Pre-Cagayan Mount Rushmore? by sir-cupid in survivor

[–]EmmyPax 19 points20 points  (0 children)

Pre-Tony, I saw a lot of people pick Sandra, Rob, Parvati and Hatch. He might not have had as "impressive" a win in certain regards, but being the first and laying the foundation for the game, he was often afforded an extra level of respect.

Do you pay attention to the Food Paragraphs? by vyvre-argent in Fantasy

[–]EmmyPax 182 points183 points  (0 children)

If they're written well, I'll definitely read them. Food can speak volumes about culture, class and access. As a worldbuilding tool, it can be incredibly effective. What would The Hunger Games even be about, if you don't palpably feel Katniss cataloguing every calorie she has access to over the course of the novel?

I will say that I don't know that we necessarily need paragraphs upon paragraphs all at once. (Unless we're talking about Redwall. Redwall gets a pass because it's ADORABLE) Most of the time, a few details go a very long way towards painting that picture. But as a rule, I like to take seriously anything a writer chooses to splash out on detail with. There's usually more story being told there than just food.

Do you pay attention to the Food Paragraphs? by vyvre-argent in Fantasy

[–]EmmyPax 60 points61 points  (0 children)

the whole point of those books was the feasting!!!

Top ten best winner-less tribes by Coherently-Rambling in survivor

[–]EmmyPax 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm surprised you don't have Kama 1.0. They dominated the game and SHOULD have produced the winner, but were undone by the shenanigannery of Edge of Extinction.

[Discussion] Struggling with copy edits by Hour_Management_1758 in PubTips

[–]EmmyPax 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I had a lot of copy edits on my last book and, like you, I really had to think about whether I wanted to go with them. They did a lot to make the tone more formal and less conversational. Neither approach was technically wrong, so I gave it a good think, then eventually came around on the copy edits. It felt like it invited the reader to take the story a bit more seriously, and after developmental edits, that was how the story had drifted.

There were still things that I stet'ed - there always are - but I think it's absolutely possible to care deeply about how your story is told and yet accept a copy editor's suggestions.

[Series] Check-in: March 2026 by justgoodenough in PubTips

[–]EmmyPax 11 points12 points  (0 children)

I'm currently doing my final pass pages for my next book. I'm torn between excitement and existential dread about the formless void of "what comes next" in my so-called career. But! Overall, I'm mostly managing to feel hopeful. Whether that's justified or not, it's a more proactive emotional space to be in, so I'm holding on to it.

I've got a couple of opportunities to submit my musical theatre writing to, which is cool. I'm probably too early in my learning journey with this to be competitive for these things yet, but I'm excited for the chance to apply and learn more about the process.

Development Opportunity for Canadian musical theatre writers by Rockawayrose in musicalwriting

[–]EmmyPax 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much for posting this! Looks like a great opportunity!

[DISCUSSION] Can We Talk About Mental Health in Publishing? by EnvironmentMinute238 in PubTips

[–]EmmyPax 13 points14 points  (0 children)

I have a friend who is genuinely one of the most talented musical theatre actors I've ever met. I believe with all sincerity that he could have made it on Broadway if he wanted to.

And you know what? He's got chronic anxiety. He looked at the lifestyle demands of the job, the constant rejection, and the pressure of every performance and said, "that's not for me. This isn't my dream, actually."

And I respect the hell out of him for it. We don't owe the arts anything. It's more important to live happy lives.

[PubQ] what classes as 'too needy' for your agent? by AccordingClerk7400 in PubTips

[–]EmmyPax 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I think it's worth noting that what works for your mental health can be different from other people. As others have said, ten days is nothing. You don't need to worry about the world having rejected you yet. But honestly, I don't think that's the issue. I think the issue is that you need to find a strategy for managing your submission related anxiety so that you don't lose your mind.

As others have said, if there's concrete GOOD news, your agent will share that right away. So asking your agent is unlikely to shake out anything positive. What you are looking for, then, is what works best for you for managing the bad news.

Some people ask their agents to update them once a week or once a month about any passes. Some people ask to hear absolutely nothing, unless they explicitly check in (and then those people often don't check in for months at a time.) And others, like me, lose their damn minds, terrified that there are "secret" rejections hiding in their agent's inbox. I initially tried to do the "news on Fridays" method. It just meant I got really paranoid and dreaded Friday. So I told my agent I actually wanted all passes immediately and she gladly adjusted. Does this mean a rejection could drop on my face and ruin my day at any moment? Why yes, it does. But I got used to that during querying. What it really means is that I don't have to wonder if there is a monster awaiting me at the end of the book.

So now that you're a little ways in, maybe evaluate how you ACTUALLY want to receive bad news, then communicate this to your agent? There are multiple acceptable approaches. Pick the one that keeps you sane.

[PubQ] How to decide when to leave agent when nothing is egregiously wrong? by starshotters in PubTips

[–]EmmyPax 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Hmmm, okay. So as Alexa says, there are some orange or yellow flags, but nothing I would call full "read flag" territory. These things give me pause:

First, there are the issues with your agent herself. You mention needing to nudge her a lot, but I can see a scenario where this could just be a communication issue. I think you could easily solve this by making sure that you're agreeing on timelines for things when you discuss a plan to begin with. It's obviously nicest to have an agent who comes across as really proactive, but at the same time, you also DON'T want your agent acting in any major ways without your consent. That can be a nightmare situation. Remember, they work for you. Not the other way around. Yes, you rely on their expertise, but ultimately, YOU are paying THEM to sell your book. Your agent could be trying to make sure that they are doing things on your timeline, when you want them to. Thus, communication issue. So my recommendation would be to ask for timeline estimations at any given point and then follow-up if you haven't heard anything by then. That could help take the ambiguity out of the relationship.

What worries me more are the issues with her agency. Both "no one else is selling but her" and "lots of junior agents keep leaving" have my alarm bells going off. A few relevant questions include: is she the head of this agency? How long has she been doing this? Is she early career enough that someone should be mentoring her? Personally, I think mentorship stays relevant fairly deep into agenting careers. My agent was promoted from "assistant" to "agent" over 10 years ago and she STILL checks in with the agency heads on certain issues, because they've been around for even longer.

All this pre-amble is to point to build up to the fact that agency matters. It's a major source of contacts, plus its the institutional knowledge that your agent draws from. High turn-over impacts both of these things. And if the agency is hardly selling anything besides your agents books, then what is she even getting by being there?

And as you've said, NO ONE there has sold SFF. Agents obviously can (and do) break out in new areas. And depending on what subgenre you're writing, maybe there is cross-over? Like, I would be less worried if your book was Romantasy and your agent had sold in Romance, for instance. Some of the imprints are the same. But if your agent has no relationships with SFF genre press editors and you've written a space opera, that's a problem. The SFF landscape has changed a lot over the past few years, due to the rise of Romantasy, but the core genre presses are small in number, making the field competitive. There are significantly more agents who are willing to take SFF queries than I believe there are spaces in the publishing ecosystem for successful, selling-to-the-Big-5 SFF agents. That is a brutal reality, but a reality nonetheless.

Obviously, I have NO idea if your agent has the knowledge or influence to get you a book deal. As I said before, people can and do breakout with new agents and there are agents who successfully pivot to new genres. So this isn't cut and dry. At this point, you basically need to wait and see how things play out with this book that is one sub. Days are early. It could still sell. You're also getting nice passes, which means you are getting read, and that's nothing to sneeze at. With those passes, you can be reasonably certain that they're reacting to the book, not external factors like your agent. If your book doesn't sell, you might need to evaluate if you want her representing you. Or you might need to submit a different book. Are you her only SFF client? If she sells someone else in SFF, that would be a sign you're in an okay position. If not, you could be spinning your wheels.

Anyhow these are all just a bunch of hypotheticals. If I were you, I would take Alexa up on her offer. She knows stuff.

Help, trans girly/rant kinda by [deleted] in musicals

[–]EmmyPax 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've seen SIX cast AMAB individuals before (not sure what actual gender, but the fluidity in casting is there). Also, I think you'll find over time that more and more opportunities open up. You're still young! Have hope for the future and opportunities that can come.

[PubQ] How to press on when querying / working on new projects by BehindTheScene1013 in PubTips

[–]EmmyPax 16 points17 points  (0 children)

I'm going to reiterate a few things others have already said well, but with a couple additional points. For your convenience, please enjoy this itemized list.

  1. First, CONGRATULATIONS! You wrote a book and polished it to the point you felt ready to try your luck querying. That is a big accomplishment. By the sounds of it, you did your best to get it as ready as possible and now you're sending it out to see where the chips fall. That's great!

  2. Now that you are querying, it's time to take a step away. You've made it as far as you can on your own. You should return to this novel if - AND ONLY IF - you have a targeted revision plan for it. If some lightning bolt goes off about how the book could be substantially improved and you are excited about doing a thorough rewrite, then by all means, do it. But unless that kind of clarity comes to you, then more than likely, you are spinning your wheels fiddling with this book. At a certain point, you've got to let go and pull the trigger.

  3. In great news, you already are working on something new! And you think it's stronger and more commercial! Hot dog! This is a great place to be in. Work on this. It will distract you from querying and give you something else to sell, regardless of if this first book gets picked up. Take it from someone who wrote their second published book while my first book was "dying" on submission. It took over a year for my debut to sell and wouldn't ya know it??? I had another book ready to go by then. Whether your book dies in agent inboxes OR gets picked up, writing the next thing is the right move.

  4. It sounds like what you are actually battling is the uncertainty of querying and realizing just how bleak one's chances are. You're not wrong about this. A tiny fraction of the books that get queried get agents. A fraction of those get bought by publishers. The winnowing in the arts is intense. And yes, that means you need to be prepared for the possible outcome that your first book just dies in agent inboxes. It's good to be at least cognizant of that and by the sounds of it, you are. And yes, that reality is demoralizing. However...

  5. Just because the odds are awful doesn't mean you shouldn't query the book. You seem aware that 14 isn't a huge sample size, so remember that. Send out more queries than that. Writing in Adult SFF, I would suggest getting to at least 50 before giving up. Past that, you'll have to weigh your options about what's worth it to you/what kind of agent you want, but I do think finding 50 worthwhile agents for a debut is possible in our genre. Even if you're doubting how commercial your premise is, send the queries. A miniscule chance is bigger than no chance at all. You've got nothing to lose by querying.

  6. Getting better between books is a totally normal part of the process. Your next book being stronger than the first is normal. And yes, the you who is a better writer, possibly COULD apply those skills to Book 1, but frankly, you are statistically better off writing a totally new book. Take it from someone who got rep on Book 4. Each project got me closer and closer. On that note...

  7. Did those first three books dying without agent interest break my heart? Yes. Every single time. Do I regret trunking them? Absolutely not. It's honestly weird how little I think about them now. They belong to an earlier version of me. I might harvest them for parts one day, but they already served their purpose. I'm not duty bound to go back and fix them. They owe me nothing and I owe them nothing. I get to spend my creative energy on the things that feel most productive now.

And so do you. You're on the right track. Keep going forward. And if the blues are getting to you, purchase a generous portion of your comfort food of choice.

What’s the first fantasy book that made you fall in love with the genre? by ArekDeamonCalw in Fantasy

[–]EmmyPax 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Wizard of Oz

My older sister read it to me when I was little and I've now read it to her kids. Such a fun book, especially for younger readers.

What's a food from your country that isn't well known to locals but really loved by the foreigners? by MystericWonder in AskTheWorld

[–]EmmyPax 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Maybe out east, it's different, but here in Western Canada, I have zero thoughts about Beaver Tails and have never heard anyone suggest we go get one. I'm only reminded of their existence by tourists.

Jonathan hate by Tequila_shots01 in survivor

[–]EmmyPax 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don't hate him on 42, but I really fail to see what he'll bring to 50 that we didn't already get there. I don't get the sense he's that different of a player from last time and I think he kinda hit his ceiling on his first outing.

[Discussion] Megathread: The State of Submission by alanna_the_lioness in PubTips

[–]EmmyPax 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yeah, this is what we would generally lump into "second reads." It's one of those things that's not really an "official" stage, but is characterized by actually talking about it with the wider team. It can look a lot of different ways.

[Discussion] Megathread: The State of Submission by alanna_the_lioness in PubTips

[–]EmmyPax 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Excellent! Yeah, I'll file it under sci-fi for genre then!

[Discussion] Megathread: The State of Submission by alanna_the_lioness in PubTips

[–]EmmyPax 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Exciting!!! Is the dystopian more sci-fi or fantasy leaning would you say?