Me: Hey Internet, How Long Should I Wait Before Following Up With An Agent About Their Request For A

Me: Hey internet, how long should I wait before following up with an agent about their request for a full manuscript? The Internet: minimum 3 months Me:

my recipe for drawing hands!

(small note that this is a shortcut that is more abt style and ease than anatomical accuracy. it helps to take time to really properly study hands, makes it easier to bend the rules a bit like this and have it still look good!!)

(learn rules b4 u break them or whatevah)

One of the many, many things that AI has completely fucking ruined is job hunting. It is apocalyptically terrible job hunting right now.

In 2022, I applied to 127 jobs and interviewed with 17 companies to get my previous gig - which is about a 14% interview rate.

This year (after getting laid off in April), I have applied for 83 jobs and interviewed with two companies - an interview rate of 3.6%.

And lest you think I'm doing a spray and pray, I very much am not. I'm being highly selective in what I apply to - it's just impossible to stand out when hiring processes are being flooded with AI-generated resumes. (To say nothing of the number of companies straight up posting fake jobs rn)

In the same time period I've applied to all of these jobs, I've had a higher success rate hearing back from literary agents (28%) than I have applying to jobs.

Which honestly is fucking wild. Say what you want about the accessibility of publishing, but it shouldn't be easier to find a literary agent than to get a first-round job interview.

Also!!!! Adverbs are useful in describing body language meant to convey emotional context: Aspen stopped themself, holding up their hands apologetically.

Just saying that they held up their hands gets rid of the emotional context - you can hold up your hands angrily, or aggressively, or sarcastically. They're also a lot more useful for conveying sarcasm without just saying the character is being sarcastic: “Aren’t you forgetting something?” Becks asked sweetly from the doorway.

So yeah. Vary your parts of speech, but also

I know adverbs are controversial, but "said softly" means something different than "whispered" and this is the hill I will die on.

Hot Shit | Tom Cardy

i'm not the praying sort, but i'll probably always have a soft spot for the astronaut's prayer