For what it’s worth, I really do view whatever success I’ve had as an author as 95% luck. Every book of mine that’s sold was either MTBMW or sold in the wake of MTBMW mildly exceeding publisher expectations. Right place, right time, right title.

Working through the query inbox, and I’ve swapped from reading the letter first to going right to the opening pages. I’m looking for writing that immediately pulls me in with voice and an emotional hook. The query letter is nowhere near as important as the opening pages of your manuscript.

I’ll be thinking for a good long while about how this film upholds Sinon’s manhood while simultaneously positioning it as the quality that allows Sinon to be sacrificed for a “greater good.”

Kate Duguid@kateduguid.bsky.social · 2d ago

don’t know this person but I liked this www.pivot-club.com/p/actually-n...

don’t know this person but I liked this www.pivot-club.com/p/actually-n...

Actually, Nolan IS kind of making a point about trans people

And I have the (ancient) receipts

pivot-club.com

Shout out to my favorite character I ever wrote:

Either is fine! Wanting to explore really different worldviews doesn't make you "unethical," and wanting to read books with explicit consent and equal power dynamics doesn't mean you're self-infantalizing or inherently pro-censorship. We can have both if we chill on the judgment!

Yeah! Reading about people whose moral compasses clash with "modern sensibilities" can be an interesting exercise in trying to understand drastically different points of view, including really different value systems. AND sometimes you want to know you're going to find explicit consent in a book.

The issue isn’t curating a list of romantasy books with explicit consent; it’s the assumption that writing or reading about a certain dynamic is immoral.

i'm so obsessed with Olyoke. theres a description of worms in one of the early chapters/stories that will haunt you store.tenebrouspress.com/products/oly...

OLYOKE - a novel by Vincent Endwell (print + eBook)

Welcome to Olyoke, Tennessee: home to a Dollywood-style theme park, generations of troubled families, mysterious plagues, and the prophecies of a dead architect turned cult leader who has foretold a f...

store.tenebrouspress.com

Pre-orders are live for THE LAST INFINITY! Pick up your copy of time traveling disaster gays today! Launch date: 8/18. #WritingCommunity www.amazon.com/Last-Infinit...

There is a 5”2 drunk girl in this bar who is about to, somehow, stretch her arms to San Francisco and strangle the ref.

One BIG piece of luck in publishing is the luck it takes to be passionate and excited about writing in a subgenre that is currently selling big numbers.

i drew a different wolf puppy for my last drawing but the short stubby legged original one still charmed me so i saved him on a different layer 💐

The investment in research here is so important. Most research into trans healthcare is based around proving it makes people happier long term—which is valuable—but we also need research into best practices around HRT dosage, surgical techniques, and recovery procedures.

Them@them.us · last mo.

Zohran Mamdani Launches $15 Million Trans Care Investment: “New York City Is Stepping Up”

For context: I have over a thousand queries right now to go through. Please be patient!

It would be so funny if I started a “writing advice” social platform because every post would be like “figure out what works best for you and do that.”

Worth sharing, I think: most successful writers, especially those from a marginalized background, also have privileges that allowed them to develop their skills. Author branding often emphasizes the difficulties overcome, not the structural support given.

“Read books published by major imprints in your genre in the last two years” is good advice if you want a trad deal. “Read widely across genres and decades” is good advice to develop your craft.

Signed some copies of BEASTS at Chevalier’s in LA today. It is so encouraging to see stores still stock this book I care about so much and believe in so deeply.

Note: At the end of the month I will be closing my query inbox briefly to catch up on submissions.

Putting this out there: I don’t care if you personalize your query. You don’t need to do this for me. Unless you have a good reason (like you’re reminding me we met at an event) it’s not necessary

LOS ANGELES - URGENT! I'm heartbroken that my friend and neighbor has only a few days to live. We must find a loving forever home for her 2 kitties, Kit (F/grey/white) & Caboodle (M/black). Both 3-4yrs old, total sweethearts. Please ask around and send anyone interested my way, thank you ❤️

Because the Moon is tidally locked to the Earth, if you build your habitat on some plot of near-side regolith you can put the little Earth anywhere in the sky you want & it’ll stay there, lazily meandering around just a little as the Moon wobbles in its orbit. A view of Earthset from #Artemis II.

FWIW, I don’t use AI to read submissions and never will.

With all due respect, if you’re going to make a list of YA fantasy authors who support trans people, please make a list of *trans authors who write YA fantasy.* Times are tough for us RN, between book bans and the shrinking midlist. I love Pierce and Pratchett, but they don’t need your support RN

Reminder that I wrote a YA fantasy novel about a boy wizard who hooks up with a puppet boy while slowly transforming into an anthropomorphic fox (it’s also about labor unions and how cycles of abuse manifest in politics)

The first chapter of Gideon the Ninth is a masterclass in how to get an agent to request your MS. It immediately gives you a witty, irreverent voice, a character, a dilemma, and a sense of plot

Oh it’s THIS guy again. Let’s break down some of the false claims. “Literary agents receive thousands of query letters per month, sign less than a dozen clients per year, and fill 90 percent of their slots through referrals, so we’re talking about sub-0.01% chances here.”

Lindz McLeod - THE MISEDUCATION OF CAROLINE BINGLEY is out now!@lindzmcleod.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Oh, this guy again with more nonsense bullshit. Spoiler: no, it doesn't. I queried for free, as did everyone else I know who has an agent.

Building off this—the best way to get me to request a MS is for your opening pages to showcase smooth, professional prose with a clear and interesting voice, and then to introduce me to a character and give me an emotional hook

Zabé Ellor@zrellor.bsky.social · 6mo ago

The number one reason I reject an SFF manuscript has nothing to do with big things like worldbuilding or plot. It’s often that the first few pages don’t do the micro-level work of emotionally hooking the reader and then developing that hook