Fiction writing figure skater

I'm mostly here to act like an unhinged gremlin about fandoms, figure skating, travel, and typewriters &probably rant a tad about what it's like to be a traditionally published author whose books keep getting challenged/banned for being queer af, the fun never stops A. J. | he/him

[lillapillas]

touch my body tender

[quelmdn]

"Kiss me."

[faesketching]

❤️

[siredcrab]

Little Laurent

[leah-sz]

crazy how some people just moved on with their lives after reading captive prince.but not me

[write-on-world]

A cautionary tale if ever I heard one.

[writingtipsandtricks]

This summer I plan on finishing my manuscript. How would I go about finding an agent for fiction? How do I even begin this process? I really don’t want to waste time. Thank you in advance!

Hello!

I’ll be real with you, finding an agent is a rough process. You’re going to have to dig. Google is your friend, but the links below might help you out with narrowing your search. Overall, you’re going to want an agent who fits well with you and actually likes your genre. Most of them are pretty candid about what they want and/or like so hopefully you won’t have to guess if they’ll be into your book. 

MSWishlist where you can see if there are any agents who might be looking for what you have. 

There’s also AgentQuery.com and QueryTracker.net to help narrow down your search. 

If/When you find one, make sure to follow their submission guidelines to a T or they’ll either get annoyed or just throw your query out completely without looking at it. This Article is from Jane Friedman, who has 20 years of experience in the publishing industry. The linked article goes further into the process of finding an agent, sending out query letters and what you should expect from an agent. It’s also where I found the links above. I poked around her website a bit and she has a lot of resources for publishing, so definitely check it out. 

Hope this was helpful!

-Amanda

[nicayal]

Great advice for people interested in securing representation for their fiction projects.

I also highly recommend joining Bluesky, both for the writing community interactions and to follow agents and editors of interest. They often share MSWLs (manuscript wishlists) and publishing or query tips. The writers on Bluesky are great. Whenever anyone announces an agent signing or book deal, everyone celebrates. :)

[caswouldratherbehere]

Dear fanfic authors,

If you’ve been toying around with the idea of finishing your own original work, you should definitely do it. I’ve been on slush pile work and 90% of the fanfiction I’ve read is better than what comes into our submission box. You’d be horrified at what some people think is publishable.

Finish your novel. Submit it. You’re way better than you think, and you have a higher chance of being published than you fear. Especially at a place like Riptide or Dreamspinner, where they WANT your lgbtq stories.

Seriously. Stop doubting yourself and finish up that nanowrimo project. Dust off your half finished drafts. Finish your work, polish it up, and send it in. Trust me. Publishers want to see it.

Sincerely,

Your friendly neighborhood editor lady

[nicayal]

Not even joking, this was my exact situation. I wrote fanfic for years (still would, if I had any free time left), then hopped over to an original story in 2018. Signed with an agent based on it. Sold it to a Big 5 publisher in 2019. It features a slew of lgbtq characters.

And so many of the writers I’ve met who are in similar positions began learning their craft within the scope of a fandom world. This is definitely worth going for if it’s your goal, imo.

[nicayal]

Blue Lagoon #iceland #bluelagoon #bluelagooniceland #travel #spa #wanderlust (at Blue Lagoon Iceland)

[nicayal]

Blue Lagoon: sneak peek. 😃 🇮🇸 #bluelagoon #iceland #sunrise #wanderlust #travel (at Blue Lagoon Iceland)

[nicayal]

#Iceland scenery. So #green. 😍 #wanderlust #travel (at Southern Peninsula)

[nicayal]

Good morning, #iceland 😊 #sunrise #reykjavik (at Reykjavík, Iceland)

[nicayal]

The sky is on fire in #iceland. #sunrise #reykjavik (at Reykjavík, Iceland)

[nicayal]

Sleepy #iceland #kitty. #cat #reykjavik (at Reykjavík, Iceland)

[nicayal]

Look at this danish amazingness. #danish #pastry #currants #berry #reykjavik #iceland (at Sandholt Reykjavík)

[nicayal]

Favorite #reykjavik #bakery. #Iceland #cake #pastries #macarons (at Sandholt Reykjavík)

[nicayal]

#reykjavik #architecture at night. #iceland (at Reykjavík, Iceland)

[nicayal]

Symmetrical #church, ahoy. #Reykjavik #iceland #architecture (at Hallgrimskirkja, Reykjavík)