How to Glow in the Dark

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An anthology of publishing advice, conveniently organized by subject

neonliterary.substack.com

An anthology of publishing advice, conveniently organized by subject

Welcome to the waiting room of our book publishing urgent care clinic. Here you will find our brochure rack of common author problems and their treatment.

Anna Sproul-Latimer
Aug 19, 2022
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An anthology of publishing advice, conveniently organized by subject

neonliterary.substack.com

For this week’s newsletter, I asked my colleague Gabe to help me prepare something I’ve been meaning to put together for a while: an index of everything we’ve covered on “Glow” so far, organized by subject so it’s easier for all y’all to find useful information in the back catalogue. THANK YOU, GABE.

I’m going to make this the pinned post in our Substack archive, adding new posts to it every week from here on out.

The list is below. Posts in bold are ones I am particularly keen to wave in front of all your pretty author faces. This is because they contain particularly crucial information on navigating this industry or because they bust widely-held misconceptions about how literary agencies, publishers, and the book market work.

Lest you think this is Just a Clips Episode, there’s new content in here, too

The “Useful Reference Books” section of this index contains a list of books I wish every author would read. None of them focus on the craft or business of writing per se, but as you might have gathered over the years here, that’s not actually the kind of help most professional writers need. What they need is more spiritual and contextual: help finding more time, energy, psychic space, financial flexibility, self-esteem, etc. to enrich and enable their craft.

None of these books are by clients, and none are sponcon. I just like them.

Anyhoo:

THE GLINDEX

AGENT/AUTHOR RELATIONS

What does a good agent/author relationship look like?

What authors and agents don’t understand about each other

Your literary agent is your business partner, not your boss or employee

AUTHOR ANXIETIES, COMMON

The “one to two months after the book comes out” freakout

The “we’re getting towards the end of the editorial process” freakout

The “we have to stop making changes to the manuscript” freakout

The “post-publication depression and anxiety” freakout

“Why isn’t my publisher doing more to publicize my book?”

The “what am I going to do for a book party” freakout

The “immediately after you accept a book deal offer” freakout

The “oh my God, people on the internet are viciously criticizing me” freakout

A scattergram of career developments (and whether to freak out about them or not)

What to do when you’re stalling or panicked

Common freakout junctures in the emotional life of an author

Nightmare scenarios in a publishing career, and what will happen if they happen to you

AUTHOR FEELINGS, BAD

The impossibility of certainty in book publishing

Other people have had (and will have) “your” ideas

“Am I struggling because books are hard to write, or am I struggling because I’m writing the wrong book?”

“What’s going to happen if I write honestly about my experience with gender-based violence, given the antifeminist backlash playing out in courtrooms?”

Career success will not deliver you from emotional pain, so get good now at setting those boundaries

BOOK PROPOSAL AND MANUSCRIPT DEVELOPMENT

The component parts of a book proposal (and why they’re so hard to execute well)

How to write an overview

How to write a chapter outline

How to write (and select) your sample chapters 

How to write your author bio

Identifying your target audience

The art, science, and spiritual meaning of a good author photo

Editors don’t want to know what your book is about: they want to know what it does.

The most common editorial issue book proposals have and how to fix it in yours

“Aren’t I supposed to be writing a proposal here–not the whole book?”

The "comps" section is single most misunderstood part of a book proposal

What should your title be?

On acknowledgements sections

“But when will the proposal be ready?”

BOOK PUBLISHING INDUSTRY, MECHANICS OF

“What happens when the proposal is ready to go?”

The biggest surprises you'll encounter on your book publishing journey

What is a P&L and why does it matter

What’s up with the publisher’s marketing and PR questionnaire?

The publishing terms you might not know you're getting wrong

A primer on book deal finances and what to expect from them

How to streamline your creative gig work

What it’s going to feel like when you finally achieve your book publishing dreams

My best tips for publishing success

How to build your author platform

Being popular in publishing is like being a good art friend

What authors wish they'd known about publishing a book during a pandemic

Bitesize A to Z of publishing tips that are useful

On timing, timeliness, and time anxiety

What is and what can we do about the editorial burnout problem?

On "good" vs. "bad" advances, sales, editorial responses, and developments

Notes on the 2022-2023 HarperCollins strike (by us and by a HarperCollins editor)

BOOKS, NOT ABOUT WRITING OR PUBLISHING PER SE BUT NEVERTHELESS MASSIVELY USEFUL FOR A WRITING CAREER

When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chödron

Business for Bohemians by Tom Hodgkinson

A World Without Email by Cal Newport

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

COMMUNICATION, EFFECTIVE

The magic words all pro authors know: "I hear the note behind the note"

How to send effective publishing-related emails

The networking habits of successful writers

Why pleading, complaining, and debating with agents and editors is likely a waste of your time

You don’t owe anyone an explanation for your choices or feelings

EMOTIONAL SELF-SABOTAGE, AVOIDANCE OF

Why perfectionism might be hobbling your writing career

Your weirdness = your power and purpose as a writer

The best question to ask if you really want to know s/o: “What *didn't* happen here?"

The blessings of having at least one publishing nemesis

What has to happen before you become a “good author”

Understanding arrogance and humility

How self-parenting will benefit you and your creative career

Why that problem you feel so stuck on is likely not the real problem

Hypervigilance won't keep you safe in your writing career or anywhere

Why “a diamond is just a piece of coal that did well under pressure” is BS

How to unparalyze yourself when you’re reeling from self-doubt, stuckness, or shame

You can’t plan or “manifest” your way to a successful career

Your readers need your presence on the page — not your ego, projections, aphorisms, or quips.

WORK HABITS, OPTIMAL

Serious about finishing that novel or proposal? DON’T make it a daily practice.

How to find your focus again in a time that’s making chiffonade of our brains

If you really want a book deal, make it your #3 priority

How to make time and space for your publishing career when you have neither 

The problem with a can-do attitude

Being productive vs being compulsive 

“Killing it:” notes on a toxic capitalist metaphor

Uncertainty and stuckness are not the same thing as backsliding

How to juggle a creative career and family, especially if you have little kids

How to sharpen your executive function

The only professional goals I recommend setting are anti-goals

Rituals for dissipating writer's block, easing anxiety, and re-centering your focus 

The most important thing to keep in mind as you navigate the publishing industry is your own inevitable death

Make sure you’re nourishing all five of your senses as you work

Why you should take things even more slowly

MARKETING, SELF-DIRECTED

How to use social media as an author

"Can I write about this?": navigating cancellation anxiety, rejection sensitivity, and Twitterphobia

On running your books like a business

SUBMISSIONS / PITCHING AGENTS AND EDITORS

How I evaluate submissions

How literary agents and editors scan for red flags in author pitches

Common editorial rejections on book submissions (and how to avoid them)

Things to avoid in a query 

Our #MSSL (manuscript shit list)

Memoirs, essays, parodies, parenting, poetry, clever-conceit chapter structures, and other book concepts you’ll probably want to reframe before querying

Some easy ways to tell when your book (probably) isn't ready for submission

Typography: or, the part of your submission you’re probably not thinking about enough

SUBRIGHTS

How foreign rights work

How film/TV adaptations work

SUBCONSCIOUS, YOUR: FIGURING OUT WHAT IS GOING ON IN

A tarot reading: what is it you need to find your way forward with that book stuff you’re stuck on

How surface your best ideas from your subconscious

WRITING CRAFT, IMPROVING YOUR

Fight, flight, fawn, freeze: how your signature stress response(s) are making your writing worse (and how to fix the problem)

On the power of limerence in writing

Everything you need to know about being a good writer is somehow encapsulated in “The Waking” by Theodore Roethke

Good writing is merciful

How to build an emotional connection with your readers

Why we’re anti-“write what is true”

Readers' tastes are changing. Are you changing with them?

How to write a book that endures 

Rise to fall, then rise again anyway

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An anthology of publishing advice, conveniently organized by subject

neonliterary.substack.com
2 Comments
gordon h. hensley
Aug 28, 2022

superior compilation; a super resource

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Geoff Emberlyn
Writes Ember Letters | GMBRLYN
Aug 19, 2022

Dang, Anna (and Gabe), this is pure gold. Thank you so much for sharing and for being you!

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