Blog

If you’re writing YA, adult fiction, or even memoir, odds are there’s a romantic element. Carly Silver is a longtime supporter of MSWL (you’ve seen her at our live happy hours, on our podcast, and more), and we’re thrilled to have her join us for this very special event. Carly will respond to your pages … Read more

So you’ve decided to try to get your book traditionally published. You’ve done the research. You have a great draft, a great synopsis, and you’re ready to start shopping your manuscript. You have extensive notes on complex worldbuilding, character backstories, maps you’ve sketched out, notebooks full of additional content. How do you decide what makes … Read more

Join us for the e-party of the season! We’ve got a special guest, a happy hour with your new writing friends (and perhaps future critique partners), prizes, surprises, and MORE. This will work on any smart device. Bring your characters, a pen, and notepad (not required but encouraged) for a night of writerly exploration followed … Read more

Join us for a LIVE query panel with agent Kiana Nguyen at Donald Maass Literary Agency. Submit your query, short pitch, or both for a chance at live feedback from Kiana and our panel–plus, of course, a publishing Q&A. This event is designed to be supportive, uplifting, encouraging–and 100% introvert-friendly. (Wear pajamas! We’ll never know.) … Read more

Ever wish you could carry around a writing class in your pocket? One with special agent and editor guests, a rad* theme, and way too much coffee? Now you can. Our Write-In Workshop from last week (you can still see the full replay here, if you’d like the video too: manuscriptacademy.com/back-to-school-write-in) features all the ways thinking … Read more

We’re so happy you’re here! #MSWL, ManuscriptWishList.com, and our other resources exist to make agents more accessible, research more convenient, and the whole process more human. Here are some guides to get started: Main guide to searching for agents: http://www.manuscriptwishlist.com/the-comprehensive-search-and-query-guide/. We suggest you make a list of possible agents, then look at each agency website for their latest guidelines. For … Read more

by Devin Ross, agent with New Leaf Literary & Media, Inc. As an agent, one of the best parts of my job is that I get to choose who I work with. Working with authors means I get to work with a whole slew of interesting people from different backgrounds, with different perspectives. One of … Read more

My whole life I’ve kept index cards full of thoughts, ideas, and recipes. One of those ideas became my first book. Like many authors, it’s still sitting on my hard drive; it’s not the one that got me an agent. One of those other cards had a far different thought on it. Something I had … Read more