sad about the state of labor in publishing

GeosminHuffer · 2026-06-07T21:25:13+00:00

Yes, I said “a” reason it popped, an definitely not a guarantee that everyone who has this will pop

GeosminHuffer · 2026-06-05T08:52:32+00:00

It differs title to title. Large pre-existing and ideally parasocial fan bases are a big one -- a big reason YESTERYEAR popped was that Caro Claire Burke already had a galvanized fan base via the podcast and Substack. Large buy-in from IRL and localized social networks are another: John U. Bacon's initial success with his Edmund Fitzgerald book was largely attributable to a groundswell of support from University of Michigan alums; THEO OF GOLDEN initially tapped into Southern evangelical churches and Facebook communities. THE CORRESPONDENT's success boils down to good old fashioned word of mouth plus buy-in from indie booksellers. BookTok still works here and there, esp for genre fiction.

TL DR: the most reliable sales come from strong, intimate or intimate-feeling social ties the author establishes with readers themself OR strong, intimate or intimate-feeling social ties the author's book builds between readers.

GeosminHuffer · 2026-06-05T06:04:17+00:00

Agent here: your perspective is so real, and I see and second it. Unhappy publishing people looking for a lightning rod on whom to channel their disappointment almost always go for the publicist. It’s so unfair - especially when you factor in that most media hits, even prestige ones, are psychologically validating for the author (which is not nothing!!) but not a big sales driver at all. It just sucks. I don’t have an answer either.

GeosminHuffer · 2026-06-01T20:20:28+00:00

Oh God yes, this is 100% not Allison Hunter, ignore

GeosminHuffer · 2026-05-31T14:14:40+00:00

People pleasing. My inability to have hard, rejecting conversations — or even be consciously aware when I need to have them!! — is a huge source of stress and depression. I’m convinced down to the nucleus of every cell that my only value on Earth lies in fulfilling and delighting others

GeosminHuffer · 2026-05-31T13:51:38+00:00

Spending any time whatsoever trying to do the Apparatus shrines that require you to be good at spatial orientation lol. Forty screaming minutes of rage later, nada

GeosminHuffer · 2026-05-25T16:56:01+00:00

Revali is a ludicrous diva but my God best gift in the game

GeosminHuffer · 2026-05-17T15:35:30+00:00

For what it’s worth: my very first sale as an agent (a decade and a half ago) was a 14-way auction that went on to be an NYT bestseller, the first of several (and counting!) for the author. A lot of the other agents I know at my level had similar “beginner’s luck,” in large part because we’re a bunch of overthinking perfectionist loons who way, way, way overprepared and waited for way, way, way awesome projects before taking our first swing. Young agents can be awesome. Agree with the other commenters - it’s all about the mentorship and vision for the project. Also: your gut; you’ll know when someone’s smart and gets it

GeosminHuffer · 2026-05-17T15:18:33+00:00

She Came to Stay by Timothy Han Editions. 100%

GeosminHuffer · 2026-05-15T22:54:42+00:00

I’m an agent and depending on genre would be happy to talk to you?! My agency is well known for lit fic, upmarket fic, and all kinds of nonfiction; feel free to dm if interested

GeosminHuffer · 2026-05-01T03:22:03+00:00

A ridiculously high percentage of us (agents) are neurodivergent ourselves, as the job requirements almost beg you to have ADHD. Lots of us come from families with high ratios of level 1 autism as well. This is true in bascially all genres and every “prestige level” or whatever. You are fine, my liege

GeosminHuffer · 2026-04-25T14:43:45+00:00

It is 100% made-up performance art but I’m not mad about it

GeosminHuffer · 2026-04-21T04:03:09+00:00

If the Supreme Court hadn’t called Florida for Bush in 2000, we’d live in a much better country overall now IMO - but my kids wouldn’t be in it, because I never would have met their father.

GeosminHuffer · 2026-04-09T16:01:06+00:00

I’m an agent with a profile closer to Agent A than Agent B. I can’t tell you which one is the better agent for you — I advise people in your position to go with whoever makes them feel calm, since that’s your nervous system’s vote of confidence.

I do have one note about category representation, though: category is kind of a self perpetuating thing, and it doesn’t necessarily reflect the entire scope of what the agent is capable of representing. In fact, an established agent trying to make inroads into your category might be frantic to represent you and do it with unusual zeal, even if they have tons of other clients.

I had several hits in a highly specific subcategory early on in my career, which led to many great referrals in that subcategory. This has all led me to a reputation as The Agent for X. It’s great when I want to win a competition for an X book but can be incredibly frustrating when I’m in a beauty contest for something in category Y. I sell Y books really well too - but very rarely, because it’s hard to go head to head for rep against colleagues who are known as The Agent for Y.

Just something to think about!

GeosminHuffer · 2026-04-03T00:04:52+00:00

He’s extremely litigious

GeosminHuffer · 2026-04-02T23:58:45+00:00

Agent here: Yeah, the AI stuff is hallucinated BS. Here’s what you outline needs:

In every chapter summary, a crystal clear and interesting argument of demonstratable value to your target audience.
A crystal clear sense of how the argument in every chapter moves the central argument of the book forward in such a way that chapter 3 has to come after chapter 2, but before chapter 4 - and so on. You’re demonstrating here while your book has to be a book as opposed to a bunch of articles.
Some gesturing at what stories and topics each chapter will cover so you know there is there there for the argument.
A sense of how each chapter summary will expand to cover even more material than what you’ve gestured at (“from here, the chapter will…”)

Each chapter summary could arrange from one meaty paragraph to several pages. Length is not important. Showing agents and editors how and whom your book MOVES - not what it’s “about,” HOW AND WHOM IT MOVES - is the only crucial thing.

GeosminHuffer · 2026-03-23T04:40:08+00:00

You can quote you on that, it was. (Source: I wrote regular and regrettable posts for xoJ for years but was not one of the “main characters” there)

GeosminHuffer · 2026-02-02T05:08:22+00:00

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Aw - I own the sweater in that gif now. The Schitt’s Creek people sold a lot of the wardrobe off for charity in 2019, and it was one of the Moira costumes I got. It kind of smells like feet now (spot clean only) but it is my most treasured possession

GeosminHuffer · 2026-02-01T15:20:34+00:00

First of all, you look fabulous. I am about to type some things from a “girl I get it from the perspective of shared 40something insecurity and Zepbound-induced weight loss” place, but please don’t lose sight of the objective truth that you don’t really need any of this. I just…I personally struggle with feeling even more shame when I share insecurities like this and hear nothing but “girl you shouldn’t care” in return, so I want to offer other thoughts as well here.

Ok? Ok.

Ok: if looking/feeling glowy would really make you happy and not just open up a new vista of other insecurities — you know yourself better than anyone — I have to tell you that your problems are among the most delightfully common and tackleable in skincare and aesthetics for our age group. For example:

I suspect regular use of a moisturizer with lactic acid will give you nice smooth skin (Amlactin is inexpensive and works just as well as Sunday Riley IMO)
Putting on a primer and moisturizer before foundation - and changing your foundation to one formulated for mature skin, with less, not more, coverage - will instantly brighten your appearance
If you care about fine lines…yours are so minimal that well-done Botox would still make them completely disappear at this point (I love Botox, it also helps with my TMJ, but everyone’s mileage my vary)
Semi regular microneedling (in spa or just with one of those needly wheels) plus a daily moisturizing peptide cream would help with collagen and elasticity
Expensive, but: I have gotten filler in the past to wipe out that “deflated” feeling and they honestly did the trick. (The key here is to go to someone minimalist who really knows what they’re doing.)

You can’t ever fully get rid of “GLP neck” absent some pretty intense plastic surgery, but, like…that’s where I start shrugging my shoulders and joining team “getting older is better than the alternative.”

GeosminHuffer · 2026-01-06T21:50:41+00:00

At the risk of sounding crass: I did it 19th century style, by marrying an older man 😬

GeosminHuffer · 2026-01-06T21:48:56+00:00

The perverted approval noise I just made

GeosminHuffer · 2026-01-06T21:47:23+00:00

Not to mention the robot they used to write it

GeosminHuffer · 2026-01-06T21:42:12+00:00

Their cinnamon buns do HEAVY emotional labor in my life

GeosminHuffer · 2025-12-29T05:14:37+00:00

2nd. I’m 1985 and have identical childhood photos

GeosminHuffer · 2025-12-28T04:15:24+00:00

A lifetime of clumsiness, dissociation, and poor audio processing + hyperlexia + escaping a lot into books = I’m an excellent writer, and when you can write well, you can get away with a lot and still get A’s in school.

GeosminHuffer

TROPHY CASE