Hi folks, just stumbled upon your Substack & subscribed, looking forward to exploring the resources on offer here.
I myself am a horror writer, first book scheduled to be published early next year. Current Substack leans more into the erotica/BDSM/supernatural erotica side of things, but I’ll soon open a new horror-themed Substack to support and promote said publication.
Really useful panel — especially the “query is a sales pitch, not a full plot dump” + confidence notes. For writers reading this who are stuck on “are my opening pages actually ready before the next batch?”: DraftVerdict offers a free first-chapter check (Hook + Genre Fit) at https://getdraftverdict.com — optional $29 Full Author Verdict for all 18 market-readiness scores, comps, and three highest-impact fixes.
Old: an upmarket love story about an intersex woman forced to choose between the glitzy life she's built as one of NYC's top architects and the gritty truth she shares anonymously on social media.
New: A successful New York City architect and intersex woman, conditioned to hide her XY chromosomes at all costs, is thrust into the spotlight and into crisis when her firm makes her the center of a glamorous social media campaign, the attention summoning her ex boyfriend along with all the shame and loneliness she’s spent her life suppressing under a carefully controlled life.
(But now I wonder if I’m forcing this too hard into once sentence)
This was very helpful and interesting. However I’m crafting a non-fiction book. So, I would love to see a supplement to this advice for focus on writing a query letter for a non-fiction book.
Hi! I'm curious whether an author's geographical location is also a factor for an agent to accept a manuscript?
I once asked a similar question in the comments of a YT video interviewing a CEO of a Big 5 publisher. What I gathered there is that it is a consideration, and publishers are more likely to sign agented authors from the EU and US than, let’s say, Asia (I’m from SEA 🥲), mostly because of logistical reasons like book signings and meeting bidders.
If agents do not see location as a variable for representing an author, while publishers do consider it, would you say that this becomes a reason why a work dies on sub?
Read back cover copy on your favorite novels to get an idea of how to write a query letter, hooking the reader without spoiling the ending. Subscribe to Publishers Lunch, the free version of Publishers Marketplace, and look up successful query letters on QueryTracker. I got my dream agent through referencing her MSWL (manuscript wish list) and was pulled from the slush ten years ago. There is hope!!! Good luck!
i got my agent by cold emailing one of my favorite writers for an interview, and after the writer responded (!!), we hadd a nice conversation and i told him i was thinking about turning the cccontent of the interview into a book and would he write the intro? he said yes and this led to a few publishing friends passing along a blurb to their agent buddies. now we're on submission!
Not much, if you ask me. I tried at a recent Paris writers workshop, but he blew me off right away with “the main thing is the joy of writing”, well, duh. Of course, I’ve had worse at these gatherings, including physical revulsion after some nut at a Chicago workshop would hardly talk to me after I paid her: at least the guy in Paris did that. Agents don’t care about me, about how my pedigree currently fits in with the human pound of flesh. But that’s okay, I’ll continue to forge on, into the abyss if I have to.
Hi folks, just stumbled upon your Substack & subscribed, looking forward to exploring the resources on offer here.
I myself am a horror writer, first book scheduled to be published early next year. Current Substack leans more into the erotica/BDSM/supernatural erotica side of things, but I’ll soon open a new horror-themed Substack to support and promote said publication.
Happy to connect with anyone on this thread!
Really useful panel — especially the “query is a sales pitch, not a full plot dump” + confidence notes. For writers reading this who are stuck on “are my opening pages actually ready before the next batch?”: DraftVerdict offers a free first-chapter check (Hook + Genre Fit) at https://getdraftverdict.com — optional $29 Full Author Verdict for all 18 market-readiness scores, comps, and three highest-impact fixes.
Quiet resource only — zero ask to the panelists.
I just rewrote my premise after reading this!
Old: an upmarket love story about an intersex woman forced to choose between the glitzy life she's built as one of NYC's top architects and the gritty truth she shares anonymously on social media.
New: A successful New York City architect and intersex woman, conditioned to hide her XY chromosomes at all costs, is thrust into the spotlight and into crisis when her firm makes her the center of a glamorous social media campaign, the attention summoning her ex boyfriend along with all the shame and loneliness she’s spent her life suppressing under a carefully controlled life.
(But now I wonder if I’m forcing this too hard into once sentence)
This was very helpful and interesting. However I’m crafting a non-fiction book. So, I would love to see a supplement to this advice for focus on writing a query letter for a non-fiction book.
Gratefully, Michael
Hi! I'm curious whether an author's geographical location is also a factor for an agent to accept a manuscript?
I once asked a similar question in the comments of a YT video interviewing a CEO of a Big 5 publisher. What I gathered there is that it is a consideration, and publishers are more likely to sign agented authors from the EU and US than, let’s say, Asia (I’m from SEA 🥲), mostly because of logistical reasons like book signings and meeting bidders.
If agents do not see location as a variable for representing an author, while publishers do consider it, would you say that this becomes a reason why a work dies on sub?
This is great info and I love the examples. How would you suggest tailoring some of this advice to nonfiction? For example, the one-sentence pitch.
So, you're saying there's a chance . . . 😉
How do you all feel about being addressed by your first name vs Dear Ms. Agent?
Thank you beyond. It’s as if the generals heard we needed air cover here in the query trenches.
Read back cover copy on your favorite novels to get an idea of how to write a query letter, hooking the reader without spoiling the ending. Subscribe to Publishers Lunch, the free version of Publishers Marketplace, and look up successful query letters on QueryTracker. I got my dream agent through referencing her MSWL (manuscript wish list) and was pulled from the slush ten years ago. There is hope!!! Good luck!
Thank you very much for all of this! It's grounding.
So helpful. I'm saving this. Thank you.
So grateful for this. Thanks.
i got my agent by cold emailing one of my favorite writers for an interview, and after the writer responded (!!), we hadd a nice conversation and i told him i was thinking about turning the cccontent of the interview into a book and would he write the intro? he said yes and this led to a few publishing friends passing along a blurb to their agent buddies. now we're on submission!
So appreciate the comprehensiveness!
Not much, if you ask me. I tried at a recent Paris writers workshop, but he blew me off right away with “the main thing is the joy of writing”, well, duh. Of course, I’ve had worse at these gatherings, including physical revulsion after some nut at a Chicago workshop would hardly talk to me after I paid her: at least the guy in Paris did that. Agents don’t care about me, about how my pedigree currently fits in with the human pound of flesh. But that’s okay, I’ll continue to forge on, into the abyss if I have to.