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Advice for 2021 #amquerying
1.Don’t be married to your 1st MS. Sometimes bidding it farewell will help you grow most as a writer
2.Beta readers aren’t industry professionals and it doesn’t matter if they love your book
3.Always be willing to improve your craft. It’s business
1.Don’t be married to your 1st MS. Sometimes bidding it farewell will help you grow most as a writer
2.Beta readers aren’t industry professionals and it doesn’t matter if they love your book
3.Always be willing to improve your craft. It’s business
4. GET A CP! I have 3 wildly different ones. One I exchange with chapter by chapter, daily (Hi, you!! 
She’s actually a former client and now a CP and treasured friend). She knows all the secrets so she can tell me if I’m being too obvious, too obtuse, etc. (More)
She’s actually a former client and now a CP and treasured friend). She knows all the secrets so she can tell me if I’m being too obvious, too obtuse, etc. (More)
The second CP (trad pubbed 3) I give to in chunks of 10k. She knows none of the secrets so it’s a major surprise when she gets to a twist and I get her real time reaction. The 3rd (trad pubbed 2) gets a copy when it’s done to read for pace and plot holes and general market
This helps me tremendously because by the time the 3rd CP gets it, it’s relatively clean and I only need a couple more rounds of edits before I send it to my agent, then I get her input before she sends to my publisher
5. Take advice from those who are steps ahead of you. They know more. I’m agented and pubbed and I still do this. I actually crave advice from those who are further. Must. Stay. Grounded. No one knows everything.
6. Getting agented and subsequently sold to a publisher is HARD. Don’t expect an agent to sign you if your writing isn’t amazing. Good enough, well, isn’t good enough. Agents don’t sign you hoping to edit your work into something sellable. They only get paid when you do
7. If you have a dream to be agented and trad pubbed, FOLLOW IT. Don’t listen to people who say “go indie” or “self publish”. They have their path. You have yours. Neither should be shamed for doing what works for them. Both are viable. You do you. You’re going to get a ton...
...of rejections.TONS! Don’t let it get you down. You need to hear that every book in the shelf at the bookstore was rejected likely dozens/hundreds of times. Persistence pays off. BUT you also need to hear 99% of those likely weren’t first MSs. Refer to tweet# 1 in the thread 
8. Good luck going forward. 2020 was a WEIRD time for writers, readers, agents, and all of publishing in general. Here’s to 2021 champagne wishes and caviar dreams 
and DMs are open if you have questions!
and DMs are open if you have questions!
