You finally did it.

You polished your proposal, refined your sample chapters, prayed over every word, and hit send. Your pitch is now out of your hands and sitting in an agent’s or editors inbox. Now the waiting begins.

For many writers, this can be one of the hardest parts of the publishing journey. Once the pitch leaves your hands, you’re no longer in control of the outcome. You might begin questioning yourself and all the questions creep in:

Did they receive it?

What if they hate it?

What if I never hear back?

What if my writing isn’t  good enough?

The waiting room has a way of amplifying our fears.

But what if the waiting period isn’t simply a pause between action and answer?

What if it’s part of the process?

While you’re waiting resist the temptation to refresh your inbox every fifteen minutes. Instead, of stressing out, keep writing. Start the next article, draft the next chapter, or develop the next idea. The healthiest writers are those who understand that their calling is bigger than any single pitch. They also understand that not every pitch gets accepted. Though it feels like rejection, the editor or agent is not rejecting  you—they just do not think your pitch is right for them, right now.

Waiting can become a place of growth as it reveals where we’ve attached our identity. Are we only called if we receive a “yes”. Does a “no” invalidate us as a writer? Are we only valuable when we receive an offer? The waiting period invites us to anchor ourselves in something deeper.

Publishing moves slowly. Agents review submissions carefully. Editors discuss with teams. Decisions often take longer than writers expect. A delayed response is rarely a statement about the worth of your project.

So keep showing up. Whether this pitch opens a door or not, your writing journey is not on hold. The waiting room is not wasted space; it is part of the process.

I hope this helps someone in the middle of the waiting room to keep working, hold on and keep the faith.

I do have three tips to offer you for your next agent or editor pitch session:

1. Make sure you know your book well enough that you can comfortably talk about it. Even when we assure authors there’s no need to be nervous, those nerves seem to always show up. It can make it hard for a writer to focus in on his or her rehearsed pitch. If you are comfortable enough with your own project, you should be able to recall those plot details/elements of your nonfiction book well enough to share the basics during your brief session with that editor or agent–despite the nerves. We always think we know our own story or nonfiction topic well, but writing the manuscript is different than comfortably talking about it in a concise way.
2. An agent or editor might ask you what else you are working on. We do this because we like to get an idea of what your long-term writing goals are. We also want to see if you are branding yourself in a certain genre and it helps us to know what kind of client you will be depending on if you are planning for a series of books or not. Be ready to talk briefly about your other book ideas, too. Or if this one book you are pitching is truly your only planned book, be ready to talk a bit about that. What are your goals with publishing your book? At Books & Such, we do like to establish long-term relationships with our clients, but if a writer has a book that they are writing on a topic they are passionate about and it’s wonderful and a stand-alone type book, we will take those on, too. We do like to know up-front that that’s what you are pitching.
3. Don’t worry so much about perfection in your pitch. Try to be yourself as much as you can. Your personality goes a long way to sell your project, too. Because we are looking for long-term author/agent relationships, it is important for us to know that you are someone who is easy to work with and collaborative.

I hope these tips help you during your future pitch sessions! And if you are getting close to ready, keep your eye on our website for our future Pitch Party dates.

On Memorial Day, I strolled through my local flower market. (If you’re paying attention, this blog post should have been posted before Memorial Day, but I neglected to check my calendar. My apologies!)

About an hour before the flower market closed, I meandered into one area, and a vendor blurted out, “Would you like to buy some of my products?”  I could hear a little panic and desperation clinging to the end of her invitation. I stepped over to her nearly full table of botanically themed, organic lip balms, soaps, lotions, and sprays. She’d chosen beautiful packaging and containers. However, her table’s fullness conveyed a sad story. Even more so, her words revealed something deeper than a bad sales day at a flower market: Deep disappointment.

Either way, disappointment happens. How we deal with disappointment matters.  Here are five principles to help you process disappointment so it doesn’t sink your writing career:

1. Decide to Become Better, not Bitter.

Disappointment is painful. You can scream if you need to, but may I share some wisdom my dad shared with me when I was in high school? One day, he said “no” to something he could have said “yes” to. While I didn’t outwardly push back against his verdict, I know God gave my dad special insight into my soul. My dad looked at me and said, “Barbara, you have to know how to handle the word no.”

I’ve held onto my dad’s wisdom, and I’ve added to it. I used the following as a main thought during a keynote at the 2025 West Coast Christian Writers Conference: How you handle the word “No” will determine how far you will go.

You have to decide if you’ll allow disappointment to make you bitter or if it will make you a better writer and human. If you decide to allow it to make you better, then commit your words and attitude toward that decision.

Pro tip: Make a decision to stop comparing yourself to the other writers around you. Everyone is on their own journey, so don’t crash because you’re paying attention to someone else’s path instead of your own. This may mean limiting social media for a season, if needed.

2. Process Privately, Keep It Professional Publicly

Hear me on this: Be real with how you feel! You’re not doing yourself any favors by downplaying your disappointment. When your project is rejected or your book sales tank, your heart will hurt, so let it hurt. Don’t keep the sadness a secret, because there’s a chance that sadness could creep into shame, where you’re telling yourself that you’re a terrible writer or you can’t do this. Shame is a toxic gas to a writer and your spiritual self.

This is where writer communities are helpful. Tell your writer colleagues the truth and how you’re angry or hurting. Let God use them to show up for you. We’ve all been there! At the same time, keep it professional online. While you’ve had a setback, how you handle it sets the stage for how editors and publishers will see you in the future. Be careful about bemoaning your writing career online because while it’s only a post for you, every post sets up a personality profile when agents and editors scroll through your social media in the future. Take a break if needed, but stay professional online.

3. Remind Yourself That “For Now is Not Forever.”

4. Get Back on the Bike

Did you fall for any of the above? Any of it?

It’s so easy to want to believe the email or DM or phone call that massages our ego or rubs salve into our writer wounds. Am I good enough? Will I ever be published? Now that I’m published, will anyone remember the book I wrote six years ago?

We all know the self-doubt that might has well come labeled as such in the invisible Writer Welcome package. Will I ever find an agent, a publisher, a reason to keep writing? I’ve worked so hard. Will anyone notice?

Then comes the email.

“I recently came across your writing for the first time, and I have to tell you it blew me away. Your treatment of <insert topic> and the compassion/forthrightness/intelligence/humor with which you addressed it told me this is the writer the world has been waiting for. I see you have been writing short form pieces online/several novels/prolifically in the nonfiction space and that your passion is for readers just like me to find hope/financial freedom/my socks. I’m the coordinator for a nationally known book club and film company. We think your recent work-in-progress/book would easily interest the big name producers with whom we work. Here in the office, we’re already talking about spin-off potential and have secured well-known actors who are ready to go. Please contact me immediately so we can schedule a conversation. Don’t worry if you don’t have a screenplay. Or if your book is even finished. We can help with that. If you’re not published already, that’s a crying shame. But we can help with that too. Click on this link to find out how your dreams can become reality. And again, thank you for changing my life with your exceptional writing abilities.”

And then comes suspicion.

Nah. That’s a…a bot. Right? It’s not legit.

But what if it’s real? What if someone really did see potential in my writing? Am I really that wonderful? Who am I to doubt this reader’s opinion?

I don’t want to be the one who leaves the island with an idol in my pocket, like on the Survivor TV show. I really could be as wonderful as they say. It’s a stretch, but how else would they know all these details about me?

And wasn’t I just praying this morning that God would give me a sign?

It’s a sign, alright.

The nefarious of the world are getting sneakier and sneakier, slicker than slime on a water slide. They know how to appeal to a writer’s weak spot–self doubt–and their strength–a deep desire to make a difference in readers’ lives.

Not a day goes by that we don’t hear reports of authors (published or unpublished) receiving what look like absolutely legitimate praise for their work, invitations to speak at a large conference in Devon Island, Canada (which is uninhabited, by the way), a heartfelt plea for the writer become part of a network of other marketing geniuses like herself/himself for a low, low, but only until Monday entrance fee, a film offer, a generous invitation to let someone help their book find more visibility (and the book was released in 1997)…and the signature line even has a picture of the person writing (or is it?) and an address that sure looks legit, other than that typo.

And here’s the sign atop the Trap of Being Wonderful

You are wonderful. (We mean that. No, for reals.) You’re writing. But you’re also vulnerable. We all are.

Even the most savvy among us, even the most naturally skeptical of everything can fall for the highly polished but impossible to stand on marble scam-ology. It sounds so sincere. So legitimate. They even mentioned a short excerpt from your last blog post! How would they know that if they weren’t even human?

That might have once been an unanswerable question, but no more. Just as everyone has a tale to tell of their great-aunt Bertha who had six phone conversations with a person who convinced her she could be the hero if she posted the bail money for a nephew she doesn’t remember being related to and here we can get him out of jail faster, poor guy, if we can take the money directly out of your bank account…

Just like that, few authors don’t have a story to tell these days about the sophistication of the latest approaches by either scammers or, and don’t stop reading yet, machines disguising themselves as humans, or actual humans disguising themselves as “someone on your side with your best interests at heart.” And that includes companies who stumbled on you (no proposal or anything, no pitch, but they somehow discovered you) and want you to become one of their authors.

How can we know?

• If it sounds too good to be true, assume it is too “good” to be true.
• If it swells your ego, use whatever is handy to reduce the swelling–ice packs, bag of frozen peas, water pill. We want to believe the glowing words. But keep in mind, not everything that glows isn’t radioactive.
• Sometimes it’s super-hard to tell the legitimacy of the ask or offer. If so, ask your agent, if you have one.
• If it sounds like something an author friend just received, assume it is making the rounds looking for the unwary.
• Do due. Yes. Just as it sounds. Do your due diligence.

What’s my due diligence?

• DON’T click on a link of any kind or reply to the message. What do you think a bot will say if you ask, “Are you for real?”
• If they claim to have a website, type the website name into a Google search, not copy and paste. Does a legitimate-looking website pop up. Keep looking.
• If it’s a film company or publisher, look deeper. How many books have they published? How many films have they successfully released? Are they all by the same two or three authors? Do you recognize any of them?
• Check the website’s list of editors. Likely the name on the email is way off or sneakily SLIGHTLY off from the actual person who works at that company, if the company is more than an empty storefront.
• Google the name of the company with the word scam? after it. Makes for interesting reading. Bonus, that also works for Medicare scams too.
• And stay blinder-free. No one can be faulted for wanting to believe someone loves what they’ve written, wants to help you publish it, market it, get your work seen by movers and shakers. But blinders can keep us from seeing the truth behind the buttering up.

There’s no denying that it’s getting harder and harder to distinguish real opportunities from danger. Bots don’t get tired of rejection if no one responds, sadly. One would think their algorithms would realize, “Those Books & Such blog readers aren’t falling for our sales pitches” and change their tactics. But they’ll just invent new, slicker approaches.

Writer, beware. Aware, not scared.

We’re in this together.

To understand the difference between a good agent and a bad agent, you need to know what agents do. Your agent will help plan your career, guide you in developing projects, present and sell those projects, negotiate a fair contract, shepherd that book through the whole process– weighing in on covers, back-cover copy, marketing and eventually reversion of rights. Your agent will help troubleshoot book content, put out fires and ride herd on your rights and your royalties. And that’s only for starters.

So what makes a good agent? She needs to be well-connected so she can make the introductions and keep on top of changes in the industry. She needs to be someone who can smooth troubled waters and keep everything humming along. A good agent must be organized, paying attention to detail. You want someone who is always scanning the horizon to get a bead on what’s new, what’s next. Your agent should be well-liked by editors and publishers.

Most of the agents in the industry are very good at what they do, but. . .

I cringe a little when I talk about “bad” agents because all of us fall short sometimes, but the difference between a good agent and a bad agent is the level of integrity, skill, communication and knowledge of the industry.

Integrity

An agent only makes money when the client makes money. This is one of the easiest ways to spot a bad agent. An agent should not refer a client to a publicist, editorial service or self-publisher in which he has any financial interest or receives any kind of referral fee. You also want your agent to be a truth teller, to be part of a financially secure agency and to have an excellent reputation in the industry.

Skills

A good agent is a skilled negotiator, has a well-developed eye for writing, and has that hard-to-define sense of what is appropriate. An agent sometimes needs to be tough and persistent, but he also needs an equal dose of subtlety, tact, diplomacy and discretion. This is where a bad agent can ruin your career. Publishers avoid certain agents. Unwitting writers connected to such an agent may be held at arm’s length by publishers only because of that agent’s reputation or past dealings.

Communication

A good agent communicates well with clients, editors and colleagues. Communication is ever more complex these days. Communicating well may require a combination of video conferences, travel, email, a web presence, and social media posts. It’s easy to imagine how a silent agent can damage a career.

Knowledge of the Industry

A good agent knows editors and publishing houses. He knows who’s looking for what and understands how to match the perfect project to the perfect editor. He makes sure he presents the editor with all the information he needs to make a decision. A bad agent blankets the industry with proposals, sending everything to everyone. Editors know which agents handpick projects for them and which use the shotgun approach.

So how do you tell the good agent from the bad? Aside from the obvious–agents asking for money upfront or appearing overly hungry for clients– one of the best ways is to talk to fellow writers about their agents. If you work with an editor already, ask that editor for names of agents who might be a good match. They won’t be able to name names of bad agents, but they won’t recommend them either.

I’ve only danced around the edges here. There are stories that could be told, but we’ll leave those to the imagination.

Don’t forget, Books & Such has a podcast! You can listen here.

We also have a fun Pitch Party for unagented writers coming up on May 26th! Learn more and RSVP here!

For the fiction writer, imposter syndrome might appear when reading another author’s book. Suddenly, your admiration of another writer’s talent becomes criticism of your own. Your world-building doesn’t feel as vivid, your character depth pales the more you read. For the nonfiction writer, perhaps your real life isn’t as pretty as the picture you’ve painted on the page. The grace and peace you write about so eloquently doesn’t always find it’s way into your living room when your kids start fighting (ask me how I know). Imposter syndrome doesn’t just rob us of our confidence, it quiets our voice, dims our talent, and steals our inspiration.

Let’s look at how we can fight back when it hits:

Recognize comparison for what it is

When you begin to compare yourself to another writer- their work, their platform, the opportunities they’ve been given, call it out. Sure, they may be flourishing in their lane, but that’s exactly what it is: their lane. We all have our own paths to travel. Your successes are yours to have, and you have earned them. This isn’t to say you can’t learn from those farther down the road than you-I encourage you to do so. We can admire another writer, cheer for their successes, and observe what worked for them on their journey, and what didn’t.

Realize imposter syndrome is the doorway to jealousy

That sounds wrong, doesn’t it? If we feel undeserving of our success, how is that related to jealousy? When we don’t own our own success, or right to be where we are, we begin to believe the opposite for others. “They have every right to be at the table, they’re a New York Times Bestseller!” This leads to our own lack of confidence, doubting every seat at a table we’ve occupied. It’s a vicious cycle that can result in strained writer friendships, not to mention a complete lack of gratitude for our own accomplishments. We must take time on this long publishing path to stop, rest, and celebrate our wins. Imposter syndrome robs us of our creativity, our inner voice telling us to strive for more and better, while the stress of out-performing our last project steals any inspiration. What’s meant for us will find us-there’s a peace in that, isn’t there? We don’t need to buy into the idea of scarcity, that someone else’s success equals our own lack of opportunity.

Return to reality

Our minds do a really good job of bullying us. While externally, it looks like we’ve got so much going for us, internally, we think we know the truth. My next book isn’t going to be a good as the last. I don’t have as many followers as so-and-so, it’s because my writing isn’t on the same level. I’m never going to figure this publishing thing out, I’m going to have to give up. If you wouldn’t say it to a friend, don’t say it to yourself. You’re not an imposter, or a fraud. You’ve worked hard to get where you are- hold tight to that. Sure, you have places you can grow- we all do (even those who seem to have it all). You are on your own path, and you’re right where you belong.

How about you, what helps you with imposter syndrome?

Don’t forget, Books & Such has a podcast! You can listen here.

We also have a fun Pitch Party for unagented writers coming up on May 26th! Learn more and RSVP here!

As writers, it’s good for us to take the temperature of bookstores by doing a health recap. When I first worked in publishing, the health of the publishing industry depended on the health of bookstores. Multiple bookstore chains gave ample outlets through which readers discovered their next read, the next book to buy a s a gift,and to leave the store with way more purchases than they intended.

It’s a new world, a new day. That was before Amazon. That was before digital books. That was before downloadable audio books.

All those forces—and more–brought about the declining health of the bookstore. Each year more chains closed. Eventually, only a few clung onto life support. I watched anxiously for the biggest of all to fail–Barnes & Noble. It seemed inevitable. From 2010 to 2020 130 B&N stores closed.

Bookstore Rescue

Enter James Daunt, Barnes and Noble CEO and head of Waterstones, the largest bookstore chain in Great Britain. Both chains were headed to the mortuary. Daunt took charge of Waterstones first. What he learned there he then applied to Barnes & Noble when he became that chain’s CEO. Let me summarize the results by saying that Barnes & Noble opened 60 new locations in 2024. Quite the dramatic turnout in just four years. Growth remains the name of the game for both Waterstones and B&N.

The secret sauce contains few ingedients. It basically comes down to understanding what people want from a bookstore and giving booksellers real power to make decisions that fit their local community.

Why Local Decisions Work

Local teams choose the titles they carry. They create their own displays. They recommend the books they love, not the ones they are required to shelve. And now B&N is back to creating best-sellers. For example, Katherine Rundell’s Mona’s Eyes became a breaktrhough debut in part thanks to the enthusiasm the B&N local bookstores’ support.

“We excel at serendipitous discovery and browsing,” Daunt told the Authors Guild Bulletin (issue Winter 2025-Spring 2026). “Human curation beats algorithmic recommendations.”

But wait, if readers love to buy books in real stores, why couldn’t B&N keep their stores open?

Daunt explains it this way: “There’s a contradiction between the disciplines of chain retailing and bookselling. Chain retailing is about uniformity and consistency and imposing…controls necessarily to achieve that. That works in most branches of retail, whether you’re selling clothes or shoes or sneakers. Unfortunately, if you apply that to books, you’ll end up with a pretty dull bookstore. You’re running identical bookstores that don’t please anybody.”

The Pandemic Effect

While Barnes & Noble closed their stores during the first portion of the Pandemic, they spent that time reorganizing stores, going through the inventory, and refreshing physical stores to fit their communities.

Meanwhile, a different type of Renaissance was occurring in independent bookstores. Many had always meant to develop a vibrant online presence, but the need wasn’t felt strongly enough to make that happen. But with Pandemic readers unable to visit stores, the staff had nothing but time–and the desire to see their store survive the Pandemic–caused them to dive into creating websites through which buyers could make selections. Some readers came by the bookstore to pick up their books, others had the books delivered or even mailed.

Along with sudden online availability, people, with nothing but time at home on their hands, turned to baking bread, starting new hobbies, and reading War and Peace (book clubs were formed to plod through tomes). Hence, a double-digit growth surge took place starting shortly after the shutdown and lasting for about five years. Books were “in.” People rediscovered the joy of reading.

According to the American Booksellers Assn., 422 new bookstores opened in 2025, a 31% jump from 2024.

Health Recap: Going strong with no signs of weakness.

Bookshop.org Gives Bookstores a Boost

Fortuitously launched in January 2020, this online site was designed to provide book shopping that would pay 80% of each sale to the buyer’s local independent store(s).  Meant to compete against Amazon for easy online book-buying, it also saw itself as a way to infuse more sales into local stores.

Many bookstores turned to bookshop.org during the Pandemic for help in keeping their doors open.  Five years later, they’re keeping a running tally of how much money they’ve provided local stores. Today that number is

Before you write another word, it’s worth asking yourself these three questions.

1. What am I really trying to say?

Not the topic. Not the category. Not even the genre. What is the message underneath all of that? The writing that resonates most doesn’t come from chasing ideas— it comes from stewarding a message. When you’re clear on what you’re trying to say your words begin to carry weight. Without the clarity, even strong writing can feel scattered.

There’s a simple biblical principle here:

Write the vision; make it plain. (Habakkuk 2:2).

 Clarity has always been a part of meaningful communication

2. Who am I saying this to?

 It’s easy to say “everyone”, but writing for everyone often connects with no one. Picture one reader. What are they carrying? What are they wondering? What do they need? Clarity about your reader brings focus to your writing. It shapes tone, examples, pacing—and even what to leave out.

3. Why does this matter right now?

Why this message, in this season, through your voice? When you understand the “why” motivation becomes less about willpower and more about conviction. You’re not just finishing a project you’re delivering something that feels timely and necessary. You are answering a call. As writers of faith, we often sense that our words are meant to serve something beyond ourselves. That sense of purpose will sharpen clarity.

Here’s what’s encouraging:

Clarity doesn’t always come at once.

 Sometimes it unfolds as you write. Sometimes it sharpens while revising. Sometimes it comes through long walks, quiet moments or honest conversations with others. But taking time to ask these questions before and during the writing process can change everything.

 It can turn scattered words into a focus message. It can turn frustration into momentum. The strongest proposals aren’t always the most polished at first glance, but they are the clearest. They know what they’re saying, who they’re saying it to, and why it matters. So, before you push harder to write another word take time to get clear.

Does the need for more clarity resonate with you?

Always cheering you on!

Debbie

]]> https://www.booksandsuch.com/blog/before-you-write-another-word/feed/ 1 https://www.booksandsuch.com/blog/tips-for-better-productivity/ https://www.booksandsuch.com/blog/tips-for-better-productivity/#comments Mon, 13 Apr 2026 05:38:14 +0000 https://www.booksandsuch.com/?p=36258 I don’t know about you, but I’m always trying to find ways to be more productive. It seems like each day flies by more quickly than the day before. I have found a few areas where productivity can be increased; …