#WriteTip Use clichés as placeholders to later replace with POV (feelings, theories, opinions). Ex. Instead of a chill running down a spine or goosebumps, let the character confide to the reader what scares them the most. The more revealing the confession, the more compelling the voice. #revising

Interesting to see the PM article about authors' copyrights not being registered. No surprise publishers want to save money. Each application has a cost and copies need to be sent to Washington. I used to register copyright all S&S titles so if any authors have questions on doing it, I am here.

ZOMG! Zombie and Brain is #1 on Barnes & Nobles' Best Books of September list!! "Ghoulishly sweet, this is a no-brainer when it comes to kids’ picture books." HOW DID THEY THINK OF A BRAIN PUN I DIDN'T INCLUDE IN THE BOOK?? @alexborbolla.bsky.social www.barnesandnoble.com/blog/septemb...

My Stoker Award just arrived! It's gorgeous; photos don't do it justice, but it’s amazing to hold in my hands. Part of my acceptance speech: “Middle-grade horror shows kids they have power, inner strength, and a voice to stand against whatever comes their way. And so do we.” #booksky #Blackbooksky

Hey #mglit and #yalit folks - Help a new bookseller out with some middle grade and YA horror recs. Horror is just not my genre, but I want some solid suggestions in the shop as we approach Halloween. @allymalinenko.bsky.social - looking to you for some ideas!

#writingcommunity beware! There's a Twitter account and its corresponding website using my photo (@jesslitpro and jessicalitpro.systeme.io/f5933e61). It's unsettling to see my photo on someone else's account. Even worse is knowing someone is trying to take advantage of aspiring writers/authors.

I mean I think this is good advice but don’t take my word for it 😉❤️

James Lincoln Collier is 96!

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

When it comes to queries, I’m noticing an increase in everyone trying their best, this is a very hard industry, creating in these difficult times is challenging, and I’m very proud of you. ❤️

Just a reminder that the books we call "children's books" are really books written for an audience that includes children, but excludes absolutely no-one at all. They are BOOKS FOR EVERYONE - and you can never, ever be too old to read them, and to love them!

Am I connected to any... Or do any of you know any...speaker/booking agents in the UK/Europe? Or, do you have experience of being signed to a particular agency? Thanks

When QT sends a weekly update, but you think it's an agent response. #writingcommunity

The little something who runs this site. 😄 #writingcommunity

The little something who runs this site. 😄 #writingcommunity

She really would be perfect for my MC. Exact vibe. MG Fantasy🐣 #Amquerying

Is there a feed of publishing people on Bluesky? Somehow I only have one for kidlit. But I like adult too!

QueryTip: Don't say there are no books like yours when we ask for comp titles. We're trying to get a sense of how to pitch and market it. Saying there is nothing means is kind of like saying "this will never be successful in the current media environment," and I don't think that is what you mean.

Writers, please hear this: Your book idea is not too weird, too quiet, or too niche. It might just need another draft. A stronger voice. Cleaner execution. That’s not failure—that’s growth. 👉

“How many times should I revise my work?” I get this question a lot. My answer: As many times as it takes. Sometimes (rarely) a story comes out close to fully formed. Sometimes it will take dozens upon dozens of drafts and years of work to separate the wheat from the chaff to find the story.

My favorite kind of people are passionate people, the ones who are unapologetically excited about what they love and aren’t afraid to share their excitement with the world.

To the writer wondering if their story is “too weird”: Weird is marketable. Weird is memorable. Just make sure weird also has structure. Otherwise, it’s chaos in a trench coat. #AmWriting #QueryTips

As an FYI, I'm noticing more and more that words Microsoft Word highlights as mispelled are, in fact, correct and the spellcheck on Word is wrong. I suspect the incorporation of AI is dumbing spellcheck down to the point where I now always verify a spelling on m-w.com before accepting it.

I'll never in a zillion years understand why it takes so long to figure out HOW to write. 😂 To find your voice. This novel should've always been third person. + Shorter chapters. Original sentences were too bare. Hope I've added life. Life it deserved. #writingcommunity

I'll never in a zillion years understand why it takes so long to figure out HOW to write. 😂 To find your voice. This novel should've always been third person. + Shorter chapters. Original sentences were too bare. Hope I've added life. Life it deserved. #writingcommunity

I just want to know WHO is telling querying writers to add extra spacing between paragraphs?

🐣 It's so satisfying to get revisions right for something you believe in with your whole heart. 🐣 Well, I won't know for sure until I submit. 🤞 Not rushing it. Using additional eyes. MG Fantasy #WritingCommmunity #writersoftwitter #WriterLife #writersproblems

🐣 It's so satisfying to get revisions right for something you believe in with your whole heart. 🐣 Well, I won't know for sure until I submit. 🤞 Not rushing it. Using additional eyes. MG Fantasy #WritingCommmunity #writersoftwitter #WriterLife #writersproblems

Excited about my revision. Changing it to third person. Shortening chapters. Etc. Wish I did all of these things before, but it is what it is. Agents have expressed interest in these changes. 🤞 #amrevising #Writingcommunity One of my comps below

Excited about my revision. Changing it to third person. Shortening chapters. Etc. Wish I did all of these things before, but it is what it is. Agents have expressed interest in these changes. 🤞 #amrevising #Writingcommunity One of my comps below

This is adorable if you have a young Paddington fan in your house. Every month Paddington sends postcards and stickers and facts about a different country and the children who live there and the kids can do a travel log and mark a map etc. 😍 www.unicefusa.org/how-help/don...

Any variation on “I’m querying you because ChatGPT indicated you’d be a great match for my work” — autoreject. Your janky pet robot doesn’t know shit, and if you are relying on it for info, we are definitely not a great match.

Lots of authors coming over here and just a reminder that the best way to build engagement here is to ... engage! That doesn't mean you have to follow a billion people, but certainly repost and reply and share your space with others!!

Here’s your gentle reminder: 👉Your worth is not defined by book deals, sales numbers, or TikTok engagement. If you’re showing up, learning, and writing honestly…you’re already doing the brave thing. #writingcommunity #amwriting #amquerying

Movie version of your novel. Almost forgot about Falcon! He's an unexpected character. Should add him to my synopsis. He's got a Rufio vibe. I'd also cast the adult Dante Basco as another character. Emma Myers as my MC #writingcommuntiy My 🐣 MG Fantasy #amquerying

Movie version of your novel. Almost forgot about Falcon! He's an unexpected character. Should add him to my synopsis. He's got a Rufio vibe. I'd also cast the adult Dante Basco as another character. Emma Myers as my MC #writingcommuntiy My 🐣 MG Fantasy #amquerying

An old self-editing guide I used to send to writers (I stopped months ago) is making the rounds—and ruffling feathers. The goal wasn’t to insult. It was to help. Not all writers have access to foundational craft info, and I hoped to help more people than I can rep.

This is industry standard. Querying multiple agents at a time is A-OK and expected; querying multiple agents *at the same agency* at a time is much less OK unless the submission guidelines say otherwise. My agency’s submission guidelines ask you to query one of us at a time!

She really would be perfect for my MC. Exact vibe. MG Fantasy🐣 #Amquerying

Who would you cast in the movie/show version of your novel? #WritingCommmunity For my MG 🐣 Fantasy, I'd cast: Adam Driver and Anya Taylor-Joy as my two antagonists. Melika Foroutan is a bad/good kind of character. I'd like my 12-year-old MC & her sister to be unknowns.

Who would you cast in the movie/show version of your novel? #WritingCommmunity For my MG 🐣 Fantasy, I'd cast: Adam Driver and Anya Taylor-Joy as my two antagonists. Melika Foroutan is a bad/good kind of character. I'd like my 12-year-old MC & her sister to be unknowns.

Can’t wait for you all to read my friend’s book 📕♥️⚓️

Another thing with pacing is that you don't want every chapter to be the same length in novels or to all end on cliffhangers. I remember reading The Da Vinci Code and being EXHAUSTED after because the pace never let up with a cliffhanger every chapter. Vary the pacing throughout. #kidlitchat

The blessing—and curse—of being an agent are all the amazing and hilarious books I get to read before anyone else. It’s a curse only because no one else has yet experienced the joy that these books bring. Sending a project out to editors is so exciting and nerve wracking for the same reason.

My debut spooky MG mystery is out today! My mom lived in Maine for years, and on a trip tp visit her in 2021, my husband & I drove up the coast to see @stephenking.bsky.social 's house, and I got a book idea 👀