PSA: The WGA strike may mean that novelists & authors get approached for screenwriting. While this may seem like a perfect opportunity, please note that the WGA does strongly enforces its right to prevent non-members who have engaged in scabbing from ever becoming members.
@brownandbella
I dated a 21 year old who did not realize that menstruation involved bleeding. He asked me how girls know when their period ends, and when I said "the bleeding stops." He screamed "YOU BLEED???" and recoiled in horror.
@ktsetsi
I suspect most authors do inherently understand this, but I worry about those few who may not be familiar with the WGA or its rules (Screenwriting is a VERY different world than book writing) being at a disadvantage not knowing. Just extra caution for anyone who is curious.
@pitbullmomof4
@C4Ciaran
And yet it will certainly be part of mine when Trump's budget cuts NYPD fed funding, which will cripple its counterterrorism resources.
I updated a
#MSWL
one-sheet for January '23, plus I'll keep tweeting and evolving like the book gremlin I am!
Also, credit to Inkyard Press for the idea of using scales to help capture vibes ::gestures to self::
if Publishing wants to be a community that purports to support the mentally ill, let’s pause for a moment to think about how we’ll engage with the very scary, very sad, and very real tragedies of severe mental illness when they actually occur within our community.
Who shouldn't be *your* agent: an agent who doesn't communicate with you or have time for you.
Who shouldn't be *an* agent: an agent who makes approvals, rejections, and important decisions about your career without your input or against your wishes.
Publishing 2024 prediction: Due to rising production costs, I think we can expect publishers to ♥️ shorter books and be a little less flexible about word counts hovering around or over 400 pages, esp. in fantasy.
Hey Everyone, just remember, if you're surviving this week, you're doing enough. We are experiencing protracted, collective trauma and It's very difficult to process while it is occurring. You're alright even when you're not. Steady On. You're not alone.
Just a big THANK YOU to all the querying authors out there who are desperate, anxious, sad, and tired and *still* know it is not okay to violate our privacy; who know that whisper networks are for our safety, not for spite. We know it's tough out there. Thank you.
Your regular reminder that 71% of global emissions come from 100 companies. We can't save the planet without corporate climate change legislation. Also, dear shareholders, here is your reminder that your rate of return won't matter when economies collapse and we become extinct.
Did we get to the part where B&N corporate will also mark titles with "forthcoming" paperbacks as Non-replenishable meaning, as far as I understand it, that even their own booksellers can't get more copies?
Is it a declining market or is it declining support?
This is right out of a conservative government play-book: defund the public work to claim it doesn’t function, while expanding your profits.
"amidst a steadily declining market for children's books" but also B&N isn't stocking most debuts, paperbacks are no longer guaranteed, authors are becoming responsible for their own marketing, book bans are rife ... anything else?
Corporate profits are as high as the were in the '50s, when the average CEO pay ratio was 20:1
Today it is 186:1
Rupert Murdoch is a Billionaire, and somehow already notoriously under-staffed and over-burdened Publishers are shuttering imprints.
Inflation. My. Ass.
It's that time of yeay! A very basic one-sheet
#MSWL
for 2024, but as always: I love to be surprised! Next week when I re-open, you can find my queries at Query Tracker!
An element of the
#PublishingPaidMe
discussion underexplored by White gatekeepers is justification. Yes, there are the indefensible “Black people don’t read” positions. But there are also the “The P&L doesn’t justify it,” which are especially insidious b/c they seem defensible.
@Liz_Cheney
@AOC
@yadvashem
So, to confirm, you're totally cool with the mass detention of civilians without trial or legal counsel because ... it's not Auschwitz yet? THAT'S YOUR BAR TO CLEAR? You just need it to be NOT Auschwitz and that makes it cool?
This is not a labor problem or an inflation problem or expense problem. This is a corporate personhood problem.
We are in the "find out" portion of the programming and I hate it here.
Enter: exploitative Black pain narratives, but rarely Black Joy. A decade of White paranormal YA, but when you try to sell a Black paranormal title “we’re not ready for paranormal to be back yet.” Or “We already have a Black Royal fantasy.” Or “But is this African enough?”
Everyone is all "oh she's just doing it now cause he's a nominee" like that's not AN EXCELLENT REASON TO FINALLY COME FORWARD. OF COURSE SHE IS DOING IT NOW. SHE HAD TO.
It would be foolish for me to try and explain how earned this is; the constant energy and effort
@brownbookworm
conjures for her work is beyond me. I'll just say that I also couldn't be happier for her. <3
Imposter is at it again. PSA: I 100% DO NOT CHARGE FEES. I'm not a scout, consultant, editor, book doctor, etc. Agents work only on commission. If you are contacted by someone with my name who offers to work with you in exchange for up front payments, you are NOT talking to me.
Dear Authors, Let's say for argument sake that you are not, for example, a wealthy entertainment mogul. You are not betraying your art by treating it like a financial opportunity.
I don't know how to say it more clearly: AGENTS DO NOT SIGN BAD BOOKS BECAUSE OF "GOOD" IDENTITIES. Identity can't overcome a shitty book. It can, however, enrich a good one.
I'm not really on Twitter these days because my new son ( unlike his mother) is unwilling to negotiate. Largely because he's only been on the planet a few weeks and doesn't know what "he" or "planet" or "time" mean, but whatever I missed: it was cool & my clients are the best!
As the annual diversity in publishing (dismal) results make their rounds, let all us straight white kids in publishing remember to *listen* to our under represented colleagues without demanding that they educate, explain, or otherwise soothe us, okay?
We allow White narratives to be as specific & varied as their authors, but We have treated POC narratives as monolithic; limited topics that we expect to be “important” and “White accessible.” When base the future of POC titles on how their past peformance, two things happen.
Alternate Little Women Ending: Amy gets a taste for blood after Beth's death and quietly murders the other members of her family until she's alone in that house wearing every dress the March family ever owned chanting "everything lovely happens to meg" over and over.
@kellybarnhill
@lyft
There should be a zero tolerance policy for this. Years ago a cab driver locked me in the back of a yellow cab and I was told by the NYC TLC that he would lose his cab license and it was the only peace of mind I got.
Husband, unprompted and out of the silence, stands up at the table with "If we ever do a SHALLOW duet, I get to be GaGa" ... like I haven't always implicitly understood that to be the case.
Does anyone else feel like they have hundreds of spoons and hundreds of knives and, like, three forks? WHERE ARE ALL THE FORKS GOING? DID I EVER HAVE THEM? HAVE I SOMEHOW PURCHASED PACKAGES OF JUST SPOONS AND KNIVES?
#mswl
I’d love some YA, MG, and or Adult Adventure … heists, treasures, puzzles, rom-venture! Think Heist Society, Inheritance Game, Lost City, Indiana Jones, etc.
If I miss your pitch, please know a query is still welcome! My Wishlist is in my highlights, but Lately my
#MSWL
is really tropey & vibe focused; things that will become a comfort book I read on repeat...
I’m not sure what the remedy is other than Listening and Trying, but I do know that Publishing – much like the country itself – can not rely on a Racist past to create an Equitable future.
If you said "I want someone to take me away"
and I said "well, there's always Calgon" and then I laughed, Would you know what reference I was making? Would you know why that's a joke? NOT THAT THIS HAPPENED OR ANYTHING.
How did we get to a place where it's partisan to abhor a President gleefully publicly mocking people? You're not suddenly a "liberal" snowflake if you'd prefer a President who isn't a giant grade school bully!
A female agent who has contempt for or prejudice against men is a misandrist. A female agent who notes that male authors often struggle w/ depictions of women is a reader. A male author who demands that the agent explain herself and in a way that satisfied him is the problem.
This is why you should finish a book before you review it, Paula. Spoiler Alert: The second half is about how Jesus was crucified for sedition & blasphemy.
Paula White: "Jesus did live in Egypt for three-and-a-half years. But it was not illegal. If He had broken the law then He would have been sinful and He would not have been our Messiah."
I’m in. If you’re a Black creator working on a book or interested in knowing more about publishing, I’m opening up my DMs from now until June 5th. I’m afraid I’m still closed to manuscripts, but I’m happy to talk about publishing, agenting, querying, pitching, etc.
Given recent threads about editor overwhelm, I think it's important to keep in mind Editors aren't behind because it takes a long time to write a thorough & thoughtful edit letter, but because all that time only represents one task.
#MSWL
for 2022, all your upmarket suspenseful adult please. DOs: Magic, Murder, Secrets, Impossible Bargains, Hauntings, Libraries, Heists, Lies, Friendships, Betrayals. DONTs: Sad White People Doing Sad White Things to each other for whole novels.
White women, before we start talking about how people and particularly women of color saved us again let’s remember first that they’re saving themselves *from* us. Examine that, too.
People need to really look at the communities who delivered these miraculous victories in AZ, GA, MI, MN, etc. They are rarely a focus of traditional political investment or electoral strategy,& are often sacrificed in policy negotiations.
One “thank you” would be changing that.
2018 is the year I treat Social media like cow's milk dairy products; I still like & have it sometimes, and I want other people to enjoy it, but I'm spending less time consuming it because I always feel vaguely stricken after.
This idea that Agents & Editors offer on terrible books b/c they pity or fetishize marginalized voices enough to offer on bad material... Morality Aside - and there's plenty to unpack - Publishing is a business. I don't earn unless my clients earn.
Me: I caught one of those f**king mice. It's outside now.
Husband: ::quiet frown::
Me: What's wrong?
Husband: I'm worried they're a couple and we just broke up a family.
... Those water signs, y'all.
This applies to ALL people, ALL the time. Asking a very pregnant woman "still no baby?" is annoying, for sure. But asking a not-pregnant person could range from irritating to utterly devastating.
This week has been a so-devestated-I-actually-cried week AND a mid-day-celebration-dance-party week. If you're gonna be in this industry, you gotta find a way to ride the waves, 'cause it is a ride.
I just realized it took me nearly six months to understand that if the past six months have been especially busy, it's not "especially" anymore. It's just like this now. This is normal now. I'm off to breathe into a paper bag for an hour and cry.
As we approach Bridgerton Season ( and because I see it already happening a bit ) a loving reminder that Nicola Coughlan, who I adore, is not a body positive activist or a size ambassador. She doesn't owe us discussions about her body or how we feel about it.
I once forgot to bring the drinks to a book launch. I burst into a liquor store, sweaty & breathless from my sprint, and shrieked in my Karen-est voice "I need 10 bottles of prosecco! It's an EMERGENCY." So, however you're getting through publishing today - you're doing great.
Not here to get anyone piled-on, but I urge y'all to take MSWLs gently. They're meant to give you a sense of our tastes and interests beyond genre. But, It bums me out to think that any author feels forced to comply or believes they're being judged by that compliance. Not so!
Dear People Who Don't Get Trigger Warnings, for many anxious people the difficulties are physical. What you might feel after, say, a near car wreck, an anxious person might feel because they have to talk to another person or remember a painful thing or have a thought...
👇 Snide responses confirm that while you might have the writing skills for part of this job, you don't have the professionalism for all of it. In the history of queries, I have regrets & losses, but never have they included someone who says "you'll regret it!" or "your loss!"
Scams are getting wild. Authors, please read
@victoriastrauss
's writer beware! And remember: If an agent is offering you representation in exchange for a fee, you are likely dealing with an imposter, a schmagent, or a fagent*
*I made it up just now. Fake + Agent = Fagent.
For those unconcerned re: Kentucky's 6 week abortion ban: Doctors count gestation from the last period, not implantation. For most women, by the time they confirm a pregnancy, that 6 weeks is over. And that was the entire point- women can't decide if they don't know they need to.
I'm lingering on
#Pitmad
! If I ❤️ your tweet, I'd love to see the material! And hey, I'm sure I'd be happy to see it even I don't heart it!
@LeePaigeOBrien
and I sometimes like the same things, in that case, it's dealers choice!
Seeing a lot of fabulous editors get promotions, and I am thrilled for them! Does this mean publishing is going to use some of those record profits to get their editorial & marketing & Publicity teams some help? Please? PUH-LEASE?
Is the plan to refuse AI protections and then just fire all the staff and drop all the writers and have AI write the novels? Because it seems like Cartoonish villainy and yet all those dominoes are lining up aren't they...
Each of these could have their own thread, but Acquisitions of debut titles are based largely on P&L statements that utilize comparable titles. Because of centuries of White supremacy, titles by POC authors don’t have many varied high-value comps.
So where is all the punishment for the men who contribute to unplanned pregnancy that ends in abortion or miscarriage ... oh right, it's almost like the pro-life agenda is exclusively about punishing & controlling women.
I think I am Entering my Romantic + [INSERT] phase... Romantic Comedy, Romantic Suspense, Romantic Mystery, Romantic Sci-Fi, Romantic Fantasy (which is not the same as romantasy. Romantic is the adjective, not the noun), Romantic Murders!
Do we have to address that 18+ months of forced confinement is not the same as rest? for a country that has commoditized an entire wellness industry, some of y'all are really not grasping the difference between self-care and chaos.