I do a fair number of informational interviews about being an editor and lately I’ve noticed that I’m always giving the same advice. I’d love to make this available more widely, so here it is:

My top pieces of practical advice for anyone who wants to work in publishing! Most important: READ a TON. Whatever category you want to work in, read as many recent (last 2 to 3 years) books as possible. Books getting buzz, bestsellers, award winners, books that flopped. Then think about what worked well and what you would suggest changing

Writers, I know hearing about submission overload and industry burnout can be SUPER discouraging and make finding an agent or publisher feel impossible right now. So here’s my biggest piece of advice to help yourself get noticed anyway— work on your pitch! 🧵 First of all, let me say— you don’t need to feel guilty for querying agents or editors right now. This is a systemic problem, not a problem you can individually fix by not subbing your book. Your story is still important and industry people still want to find great books to rep!