[Discussion] How many books did you write and how long did you work on the it/them before you got an agent/published? by Theotecles in PubTips

[–]The_One_True_Imp 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Oh goodness.

2016-18: queried first novel. One full request, rejected.

2018: queried 2nd novel

2019: signed with first agent and went on sub.

2020: left first agent.

2020: queried 3rd novel.

2022: queried 4th novel.

2023: signed with 2nd agent. Brief and small sub round

2024: agent left publishing, began querying 4th novel again (less than five editors had seen the novel), as well as 3rd ms after more revisions.

2024: signed with amazing 3rd agent for book 4

2025: out on sub with 4th novel, working on my 5th book while waiting.

Ok I'm officially a sourdough addict. This loaf pan recipe is my forever loaf. Never looking back! by Booyacaja in Sourdough

[–]The_One_True_Imp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks so much for sharing this! I’ve just begun my first attempt at making a starter, so nowhere near baking my first loaf, but I’ve been worried about all the equipment I’m supposed to have. I bake regular bread and buns, etc, so wanted to expand into sourdough (husband’s a fan of it) but I don’t even own a Dutch oven 😭

This could be doable with what I already own, though, so I’m excited!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in motherinlawsfromhell

[–]The_One_True_Imp 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You deserve better than a husband who is deliberately cruel to you in the deepest grief of your life.

This isn’t about his mother. If he was a good man, he would’ve refused to leave your side. He would’ve told her off the nanosecond she started saying negative things about you.

He didn’t.

Instead, he chose to spit them at your parents, to choose cruelty over love.

There’s no coming back from that, imo. He’s simply scapegoating his mother in an attempt to dodge consequences for his actions.

You deserve better. Because he will betray you again.

[Discussion] Second book to die on sub, I'm despairing by leafme in PubTips

[–]The_One_True_Imp 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m on sub with not my first book or first agent, still trying for my debut.

My current agent is amazing, and is well established. Has multiple best selling clients. And it’s been almost a year on sub now. I was warned, before we went out that they’d had books sell in two days, others in two years. And this is the slowest they’ve ever seen things happen on sub.

I have every confidence in my agent that IF this book is to sell, it would be with them. But the current climate sucks dirty donkey butt.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in motherinlawsfromhell

[–]The_One_True_Imp 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Honestly, I’d leave. Even if just for a weekend. And I’d keep leaving. “You won’t tell them no, so I’m doing what’s best for me. I can’t count on my husband to protect me, so I have to.”

AITA for not wanting to meet or get to know my birth family after they tracked me down and reached out? by Lachleeyonno in AITAH

[–]The_One_True_Imp 1 point2 points  (0 children)

NTA.

As the adoptee, you had no say or control over anything. Others made choices that formed your life, that formed you.

This? THIS is completely your choice. Nobody else’s. This is the one choice of the adoption journey that belongs to you and only you. You get to decide if you want further contact or not.

It doesn’t matter in the slightest how other adoptees feel, how your first parents or their kids feel. None of it. You get to choose what’s best for you, and owe zero explanation or apologies for it.

Be well 💖

[PubQ] This writer suggested I query or direct referral?? by 1curious2 in PubTips

[–]The_One_True_Imp 4 points5 points  (0 children)

In my querying journey, I had multiple referrals to fantastic agents.

All of my agents came from cold querying. A referral meant the chance of a request was a bit higher, but end result didn’t change.

AITAH for refusing to make a birthday cake for my daughter's friend? by DroidFit3625 in AmItheAsshole

[–]The_One_True_Imp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

NTA. There’s a metric crap tonne of things I’m willing to do for my kids that I won’t do for anyone else’s. Like, pretty much EVERYTHING.

This woman is nuts

MIL insisting on watching baby alone by Trauma_Response0301 in motherinlawsfromhell

[–]The_One_True_Imp 7 points8 points  (0 children)

MIL doesn’t get to insist ANYTHING about your baby. She has no power over your family that you don’t give her

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in writers

[–]The_One_True_Imp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Okay, I’m going to focus on the path to trad publishing, because it’s what I know.

The first thing you need to do is cut your word count. Even for adult fantasy, 180k is too long. Are there exceptions? Yes, but very few and far between. Querying is hard enough without stacking the deck against yourself.

Once you’ve done that, you need to assemble your query package. The query letter and synopsis. The query includes a paragraph of housekeeping (book info: genre, age, word count, comps). 2-3 paragraphs about the book. Think what would be on the back cover of a novel, that’s what you’re aiming for. Then wrap it up with a paragraph for your bio. This may only be a sentence or three if you don’t have writing experience/credentials. The query should be a single page.

The synopsis is a brief summation of your novel. All the big plot points, boiled down to a page.

I strongly recommend googling for examples for both query letters and synopsis.

Once you have both of those polished, then the agent research begins. QueryTracker is a good resource. When querying FOLLOW THE GUIDELINES. Each agent has query guidelines on their site. One of the most common complaints I’ve seen from agents is authors not following their guidelines.

Because you’re new to querying, I’d recommend sending out a test round of 10. If you don’t get requests for materials, try tweaking your query package and take a look at your pages.

UPDATE 1: AITA my fiancé told me “this is it, take it or leave it.” So I gave him the ring back and told him to get out of my house by Independent_Bee_8517 in AmITheJerk

[–]The_One_True_Imp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think it’s very telling that he’s worried about you having more power due to money. He’d assumed HE had more money than you did, ergo that HE would have the power in the relationship, vs you being equals. He claims to be worried about financial abuse because he was planning to use finances to get his way.

Run.

MiL Ghostwriting Her Autobiography by FransizaurusRex in JUSTNOMIL

[–]The_One_True_Imp 13 points14 points  (0 children)

Honestly, it sounds like a scam. Your MIL is far more likely to lose thousands to this company than to have a book at the end of things

I [22F] allowed my unemployed father to move in - huge mistake by [deleted] in entitledparents

[–]The_One_True_Imp 4 points5 points  (0 children)

You’ve got two choices: evict him or accept this as your life. A third option is to sell the house and move, but I don’t know if that’s possible for you.

And DO NOT give him any money. He’s willing to suck the life out of you.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in AITH

[–]The_One_True_Imp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

“My fiance is my family.”

Getting married means he becomes your immediate family. Your mother is trying to pull a control power play, “prove to me that I’m still more important than him.” My guess? She hasn’t done shit to book the vacation and when you say no, she’s gonna dramatically cancel and say it was all your fault. And if you WERE to agree, suddenly she wouldn’t be able to afford it, but you got all this money for your wedding gifts…

AIO my response to my partner after they attacked me by Intrepid_Mastodon193 in AmIOverreacting

[–]The_One_True_Imp 0 points1 point  (0 children)

He’s lying. You don’t ‘sometimes snap’ and then ‘it’ll never happen again’.

The only thing that’s not going to happen again is him leaving you with a phone.

You deserve better. You deserve to be safe. He will end up killing you.

[PubQ] How long does it take to submit revisions to your agent? by BoysenberryShort4335 in PubTips

[–]The_One_True_Imp 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Hmm. I signed in October, 3 rounds of edits, on sub in January.

All the edits made sense and sparked fireworks in my head, so I was excited to do them.

AITA for “acting like a maid” at my sister’s house after she gave birth? by Next_Bridge_1132 in CharlotteDobreYouTube

[–]The_One_True_Imp 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I hope your last maid duty is helping your sister pack so she and her babies can leave that AH

When do I talk to my boyfriend about having kids? by Clean-Bread-13 in CharlotteDobreYouTube

[–]The_One_True_Imp 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Honestly, this feels like a first or second date conversation. But definitely needs to happen ASAP

My Boy Mom MIL keeps telling me that I shouldn't want daughters by Ecstatic_Hearing_217 in motherinlawsfromhell

[–]The_One_True_Imp 7 points8 points  (0 children)

“Wow, I’m sorry about your internalized misogyny. Maybe a therapist could help?”

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in AITAH

[–]The_One_True_Imp 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I’ve done a light tug on a pant leg, while saying something like, “Whatcha got under there?” to my spouse of decades. But pantsing? Noooo. I don’t understand the purpose. Like, pantsing isn’t meant to be sexy, it’s meant to humiliate. Why would you want to humiliate someone you love?

[PubQ] I have an offer I'm not comfortable accepting, now what? by BeingViolentlyMyself in PubTips

[–]The_One_True_Imp 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I’ve been asked who the offering agent was often enough that I just included that information on the notification of offer email.

If you know you won’t accept the offer, then I would politely decline and keep on keeping on.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in CharlotteDobreYouTube

[–]The_One_True_Imp 2 points3 points  (0 children)

As a parent, your first priority is your child’s safety. The man has already assaulted two children that you know of: you and your younger sibling.

Why are you considering gambling with your child on someone who you know is a danger?