Sheri Bentley
sheribbooks.bsky.social
Sheri Bentley
@sheribbooks.bsky.social
Writer. Literacy Coach. Lover of people and words. #SCBWI #KidsChoiceWinner -'24 #KidLitVibesWinner-'23 #50PreciousWordsHM-'23, '24 Pub'd in @DirigibleBalloon-'25
Pinned
Loved chatting with @juliefhedlund.bsky.social from @12x12challenge.bsky.social @scbwirockymtn.bsky.social conference. Feeling inspired! ✨
Excellent suggestions… ❤️
As an editor, I see the same specific mistakes in the slush pile over and over. Today, I’m sharing 10 resolutions that actually made a difference.

www.onlypicturebooks.com/2026/01/12/b...

#PictureBooks #WritingTips #KidLit #MondayBlogs
January 12, 2026 at 11:27 PM
So helpful… ❤️
January 12, 2026 at 10:49 PM
Reposted by Sheri Bentley
Open to queries! We’ve transitioned to Query Manager and are no longer accepting email queries. More info here: www.dunhamlit.com/how-to-submit #opentoqueries #literaryagent #amagenting
January 12, 2026 at 5:40 PM
Such an opportunity… ❤️
Dear #Querying #Writers,

Come join me here on #Bluesky for an #AskMeAnything session, this coming Wednesday, January 14, from 5pm - 6pm PT / 8p.m. - 9pm ET.

Happy to share #tips for #Writing #Revising #Querying + anything I can to help you succeed.

See you Wednesday evening!

#StarlingLit
January 12, 2026 at 10:43 PM
Reposted by Sheri Bentley
Hey #amquerying fam, I will be opening up to queries tomorrow!😱

I have an updated MSWL here: www.manuscriptwishlist.com/mswl-post/mo...

You will notice it is pretty similiar with some minor updates and that I am opening up to YA Mystery! The QM link is in my bio, I hope to see you in my box soon!☺️
December 31, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Stay tuned... 👀
the words it 's the most wonderful time of the year are written in red
ALT: the words it 's the most wonderful time of the year are written in red
media.tenor.com
December 22, 2025 at 4:49 PM
Good point… ❤️
Sometimes the reason a book doesn’t sell isn’t craft—it’s positioning. That’s a hard thing to sit with when you’ve poured years into the work. #writingcommunity #amwriting #amquerying
December 18, 2025 at 12:45 AM
Love this idea... ❤️
This week's #picturebook stack. For those of you who don't know, I log every book I read into an Excel spreadsheet with title, author, illustrator, publishing house, date of pub, and a short description. It's a great way to make your own list for comps and mentor texts. #kidlit
December 5, 2025 at 7:30 PM
Reposted by Sheri Bentley
I’ve donated a query and first 5 page critique to the People of Color in Publishing auction! Feel free to bid here:

peoplecolorpublishing.betterworld.org/auctions/poc...
Defend Url Scanner
links.us1.defend.egress.com
December 2, 2025 at 11:08 PM
Reposted by Sheri Bentley
This nice post is about me (nobody was paid to write it!!!) - anyway it’s all true, I do dole out publishing advice on the tumblr. If you want to ask questions that’s great, but I beg you to look at the FAQ first — after a decade, many of them have been asked many times! 😘
genuinely surprised at what a small following Jennifer Laughran's tumblr has. she's a senior agent at Andrea Brown and has a permanently open Q&A for authors. an amazing resource and opportunity! an incredibly generous one, too.

www.tumblr.com/literaticat
@literaticat · Ask the Agent:
I'm Jennifer Laughran. I'm a Senior Agent at the Andrea Brown Literary Agency, representing great authors and illustrators of children's and YA books. I'm also a life-long bookseller and sloth fan. As...
www.tumblr.com
December 4, 2025 at 8:57 AM
Reposted by Sheri Bentley
What does working with a literary agent look like? I just posted a few insights on my website:
writingcommunity.ca/what-working...
#writingcommunity #amquerying #writers
What working with a literary agent looks like – WritingCommunity.ca
writingcommunity.ca
November 26, 2025 at 5:05 PM
GREAT explanation... ❤️
In today's Ask the Agent Question of the Day, I talk about a publisher's non-compete clause, and why authors ALSO shouldn't want to compete with themselves.

(I had WAY too much fun with this metaphor, I apologize in advance, especially to anyone named Brad)

www.tumblr.com/literaticat/...
Post by @literaticat
💬 0  🔁 0  ❤️ 0 · Hi Jenn! Can you please expand on what you mean by “ but YOU shouldn’t want to conflict with your own work”? Picture this: You are a bride-to-be. You've spent hundreds of hours an…
www.tumblr.com
November 24, 2025 at 2:33 AM
Sounds GREAT... ❤️
November 24, 2025 at 2:24 AM
Such a good point... ❤️
Every book you love almost got abandoned once.
November 24, 2025 at 2:10 AM
Reposted by Sheri Bentley
Writing is 10% words and 90% deciding which words don’t belong.
November 15, 2025 at 3:34 PM
Love hearing this… ❤️
This week two clients got “the call” and we’re ending the week wrangling up their contracts.

I know publishing feels harder than ever lately, but good things are still happening, and great books are still being scooped up.

Hang in there. ❤️
November 11, 2025 at 3:12 AM
Reposted by Sheri Bentley
I'm now open to queries at querytracker.net/query/Michel... !! Do not send queries to my email as they will be deleted. I'm open until 10 pm EST on November 7th, accepting all Middle Grade and Young Adult. Also accepting Adult Mystery, Fantasy, Romantasy, Science Fiction and Horror.
Query Michelle Hauck at Storm Literary Agency
QueryTracker.net
November 3, 2025 at 1:26 PM
Reposted by Sheri Bentley
Querying writers -- Please give yourselves some grace and stop fretting about a few silly typos in your queries. We probably won't notice them, we're not going to hold them against you, and if we DO hold them against you, you don't want to work with us anyway.
November 3, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Even the title makes me smile!
November 6, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Reposted by Sheri Bentley
Writers, mark your calendars! ✍️

TRF agent Jennifer Chevais will take one-on-one pitches at the online #2025SeattleWritingWorkshop. This is your chance to connect directly with an agent and share your project from anywhere in the world.

Register here: theseattlewritingworkshop.com
November 5, 2025 at 5:02 PM
CONGRATS to all... 🧡🧡🧡
November 3, 2025 at 8:28 PM
Reposted by Sheri Bentley
Polish up your manuscripts and portfolios… After a terrific first 18 months at SWL, Lori is celebrating Thanksgiving by opening to queries! Swipe through to see what types of projects she's seeking to add to her exceptional list. #amquerying #amagenting #kidlit #kidlitartpostcard #GN #MG #YA #NA
October 24, 2025 at 7:14 PM
Love this reminder... ❤️
You can have a brilliant manuscript and still not be the right fit for an agent. It’s not about worth, it’s about match.
October 28, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Querying friends, take note of this... ❤️
Hey writers, if you are querying, make sure to keep an eye on your spam folder. Query Manager has an issue that messages from agents requesting materials are sent to spam by some email programs. It's happened again to several author recently, so be aware.
October 28, 2025 at 3:08 PM
Reposted by Sheri Bentley
I'll be doing an #askagent TODAY from 2pm to 3pm CST! Bring your burning publishing/querying/writing etc questions and I'll do my best to answer! ☺️
October 24, 2025 at 3:02 PM