Anna Sproul-Latimer

Ninety-nine percent of the time--99%!--that "hey, book? I want to do a book with you!" email does NOT result in a book deal. The most typical outcome is that it devolves into a moving-goalposts situation where an offer doesn't materialize. (It does materialize sometimes! Rarely)

It SHOULD NOT signal: that this is the right opportunity for you. That you need to pounce on it this instant, or your opportunity to be an author will go away. That the editor's idea is one that you have to adopt.

It SHOULD signal: 1. you're qualified to write a book; it's time to get over your imposter syndrome. 2. you're getting yourself out there well! Good work! and 3. If you don't have an agent, this is one of the best possible times to shop competitively and get one from the top tier

AM #pubtip: I'm meditating a lot on the challenge of completion bias right now via @jkglei's excellent Reset course. If you're unfamiliar with it and a writer, it's an excellent thing to know about. Completion bias = the high we feel when we mark something Done on our to-do list.

Saturday AM #pubtip: if you’re an author looking for rep and you read an agent bio that says the person “has worked with” extremely famous authors at previous jobs, be sure to ask them, “does that mean you actually repped them?” But not for the reason you think!

Here is a #pubtip I wish those of us who write and sell nonfiction were better at communicating--to ourselves, to others, and especially to new authors:

Quality nonfiction does not develop on an assembly line. It develops organically and ambiguously, in lurches and recursions.

Good morning! My “become less obnoxious” challenge to myself this week is this: remember that you don’t know what you don’t know. #pubtip

A little Sunday agent advice for those #pubtip types thinking about their immortal legacy: no matter how young and fit you are, if you write books, please GOD have a will that clearly spells out who’s in charge of your literary estate. Also, make that executor not an a-hole.

Bc I can go ahead and put my car in park, a quick #pubtip thread for fellow industry ppl, based on a wise thing I read in Kim Scott’s RADICAL CANDOR and have been reminding myself today: it is not a “waste of time” to manage ppl’s emotions. If you’re a manager, that’s...your job.

Today's lunchtime #pubtip thread is on the most important habit authors (/all of us) should cultivate as we move through the industry, whether we're crafting a book proposal, problem-solving with colleagues, etc.: ENERGIZE OTHERS; DO NOT EXHAUST THEM.

Author/artist followers, please read this excerpt from @RachelFriedman's new book, AND THEN WE GREW UP. It's about the nonlinearity of success, the myth of "making it," and the reality that you're probably never going to feel like you can relax. #pubtip

forge.medium.com/theres-no-ladd…

Like @kate_mckean, I am thrilled people are buying books! This also helps me explain the economies of agenting nonfiction vs fiction. NF is like $20 ante blackjack, a combination some skill and luck with forecastable-ish pay. Fiction is giant wager slots! #pubtip

My favorite #pubtip for authors feeling anxious about Twitter publishing discourse: each author and book project is a microbiome, a teeming mass of factors good and bad. You are probably right about inefficiencies and privilege blindness where you spot them. But...

Good morning! Today’s #pubtip: don’t be myopic. At all stages of the process, is one of the most impt habits of mind you can cultivate. Narrow focus on one enthusiastic pursuing editor, one time frame, one issue: all of these things usually hurt the quality of your book and deal.

::surges awake while drifting off to sleep:: I don’t know who needs to hear this #pubtip, but the first paragraph you write when drafting a pitch letter usually should come last in your final, and vice versa. First last! Last first! Remember this alwaaaaaaaayyyzzz 😴

I’ve spent much of this week talking w/ agent friends about a specific kind of professional violation: the exciting author who makes a verbal commitment, disappears, and then either signs with s/o else or just poof! Is in PubMark one day w/a surprise deal. (Incoming #pubtip rant)

If you love my #pubtip threads, Kate’s Substack is amazing FYI

Psst: of all my recent #pubtip threads, this is the one that I think is most important - or at least the one that has the most distance between level of importance and number of would-be authors paying attention. TREAT IT LIKE A SMALL BUSINESS, people.

I am reading this book by @idler’s Tom Hodgkinson and HEARTILY recommend it for the aspiring nonfiction writers among you, especially those under contract. (No personal connection here, just found it at the library.) #pubtip

🤮🤮this is a #pubtip🤮🤮

song lyrics can cost thousands of dollars to quote. you have to get permission from (and pay $ to) all stakeholders to do it, and there are often many, and sometimes they are rando hard-to-find descendants of dead people