When your pitch mentions the race or other characteristic of the marginalized of only one character, I know what the default of all the others is. #pubtip

In your query letter, Catharine "Kate" McKean doesn't care that your main character goes by a nickname for the entirety of your novel. #pubtip

Please pay attention to submission guidelines when #amquerying. I ask for everything I need to properly review your work. If the query is nondescript, there's no synopsis *and* no sample pages, I don't really have anything to evaluate and it'll be an automatic pass. #querytip

Let this be the annual day I remind everyone that a novel is by definition fictional and thus "fictional novel" is redundant. It also earns an automatic neg in a query letter. #pubtip

Today's #PubTIp: When working on a publishing contract that is over a dozen pages long, be sure to put your keyboard away when a toddler is... oh, I don't know, awake and grabbing everything nearby?

Don't think this publisher cares about a grant of rights for "aksdjhfajkldshf."

#querytip no short story collections or novella submissions for me, please. I love to read them, but they're almost impossible to sell, especially from debut authors.

Some pretty solid advice in this thread...
#amwriting #writetip #pubtip

Advice for querying writers: Write short, professional emails to agents you respect. Copy the language, style & format of backcover copy. Then: keep writing, reading, critiquing. #keepon #querytip

Writers, you really don't need biz cards. Contact info should be on manuscripts/queries/emails. Handing me one in a pitch, separate from your work, means nothing when I get home and it's one in a stack (that gets tossed). #pubtip

#1 tear-my-hair-out pet peeve is working to craft and personalize a rejection letter only to receive a query for a new project within minutes ... and no acknowledgement of the first letter #querytip

#pubtip Keep your synopsis simple. Focus only on the main storyline and don't obsess on the subplots unless TRULY necessary!

An ideal synopsis focuses on what happens in the book and is light on backstory. Too many synopses are mostly backstory.

#pubtip

“When pitching, don’t say there’s nothing out there like it. Embrace your comp titles. Know where you go on the shelf.” – Paula Munier #pubtip #publishing

Not often considered #querytip, when you send your sample or ms as a word doc attachment, check that the zoom is 100% or 125%. Sometimes I open an attachment and the words ARE VERY LARGE IN MY FACE or *super *tiny *can't *read *it.

Please read if you are #querying. Everything about this thread is 💯 #querytip

#querytip Be wary of overly describing your manuscript. Don’t spend a lot of time saying it’s this or that or this adjective other thing. Jump right in. SHOW me. What’s it really about? Long, vague, adjective-riddled sentences pull agents out. We want to be as excited as you!

I never realized how many authors try just changing the title and then resubmit the same ms. Now our sub system QueryManager tells us when this happens! Explains my multiple feelings of deja vu from before. Please don’t do this, it wastes all our time. #querytip

Authors: this applies to your writing, too. #pubtip

#pubtip Please do not over exaggerate your writing history in a cover letter. A) Not cool; B) We will find out; and C) It is the easiest way to a rejection.

Same goes for your writing. Make sure you’re reading before you think before you write. Best way to understand your genre is to read it. #Writetip #Querytip (Found photo on social media… instagram.com/p/BtV6Wemn3PL/…