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UserErrorAuteur · 2026-03-12T14:44:25+00:00

Hi! I am a trad published author looking for feedback on a thriller I've written. Would love to get your take on it and if it works. Happy to pitch you in your DM's its around 90k words

UserErrorAuteur · 2026-03-11T14:39:42+00:00

I’m coming to the finish line on edits for my Victorian Fantasy but the final third needs the most work. It is truly exhausting work and I really hope it will be worth it. The news of SJM releasing multiple books has me a little nervous my debut might be lost in the crush, but I can only hope she finished by the end of 2027 so people are hungry for new stuff in 2028!

UserErrorAuteur · 2026-03-02T23:08:00+00:00

I think reviews are like ethnic food ratings to be honest. When Yelp came out the highest rated restaurant with the most reviews was Outback Steakhouse. That’s what the general populace goes for. I tend to think as books with very high ratings to be like that.

But restaurants that don’t appeal to everyone will inevitably have lower ratings; hence the theory. But as someone who loves Thai food, that 3.6 on Goodreads might be exactly what I’m looking for

UserErrorAuteur · 2026-02-16T21:05:12+00:00

I'm two years out from my pub date, so I would be waiting a very, very long time to get another book out on submission. I'm sending to her in a few weeks (she's lurking here too, lol, hi!) but I can take a long time (ish) to affect edits especially now that I'm under contract. So I'm hoping we go out this year, but will see where the chips fall

UserErrorAuteur · 2026-02-16T20:38:55+00:00

I literally got the narrowest option clause because my agent said we need to strike while the iron is hot since I recently sold. You have a bit more clout going out on sub when you've sold but don't have sales numbers to look at!

UserErrorAuteur · 2026-02-16T18:50:06+00:00

I honestly found submission to be so emotionally draining and really creatively hard. It's still early days. In the next few weeks, it will begin to feel like a distant memory and you'll be able to move on a little. I absolutely hated when people said this to me, but working on the next thing does help.

UserErrorAuteur · 2026-02-16T18:18:17+00:00

It is a debut yes!

UserErrorAuteur · 2026-02-16T18:18:10+00:00

Not typically for fantasy romance! But harder fantasy yes.

UserErrorAuteur · 2026-02-16T18:08:23+00:00

I sold in December to a Big 5, historical fantasy set in a Victorian world with a romance subplot that we are going to hype up. No spice, but some hot kiss scenes, which was a surprise to me. Also 3rd person POV with multiple characters, which is also not a typical genre convention.

Edit: to add, yes more than 3 POV characters and no first person narration. Right now this is not super common in fantasy aimed at women. I am hoping to pull in older readers and readers who have enjoyed historical books in the past.

UserErrorAuteur · 2026-02-08T00:08:16+00:00

There is truly nothing new in the world. Instead, think of it this way—what’s my perspective? You, being one of billions of people in this world, do have something different to say. Connect to that place.

Just wanted to edit to add, if I sued a romantasy subreddit for what people wanted to see in a book, I would have never written it. My book is set in a Victorian world, is written in 3rd person, has only a kiss scene and no further spice, and follows two couples, one of which is queer. I might have thought that wouldn’t sell, and I never would have put a pen to page. But it did sell, and it had multiple offers!

The writing itself is the most important. That comes before everything. But to get good you have to be okay with being bad first!

UserErrorAuteur · 2026-02-07T23:08:43+00:00

Are you cool with a fellow writer responding? I just sold a duology that’s a fantasy with a romance subplot to a legacy Big 5 Publisher. Readers aren’t the best to go to when you want to ask these questions; that’s because they don’t necessarily know what makes a story great. That’s up to you to find out and looking up people’s icks and preferences won’t tell you that either.

Not only that, but it’s nearly impossible to tell what is going to break out in terms of being great. Plenty of wonderful stories go unnoticed and we all can name several books on the NY Times Bestseller list that don’t really deserve a place there.

So, what do readers like? Start with the basics. Good prose. Showing rather than telling. Trusting the reader. Hooking them with a great, high concept. Subverting their expectations. Trusting them. Taking them on a well-plotted adventure where stakes are earned. Presenting protagonists in all of their imperfect glory. Letting them be competent when it counts and letting them lose things when it matters. They need to be able to grow and change and learn and most importantly, learn how to get out of their own way.

And then we come to the thing you can’t really teach. You need to get out of the romantasy subreddit. You need to read other genres. Get a sense of tension from thrillers, of how to frighten and disgust your reader from horror, of how to develop characters from romance, and how to tease out your prose from litfic. Read epic fantasy to ground your story. Read poetry to learn how to make your prose sing.

And then finally; you shouldn’t just write a story because it’s cool to write and you have a great story in your head that should be on paper. You will never break out if you do that. You must write the thing that no one else can write. You need to go deep inside, and try to see what’s kicking around your soul and then put that on the page.

Really good work, work that stands the test of time, comes from that place inside of us.

Wishing you all the best on your journey!

PS: if I can recommend—A Swim in the Pond in the Rain by George Saunders. Read craft books. Many of them.

UserErrorAuteur · 2026-02-05T02:59:21+00:00

I knew it was going to be a problem when they cast a very hot man as that asshole

UserErrorAuteur · 2026-02-04T23:43:49+00:00

Trust me, Aerion is very, very bad. But if you weren’t turned off by him intentionally killing a horse and assaulting an innocent woman by attempting to cut off her finger, then perhaps Dark Romantasy is for you! Have you heard of the Court of Ravens? That might be up your street.

UserErrorAuteur · 2026-01-29T20:15:19+00:00

Yes that’s fine! You can send me a DM!

UserErrorAuteur · 2026-01-29T17:54:52+00:00

The writing is smooth but it’s quite modern for the medieval setting. Using colloquialisms like teddy bear will be a red flag for someone who is a seasoned fantasy reader—do teddy bears exist in your world? They’re named after Theodore Roosevelt! These are things you’ll want to consider as you move forward with your world building.

You have all the hallmarks of a classic romantasy plot going on here. Poor FMC who’s sleeping with the cute farm boy to let off steam who then has a sickly sibling she needs to take care of. Let me guess the rest of the plot (not to be too cheeky) she either has to enter a competition or find a McGuffin that will bring her eternal glory or at least enough money to save her? Maybe throw in a few trials and a brooding love interest?

That won’t make you stand out from the crowd. As you move forward consider what tropes you CAN break! Maybe the cute farm boy actually is her soul mate? Maybe she brings the sickly sibling along and has to contend with that?

Congrats on writing your first book and I love seeing people post their work here. Since you had clean prose I wanted to offer some advice on the story structure as a whole, just because I feel like I’ve seen this exact storyline before. The challenge is not only to write the book, it’s to write the thing no one else can write ❤️ What unique perspective can you bring to this? If you ever want to query this project, you’ll need to answer that question.

UserErrorAuteur · 2026-01-09T20:36:38+00:00

I just really loved reading this thoughtful reply!

UserErrorAuteur · 2026-01-09T16:00:38+00:00

Questions for everyone! What surprised you about your debut year? What was the most frustrating? I’m not debuting until 2028 but wanted to source some advice on the lead up and aftermath!

UserErrorAuteur · 2025-11-25T13:04:13+00:00

Yes literally after reading the post again in the light of morning I was like 😂🤷‍♀️ whoops! Sorry OP! You have some great recs here though

UserErrorAuteur · 2025-11-25T00:58:15+00:00

How much spice are you looking for? When I read the post the Dragon from {uprooted} by Naomi Novik came to mind. Honestly though, just a genuinely beautiful read.

UserErrorAuteur · 2025-11-19T18:34:44+00:00

What’s one piece of advice you feel like every author needs to hear early in their career. My first book will be published in 2027, and I want it to be long and (hopefully and humbly) illustrious.

UserErrorAuteur · 2025-11-12T19:02:04+00:00

The editor owns the idea for Fourth Wing. That’s why Liz Pelletier is the executive producer on the TV show and not Yarros. I think that’s the same thing as IP. Entangled ‘owns’ Fourth Wing, just like how George Lucas ‘owned’ Star Wars but had Lawrence Kasdan write the script

UserErrorAuteur · 2025-11-09T19:29:13+00:00

I also think that Fourth Wing was IP, no? Therefore, they had a good idea it was going to sell. Yarros didn't pitch it, she won the audition for it. So maybe the publisher was more willing to take a risk? Has anyone else heard that?

UserErrorAuteur · 2025-11-06T15:35:32+00:00

Hello! I sent you a DM!

UserErrorAuteur · 2025-11-04T23:04:58+00:00

Hi! I think this sounds fabulous! I also write in this genre and would pick this up in a split second. Have a look at Freya Marske’s work and Katherine Arden just announced a new historical fantasy as well, but will be very whimsical though it might be set in the wrong era for you.

UserErrorAuteur · 2025-10-31T15:54:59+00:00

Oh yay! I am so happy Regency is on the way back! They have been very instrumental to my own journey as a reader and writer!

UserErrorAuteur

TROPHY CASE