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Welcome to another #AskMeAnything session! In this series, I'm responding to your questions about the publishing industry and how to write a better book. Leave me any additional questions in the comments and I will add them to my list for future videos!

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GREAT BOOKS ABOUT WRITING/PUBLISHING:

SOME OF MY FAVORITE NOVELS:

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MORE BOOK EDITOR Q&As:

RELATED VIDEOS:

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TODAY'S #ASKMEANYTHING:
01:03 - Getting a job in the publishing industry
04:05 - What makes a bestseller?
06:10 - Key to successful psychological thrillers
10:04 - Improving your query letter

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ABOUT ME:
My name is Alyssa Matesic, and I’m a professional book editor with 7+ years of book publishing and editorial experience. Throughout my career, I’ve held editorial roles across both sides of the publishing industry: Big Five publishing houses and literary agencies. The goal of this channel is to help writers throughout the book writing journey—whether you're working on your manuscript or you're looking for publishing advice.

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MUSIC:
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[TheEccentricRaven]

I still remember 16 year old me staying up late reading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. I had never loved a book so much.

[WriteHollyDavis]

Love all your videos- always so helpful!

[blt]

Hi Alyssa! Big fan of yours. Thank you for all that you do. Question: Are there any downsides to querying a senior literary agent (as opposed to a junior agent), especially if they work for the same respected agency? Also, are literary agencies located outside of NYC at any disadvantage when it comes to selling books to publishing houses?

[clintoreilly]

Thank you. Nice earrings if I may... Keep well

[akatie]

Hi Alyssa, your videos help me so much and I'm coming to an end on editing with only 3 chapters left. Question: How should a manuscript be formatted when you are sending it out to agents during querying?

[IvyManorMuse]

Thanks Alyssa!
Question: what is entailed in an agent/author signing? Are you signing away rights to your book when you sign with an agent/what exactly are you agreeing to? What if you want to back out? What is the point of no return?
Thanks!

[daniellehunter]

I will be a second year college student in the fall and I don't want to start querying until my third year. I have this fear that waiting another year might be a bad move, maybe by then my story idea will get taken 😳 or something worse will happen to the publishing industry, or querying will get even harder in 2023. How could I get over these "irrational" fears and just be patient?

[andyclark]

Thank you for another encouraging and informative video. I have a follow-up question, and it's a bit sensitive. How much difference does age make for a prospective debut author? For myself, I'm looking at this as an older author who will be in my mid-60s by the time my first book would be published, and I can imagine a publisher and agent having legitimate concerns about how many novels I've got in me. I can imagine that a younger author might be wondering about this as well.

[Azihayya]

Hey Alyssa--question: Can you ever know enough to write the story of your dreams? Do you have to be an expert in history / chemistry / architecture / law, etc. to write good stories?

[flamethatsings-witchcraft]

Coming back to this video because I have another question. Do publishing houses hire sensitively readers to look over novels, or, if I want a sensitively reader, will I have to find a private one and have an upfront cost?

[arcadelinkauthor]

Should a query letter be more professional/academic, or more personal? For instnance, in academic writing you wouldn't use contractions and such. Should you write the letter so a bit more of your personality and voice comes through?

[cfharret]

Hi Alyssa, so I’m almost done with my 2nd book, you’ve helped a lot! For my next project I want to write a series of novelettes. 10k words each. I chose this range because it made more sense business speaking (cost of publishing is cheaper). My question follows: is there an audience for novelettes?

[gamewriteeye]

I have one question: what style of writing involving "clarity" in the prose are literary agents looking for? How about the current industry?

[jameshansen]

Hi Alyssa, also a big fan. I had another question: How do you use twitter so agents can find you? I've steered clear of it, but only just discovered the advertising potential through it.

[danamaginity]

If you are querying agents, and you get a request from one for a full manuscript, I've heard you say you should tell the other agents you're querying that you've received this request. How would you word that email without sounding tacky? Do agents really care about that information, or do they only start paying attention if an agent makes you an offer?

[KatieKulich]

I’ve written a MG sci-fi novel featuring a human and alien protagonist. Plus it’s based on a pandemic. Since middle grade books are mostly fantasy and contemporary, do you think my chances of finding an agent within the next several months will be better? (I’ve received rejections but made substantial revisions).

[pianogirl]

Thank you for these videos! What is your advice on mentioning your age in queries? I'm sixteen and I'm wondering if I should share that upfront when I'm querying. Thanks!

[nicksmith]

Hi, your videos are great. I'd like your thoughts on short stories... Length for a story? Length for a whole manuscript? Any other tips in this area, dos and don'ts.? Thanks.

[marksreofficial]

#AskMeAnything Dear Alyssa, when it comes to marketing a self published book, which would you recommend as a better bang for your buck? For example reaching out to influencers via booktock and booktube vs plain old ads on amazon, twitter, Facebook etc.

P.S. Would you be interested in marketing a self published book on your channel by any chance?

[flamethatsings-witchcraft]

Hi! I'm a bit of a perfection. How do I know when my manuscript is good enough to start querying?