New Year, New Webinar! I’ve really loved putting together my query letter webinars. I did two last year, but if there’s one topic people keep asking me about, it’s on crafting the dreaded non-fiction book proposal, and how to pitch non-fiction, specifically. Really, it shouldn’t be dreaded. And pitching non-fiction shouldn’t be scary, my friends. After-all, if you’re writing non-fiction, it means you’re an expert on the topic. You’ve got nothing to be afraid of. If anything, maybe I should be afraid of how you’re able to pitch that true crime murder story. Whether you’re writing memoir or wor ..read more

Well, With or Without You is right around the corner (don’t forget to preorder and get free stickers!), and I’m hitting the road for a few days to meetup with readers and talk about why mushrooms do not belong on cheesesteaks. Ahem. I digress. Here’s where you can catch me for that book, as well as a virtual event for Nicole Chung and Shannon Gibney’s astonishing When We Become Ours anthology, which is out this month (right after my birthday!). You might notice a little “giveaway” note below every day. If you’re not in publishing, you might not have heard about Harlequin shuttering Inkyard Pr ..read more

Hey friends, and happy autumn! The last time I did a personal webinar outside of a conference was all the way back in January at the start of the year, as a benefit for some friends and family. And well, now I’m doing it again. One of my good buddies here in Philly could use a hand when it comes to medical expenses (here’s a link to her GoFundMe for more info), and last time you were able to help me raise a nice amount that I could Venmo right to her and her family. I’d like to do that again. Also, my brother-in-law is struggling with some final expenses for his graduate degree (here’s a link ..read more

With the news surrounding what’s happening to Inkyard, my publisher, a lot of folks have been checking to see how they can support. And while I didn’t plan on revealing this preorder campaign until later, with events being canceled and all, now seems like the best time. With or Without You, my next YA novel, is heading your way this November, and I had the cutest stickers done up by A. Andrews. You can scope out A. Andrews’ work here via their official website. You’ve likely caught some of their art on Autostraddle, Refinery29, Buzzfeed, Bustle, and more. Just look at this gorgeous stuff. My ..read more

Oh hey! It’s a query letter for a non-fiction project! I get asked about these fairly often, so say thank you to the incredible and brilliant Tawny Lara by preordering her book, DRY HUMPING, which will be in bookstores everywhere September 19th with Quirk Books! Seriously. These queries only get shared because my clients are willing to share them. Now, let’s jump in, and showcase why this is such an excellent query letter, particularly for someone writing non-fiction. One stand out story about this query is that Tawny sent it to me in the morning, I requested it that day, read the proposal t ..read more

Friends, it’s been a long time. Back in 2019, when I moved back to Philadelphia, I hosted these small publishing AMA events at Indy Hall, my beloved coworking space. When things shut down in 2020, these events went virtual for a spell, and eventually morphed into the Philly Writing Discord that I started with my pal Swapna Krishna. Ask me for a link. But. I missed those in-person events terribly. The energy. The questions. The networking. Publishing is a notoriously inaccessible business to understand, so these events were my way to help writers in my local community. Ah, it was a delight. An ..read more

Back in 2021, when Mike Chen announced he was writing Star Wars: Brotherhood, I cannot even begin to tell you how my notifications lit up. Friends and colleagues in publishing were celebrating, as Mike is the wholesome cinnamon roll of the sci-fi world and adored by many, but also… some friends and colleagues (and old acquaintances on Facebook) had questions.  Namely, how did this happen? And can you get me a Star War (no Dennis you skipped my wedding) too? Throughout my years in publishing, whether we’re talking about my time at Quirk Books ages ago, my current career in agenting, or my ..read more

Goodness. The last one of these I did was back in the summer of 2021, at the absolute height of me missing conferences and wanting to try what so many of my colleagues had been doing. It was a lot of fun, and I’ve been meaning to do another one of these. I could never quite find the time, but now the time feels very right. One of my good pals here in Philadelphia needs a hand with medical expenses after some surgeries and hospitalizations that have been going for the good part of the last two years. She’ll be launching a GoFundMe soon, and I’ll be sure to link that up. Combine that with some ..read more

One of the things I absolutely delight in when it comes to working in publishing, is trying to push as much free information as I can into the hands of people who have questions. Sure, you can see my own query tips page here, where I have query letters, book proposals, and all kinds of good stuff available. But so many of my wonderful colleagues in this business have their own collection of free and accessible tips and insights, just waiting for you to gobble them up. I thought I’d pool together a bundle of my favorites, and I hope you’ll find some good tips in here. In fact, I know you will ..read more

Much like Mary Kenney (I posted her proposal for Gamer Girls just the other day), Aidan Moher is another non-fiction author I was following for a long time before we ended up working together. And as always, I have to preface a project like this with exactly that. Some non-fiction happens because an agent or an editor sees what you’re up to, and reaches out with a “hey I think you’ve got a book in you” sort of email. This was the case with Aidan and Fight Magic Items, a book that was born of his fantastic, moving essays about playing JRPGs. How did the proposal come together? What did it look ..read more