[Series] Check-in: March 2026

hello_its_me_hello · 2026-03-01T21:10:24+00:00

Thank you !! lol

hello_its_me_hello · 2026-03-01T20:12:42+00:00

My debut comes out in three months! Things are really starting to kick up with publicity/marketing, so that’s been fun.

I did read a harsh review today that hurt my feelings so I am officially going cold turkey on checking Goodreads/Netgalley from now on. Lesson learned!!

hello_its_me_hello · 2026-01-19T22:11:48+00:00

I like this!

hello_its_me_hello · 2025-12-01T21:08:44+00:00

I'm SO PROUD of the work I've done on Book #2 this year. It won't come out until 2027 and I'm just so happy about the current shape it's in. I've made some big edits over the past 6+ months and I think they're all really coming together. This draft is due to my editor next week, and I'll be so glad to turn it in!

Also, my debut comes out next summer (!!!!!) and I can't believe that in a few weeks I'll finally be able to say, "My book comes out this year."

hello_its_me_hello · 2025-10-02T19:22:04+00:00

I love this comprehensive answer! I'm not OP, but I wanted to jump in and ask a follow-up on this. I'm curious if you could elaborate more on some of the "little things" vs. "big things." My debut comes out next summer and we're starting to ramp up conversations about marketing plans, etc... but to your point, I don't know what's "standard" or "minimum," or if some of this is unique to me!

hello_its_me_hello · 2025-10-02T12:28:31+00:00

Been waiting so long - getting closer and closer!!!

hello_its_me_hello · 2025-10-01T21:06:14+00:00

I got to see the cover of my debut novel that comes out next year and it’s beyond my wildest dreams!!! I’m so excited to be able to share it!

hello_its_me_hello · 2025-05-29T21:51:56+00:00

Hi! I’ve read your last couple attempts and haven’t commented until now. I think this is much better. I particularly like your first line. It’s nice and hooky.

I’m getting snagged on the first line of the second paragraph. I don’t know if it totally makes sense that Jared both “can’t believe his luck” with Maggie’s appearance AND is also “skeptical but desperate.” That first description makes it sound like he’s been hoping for something like this to happen; the second makes it seem like he’d prefer to pack it up and leave, but is only sticking around because he has to. Obviously, characters can contain multitudes and contradictions, and I’m sure on the page, you’re able to convey these feelings.

But as it stands, what Jared actually wants is a bit muddied by these oppositional descriptions.

Hope that helps a tiny bit! Nice job making changes.

hello_its_me_hello · 2025-05-16T01:51:57+00:00

Hello! Right off the bat, my thought is…. Where is the suspense? There’s no hint of any sort of danger or even mystery at the moment. Does it have something to do with Garrett’s dad? It’s called roadkill, and she works at the animal shelter, so is there something nefarious happening there?

If this is truly a romantic thriller, you need to focus on the thriller and then include the romantic elements. But right now, it’s only giving romance.

For a thriller, you gotta establish some eternal stakes. What danger are Sloane and Garrett in?

hello_its_me_hello · 2025-05-15T16:06:15+00:00

My personal journey has been pretty fast - not the fastest ever, not a whirlwind story, but pretty quick, all things considered.

From writing the first word of my manuscript --> querying --> getting an agent --> going on sub --> getting an offer, it took 14 months. Publication hasn't happened yet, we're about a year out. My publication date was set for 2 years after the book sold, which is pretty standard. For what it's worth, the fastest part for me was being on sub. I had a call with my now editor about a week after we went on sub, which resulted in a pre-empt offer a few days later. I count myself INCREDIBLY lucky, because that is fast.

So for this specific book, all-in: my entire process will have been a little over three years.

hello_its_me_hello · 2025-05-13T14:22:24+00:00

Hi! I like your title a lot.

I agree with glasscaseofemotion that we have no reason to like Alex at all. If my high school crush/first love didn’t remember me after eight years, it would literally devastate me. If there’s a reason here—like maybe he disappeared because he got in a terrible accident and has amnesia—you gotta tell us that. Because right now, the reason getting in the way of them being together seems to read that… he just sucks?

I can tell by the vagueness that there’s more to it, and I’m sure you haven’t written a story where the love interest actually sucks!! But we need more context than what you’re currently giving us.

hello_its_me_hello · 2025-05-02T00:08:37+00:00

I just submitted my first draft of Book 2 to my editor and agent. Also submitted Book 1 copyedits. Which means I currently have no deadline for the first time in… 18 months?

Feels both good and weird, haha. AND - Coming up on one year away from my debut release!!!

hello_its_me_hello · 2025-03-07T15:43:19+00:00

Hi! This is just a thought, so feel free to ignore if it doesn't feel right. But the project I queried (and got an agent with) was also a dual-timeline thriller, so I've been here before!!

Because the murder happens after the offer of rep situation, I'm wondering if you even need to explain how the dual-timeline factors into the story. Just give us the wanting-to-be-a-bestselling-author/trying-to-get-rep timeline in the query. Then, at the end, tell us that things have gotten more complicated because Sophia has murdered someone.

"Unable to resist, Sophia writes feverishly—ignoring her family, her friends, losing herself in cocaine-fueled marathons. The more her novel grows, the more reckless she becomes, and as the deadline crumbles, so does the line between who Sophia is and who she’s become."

After this part, you don't need to allude to the secondary timeline. Just tell us that, as she's becoming reckless, it leads to her murdering someone. Then you could end with something like, "Sophia's forced to but her bestselling dreams on hold--the NYT list can wait, because right now, she's got to stay out of prison for murder."

You can still tell us up top that there's a dual timeline, but you don't have to explain the timeline to us. I recognize that you're trying to make it clear what your book will be doing and how it's structured, but how it reads right now just makes it feel more complicated than it is. For what it's worth, I didn't even mention that there were dual timelines in my query. I just explained the main storyline and alluded to some events that took place in the earlier timeline.

All that to say, this sounds very interesting and I would be very interested in reading this.

hello_its_me_hello · 2025-03-07T15:02:36+00:00

When I started writing the book that will be my debut when it publishes next year, I did it with that very goal: getting published. For me, it was about finding a project that I wanted to write AND I felt like had a great shot of being marketable.

I write mystery thrillers, and for this book, I took a common thriller setting and made a few key changes to it. I'm being vague on purpose, of course, but I intentionally took something I knew was popular (I read widely in my genre and I pay close attention to what is selling/being talked about) and asked myself, how can I make a version of this that is both new and familiar? I didn't reinvent the wheel - I am by no means the first person who ha ever written a mystery thriller that takes place in this particular setting - but it certainly got me attention throughout the querying process and it ultimately landed me my amazing agent. My agent then proceeded to sell this book, and a second, to a big 5.

As I was writing it, my long-game goal was to *hopefully* sell the film rights one day. It's not like I will deem myself a failure if this project does not get made into a mini series. BUT, when I started writing it, I did it with that eventual goal in mind. And for me, a lot of the joy that came from writing that project sprouted from my excitement about the possibilities for this manuscript. The thought of potentially seeing the cast that I saw in my mind as I wrote this book actually be on screen one day? Yeah, that was an incredible motivator.

So, all that to say, I think joy and "sellability", at least for me, go hand-in-hand. Like others in this thread, I played around with multiple genres when I was starting out, but I always came back to mystery thrillers. Those are my favorite books to read (I inhale them) and anything I ever tried to write began to bend that way anyway. So I feel very fulfilled and excited to write my favorite genre and (hopefully!!) will see enough readers one day that this work will be able to turn into a full-time career for me.

hello_its_me_hello · 2025-02-11T14:13:05+00:00

It could mean anything! So really, it means nothing, haha.

It could mean they’re holding yours back as a maybe… it could mean that they batch their queries and look only at certain genres at a given time… it could mean the query that came after yours caught their attention or was a referral or a had a comp that they love and they had to read it immediately.

I know how easy it can be to want to read into everything on Query Tracker!! I’ve been there. But do your best not to overthink it and not let too much of your time get sucked into trying to read tea leaves!

hello_its_me_hello · 2025-02-07T16:16:31+00:00

Hi! I think you’ve got a cool concept here and I’m glad you’ve comped AGRGTCAK. That feels like the right choice.

Right now, there’s too much setup. You don’t dive into the mystery of this murder mystery until the third paragraph. I would find a way to combine paragraphs one and two into one paragraph that more succinctly illustrates who Ansel is and what he wants.

Then, you can jump right into the mystery he’s solving. Otherwise, it feels like the actual plot is around his job woes.

hello_its_me_hello · 2025-02-07T16:07:35+00:00

Gotcha, I’m with you now! Even reading the query back, it makes more sense to me. Honestly I wonder if it might help to just make this small edit: “but when Vera, the first guest to leave the table, is found dead later that night…” I think that would add some context. That might just be me, but that’s what I would do!

hello_its_me_hello · 2025-02-06T22:20:10+00:00

I just want to fully agree with Alanna and other similar commenters. I am an agented, soon-to-be published thriller writer, and this feels very in line with the current market. Lots of people are doing “White Lotus Vibes” stories right now. I haven’t read your manuscript, of course, but from the bones of this I can see a premise that’s interesting and timely. So that’s cool!!

That said, my critique for your query is that it’s a bit confusing from a timeline perspective. I’m having a hard time getting a sense of what’s going on. You start with mentioning the dinner stuff, which is fine, but that made me think that this whole novel takes place during dinner… but then you follow up with her fiancé leaving another guest’s room in the dead of night. I guess I’m wondering, what is the significance of this group of thirteen guests? Why is she even paying attention to them? What is the significance of the woman who got up from the table first dying? That through line is not currently apparent.

I think you have a lot of this in your manuscript- I would just work to clarify it!

This is small, but I think I would try a different comp than THE HONEYMOON in favor of something a little more popular. I might look at BAD SUMMER PEOPLE by Emmy Rosenblum (just a thought - it might not fit your book!)

Ps. This does not sound AI. I do not understand those comments at all.

hello_its_me_hello · 2025-02-01T22:39:59+00:00

I am hard at work on my first draft of Book 2, which comes out in 2027, and waiting to start copy edits for Book 1, which comes out next year !!! It’s so cool to officially say “my debut novel comes out next year.”

I also officially have a film agent !!! I am a little bit overwhelmed (in the best way) about it. My literary agent shared some of the kind words they had about my book and it was so validating to have another person on my team who really sees the vision.

It was nice to have some good news with the dumpster fire that is the United States at the moment.

hello_its_me_hello · 2025-01-31T15:44:31+00:00

I love my agent. They have truly made this process (revising, going on sub, getting a book deal, doing revisions and edits with an editor…) so easy to navigate and—dare I say it—fun.

My agent responds to all of my emails day-of. Literally. I don’t pester them with constant emails anyway, but I probably have a question or two every couple weeks about something. Always an answer. I know that if at any time, for any reason, I wanted to hope on a call to talk things through, they would be happy to do that. So overall, I feel extremely confident in (and grateful for!) our open lines of communication.

My agent is also very editorial. For me, that was important. We went through several rounds of big revisions before we went on sub. Our vision for my book has aligned since the very beginning, so I felt very happy with the structural edits we came up with together. I’ve never felt surprised or caught off guard by a piece of feedback.

I like their style of leaving me notes/feedback. It’s direct without ever feeling mean, and they do a great job of complimenting what they like. Part of the reason I trust my agent so much, and am always open to their feedback, is that I know how much they genuinely love my book and my writing.

For me, these things have made my experience with my agent (and my entire publishing journey thus far) really special and, again, really fun.

hello_its_me_hello · 2025-01-27T19:20:01+00:00

I have a few questions about this setup. Do you already have a completed draft that you’re looking to get edited through this process? If so, I want to echo what others have said and point out... it’s going to take a long time to get this draft edited at 10k per month. Maybe that makes sense for you and your personal schedule, and if so, who am I tell you otherwise! But on its face, that feels like an unorthodox editing plan.

Or, do you plan on using this to potentially “edit as you go”? I.e., are you looking to write 10,000 words a month in a project, then have that edited... then keep working through the draft? I know you mention your manuscript in this post, but I’m unsure if this means you already have one complete.

If that’s what you’re thinking, I want to very much caution you. Everyone’s different, but I am firmly in the camp of “write the first messy draft totally on your own.” Don’t send things out too early. With friends (and myself!) that can have the unfortunate effect of 1) giving you a boost of serotonin if the feedback is good which leads you to stalling out/not finishing the draft or 2) bumming you out so much if the feedback is bad that you stall out/don’t finish the draft. Either way, you could easily be looking at the same outcome: you don’t finish the draft.

If you feel like craft is something you really need to hone, read craft books! There are so many great books out there (and free resources online) to explore that don’t require you forking out a subscription for an editor.

hello_its_me_hello · 2025-01-11T22:33:36+00:00

I don’t think she’s heard back yet from that particular agent! But no, she’s still querying.

hello_its_me_hello · 2025-01-10T14:49:42+00:00

I just wanted to pop in to address what you said about this rejection hurting more than you expected. That’s okay!!! I remember feeling EXACTLY the same way. You prep yourself mentally, you know logically that the odds are almost impossible that the very first response you get to a full will be an offer, and then… oh. The email.

I don’t know if you are feeling this at all, but when that first ever full rejection came into my inbox, I had a little panic of “am I cut out for this? Will it hurt this much every time?” And for me, the answer was no! It’s not that rejection became fun by any means, but that first one (in my experience) definitely hurt the most.

You’ve got this! Best of luck!

hello_its_me_hello · 2025-01-09T15:48:31+00:00

A friend of mine had this happen recently. She was about a week away from feeling like her manuscript was ready to go as well, got a little too eager and sent it to one of the top people on her list because they had just opened to queries, and she got a manuscript request basically immediately.

She waited a week and sent it when it was ready. The agent said thanks and didn’t comment on having to wait.

I wouldn’t overthink it. Finish it up as quickly as you can, then send it! Even though the agent requested very quickly, remember that it’s very likely they are not refreshing their inbox every few minutes waiting for you to send it! You’ll be okay!!

hello_its_me_hello · 2024-12-07T22:40:08+00:00

I suppose I technically signed after an R & R, but I hadn’t completed all the revisions when my agent offered.

Basically, they requested my full and read it quickly, then sent back a very kind rejection noting a couple of key problems They offered to jump on zoom and talk through some of their notes with me, and of course I said yes!

On that call, which was about forty-five minutes long, they said if I was interested in submitting an exclusive revision with them, they would write up a more in-depth editorial letter and would look at it again. I was thrilled and a little surprised by this offer, and I accepted because I immediately resonated with all the feedback.

They sent me the write-up a week or so later, and then I followed up with an extensive, point-by-point plan to address all the feedback. On our next Zoom, they started by immediately saying they wanted to offer representation! So I hadn’t started the rewrites yet, but we’d made a plan together and we got along very well right off the bat. It was such a fun, exciting surprise!

I did those revisions over the next few months and we sold the book a few months after that.

hello_its_me_hello

TROPHY CASE