Happy, Happy, December Everyone! For this December Special, I’ll be reminding you—yes you— that you’re awesome. 😊. Despite what others says. Despite what the world itself screams. You’re awesome, you deserve great things, and you WILL achieve that goal. So when self-doubt starts to whisper in your ear that you aren’t good enough, whip out…
December Special’s Query Package Critique has been fun, and I appreciate the bloggers who helped me get word out! (Hi Jaya, Kat, and Amelia!) I’ve really enjoyed reading and giving feedbacks on query letters and first pages; you guys are so talented! At the moment, I only have the space for one more critique so…
Let’s start up with my quick and easy definition of Bookstagram. Bookstagram: A lively, aesthetically pleasing corner of Instagram dedicated to sharing a love of books. Hello, hello everyone. I’ve been so excited to write and share today’s post because I’m a HUGE fan of Bookstagram! When I first joined in 2020, I was obsessed.…
Happy, Happy December, Everyone!!! It’s time to jolly and hang some holly! ...Or is it? December signifies many things for everyone, oftentimes this includes an End. The year is rounding up and you haven’t achieved that goal you hoped you would by now. I hear you. Me too. Still, I’ve decided now that even if…
Hello Everyone, happy last day of November, And Welcome To Query Critique Package! A December Gift To You Amazing Writers! Since NaNoWriMo has technically closed and many of you are working to query agents in the New Year, I thought I would offer some critique to any who needs it! After critiquing a number of…
Hi guys! Before we delve into the article, with December drawing near, I have some presents for you! (Yayy!) In the spirit of Christmas, I’ll be posting (still secret but amazing) articles designed especially for the season over the month under the tag ‘December Special’. And offering some critiques! Trust me, you don’t wanna miss…
Once upon a time, I wrote books based on passion alone. I had an idea, I poured it out, and that was it. Despite being really good at literature in high school, I knew absolutely nothing about applying craft to writing. It somehow skipped my mind that this craft was what made the stories I enjoyed reading so good.
Querying. Querying. What an imprint you leave on every writer’s life. I mean, even authors who have been successfully publishing books for years still remember their querying experiences. Why? Because it’s harrowing. And authors who luckily didn’t find querying to be harrowing remember it because it was far simpler than what they had braced themselves…
Let’s kick this off with a quick definition. What is a SLUSHPILE? According to Wikipedia ‘a slush pile is a set of unsolicited query letters or manuscripts that have either been directly sent to a publisher by an author, or which have been delivered via a literary agent representing the author who may or may…
There’s no one way to write a book. There’s no one way to pursue publishing. Whatever is working for you, is your right way. This post is mostly a recount of a recent experience and how it intensified my belief in these wise words I’m sure most of us hear. I’ve always been a dreamer.…
Am I the only one who thinks that titling a book should not be as taxing as it sometimes is? Honestly, isn’t it funny that sometimes choosing a title can even be harder than plotting a story?! For me, the challenge usually is in finding 1 - 5 words that perfectly encompass a story of…
I’m such a GINORMOUS Christmas lover. The movies, the sweaters, the CAROLS!, the cookies, the mood—ugh my entire heart. I love everything about the holidays. Last year, I hadn’t whipped out my full Christmas spirit because I was super focus on the feedback from the editor I’d submitted my book to. My family really felt…
My querying experience was a rather unusual one because my first manuscript’s baby steps had led it straight to an editor. I actually didn’t want to query it at all. You know, newbie ol’ me had thought that publishing house was my ‘dream house’ and that I’d do whatever necessary to ensure my book made…
One of the reasons I LOVE writing is: it can take you to places you’ve never been. I think that this was what fascinated me the most and bred my love for writing. Even as a kid (possibly especially as a kid?), I’d possessed an overactive imagination. I would always daydream about visiting places much…
I’m a firm believer that we writers need to have skyscraper-sized faith in our stories. I mean, if WE don’t, who will? Even when I first started typing my books on a laptop and didn’t feel confident enough to share them with friends, within me, I’d always believed that I had written something good enough…
We writers come in all forms, which is so exciting! Really, it’s a part of what makes conversations between writers dynamic and just so much fun. One major aspect in which we writers vary keenly is how we plot our stories. Usually, readers or upcoming writers would ask ‘do you write outlines for your stories…
EDITS. One single word that would make even the toughest writer’s breath catch. One word that could instantly make you wonder if the project you’ve been working on for months isn’t good enough. That can sometimes make you feel like the world itself is about to cave in on you. It’s a scary word. But…
So you’ve polished your manuscript to gleaming and are now ready to find an agent. Because you’re a diligent writer, you’ve scoured the internet and digested every tip ever written about query letters. You know that your letter shouldn’t extend beyond a page, should be typed in Times New Roman or Georgia (my personal favorite),…
Happy New Month everyone! It’s November! Yay! And exactly nine days since I signed with my agent, Hayley Steed of the Madeline Milburn Literary Agency! *Does a happy dance*. Now you probably know that I adore Hayley, and confirming her awesomeness is how in this timeframe, she’s sent me my first editorial note! So fast!…
If there’s one question I see often on the internet it’s ‘where do writers find inspiration for their books?’ You could be wondering because you plan to write the next The Hunger Games. Or because you’re hungry for an idea that would cinch your interest from page one until the end. Whatever the reason is,…
Honestly, I never even knew writing sequels was an issue until I came across a post on Google. I was searching for something else actually, but had to click when I saw the title 'Why Querying Writers Shouldn’t Write Sequels'. (Because, you know, the internet is designed to ever distract us from our main destination.)…
The time that gets gobbled up while we writers work to get a book traditionally published can be jaw-dropping. When in the cocooning throes of querying, one might not even notice. All we’re thinking is that this agent’s response time is in 2 weeks, which is faster than the other agents whose response time is…
Hi! Hi! I mentioned in my How I Got My Agent post that I utilized two cover letters while I was querying. I also received manuscript requests with both letters and so I assume both were pretty decent. As promised, here they are!
I crafted the first three chapters, the query letter, and synopsis. This time I made sure all three were intriguing and very witty. (Here are my query letters!). I sent out the first batch of queries early-to-mid September.
If there is one thing I’ve learned as a writer, it’s that aspects of a skill can be forgotten—despite how often one practices that skill. I started writing at a very young age and still have all my handwritten books stacked up. Some months ago, I gave a book of mine out to be critiqued.…
Motivation is pretty easy to find when that fabulous book idea first features in our brain. It’s also easy to retain when we’re writing all our favorite aspects (romance, fight scenes, banter, immersive settings, etc.) But there’s no denying that every writer also has the least-favorite aspects to work on. When I first started writing,…
Dearest readers, I’ll start with this: I never got a pitmad like/favorite on my Twitter pitches when I was querying, lol! And I think I participated in two PitMads in 2021. Both times I felt quite sad when I didn’t get any likes and while I refused to dwell on it, I sometimes would ask…
I typically don’t like speaking on topics like these because 1) It’s super gloomy and we like happiness in this house. 2) No one is perfect and we all have our flaws. My reason for deciding to write this post, however, was because I encountered a user’s (sad/disappointed) tweet in the writing community, and to…
Lucia's Fiction 