminder that Memorial Day is a tribute to those who fell in the line of duty. If you want to honor all veterans, living or dead, no matter the cause of death or lingering consequences of their service, that day is Veterans Day in November.

AI ads know their target demo, lonely losers.

I’ve got a one-hour live Q&A session this afternoon for Patreon subscribers. Ask your writing, editing, publishing questions www.patreon.com/posts/129687...