An actual human person got a book deal* from reading Agents and Books and she tells you all about here today!

*and not even a client!

katemckean.substack.com/p/agents-and-b…

#pubtip #WritingCommunity #amquerying #amwriting

WELL, someone managed to find my personal Gmail address - which none of my clients have bc I don't use it for work - and send a query there. DO NOT DO THIS. It's not a good way to get extra attention; it's a good way to get yourself blocked on all my accounts. #pubtip

NDAs are not so common in book publishing and 99% of instances where I’ve been asked about one did not warrant it. #protip #pubtip #workingwithagents

Dear Writers,

Congrats to those who hit the NaNo finish line! Now that it’s over, please put that MS away. Forget about it for at least a month. Then take it back out and revise. Find critique partners and revise. Polish it again and again. THEN start querying agents. #pubtip

Writers: it’s that time of the year! Publishers Marketplace is having their free trial until the 30th.

Go forth, do research.
#pubtip #writetip #WritingCommunity

::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 😴

SO MUCH THIS. YOU set the timeframe. YOU take your time to make the choice. The fastest is not always the best for you. The first is not always the best for you. #pubtip

#Pubtip Make sure to fully know and understand your genre as well as the market. I have been rejecting a lot of authors who seem to have just sat down and wrote something not realizing there is no place out there for that book (even in the self-pub realm).

#pubtip I feel like authors worry about the title of their MS, like it can make or break the query.

Of every book I've published, very few kept the original title from beginning to end, and it usually changed multiple times during the editing process. Don't stress it so much.

Just explained my author:
SELL IN. Books that publishers ship to retailers.
SELL THROUGH. Books purchased by consumers thru retailers. Bookscan tracks 80% of these sales.
SPECIAL SALES. Bulk discounts, back-of-the-room sales, corp orders
#pubtip

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

We wanted to revisit an older video to expand. So here's more on... What is a Hook? youtu.be/vihHZuouJbA via @YouTube #WriteTip #PubTip

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

To avoid in #queries = "like all teens, XXX wants..."

#agenting
#pubtip

I’m gonna take this most excellent policy and institute it myself. #pubtip

This is so true it hurts #pubtip

It’s officially #NaNoWriMo & we wanted to wish you all luck with a little #pubtip from our #JewelsOfTheTrade series. Be sure to also check out our #BooksByTheNumbers series for even more #writing/#publishing advice.

Good luck #authors! #NaNoWriMo2019

When promoting your book (social media, website, bookstore events, cons, etc), remember to promote ALL formats.

Example, "Available now in print, ebook and audiobook"

#agenting
#pubtip