I frequently do craft threads on social media, so I’ve gathered the links here to make them easier to find.
[CURRENTLY IN THE PROCESS OF RE-TRANSCRIBING AND UPDATING THEM ON BLUESKY — THESE WERE ALL ORIGINALLY ON TWITTER AND I’VE SINCE DELETED MY TWEETS]
Please note that no writing advice is universal. If you find this advice helpful, please use it! If it does not apply to your materials or situation, feel free to disregard!
Writing An Effective, Enticing Query – If you’re struggling to get your query right, this strategy may work well for you.
[This thread has been endorsed and quoted by multiple literary agents.] (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)
Writing Queries: A Formula Method – Not every strategy is right for every writer. If the above method was not helpful for you, you might want to try this more formulaic approach instead.
[Endorsed by agents and agented writers alike!]
Using A:TLA to Outline a Query – EVERYTHING CHANGED WHEN THE FIRE NATION ATTACKED. [Silly? Perhaps, but it works.]
Common Mistakes I See in the Slush (part 1) – After reading over 60,000 queries in my career, I can say I’ve truly seen the best and worst of the slush. Make sure you’re in the “best” category (or at least not the worst!) by avoiding these mistakes when you query.
[Endorsed by editors, agents, and agented writers!]
Common Mistakes I See in the Slush (part 2) – Back for more after getting through all of Part 1? Well, strap in! We’ve got yet another thread of mistakes to avoid!
[Still endorsed by editors, agents, and agented writers!]
What Do Queries Have in Common with Car Commercials? – (A lot, as it turns out.) How do you stand out in the query inbox and best highlight what makes your manuscript unique? Also features Tom Hiddleston (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)
Quick Query Checklist – Take 5 minutes before you send out your query to make absolutely sure you have everything you need in it!
[You better believe it’s endorsed by agents!]
Follow the Sub Guidelines – Exactly what it says. So many querying authors shoot themselves in the foot by not following the submission guidelines. Follow directions, and you’ll put yourself ahead of 90% of querying authors.
[Heartily endorsed by literary agents] (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)
Not Everyone Likes Eggplant – Learning the difference between “I am a bad writer” and “my book did not suit this agent’s/editor’s tastes” will save you a lot of heartache and angst. (For follow-up, see So Much Comes Down To Taste)
Querying Commandments Round 1 and Round 2 – Thou shalt honor the sub guidelines and keep them holy. (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)
Writing Engaging First Pages – You only get a few pages – sometimes only one – to impress a literary agent. Make sure yours are unique, grounded, and engaging! (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)
How NOT to Query – Learn from the heinous mistakes I made as a baby querying author and save yourself some major humiliation.
[Yep! It’s also endorsed by agents!]
Live-Pitching for People Who Hate Live-Pitching – You sit down across the table from an agent or editor . . . and instantly forget everything you planned to say and every book you’ve ever written or read. BREATHE. I got you. This thread is for you. [I’ve had people pitch me after reading this, and it makes a noticeable difference!]
Handling Rejection in a Brutal Business – Every author faces rejection. That is just a fact of the industry and of being an artist in general. But rejection can also be channeled into positive progress. (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)
[This thread has also been endorsed and quoted by literary agents. If you like gif posts better, try Keep Moving Forward.]
Italicized Thoughts vs Direct Narration – One of my biggest baby author sins was throwing in excessive italicized thoughts from the MC’s POV instead of smoothly integrating them into the narrative. This goes through why the latter can be more effective and provides examples of both. (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)
[And, you guessed it, it has also been endorsed by literary agents.]
Filtering and Distancing Language – Don’t put a barrier between your main character and your reader if you’re trying to write close 1st person or 3rd person! Filters and distancing language are easy to remove (and cut down on your word count!), but make an incredible amount of difference. (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)
[Yet again, endorsed by literary agents as well as Big Five editors.]
Don’t Throw the Baby Out With the Bathwater – Just because a scene isn’t working doesn’t mean you have to scrap the entire thing. A few well-placed words can change the tone of an entire scene! (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)
Editing A Book to Death – How much editing is TOO much editing? (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)
[Yep. It’s also endorsed.]
Don’t Be a Dick (especially to assistants) – Assistants do a LOT of the heavy lifting in publishing. Don’t be a dick to them. Seriously. (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)
[Do you even need to guess with this one? YEP. Agents and Big 5 editors and – surprise! – MANY assistants to both]
Historical Research 101 – A basic guideline to doing historical research for books: Rae edition.
[Endorsed by fantastic histfic writers!] (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)
How to Show Power When Writing Royalty and Nobility – Writing royalty and nobility is epic . . . but how do you SHOW how powerful they are? (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)
[Endorsed by lit agents!]
Hope in Failure – On unexpected wake-up calls and how I went from terrible writer newbie with an equally terrible book to an agented author in only a few years. (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)
The Glorification and Myth of the Tortured Firebender Artist – Hollywood loves to tell stories about mentally ill artists and creators who are forced to choose between their mental health and their art. It’s a damaging and horrific myth that needs to be addressed at every possible opportunity. (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)
Don’t Sign With Shmagents – Good news is hard to come by these days, and if you’re like me, your world is probably on fire . . . but signing with an unqualified agent or scam artist just because you’re tired of the query trenches is definitely not going to help.
What I Wish I’d Known, What I’m Glad I Didn’t – Publishing is hard af. Some things are useful to know early on. Some can only be learned through experience. (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)
The (Very Subjective) Process of Editing – Every writer has their own process for editing their manuscripts. Watch me break down mine step-by-step with examples. (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)
Writing Lessons from the Kitchen – Food metaphors = best metaphors
Social Media Updates – publishing advice regarding social media that I was given early on, specifically why posting progress updates on your publishing journey isn’t always a good idea.
Bleeding Ink, Inc 