Good Afternoon, Pubcrawlers! If you’ve ever queried a manuscript or sold a book, then I think it’s safe to assume you’ve likely heard the word “pacing” in feedback for your project. Whether the pacing was too slow, too fast, or missing something, when I’m editing client projects or giving feedback on submissions, it’s one of the notes I give the most. When a novel is well-paced, it carries the reader through the story easily to […]
Author Archive | Hannah
The Query Conundrum
Industry Life, Writers Toolbox
Good morning, Pubcrawlers! As many of you likely know, as an agent, I get a lot of submissions. Even when I find myself in one of those rare moments where I’m mostly caught up on queries, it doesn’t last. And that isn’t including the pile of requested manuscripts I always have on hand. So you’ll believe me when I tell you, I read a LOT of queries. And I’m noticing a trend. I’m calling it […]
Tough Love and the Realities of the Publishing Industry
Industry Life
Writers, I’m here today with some tough love. If you’re not in for a post about the realities of the industry and what it means to enter traditional publishing, put this one aside for now. Because I am both a writer and an agent, I am lucky (or crazy) enough to be on both sides of the publishing coin. I have been on submission as a writer and I’ve submitted the works of writers. I […]
Why Rejection on a First Book Can Be a Blessing
Industry Life
Okay, I get it. Writing is hard. And not only is it hard, it’s time-consuming, sometimes all-consuming. You fall in love with your characters, your world, your stakes. You love your work. You believe in your work. So as a querying writer or an agented writer going on submission for the first time, you want more than anything for an agent or editor to see all the things that you love about your work and […]
Real Talk: Patience in Publishing
Industry Life, Writing Life
Time for some real, possibly difficult to hear, talk: Publishing, my friends, is a long, long game. Having been on both sides of it – as a writer, going through submission, and as an agent, taking my own clients through submission – I can say with certainty that if this industry is making you absolutely crazy with its snail’s pace, you are not alone. Publishing is an industry that, especially in recent years, is always […]