Today’s #pubtip wisdom comes from an unrelated post on @RachelJSimmons’s excellent Insta. Selling and publishing a book can be, ah, intense reminders of how little control you have over other people’s opinions and purchases.

#PubTip If you're looking for an agent, put "I'm currently seeking literary representation" on your webpage, because sometimes agents look people up if they come across something interesting you've written!

Remember to share your query with someone who hasn't read the manuscript before sending it out! Since you know what happens in the book, you're usually too close to see what's confusing to the rest of us. #pubtip

Ok, having now read 100+ of the queries that came in since I opened: the most common problem I'm seeing is that they don't actually make it clear what the book is ABOUT. #pubtip

Villains can be cliches, too. When a villain in a story is too familiar, the threat dissipates, i.e.,evil genius, bad drug corporation, developer, etc. That bad guy has to be shaken up to be newly intriguing. Think of how many Qs agents see. Surprise us. #pubtip

If your story uses a very familiar trope, don't open your Q with it in its usual take. It has to be introduced and used differently in order to stand out. #pubtip #newtakesonoldstories

Many a worthy #pubtip here

There's been a recent uptick in folks emailing me unsolicited submissions. Reminder: Always read an agency's guidelines before querying! Ours are at knightagency.net/submissions. #pubtip #Submissions

Work for hire vs. royalties: no longer mutually exclusive? via @ASJAhq www2.asja.org/theword/2019/0… #copyright #writing #authors #pubtip

Longevity in publishing does not only come from continuing to write... #PubTip

I get a lot of queries for books targeting "to both adults and young adults." It's not. You are targeting one age group or another. Young adults read up, adults read down, but no book is written for both markets. #pubtip

If your query letter is vague and we have no idea what it is about, we will not request more to find out. We will reject. #pubtip

This is why I like to tell writers to read their work aloud to themselves. Hear the rhythm of the narration, the speech, etc, and find the shape to the voice. #pubtip

Querying works! That’s my # 1 way to find clients. #amquerying #writingcommunity #pubtip

here’s to more thoughtful posts like these about how to find agents that are a true fit, how to navigate the author-agent relationship if priorities and goals change, and making sure you continue to be honest with yourself through the process. #pubtip

The Writer's Toolbox by @ptbradley1 on @NovelAcademy #writingtip #writing #pubtip learnhowtowriteanovel.com/blog/2019/06/0…

There are a lot of great writers conferences coming up this summer, so a general tip: email your MS if you get a request. No USB drives, hard copies, or anything like that. Don’t give agents/editors more stuff to lug on the plane home. #pubtip

Point being — ALWAYS strike morality clauses. Or define them as best as possible. Though, in my experience, publishers are often okay with striking morality clauses because they’re infamously BS. #pubtip #contract

AFTER ALL morality is a social, cultural, personal thing. Besides, you know, illegal acts like stealing, murder, purposely running over a duck. #pubtip #contracts

The way many are written can be interpreted as John was involved in a twitter feud or received a speeding ticket — and the publisher can say “see you later!” #pubtip #contracts