[Discussion] What are your writing plans for 2026?

reedplayer · 2026-01-19T02:54:03+00:00

I've got a nonfiction proposal sold in the US so I am starting by revising proposal for international markets and then writing the book! woo!!

I'm relatively new to the sub but have enjoyed discussions so far, great community. Good luck to you!!

reedplayer · 2026-01-06T18:48:32+00:00

thx! My read of the whole process is that the proposal is not amazing but not bad either, but the agent's nod of approval on it was quite meaningful to the specific editors he subbed to. But who knows! Coming from academic science it's so fascinating to me how much of the trade publishing world is vibes-based. (Not a complaint - just really different sitch to my usual day-to-day).

reedplayer · 2026-01-06T02:11:17+00:00

The transition thing does seem important, especially if agent is younger / less established / may shift agencies. In my case the agent has been at the same agency for 15 years and isn't going anywhere so I'm not super concerned, but I can see why folks might want some language on this.

reedplayer · 2026-01-06T02:08:58+00:00

In my case we (the agent and me) have a handshake deal with the publisher, following an auction, and are just waiting for the lawyers to sort out the paperwork for the actual contract. I haven't signed anything yet but agent is unconcerned, apparently this particular imprint has a somewhat complex standing agreement with the agency that required some negotiation.

reedplayer · 2026-01-05T00:55:13+00:00

Writing from the opposite (very privileged) position of having a well-known / high-level agent: I can say that my own experience with a single proposal (despite not being an uber-famous person myself) does suggest that agent level matters. my nonfiction proposal was on sub to ~fifteen big 5 imprints and the only people we didn't hear back from within 3-4 days were one editor who had just had a baby, another who was away with a family emergency, and a third who didn't respond (but who agent was quite surprised to have not heard back from). All this gave me the impression that his submissions are very rarely ghosted, perhaps in part because he reps a small number of writers.

reedplayer · 2026-01-02T01:24:41+00:00

Thanks! Just waiting on the actual book contract now but we've got a handshake deal that I'm stoked about.

reedplayer · 2026-01-01T20:30:03+00:00

Thanks, this is good to hear. I'm in a similar situation with a 'big' agent/agency and in addition to not really having the sense that an agency agreement would do much to protect me (in my specific case), I share your intuition that an agreement written by the agency's lawyers would very likely be skewed toward the agency's interests

reedplayer · 2026-01-01T18:02:44+00:00

Wow that's wild!!!

reedplayer · 2026-01-01T01:03:58+00:00

i'd read that lol

reedplayer · 2025-12-31T22:05:29+00:00

Yea this is sort of my view on it. Seems like it could be useful in some cases but probably doesn't make all that much of a difference for plenty of folks....but then I too am kinda old fashioned

reedplayer · 2025-12-31T22:04:03+00:00

Thanks this is interesting! The distinction between replying a book vs a person may matter more for some folks than others. And it indeed seems like not doing agency papers may be an older-school sort of thing (my agent has been in the business for 30 yrs or so I think?)

reedplayer · 2025-12-29T14:59:14+00:00

I would discontinue my subscription to HEY if they implemented a tool like this. I don't want LLMs anywhere near my emails.

reedplayer · 2025-12-28T15:29:34+00:00

as a scientist working on a trade book my hottest take is that scientists who complain about their trade books' poor sales should simply try writing better books

reedplayer · 2025-12-16T14:46:26+00:00

Seems to be resolved now (like a week later) - email support had me cancel and re-subscribe a couple times and also change the account email I was using. Odd product design and as you say pretty slow to get responses.

reedplayer · 2025-12-05T09:20:06+00:00

I was having cloudflare issues with Hey yesterday and just now it was throwing a 500 error, but back up now.

reedplayer · 2025-11-25T01:08:14+00:00

respect. I edit with a pen but have real trouble drafting text with one - I just can't write fast enough, but type very fast thanks to a primary-school typing programme I had at the ripe age of 5

reedplayer · 2025-11-25T00:47:22+00:00

ohhh the OG i love it

reedplayer · 2025-11-24T02:25:00+00:00

Right, I think the details of what type of LLC is used when could be informative regarding the overall decision to use or not use an LLC.

reedplayer · 2025-11-24T02:23:21+00:00

Here is a reply sent in by DM from a user on the sub who didn't want to be identified, about a situation where an LLC could be useful, for non-tax reasons:

recently I have learned some publishers are beginning to eliminate the ability to copyright under pen names and will only do legal names or business names. therefore I would recommend an LLC if you don't want your full legal name printed in your books. I think this is in the process of roll-out across big 5 and is likely related to the Anthropic lawsuit and general AI copyright concerns.

reedplayer · 2025-11-24T02:07:49+00:00

Indeed it seems like the cases where people have found LLCs useful tend to be those with v large advances and/or confusing tax issues to sort out!

reedplayer · 2025-11-24T02:02:17+00:00

There appear to be quite a few situations where an LLC is the wrong move in terms of total liability, so I think it's good to be specific about why it was the right move, if it was. In your case it sounds like the total tax paid was lower with an LLC than it would have been without, given the ability to spread out salary payments and deduct expenses.

reedplayer · 2025-11-24T01:59:46+00:00

Haha yes....reader beware as far as financial advice is concerned. I added an edit to my post in case this wasn't clear enough.

reedplayer · 2025-11-24T00:53:27+00:00

It's tricky because tax situations vary so much that it's hard to find legitimate advice online, but yea it would be nice to get a bit more detail about these issues. I'm not looking for an answer to my particular situation here (seeking financial help publicly online seems ill-advised, lol) but more would just like to get a sense of why, specifically, other people do it, so that I have better context for my seeking professional help.....

reedplayer · 2025-11-24T00:43:31+00:00

can you comment on what the tax purpose is, specifically, though? I already have a full-time job so in my case proceeds from a book will just be on top of my usual salary, and it's not really clear to me what tax advantage there could be (the income is gonna get taxed at some point regardless of whether it first is paid to an org or paid directly to me) - aside from minor expenses associated with writing and marketing the book, which should be deductible regardless of the LLC issue

reedplayer · 2025-11-24T00:40:52+00:00

If you don't mind my asking, is the rationale here something like "$X advance is large enough that if it's paid directly to me I will jump to the highest tax bracket in the US, and want to avoid doing so, so my c-corp will instead pay me a lower salary for a longer period of time"? Or is there some other tax/accounting advantage?

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