How to Glow in the Dark

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An anthology of publishing advice, conveniently organized by subject

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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
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Behold the Glindex—an index of just about every “Glow” post ever published, organized by topic rather than chronologically. Here’s hoping this makes it easier to find useful you-specific advice in the back catalogue.

I update this list…not exactly continuously, but whenever I remember to.

Happy browsing! Links in bold are posts I consider particularly important for authors to read, because they’re straight-up important or because the gap between “authors care about this” and “authors should care about this” strikes me as particularly wide.

AGENT-AUTHOR RELATIONS

What does a good agent/author relationship look like?

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

AUTHOR FREAKOUTS, COMMON

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

The “we’re getting to the end of the editorial development” freakout

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

The “post-publication depression and anxiety” freakout

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

Other common author freakouts and pain points

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

What to do when you’re stalling or panicked

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

AUTHORIAL SUFFERING, COMMON SOURCES OF

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?”

BOOK PUBLISHING INDUSTRY, CONTEMPORARY MECHANICS OF

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

What is a P&L and why does it matter

Where do book covers come from?

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

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

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

BOOK PUBLISHING INDUSTRY, UNHINGED HISTORY OF

Episode 1: Simon and Schuster

Episode 2: W. W. Norton

Episode 3.1: The Random House Publishing Group (PRH)

Episode 3.2: The Knopf/Doubleday Publishing Group (PRH)

BOOKS YOU SHOULD READ

When Things Fall Apart by Pema Chödron

Business for Bohemians by Tom Hodgkinson

A World Without Email by Cal Newport

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott

EDITORIAL DEVELOPMENT, PRE-BOOK DEAL

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

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

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

What should your title be?

EDITORIAL DEVELOPMENT, POST BOOK DEAL

On acknowledgements sections

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

CAREER SELF-MANAGEMENT, AUTHORIAL

How to streamline your creative gig work

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

How to build your author platform

If you feel like you’re not executing or producing up to your potential, the problem might be the other people.

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

The best communication primer for my industry is unfortunately also a great book on communicating with small children

CONFLICTS BETWEEN AUTHORS

How to be a Good Art Friend (and Communicate Like One)

The blessings of having at least one publishing nemesis

CONFLICTS BETWEEN AUTHORS AND AGENTS

“But when will the proposal be ready to submit?”

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

What authors and agents don’t understand about each other

CONFLICTS BETWEEN AUTHORS AND PUBLISHERS AND/OR EDITORS

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

“Why is my editor ghosting me?”

“What does my editor actually want me to do with their edits, if this isn’t it?”

“Did you listen to that podcast by the Instagram influencer whose big book deal got canceled?”

EMOTIONAL SELF-SABOTAGE, AVOIDANCE OF

Why perfectionism might be hobbling your writing career

Your weirdness = your power and purpose as a writer

What does an arrogant author look like? What does a humble one look like?

How self-parenting benefits 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

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

EXPECTATIONS MANAGEMENT, AUTHORIAL

My five least favorite painful truths about book publishing

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

The only professional goals I recommend setting are anti-goals

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

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

On whether or not you need to worry about “timeliness” with that book submission

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

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

MARKETING, SELF-DIRECTED

Readers around the world want just one kind of book right now

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

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

MEDITATIONS, UNCATEGORIZABLE

What Mike Knew

The Ghosts on That Ridge

Life’s a mess; you’re a mess; everyone’s a mess. Rise anyway.

Q&A on what do do with conflicting and confusing advice on editorial development, social media, and other matters

The mark of a philistine and weak writer: if they can’t personally understand the value, they decide there’s no value in there at all

The best question to ask if you really want to know another person or character: “What *didn't* happen to them?"

A diamond is not just a piece of coal that did well under pressure, and neither are you

An A to Z of rapid-fire publishing tips

DO NOT INFLATE YOUR LIFE JACKET WHEN YOU’RE STILL INSIDE THE PLANE. (This is a metaphor.)

Vitally important things for authors to remember, in aesthetically Instagrammable form

SUBCONSCIOUS, YOUR

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

SUBMISSIONS TO AGENTS AND AGENCIES

How I evaluate submissions

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

The most common red flags I see in book proposals by otherwise qualified authors

Things to avoid in a query 

Our #MSSL (manuscript shit list)

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

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

“Why aren’t agents responding to my query?”

SUBMISSIONS TO PUBLISHERS & EDITORS

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

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

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

SUBRIGHTS

How audio rights work

How foreign rights work

How film/TV adaptations work

WORK HABITS, OPTIMAL

The kind of author you don’t want to be (on the page)

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

Please follow the Puff Pastry Rule as you revise that manuscript or proposal.

How to find your focus again

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:” why this should not be your career goal

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

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

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

Why you should take things even more slowly

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)

Do something every day that annoys you.

Don’t be embarrassed about that crush! Limerence is the beginning of creative transformation.

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

Good writing is merciful to its readers, its characters, and its author

How to build an emotional connection with your readers

Why we’re anti-“write what is true”

How to write a book that endures through the ages

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

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An anthology of publishing advice, conveniently organized by subject

neonliterary.substack.com
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An anthology of publishing advice, conveniently organized by subject

neonliterary.substack.com
gordon hensley
Aug 28, 2022

superior compilation; a super resource

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Geoff Emberlyn
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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