Thread by @MisterHand1

#writerscommunity #WritingCommunity #amquerying thread:

Over the past couple days I've seen multiple posts from authors discouraging others in the community from "sharing too much" on Twitter. There seems to be differing opinions on what constitutes "too much." (1/17)

What follows are my thoughts and opinions only, based on my first and secondhand experiences here. I've never done a follow train or a writer's lift, so my window to the community may be smaller than most. I've been participating in the community for about two years. (2/17)

There are very good reasons authors don't immediately share good news, whether it's getting representation, a publishing deal, TV/film adaptation, etc. It's a long process before it becomes official. That's why you see those "I have exciting news I can't share yet" posts. (3/17)

But the posts I've seen recently are going beyond that, suggesting that writers should pretty much keep the entire querying process to themselves. Don't post about your full requests or your rejections on Twitter. I respectfully disagree. (4/17)

Just to be clear, you should definitely not be naming names at this point. It's not appropriate to post "I got a full request from Agent ABC at Agency XYZ!" Having said that, I've never seen a post like that. Unless there's actually someone named "Dream Agent." (5/17)

The only time I've mentioned the names of agents I've queried is when I've received their rejection after they initially requested more material. I did this to publicly thank them for giving such detailed feedback, and to recommend that other authors query them. (6/17)

(In case you're curious, the wonderful feedback givers in question are @RachMBrooks, @MelissaLaurenE, and @genevievejude. You should query them!)

I've never named names in other cases, no matter how bad my experience was. That would be unprofessional. (7/17)

But this idea that everyone should keep radio silence about the entire journey - that we should only publicly share the milestones that result in a contract signing - seems well-intentioned at best and elitist at worst. Let's go through their (paraphrased) reasons: (8/17)

1. "Loose lips sink ships." The idea is that if you show a lack of discretion on Twitter, a prospective agent will worry about your ability to keep quiet about sensitive negotiations or things said in confidence, and not take you on as a client as a result. (9/17)

The authors I've seen saying this are all agented, and it's possible that they're passing on what their agents or others they've spoken to have told them. I'd be interested to #askagent directly: Should querying authors keep quiet, even without names? (10/17)

2. "It's for your own good." The idea is that if you don't excitedly share the good milestones (full request, R&R, etc.) you won't be as discouraged when they don't pan out.

I think this is subjective. It could be true for some, but others may suffer more in silence. (11/17)

FWIW, I think most writers here know that representation is still a long shot even with a full request. I've yet to see a post resembling anything like "HA! I got a full! Fame and fortune await! Later, losers!" So I don't think we need protection from ourselves. (12/17)

3. "It can hurt others who aren't having the same successes."

This is probably relatable to most of us. It's one thing to intellectually know we're not competing with each other and that we should keep our eyes on our own paper. We still yearn to be at the next step. (13/17)

That universal feeling is what links a lot of us, and we should be allowed the space to talk about it, whatever stage we're at. There needs to be room between "I officially have an agent!" posts and predictive text games, or this community feels like a missed opportunity. (14/17)

The answer, according to them, is to only discuss those things privately: close friends, CPs, betas, etc. I think these people are grossly overestimating the size of the support groups that a lot of other authors have. We don't all have agents and mentors to confide in. (15/17)

CPs? Betas? Some people in this community are alone on a raft when it comes to their writing. Friends and family either don't know about their efforts, or don't understand them. The one place they can come and be with people having similar life experiences is here. (16/17)

No one should share if they don't want to. But those that do shouldn't be spoken to like Aimee Mann in Voices Carry. You hit a milestone? Cool! You want to make your pinned tweet about how you got 150 rejections on your novel? (cough, cough) That should be okay, too. (17/17)