“In order to write and edit a book and sell it to a publisher, you must be creative and conscientious. WHICH IS A PERFECT STORM FOR DEBUT PAIN. Bc you can imagine grand successes and then feel completely to blame when they do not come to pass. Honey, it ain't you.”— Delilah S. Dawson, twitter.com
“The really important point here is that your debut book/series/year DOES NOT PREDICT YOUR CAREER. It's not any indicator of future success. Publishers know and understand this. Just keep writing the best books you can. Keep innovating without fear. Keep that hope.”— Delilah S. Dawson, twitter.com
“If I could change 1 thing about my debut year as an author, I wish someone in power had looked me in the eye and said, 'You wrote a good book, and you're a good writer, but we are not pushing your book. There is no way it will hit list. Just have fun.' Truth > disappointment.”— Delilah S. Dawson, twitter.com
“The best editors take the book you give them and don’t make it their own version or vision—they give you the insight and feedback you need to make it even more yours.”— Kiersten White, twitter.com
“The only updates you need to send an agent reading your query is if you've received an offer of representation or the Nobel Prize. Everything else irrelevant.”— Kate McKean, twitter.com
“The hard thing about publishing is you need professional feedback to grow your skills, but you can't get professional feedback until you have skills. I feel like this is why so many people lose hope in the query trenches. The solution: Take a class, go to a conf., join a group.”— Delilah S. Dawson, twitter.com
“Let's say you write a book. You get an agent. Your agent thinks the book is flawless and requests no changes. She sells it to an editor. The editor thinks the book is flawless and requests no changes. THIS HAS NEVER HAPPENED. IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN. STOP IMAGINING IT. So if you want to be traditionall…”— Delilah S. Dawson, twitter.com
“Every book can't be a bestseller, obviously, and they know that. Publishers buy plenty of books that are well written to fill out their lists. That's why we have midlisters and quiet books. That's why I have a career.”— Delilah S. Dawson, twitter.com
“Another painful writing truth = You can follow every bit of advice, do everything you're supposed to do, and still not succeed the 1st time. Writing = art. It's not about ticking all the boxes. Your story must, above all, compel. If it doesn't, you've got to figure out why. There's this thing we cal…”— Delilah S. Dawson, twitter.com
“So if you want to know if your edits are improving your book, consider all these points. It doesn't matter how many times you check for typos if you don't have an active plot or your main character doesn't have an arc. The book should feel TIGHTER with each edit. Here's some tough love: It's very ra…”— Delilah S. Dawson, twitter.com
“If your writing is compelling from page 1, NO ONE CARES WHAT THE TITLE IS. Titles can change. No one rejects an amazing book because the title is bad.”— Delilah S. Dawson, twitter.com
“I'm still with my 1st agent, but from what I hear, some red flags with an agent are: 1. If they take more than a week to return a simple email, more than 6 weeks w edits 2. If you've been working on a book for over a year and still haven't gone on sub. 3. That sinking feeling...”— Delilah S. Dawson, twitter.com