It’s normal for films and TV to display warnings and ratings, and even in the publishing industry we sort material into age-appropriate categories based on content and language. Now the discussion is underway about advancing this one step further to include specific content warnings—also called trigger warnings—as we contemplate accessibility and how we can incorporate mental health practices into our work. But what is a content warning exactly, and how does it apply to book publishing? When is it appropriate, and when is it redundant? Is it only the finished, printed book that needs to be properly tagged, or is it important for authors querying out to agents and publishers as well?
querying
Competitive Pitching
By Amanda Fink @_cecilia_mae_
If you’re looking for a fun way to get your manuscript out in the world, check out #PitMad, a Twitter event put on by the organizers of Pitch Wars.
How to Boost Your Query’s Success
By Alyssa Schaffer @alyssalschaffer
In the past, the Ooligan blog has posted some great advice about query letters. For those who have never written a query before, you should go check those out first. However, with those resources available, we wanted to dive deeper into some pitch concepts: framing and in-person pitches. While the latter will primarily be of use to those participating in Write to Publish (or similar writing conferences), framing your book correctly is useful in all cases. Doing it correctly can really give your query letter a leg up on the competition.