publish.me

It’s strange to be in publishing when an international health and financial crisis is happening—otherwise known as COVID. When I was in third grade, I remember seeing the Challenger explode after takeoff, along with my entire classroom (and the rest of the world). I remember when Kirk Cobain died.

When I was a kid, I not only learned I couldn’t slant my letters while writing cursive (I’m left-handed) but also that I didn’t say many words correctly. I had to see a speech therapist regularly from pre-kindergarten through fourth grade after getting two tubes in my ears.

As the end of 2019 quickly approaches, I return to my December “workout” of reading every single query and requested manuscript by the week of Christmas. In publishing, there’s a good chance many people will be out of the office over the holidays and generally get some much-needed time off.

It’s no secret that I love music. I attribute it to quite a few things: my mom playing music in our home, her record collection (that I would rollerskate to in the basement), my first Sony stereo system at the age of eight years old, and MTV in its earliest days of existence.

Recently, I had a handful of people ask me directly by email (while I was out of town) if I could meet them for coffee. These were individuals I’ve never met before, who are new publishing, and they had questions and wanted to pick my brain on their options. While it was an honor . . .

The reality is that not every idea will find a publishing home. Maybe it’s due to the timeliness of the idea, or your book is just not fully ready. There’s no specific standard for when to shelve a book, so here are a few things worth considering.

It’s that time of the year, in which I now get projects ready for the Fall, while also ensuring any materials requested before the summer were read. I personally set aside two personal deadlines every year to ensure I can make a dent in the requested reading materials...

One of my favorite things when I meet new writers and other creatives, is learning how they found themselves in that place. Usually this will spark an interesting conversation that takes many unexpected turns.

It goes without saying that we should put aside a wait-and-see approach to building a diverse writing community, and that we need to reach out to writers of color, the LGBTQIA community, and those with disabilities, so that everyone has a space to share their stories.

I remember at the age of 18 finally getting my first bookstore job. It was quite the process, with many applications, but finally a bookstore opened its door. Of course this was a game changer in my career choice, of which I’ll always be grateful that Kim the bookstore manager gave my young adult se

As an agent, I know that one of the hardest things to do is to actually follow through with any book idea, as in the author finishes writing the actual book. In the life of a writer, this not a choice; any idea must be finished before readers can see it.

In publishing, there are generally certain times in which agents submit books to publishers. This may vary, as each agent will have a specific calendar they're individually working by.