lorenfinch

[lorenfinch]

#vampireeee

[lorenfinch]

You Don't Need an Agent! Publishers That Accept Unsolicited Submissions

I see a few people sayin that you definitely need an agent to get published traditionally. Guess what? That's not remotely true. While an agent can be a very useful tool in finding and negotiating with publishers, going without is not as large of a hurdle as people might make it out to be!

Below is a list of some of the traditional publishers that offer reading periods for agent-less manuscripts. There might be more! Try looking for yourself - I promise it's not that scary!

Albert Whitman & Company: for picture books, middle-grade, and young adult fiction

Hydra (Part of Random House): for mainly LitRPG

Kensington Publishing: for a range of fiction and nonfiction

NCM Publishing: for all genres of fiction (YA included) and nonfiction

Pants of Fire Press: for middle-grade, YA, and adult fiction

Tin House Books: very limited submission period, but a good avenue for fiction, literary fiction, and poetry written by underrepresented communities

Quirk Fiction: offers odd-genre rep for represented and unagented authors. Unsolicited submissions inbox is closed at the moment but this is the page that'll update when it's open, and they produced some pretty big books so I'd keep an eye on this

Persea Books: for lit fiction, creative nonfiction, YA novels, and books focusing on contemporary issues

Baen: considered one of the best known publishers of sci-fi and fantasy. They don't need a history of publication.

Chicago Review Press: only accepting nonfiction at the moment, but maybe someone here writes nonfiction

Acre: for poetry, fiction and nonfiction. Special interest in underrepresented authors. Submission period just passed but for next year!

Coffeehouse Press: for lit fiction, nonfiction, poetry and translation. Reading period closed at time of posting, but keep an eye out

Ig: for queries on literary fiction and political/cultural nonfiction

Schaffner Press: for lit fiction, historical/crime fiction, or short fiction collections (cool)

Feminist Press: for international lit, hybrid memoirs, sci-fi and fantasy fiction especially from BIPOC, queer and trans voices

Evernight Publishing: for erotica. Royalties seem good and their response time is solid

Felony & Mayhem: for literary mystery fiction. Not currently looking for new work, but check back later

This is all what I could find in an hour. And it's not even everything, because I sifted out the expired links, the repeat genres (there are a lot of options for YA and children's authors), and I didn't even include a majority of smaller indie pubs where you can really do that weird shit.

A lot of them want you to query, but that's easy stuff once you figure it out. Lots of guides, and some even say how they want you to do it for them.

Not submitting to a Big 5 Trad Pub House does not make you any less of a writer. If you choose to work with any publishing house it can take a fair bit of weight off your shoulders in terms of design and distribution. You don't have to do it - I'm not - but if that's the way you want to go it's very, very, very possible.

Have a weirder manuscript that you don't think fits? Here's a list of 50 Indie Publishers looking for more experimental works to showcase and sell!

If Random House won't take your work - guess what? Maybe you're too cool for Random House.

#ref #publishing

[lorenfinch]

I want to see a work of fiction that reverses the "vampires are snobby upper class, werewolves are brutish lower class" stereotypes

#there's a lot of lower class vampires front and center in my setting #there are snobby rich vampires but theyre the exception not the rule #werewolves arent really relevant in the main story but a group of upper class werewolves sounds real neat.....

[lorenfinch]

Just in case anyone was confused or concerned.

Drafting is a skill. And it's a skill you can learn. If you ever look at your first draft and go 'actually this is good' do not immediately go 'no it's can't be good it's a first draft'. If you've been writing for a while (like years) writing a draft that is perfectly serviceable and only needs some editing without a ton of cutting is like... fine.

I spend a lot of my time 'writing' and 'rewriting' drafts 6-10 times in my head and when they finally come out as my 'first draft' (or a second in some cases) it's already been through 2-8 revisions. The work has been done and the words I'm writing are the culmination of those revisions. I just didn't write it down.

Not all revisions have to take place in meat space or as text on a screen. Revisions happen as you play out scenarios over and over again in day dreams or bed time stories. Your first draft is not something that Must be conquered and tamed into something presentable. Sometimes you nail it because you've spent all the revision time already.

This is not something that comes to everyone. But it is something you can get good at. You do not have to agonize over a 5th rewrite if the first time you've put words to paper is already the 6th revision that's gotten better every time. There's a lotta 'you gotta suffer to make a book good' in writeblr I just don't agree with. You can just nail it the "First Time". Not every time. But you can.

#ref #these are very good points

[lorenfinch]

my effing laptop display stopped working biting biting biting

#reblogging this here #from my main #UGHHHHHHH #I can’t work on my wip until it’s fixed

[lorenfinch]

“Stop thinking so much about vampires.” No. You start thinking about vampires MORE.

#ch: renwick

[lorenfinch]

Anyone on BlueSky for writing-related things?

I'm toying with the idea of joining because I miss the good stuff about Xitter while definitely not missing the dogpiles, drama, cultish neopuritanical moralising and repetitive buy-my-thing posts.

What's the writing community like on BlueSky? Any games, tags, snippet sharing events etc? Good vibes? Bad vibes? Supportive sharing? Endless sales spam and aggressive one-sided promos?

If you're on there for (mostly) writing stuff and would be OK for me to come and say hi if I do sign up, feel free to leave your username 💜

#i am!! not active but if more of a writing community forms i may be on more #user is circuslollipop

[lorenfinch]

i really need to catch up on the tag games ive been tagged in im sorry for neglecting those!!

#god the character voice ones sound so fun #maybe i'll do a big one with each of the sentences

[lorenfinch]

This might be unpopular but I’m not going to use simpler vocabulary in my writing if it’s out of character for the narrator. If my POV character is a botanist, he’s going to call a plant by its name. If you don’t know what it is you can either Google it or move on just knowing it’s a plant of some sort.

I don’t like this trend of readers being angry that not everything is 100% understandable for them. I want my characters to be believable as people and sometimes people use words people outside of their field will not understand. That’s not a bad thing.

You don’t have to understand every word to get the gist of what’s happening. I’m not going to slow down an action scene to describe every weapon because someone might not know them by name. They can just assume it’s a weapon because that makes sense in the context of the scene.

#yeah ive seen booktubers come across words they dont understand and?? get mad at the book for that and call it bad writing????? #personally i cannot relate im always delighted to find new words in a book!! new words i could potentially even use!! #my mc is posh; verbose; a bookworm; and has had a noble's education i'm not going to simplify his vocabulary

[lorenfinch]

Saint ┃ Scorpio ┃ She/They

God-haunted gothic hedonist. Smutty romance novelist by day, penner of religious poetry by night. Millennial Gospel was co-founded by me. 

Writing

As far as books go, you can read my queer polyamorous Dracula’s brides retelling (A DOWRY OF BLOOD, Orbit 2022) or my sapphic dark academia Carmilla retelling (AN EDUCATION IN MALICE, Orbit 2024). I’ve also got gay wizards in Boston coming down the pipeline (EVOCATION, Angry Robot 2024), and an erotic gothic romance inspired by Celtic folklore in progress (SAVAGE BLOOMS, Orbit 2025).

Poetry, essays, and flash fiction can be found in the writing tag.

If you’d like to never miss a publishing announcement or sale from me, be sure to sign up for my newsletter right here. 

Askbox Policy

My askbox is almost always open and I welcome questions on anon or off. If you’re curious about whether I’ve answered your question before, check out the answered asks tag. 

#other writers #dowry is one of my favorite vampire books and i need NEED to read the rest

[lorenfinch]

I just want to say that I cannot wait for the new book🫶 You're amazing

Thank you so much for the kind message! And look at that perfect tee-up to tell Tumblr about my newest novel!

SAVAGE BLOOMS (Orbit, fall 2025) is a gothic, polyamorous romance drenched in faery folklore, transcendent kink, and oceans of angst. Isabel Burke illustrated character art for the novel, and it's my great pleasure to share it with you now!

Adam has been in love with his best friend Nicola since college, but the closest he can come to admitting his feelings is inviting her to travel with him to Scotland in search of a legendary cave from his grandfather’s bedtime stories. When a storm washes out the road, Adam and Nicola find themselves at the mercy of Eileen, an eccentric aristocrat, and Finley, her brooding groundskeeper. The Americans quickly get more than they bargained for as they become entangled in Eileen and Finley’s world of mind games, kink, and ancient enchantment.

This book is perfect for fans of Wuthering Heights, Labyrinth, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Sierra Simone’s Thornchapel series, Anne Rice’s Sleeping Beauty Quartet, the heroine’s journey to the underworld, and the Arthurian quest for the grail. And, it kick-starts a whole trilogy!

And you can add the book to Goodreads now if you would like to support this project!

#other writers #other art #i would love to read this!!!

[lorenfinch]

What could be a good general alternative for boyfriend/girlfriend/partner (current and exes) for a pre-1900s fantasy setting? The terms seem far too modern, lover too intimate, and paramour seems to be more affiliated with infidelity; I know the latter two aren't necessarily always the case, but they still seem too specific for a certain type of relationship compared to what I might be looking for.

Sweetheart was the colloquial term used at the time.

#!!!! #ref #oh thats SO good to know

[lorenfinch]

Do you come up with deadnames for your trans OCs?

Never

Sometimes

Always

See results

#also only when relevant #ren and vince's are both literary references

[lorenfinch]

#for me it's a high enough salary so that i can make a living off of writing but at my own pace #but also the well stocked library w a cozy writing nook sounds v nice too #maybe the salary could also fund the library

[lorenfinch]

I finished the first draft of my gothic fantasy WIP, so to celebrate I drew my ocs based off a screencap of Shadow and Bone!

#character art #ch: erevan #ch: renwick #reblogged from my main #look at my ocs boy

[lorenfinch]

a list of 100+ buildings to put in your fantasy town

academy

adventurer's guild

alchemist

apiary

apothecary

aquarium

armory

art gallery

bakery

bank

barber

barracks

bathhouse

blacksmith

boathouse

book store

bookbinder

botanical garden

brothel

butcher

carpenter

cartographer

casino

castle

cobbler

coffee shop

council chamber

court house

crypt for the noble family

dentist

distillery

docks

dovecot

dyer

embassy

farmer's market

fighting pit

fishmonger

fortune teller

gallows

gatehouse

general store

graveyard

greenhouses

guard post

guildhall

gymnasium

haberdashery

haunted house

hedge maze

herbalist

hospice

hospital

house for sale

inn

jail

jeweller

leatherworker

library

locksmith

mail courier

manor house

market

mayor's house

monastery

morgue

museum

music shop

observatory

orchard

orphanage

outhouse

paper maker

pawn shop

pet shop

potion shop

potter

printmaker

quest board

residence

restricted zone

sawmill

school

scribe

sewer entrance

sheriff's office

shrine

silversmith

spa

speakeasy

spice merchant

sports stadium

stables

street market

tailor

tannery

tavern

tax collector

tea house

temple

textile shop

theatre

thieves guild

thrift store

tinker's workshop

town crier post

town square

townhall

toy store

trinket shop

warehouse

watchtower

water mill

weaver

well

wind mill

wishing well

wizard tower

#ref

[lorenfinch]

the new legends of monkey - font demon (1.1)

requested by @eclipsediaz

#inspo #ch: erevan #this guy is how i imagine erevan's facial features. btw #well that and the long white hair and spells