Now that the #AMM submission window is closed, and all you lovely hopefuls have begun the waiting game...

I'm gonna make this an advice thread, full of the most important things I've learned as a R1 mentee & two-time mentor.

That's right. Mentorship speed round, baby!

Tip #1:

What's the slowest thing you can possibly imagine? A turtle on a hot summer day? Publishing moves slower than that.

The upside is that you can take your time. Patience and self-improvement will be your best friend. Don't race to a finish line you made up in your head.

Tip #2: Persistence is Patience's stubborn sumbitch of a little brother... & you're gonna need it. One of my MFA professors told us that out of her own class of 200, only 5 of them were still writing 10 years down the line. You can choose to be one of the ones who don't give up.

That being said......you need to be able to accept that there's always room to grow and improve. But how do you up your game? That's easy. You make friends.

Tip #3: Find critique partners. The very best part of #AMM is a chance to build community. Talk to other applicants.

This is *the most* important piece of advice I have. Your writing will never improve as much as when you're helping other people. So help other people, and find the friends you'll go through the trenches with. You don't need to be selected to find your community with #AMM.

Tip #4: Don't play the comparison game.

In your writing journey you *will* see others get things you want before you do. Some twinges of envy are natural, but don't give in to them. Publishing is not a zero sum game. One person's success does not take away from your future.

My own #AMM mentor @mara_fitzgerald once told me her publishing philosophy: that you wouldn't be jealous on someone else's birthday, so why should you be jealous of someone else's agent success or publishing deal? You'll get your own birthday cake one day too.

Tip #5: No one is a machine.

And I mean no one. You are not a book-writing robot, churning out manuscripts. Sometimes you need to let the creative field lie fallow and rest up.

But agents and editors aren't machines either. Respect the time they need & respect their boundaries.

Tip #6: Some books will get shelved. That's OK.

The book you just wrote might not get you a mentor. The book that got you into #AMM might not get you an agent. (Mine didn't!) The book that gets you your agent might not be your debut.

Some books serve their purpose by teaching us the skills we'll need to write the next one. And that might be sad, but it's also kind of beautiful. Remember Tip #1? Be Patient? Yeah, patience is kind of crucial to this one too.

Tip #7: The industry is more subjective than you know.

Take it from me, a person who interned for multiple literary agencies and manned the inbox. A *impossibly large* number of people submit to agents every day. And sometimes you might be right on the bubble when they pass.

It's not personal at all. It just comes down to what the agent is vibing with that day. Don't ever feel like "oh they rejected me, they hate me now." Honestly? They likely won't remember you if you come back with a different manuscript a year later. That's GOOD. That's freeing.

As long as you behave respectfully and follow the submission rules, you will be welcomed back into the inbox with future projects. Don't put so much pressure on yourself. Just do your best.

Tip #8: The agent who rejects you might not even dislike your work.

They might just not love it enough to make you their client and read it 1000x over. (Shoutout to my endlessly patient agent @LaurelSymonds!) Often an agent is cheering you on, but you two just aren't a fit.

Tip #9: Find good comparison titles.

If you want to write marketable fiction and pitch it well to agents, make sure you're reading widely in your chosen genre—and most importantly, reading books published within the last three years at the most.

I love "Ella Enchanted" deeply, but it's now too old to be an ideal MG comp. The same is true of other age ranges.

Similarly, you don't want to be comparing your story to the biggest bestseller ever, or to a classic of the genre. Saying your book is the next LOTR won't work.

What you are looking for, above all, to include in your queries are recent books with similar themes, characters, or premises *to show the agent that you know the genre and that there is an audience for your book right now.*

Tip #10: Writing is rewriting.

It's been said before because it's true. We all want to be some sort of superhuman writer who spits out a perfect first draft. We want people to beg us not to change a comma.

But that's not how the world works and we know it.

If you love your story enough, you'll love it enough to open your ears to good advice and find ways to reshape (and add, and in some places, kill your darlings) to make it better. No one does it right on the first try. So don't worry about making a first draft perfect—you can't.

Tip #11: Read about craft.

If you are a planner type of writer (I am guilty of being very Type A) or are a pantser looking to pants with more direction, consider reading a few craft books. Some people swear by Save The Cat. I also recommend The Anatomy of Story by John Truby.

Tip #12: Write what you love.

The publishing market is almost impossible to predict—so you might as well write something that will make your inner glow shine through instead of chasing trends.

Tip #13: Remember you love writing, and that's why you're doing this.

Don't fall into the trap of self-deprecation toward your writing. Your book is not "little." And it's not "garbage" either. (And hell, even if it is trash? There's a saying about another man's treasure.)

And that about wraps it up! A mini-mentorship in thirteen tips. Here's the thing, folks: there's always more to learn (or to teach about writing.) That's why you make friends, so you can all share insights. And maybe all together you'll know almost *half* the stuff.

Oh, and by the way? If you want to learn about publishing in yet more detail, you can always check out the wealth of incredibly knowledgeable (and specific!) videos on #AMM's fearless leader, @alexadonne's YouTube channel. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfwTRhTSM2NyJImC8HeUd1Q

Maybe in the future I'll have more tips to add to this thread. But for now, just sit tight, my pretties. Some of you will undoubtedly be super psyched to work with the many amazing #AMM mentors volunteering their time for R8.

But for no one is this the end of your journey.