Since February I have been querying my young adult murder mystery manuscript called The Final Chapter. It's set in a fictional small-town near Philly and takes place primarily at an indie bookstore during Halloween. The main character, Emmie, and her friends team up to solve who killed a bookstore patron, Bette. Emmie was the last … Continue reading Taking a Step Back
Tag: querying
Venturing into New Territory
The first book I ever wrote was an adult rom-com but after trying to query it, I ultimately decided to shelf the manuscript. I wasn't getting any bites what-so-ever and the more I was learning about querying and publishing, the more I realized this book did not follow the rules, for example, my main character … Continue reading Venturing into New Territory
Asking for Help
This summer I finished writing the first draft of my newest book, a young adult cozy murder mystery set in an indie bookstore during Halloween. After going through and making edits, I made the next important step on my manuscript's journey; I sent it off to a beta-reader. What are beta-readers? Beta-readers are readers that … Continue reading Asking for Help
Second Time Around: Publication Thoughts
My sophomore book, SUPERFICIAL, a young adult superhero book, just released a week ago, and it was a whole different set of emotions from when my first book, DOES LOVE ALWAYS WIN?, was published. With my first book, a couple of weeks before it was due to publish I couldn't sleep. I had so many … Continue reading Second Time Around: Publication Thoughts
My Publishing Journey
With only 20 days left until the publication of my debut YA sapphic novel, Does Love Always Win?, it's made me reflect on the arduous journey that got me to this point. I've also been thinking about how grateful I am that I've been able to publish a novel with another one being published next … Continue reading My Publishing Journey
Small Wins
Photo by Min An from Pexels The other day I opened up my Gmail account and began skimming to see what I had missed. I had been on the road all day for work and hadn't even checked my personal email since 6 a.m., probably a record. As I began sorting through the junk, the subject line of … Continue reading Small Wins
If At First You Don’t Succeed…
It's been four months since I restarted my querying journey after a year of deep edits, and I still haven't found success. I've received lots of form rejection emails from agents and small publishing houses, so much so I've started becoming numb to reading the words, "I wasn't pulled into the opening pages as much … Continue reading If At First You Don’t Succeed…
My Ode to Rejection
It's been another couple weeks of constant rejection from agents. This news can be disheartening to say the least. But instead of giving up or wallowing in my own self-pity, I find writing about the experience helps me process my emotions. I thought I would share a recent piece I wrote after a particularly difficult … Continue reading My Ode to Rejection
The Querying Coaster
Photo by Angie from Pexels After a yearlong break and many, many revisions, I'm back in the querying trenches, trying to find an agent to represent my young adult manuscript. I honestly forgot the highs and lows associated with this process; that some days I'm whooping with joy because an agent asked to read more pages contrasted with … Continue reading The Querying Coaster
Editing, and More Editing
Since March 2020, I actively decided to stop querying my book and take a break to make some very deep edits. I hired an amazing editor, (thank you Brianna!) and with her guidance, added a lot of depth to my story. I was invigorated and excited by everything I included until I looked at my … Continue reading Editing, and More Editing
Diane Billas 