To the writer who did no work on their book today: Did you... Think about your villain's motives? Read another novel and admire the writing? Overhear a conversation and jot down a line of dialogue? Talk about your story to a friend? That sounds to me like you DID work on your book today!

✅ Any writing credentials you might have. If not, it's OK, I promise! Just leave it out. ✅ Your professional background ✅ Where you're based Agents will want to know a little bit about you, but it doesn't need to be long. 2-3 sentences is perfectly fine.

SO many querying authors stress over their author bio, but honestly, it should be the easiest part of your query. And no, you do NOT need a bunch of awards and publications to be taken seriously! Don't overthink it. Your bio really only needs 3 things:

When writing a tense dialogue scene, always ask yourself: What is this conversation ACTUALLY about? And how can I convey that to the reader without having the characters name it explicitly?

✅ With subtext: "It's fine. I'll just do it." She set the plate down hard, and the sound jolted her. He didn't look up from his phone. Same exact moment. But the second version lets the reader feel the weight of everything the female character isn't saying.

❌ Without subtext: "You never help around the house," she said. "I feel like I do everything myself and you don't even notice." When dialogue reads as too literal and on-the-nose like this, it doesn't hit emotionally.

In good dialogue, subtext is everything. The best dialogue scenes aren't about what's actually being said. They're about what's running BENEATH the conversation. The things we know the characters are feeling, but can't bear to say aloud. Here's what subtext looks like on the page:

If a professional editor who's paying close attention didn't catch it, a bunch of your future readers will probably miss it too.

But if there's a place or two where they were confused, look at it again, even if YOU think it's crystal clear. It's probably worth emphasizing that element a little more so it sticks better in our minds.

Now, if your editor is missing a BUNCH of things that are clearly and consistently established in the story, that's a problem.

And that's a good thing, because that's not how your actual readers will experience the story either. They'll be absorbing the story as a whole, not keeping a database of every name and place and detail.

Remember that when you hire an editor, you're working with a human reader — they're absolutely reading closely, but they're not machines that scan for keywords and can recall every single detail perfectly.

It means she wasn't able to visualize the scene, even if the location was technically mentioned. This writer probably needed to do more to integrate the setting into the scene than just name-drop the place once.

He replied that he DID mention the location, once in passing, and said that his editor must not have read the manuscript closely since she missed it. But the fact that she missed it IS valuable feedback.

This might be a controversial take, but here goes... A writer complained that his developmental editor had flagged in one of his chapters that the scene's location wasn't clear.

So don't get down because it's not a work of art yet. What you do with it from here is where the real artistry begins. ✍️

Too many writers forget this: Your first draft is NOT your final draft. It was never supposed to be. It's simply the raw material — the clay from which you'll craft a beautiful sculpture.

I discovered something interesting this week... On QueryTracker's list of Most Requested Fiction Genres, upmarket is #3, but it's not on the top 10 list of what genres writers are submitting. So what's the deal? Are writers really not writing upmarket fiction, or do they just not KNOW they are?

It helps them assess: ✅ the overall viability of your plot ✅ whether your story suits genre expectations ✅ major plot holes or twists that don't work ...without having to spend 8-12 hours reading the entire manuscript. So don't fear the synopsis! Here are my 4 biggest tips to help.