A pacing tip I always wish I could yell at my past self while shaking them vigorously—Skip the getting there. Skip the getting ready. Skip the walking to and waking up for. Write the thing and only the thing!

After some early revisions and a title change, my queer horromance is finally taking shape! You'll Bleed The First Time is about every teenager's worst nightmare—state-mandated abstinence-only sex ed! (Oh, and also bursting into flames on prom night.)

📣Announcing #PreDV and #DVParty!📣 Excited to bring back #PreDV & #DVParty leading up to #DVPit! Practice your pitches during #PreDV on Mon, Sept 29, 2025! Get to know your fellow participants during #DVParty from Oct 2-Oct 7! Follow this account or dvpit.carrd.co for all official announcements!

I'll be on IG doing #1stlinepit this weekend with the same username. Let me know if you're there too!

COOLEST GRAPHICS: 1st: @rowanbrightonbrown.bsky.social 2nd: @KKrohnAuthor 3rd: @ztfairfax.bsky.social Runner-Up: @juliannewrites.bsky.social

Truly shocked and honored to see this pitch nominated for the #PosterPitAwards Most Intriguing Concept, Best Graphics, Most Original Concept, and Best Character Art! This story is so close to my heart and I'm just thrilled to see it connecting with others too ♥️

Very excited to announce that I'll be a mentor with #SmoochPit again this year! If you've written a book with romance alongside some other intriguing elements, I'd love to see your application starting Sept. 8th!

With their attempts at coming out repeatedly thwarted and the attempts on their life getting more and more serious, Andy realizes they’re being stalked by their pre-transition doppelganger—and she won’t stop until she’s taken the life they thought they’d left behind #PosterPit #YA #H #AG

The pregnant sex ed teacher is the first to fall. Then anyone who’s touched or been touched is up in flames and speaking with one voice. In the shadow of the spread, two girls must learn all they were never taught and see if you really can fight fire with fire #PosterPit #AG #YA

With their attempts at coming out repeatedly thwarted and the attempts on their life getting more and more serious, Andy realizes they’re being stalked by their pre-transition doppelganger—and she won’t stop until she’s taken the life they thought they’d left behind #PosterPit #YA #H #AG

With their attempts at coming out repeatedly thwarted and the attempts on their life getting more and more serious, Andy realizes they’re being stalked by their pre-transition doppelganger—and she won’t stop until she’s taken the life they thought they’d left behind #QueerPit #AG #YA

DEADNAME With their attempts at coming out repeatedly thwarted and the attempts on their life getting more and more serious, Andy realizes they’re being stalked by their pre-transition doppelganger—and she won’t stop until she’s taken the life they thought they’d left behind #QuestPit #AG #YA

The pregnant sex ed teacher is the first to fall. Then anyone who’s touched or been touched is up in flames and speaking with one voice. In the shadow of the spread, two girls must learn all they were never taught and see if you really can fight fire with fire #QuestPit #AG #YA

The pregnant sex ed teacher is the first to fall. Then anyone who’s touched or been touched is up in flames and speaking with one voice. In the shadow of the spread, two girls must learn all they were never taught and see if you really can fight fire with fire #QuestPit #AG #YA

With their attempts at coming out repeatedly thwarted and the attempts on their life getting more and more serious, Andy realizes they’re being stalked by their pre-transition doppelganger—and she won’t stop until she’s taken the life they thought they’d left behind #QuestPit #AG #YA

Re-pitching my queer + trans Appalachian horror for pride ✨ "Southern inheritances are always dark—whether it's a penchant for pills, a blood-soaked family farm, or an ancient magic. Sierra spurns them all, but when her dad disappears, she must choose which monsters to slay, and which to become."

The Writer // The First Page

I'm getting DMs about my spreadsheet, so here it is again! It is fully programmed to calculate your word count, graph and color code it, and even map it onto your favorite beat sheet if you want! docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

Day Three with this draft and I just hit 10K words! This story is just pouring out onto the page unlike any other...

I woke up in the middle of the night to frantically jot down a story idea, as I often do, and this time it was...good? Watch me quote this post in a couple years when this horrifying book has fully come to fruition.

Huge congratulations!! This was the first query I edited when I started my new system for free critiques, and it looks like A. is one of about twenty people that have gotten agents after working together this year! I'm so excited to see these books on shelves one day 🥹

Excerpt from my queer Appalachian horror, White Trash Witchcraft! #WIPsnips #writingcommunity

So excited for my #SmoochPit mentee and her new agent!! Summer of Nightmares is an incredible book and I can't wait to put it on my shelf someday soon!

I learned to love querying using two simple rules that made the process sustainable enough for me to push through the rejections and finally get that offer of rep! Danielle did an amazing job explaining why this works and how you can rewire your brain to find joy and maintain motivation throughout

To say that I am excited to publish the next @ymwjpodcast.bsky.social ep. w/ @rowanbrightonbrown.bsky.social is an UNDERSTATEMTENT! All, this episode was inspiring for my journey beyond words. The ep. "It's Not a Myth--We Can Find Ways to Enjoy Querying & Being on Submission" is coming ✨SUNDAY!🤗✨

Changing my mindset was actually the most important factor in finally getting an agent, and I just recorded the nerdiest podcast episode with @drenderturmaud.bsky.social about reconditioning your brain to find that joy in querying, and she was finally able to explain why it works!

A Southern inheritance is always dark—whether it's a penchant for pills, a blood-soaked family farm, or an ancient magic. Sierra spurns them all, but when her dad disappears, she must choose which monsters to slay, and which to become. #PopUpPitE #LuckyPit

A Southern inheritance is always dark—whether it's a penchant for pills, a blood-soaked family farm, or an ancient magic. Sierra spurns them all, but when her dad disappears, she must choose which monsters to slay, and which to become. #PopUpPitE #LuckyPit

I see these are making the rounds again! Here's my evergreen pitch for White Trash Witchcraft... "Southern inheritances are always dark—But when Sierra’s dad succumbs to something even stronger than his usual opioids, she must decide which monsters to slay and which to become"

I just re-read a million of these lists and by the end of my ten calls, I finally got it down to a science. Here's my strategy—

Temporarily closing query critiques to get caught up on my backlog!

FMC vs NBMC 🔥🌾🥾 🌿🦷🪲

#Writingcommunity, what are the tropes/themes in your wip? In White Trash Witchcraft; 🦷Monstrous character arcs 🦷 Ancient magic + modern harm reduction 🦷Y'allternative rep 🦷Subversion of "the chosen one" 🦷 Queer culture in the South

This is your sign to talk about your book! Almost exactly a year ago, I made my first ever post about what is now White Trash Witchcraft (which has a much better pitch and moodboard now!) and I can't even begin to explain all of the amazing things that have come from that ✨

So incredibly excited to announce that I have signed with Alexander Slater @greenburgerlit.bsky.social I knew White Trash Witchcraft was something special, but I never in my wildest dreams anticipated ten offers and the absolute rollercoaster that has been this past month. 🧵

I'm finally starting to release the videos I've been making of my querying process so far. Hopefully I'll be able to share everything that's been going on behind the scenes soon!

Happy SmoochPit showcase to all my fellow mentees. Thank you to my incredible mentor @rowanbrightonbrown.bsky.social who gave the best feedback and advice I could ask for! Also thank you to all the volunteers who made this possible I am so grateful for the community I was able to build.❤

A Southern inheritance is always dark—whether it's a penchant for pills, a blood-soaked family farm, or an ancient magic. Sierra spurns them all, but when her dad disappears, she must choose which monsters to slay, and which to become. #QuestPit #YA #H #T

Growing up queer in Appalachia was a major influence on White Trash Witchcraft, but the first spark of inspiration came while pulling kudzu from the moonshine stills on my family farm and wondering if one day we'd immortalize the burnt spoons and orange pill bottles the same way. (1/3) #pretendpanel

Here's a sneak peak at the vibes of my current work in progress...

This is for sure a shadowy manuscript, but this snippet is one of my favorites...🌿🫀 #WIPSnips #WriteSky #WritingPrompts #WritingCommunity #LitAgents

Hey #HorrorWritersChat I'm Rowan (they/them) and I'm about to jump back into the query trenches with some queer Appalachian folk horror! This month I've started outlining my next book (a retelling of one of my favorite horror classics!) and prepped all the submission materials for the current one

The opening page to my queer Appalachian horror novel that's about to hit the query trenches! #WIPSnips #WritingCommunity #AmQuerying

Check out my latest Tuesday Author Interview with Rowan Brighton Brown, an author who keeps giving back. @rowanbrightonbrown.bsky.social reminds authors to prioritize writing that brings them joy.

⋆⁺₊ ✧ White Trash Witchcraft ✩ ₊ ˚. ⋆ Southern inheritances are always dark—But when Sierra’s dad succumbs to something even stronger than his usual opioids, she must decide which monsters to slay and which to become #YouDeservePit #Q #H #T #LitAgents #Agentsguide

Sierra loves her family and fears becoming them. Their healing hurts and their pills make you sick. But as infectious iron creeps through veins like kudzu, she is forced to take on her dark inheritance. If she must deal with monsters, she might as well become one. #YouDeservePit #Q #YA #H #T

A Southern inheritance is always dark—whether it's a penchant for pills, a blood-soaked family farm, or an ancient magic. Sierra spurns them all, but when her dad disappears, she must choose which monsters to slay, and which to become. #YouDeservePit #Q #YA #H #T

Just made a Starter Pack of #amquerying #authors! Let me know if you would like to be added and if you'd like to swap support for #YouDeservepIt if we haven't agreed to do so already. We can do this together. Yay! #WritingCommunity #P2Ppit #BookSky #WriterSky go.bsky.app/Fa1toMA