This Is Just To Say
I have turned off
the AI features
that were in
the update
and which
you were probably
hoping
to monetize
Fuck you
they were stupid
so unnecessary
and so annoying
I've been singing the axolotl song out loud any time I'm alone in an elevator for the past two weeks
guys, this is how you lose the time war
Tonight at 7 pm Eastern!
Future publishing professionals: Inkluded Academy is still accepting applications! www.inkluded.org/2026
I'm not affiliated but several of my colleagues in subsidiary rights landed their first jobs through Inkluded, and their support for people of color in the publishing workforce is so important.
I'm running a free, virtual workshop with OCLS next Tuesday on one of the fiddliest parts of a pitch: comp titles. Attendees will leave with a worksheet to help you brainstorm when you can't come up with that perfect, direct comp. attend.ocls.org/event/14835720
I reached a live person at my senator's office instead of a voicemail for the first time in over a year. After I left my message, they asked if there was anything else I wanted to say. I wasn't prepared so I panicked and said, "Tell the senator I'm disappointed in her."
If you are freaking out and need help doing this, TELL BLUESKY. One of us will help you! DO IT!
An update for anyone querying me: I've already received more queries so far this year than in all of 2025. My response time has slowed down significantly while I adjust to the high volume. I'm still reading and responding to every query, and I'm keeping my inbox open. Thanks for your patience!
I'm teaching a free, virtual class with the Orange County Library System tonight at 7 pm ET. We'll be talking about what elements agents and editors look for in the first ten pages of a manuscript: attend.ocls.org/event/14865229
If you have printed books with Ingram Spark, please take a moment to fill in their "opt out" form, so they know not to sell your books to Big Tech companies that scan printed media to train their datasets.
www.ingramcontent.com/page/ai-opt-...
Lots of items with no bids in the Lit for Queer Liberation auction. Writers: get your query letter or manuscript reviewed by experts who are donating their time for this cause!
www.32auctions.com/organization...
Ever wonder what happens when an agent is interested in signing you and your manuscript? Here’s a few steps you and the signing agent usually take during the process!
#writing #author #amquerying #amwriting #writingcommunity
London Book Fair by the numbers:
35 meetings, 2 stand parties, 2 happy hours, and 3 dinners over 4 days.
All 3 ASH Literary agents in 1 room for our 5(and a half!)-year anniversary celebration.
2nd year in a row that a ceiling fell on someone.
1 coffee with a client to end the fair on a high note.
Have said this before in other forms, but will reiterate it here: if you're doing long-form writing of any sort, reading the words aloud into a microphone is a completely unparalleled cheat code. It's free, easy, and so effective it feels like it shouldn't be allowed. I do it in a few stages...
Reminder that we're doing a query critique donation drive for a shelter-in-place program here in MSP. Going well so far--we're at about $1700 and would love to get to like $2500. Come get your pitch critiqued!
#amquerying writers: very cool opportunity to donate money to mutual aid efforts in Minnesota and receive query feedback! Laura and Erik have set up gift slots, too--you can donate to fund a critique for someone else, or DM them to request a critique if you're not able to donate right now
We’re doing a query drive to raise money to help relieve acute food insecurity among families sheltering in place. Come through!
Jason Low, publisher of Lee & Low Books, issues a call to action to fellow members of the industry to focus their efforts on fighting book bans buff.ly/Jc7UGNu
#mswl it would be fun to see a labor organizing romance. maybe they have a professional rivalry at different companies but they connect while trying to unionize their respective workplaces. maybe something else! maybe labor rights in a fantasy setting!
#mswl weird and beautiful YA where I may not be sure what's really happening, but the storytelling is so skillful I trust that it will take me where I need to go. books like Strange Creatures, Ink Poppy Midnight, When the Moon Was Ours, Among Others, Places No One Knows
A few of my evergreen requests for #mswl day: women who are knights! women with swords and an unhealthy relationship to the concept of chivalry, who maybe haven't done enough introspection on their proximity to power!
A stack of thin pink books that say OBSTETRIX * Naomi Kritzer on the spine.
HEY, I AM DOING ANOTHER FUNDRAISER FOR MINNESOTA RENT FUNDS! AND GIVING AWAY ANOTHER SIGNED ARC (Advance Review Copy) OF OBSTETRIX!!!
YOU COULD GET TO READ IT EARLY (it doesn't come out until June) AND HELP MINNESOTA FAMILIES STAY HOUSED!!!!
Hello Writing Community! We are delighted to announce our Second Official Bluesky *** #MSWL Day *** February 26, 2026. 🎉🎉🎉
Agents + editors can post what they ✨wish✨ they had in their inboxes; writers can find their next best fit for querying.
Learn more: manuscriptwishlist.com/2025/01/the-...
iambic tetrameter ass stick
This is going to be a bit of a pep talk. I firmly believe that handling rejection is the second most valuable skill for writers (after leveling up your craft) if you want to have a career in publishing your books.
I'm teaching a virtual class tomorrow at 7 pm EST with the Orange County Library on Reframing Rejection. Registration is free even if you're not an OCLS patron: attend.ocls.org/event/14865213
Roses are red
Violets are grue
In Ancient Egyptian,
Pashto, and Zulu
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue%E2...
#mswl butch protagonists, please! Especially in YA! A YA romance with a butch love interest would be so delightful
That's all for now. I don't answer questions about queries on Bluesky so direct any questions to the ASH Literary submissions email address. Looking forward to reading!
/🧵