and so we begin again

I had three weeks off in December. One, because I was violently ill. The subsequent two because KT Literary closed for winter break. In the few snatches of time when I wasn’t bedridden and feverish or participating in a variety of holiday traditions with family and friends, I devoured all three books in Hilary Mantel’s WOLF HALL series for the first time.

The first book in the series—also titled WOLF HALL—came out in 2009. I had been in the publishing industry for a few years at that point. Still living in NYC, still assisting, still working two other jobs on top of my full-time assistant job to pay rent and dreaming of building my own list someday. And I remember the book coming out, and the following two installments in the next few years. I fully intended to read them. But working in publishing is a funny kind of time travel, because I’m always reading things that won’t be published until a year or two in the future, or things that published quite a while ago. And when reading what’s currently publishing right now I need to make sure I’m selecting titles that are in the genres and categories I’m trying to actively sell, so I have a good sense of the market at this precise moment in time. Juggling all of that (plus sometimes throwing it all out the window to reread my faves repeatedly when the need arises) means it’s really easy to miss out on reading absolutely massive books like WOLF HALL for a decade plus.

I just got completely sucked into these books, pausing only to pull up various wikipedia articles to refresh my memory about the accomplishments of this person or the events of that year. I read them all back to back—the first one in more or less one sitting, the next two whenever I could manage a handful of minutes here and there. We actually own all three because my husband read them years ago, when they first released. He worked in publishing then, too, but he made a graceful exit from the industry in 2010. Sometimes I stand in front of our many bookcases and look for something I haven’t read before, and it’s like being at a bookstore, except it’s my house. This time, though, I just texted my husband from my sickbed and said “please bring me something to read, I am desperate.” And so I finally read WOLF HALL.

I don’t have a great thesis here. I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to bring this back around by the close of this newsletter. I’m just trying to get started, trying to have something to say, and hoping someone out there needs to hear it. Hello! It’s 2025, and things are terrible, still, and more.

I started this newsletter in the summer (awful idea) and spilled almost all of my best advice for how to write a query letter. And I do want to continue doing some education here, offering up tips and advice, pulling back the curtain a little bit. I also want to let you know what I’m up to, reflect on some industry happenings, and just generally talk into the void a bit more hoping someone hears me.

Yes, this is partially an effort to get off social media. I’ve reduced my posting significantly, pretty much only posting a wrap up at the end of every month on instagram. I still spend waaaaaaay too much time scrolling there, though. And honestly, who knows what’s going to happen with the clock app.

The intoxicating thing about social media used to be how it connected me with people. Publishing twitter was an absolute blast in the early days! But I haven’t really felt that same connection when using social media for…years, honestly. Nowadays I find that connection in other people, free from the mercy of the algorithm. Teaching, attending conferences, sitting on panels. Whether virtual or in person, I find it so energizing to have conversations with people, and I want to do more of it this year. (My clients already know this about me, given how I tend to block off literal hours for our zoom calls).

I’m hoping to make much better use of this space this year, and I hope to make it a useful resource for you. If there’s things you want to see here, let me know!

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Stuff I’m Doing

On March 26th I’m doing a virtual event hosted by SCWBI Western Washington on a topic I’m incredibly passionate about—RED FLAGS: Avoiding Publishing Pitfalls.

June is a long way away, but registration is already open for the in-person Novel-In-Progress Bookcamp and Writing Retreat. This will be my fifth year on the staff for this week-long program, and I hope I continue to be invited back forever! My fellow instructors, the administrators, board members, and attendees make this a week I look forward to every year.

And every month (more or less) I off critiques through Manuscript Academy. Meeting availability goes up the first week of every month, and I’ve still got a few January slots open.

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What I’m Into Lately:

• Stardew Valley. This is my first time playing and I am obsessed. How UTTERLY CHARMING is this game?!

• Severance is back and I just rewatched all of Season 1 in anticipation. Can we talk about this show, please?

• Bullet Journaling. I’m trying this again! Will it last? Honestly, doubtful. But maybe this time’s the charm.