I'm actually really sad because I desperately want to sabotage our GenAI but, alas, it is doing such a good job of utterly failing to produce anything of use, let alone anything that justifies the cost, that I've got nothing to do.

TOTALLY UNRELATED, doesn't it suck how much the algo will push The Worst Person You Know engaging in terrible behavior because it loves outrage?

TOTALLY UNRELATED: I'm going to be posting Indigenous authors you should check out and/or follow if you haven't already.

Danica Nava ‪@danicanava.bsky.social
(Love is a War Song has the most gorgeous romance cover I've seen in a long time)

My daughter and I love that book. It's often been over a year but I still often ask myself, "What would the cobbler's wife do in this situation?"

I know I'm supposed to admire you two for the brave and incredible work you do but, wow, y'all look gorgeous in this photo! I hope you had a wonderful date together.

This is mind-blowing to me. I know I have my axe to grind but, truly, what is Trad Pub good for these days? Is it value truly only in the distribution system? Because if they won't market authors, won't pay editors to properly edit authors, and won't protect IP...what else is there?

I once drunkenly smoked 2 cigarettes on an evening in 2004 so, not a lie to say I'm a former smoker!

If I had any desire to Trad Pub, I'd never admit this as it is the act most likely to get me blacklisted. But I don't so...What are they gonna do? Not rep me?

🤷‍♀️

And if an open, qualified agent had rejected my query the year before (I did not requery anyone who requested a full or partial) I still sent them the new one with the "have you ever been rep'd" box checked. They'd read hundreds of queries since my prior letter. They weren't going to remember it.

While they were taking 2 mos to "evaluate" the book they recommended that I query again. Thanks to edits I had a different opening chapter so I just changed the title, re-did my query letter, and sent it to any reputable open agent who rep'd my genre.

The agency made some very unconvincing noises (after not contacting me for 3 weeks) about *maybe* placing me with another agent internally but it was very clear there wasn't a lot of enthusiasm...or knowledge about me or my book.

I signed with an agent early last year. My rep started out great but after I turned in my first round of edits, communication got increasingly sporadic until about 6 mos after I signed, I received an email that the agent was leaving publishing entirely effective immediately.

(I will never make a mood board. My brain fundamentally does not understand them and I loathe the process. And my playlists are personal. You don't know me like that stranger I've never met.)

There's nothing wrong with those things but they are so far from how I approach writing and interact with books and the kind of professional relationship I was looking for that asking told me were emphatically not a fit.