C.J. Subko 🖤 is on sub
@sarcasmlemons
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🖤💀🗡 Writer. Psych PhD. Approachable Goth™. Voidwitch. Inventor of the trope scribble meme. Unlikeable heroine. Rep: @mariabrannan_ at @GreyhoundLitAg . (she)
Chicago, IL
Joined December 2011
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🎪Now on sub: 🎪
A carnival with a secret🤫
A missing young woman🙈
A Polish medieval town 🇵🇱
A murder🔪
A kidnapping🥷
A labyrinth🐚
A secret❓
And two women who hate each other, fighting back... 🖤
#PopUpPit
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Why does every YA character have sex these days? I was so so far from that in high school. Same with all my friends.
Normalizing sex is important and cool but we've kind of stopped normalizing NOT having sex. 🤔
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I like girls and I prefer guys. I've never felt bi enough to say I'm bi let alone queer and it's BECAUSE of people like this agent.
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I'm sick of Cinderella stories. Can someone tell me that it took them two years and four books to get an agent?
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Where are my writers with like 10 WIPs and no agent yet? FIND ME. I AM YOUR PEOPLE.
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Characters can be bisexual without dating two people of different genders in the same story. Characters can be bisexual without dating ANYONE in the story.
I know, right?
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Your querying journey of "I got an agent in 3 weeks on my first book!" is not inspiring. Your journey of "I already had contacts and leveraged them into an offer!" is also not inspiring. Querying is hell for most ppl. Gimme the stories where it went wrong and you didn't give up.
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Who was the first person in your life to really take you aside and say, "You can do this writing thing." ?
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Alright, today's question. What's your favorite sci-fi book that is NOT Red Rising and has nothing to do with Star Wars?
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Writers with day jobs....when do you write?
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I've queried and failed to get an agent on four books. I'm working on the fifth now. I just want you to know that you're not the only one. There are lots of us who haven't had our celebration tweet yet, and that's okay.
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Writers, published or not. If someone with a PhD in clinical psychology were to run a blog where you could ask WRITING RELATED psych questions (e.g. is X a reasonable reaction to trauma? What would happen to your memory if you hit your head and pass out?)...
Would it be useful?
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I'm not gonna be one of those people who tweets about every request, but I just got my FIRST *EVER* QUERY REQUEST EVER IT IS A PARTIAL AND I'M FREAKING OUT A LITTLE AND I JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT
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Let's not overlook the fact that many books have been called out for being problematic, and the only authors who have willingly pulled their books and apologized with humility are
(you guessed it)
authors of color.
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I don't know who needs to hear this, but you can't have every character reveal all their emotions through their eyes
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Agents, I'm begging you. If there's a rule you have like "don't pull your manuscript" or "explain your changes in your R&R" or "silence within 1 year means no" then PLEASE put this in your submission requirements so authors don't have to guess.
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What five books are your Brand™?
Pretty sure mine are
🖤 Truthwitch
🖤 Wicked Saints
🖤 We Hunt the Flame
🖤 This Mortal Coil
🖤 Red Rising
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Querying is hard. I've lost a lot of faith in the industry. I've lost of lot of faith in myself as a writer. I don't have solutions. Just figured maybe other people feel the same way.
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Updating your friends on your life is hard when they've all got engaged and bought houses and you're single af and still in an apartment, but you know what? I wrote three m-fing books this year and I'm owning that.
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Self-pubbed authors, how do you get over the "No one is reading this so why should I bother writing the sequel" feelings?
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The worst part about being on book Twitter is all the books you can't read yet because they're not published
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Another YA thing... cheerleaders and football players. I just realized that I literally can't name a single one from my hs. No one cared about about them. People went to football games to hang out and watch the band. 😅
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Pitch your book's romance/main friendship like "Nothing says I love you like..."
See example in replies
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Oh, and guess what? Tyler from my book REBELLION is bi and dating a girl. And he's STILL BI. So suck it, evil agent.
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@DianaUrban
Omg thank you. The memes and the cruel jokes have got me near to tears. I don't care who they were; no one deserves to die that way.
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"I don't know why I haven't gotten to it yet!"
- every bookworm ever about 90% of their TBR, right before buying 15 more books
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Re: agented authors, It's easy to tell who treats you differently for being unagented vs the people who still treat you like a person with worthy contributions even after they attain that step. Don't think we don't notice.
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I'm querying my fourth book with little success. But you know what? If this book dies, I have another one. If that book dies, I'll write another one. I'm not ready to give up, even though I'm feeling disheartened. I'm not ready to give up on ME.
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Fantasy writers research a lot too, we just research different stuff. Like, how many bolts can you fire from a crossbow in one minute and what is the boiling point of blood.
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✨Come one, come all, come everybody in between...✨
I am thrilled to announce that THE WANDERING DOLLS and I are now represented by the fabulous
@MariaBrannan_
at
@GreyhoundLitAg
!
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Last point I swear but I wish more authors were up front about how big a role luck plays in getting published. EVERYONE works hard. EVERYONE wants it badly. Getting an agent is luck and timing and I hope that if it happens to me, I'll remember to admit that.
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You who draft in Word or Google docs, you are wizards. I don't know how you keep track of things without a scene-by-scene outline. I'd cry.
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@adamhclark
@ameliewenzhao
Deciding not to publish something because others have raised concerns is NOT an infringement of free speech. It would be an infringement of free speech if Amelie published her book and was arrested for its content. Don't cheapen her very poignant decision with inaccuracies.
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Kudos to everyone who writes contemporary romances cause I could never write one. I have no idea what's supposed to happen if no one's getting murdered and there's no magic
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I can't hold it in so I'm going to announce it.
Early next year, I'll be self-publishing my novel
#RebellionWIP
, a tongue-in-cheek NA paranormal romance about a girl who falls in love with a demon while other demons are killing girls like her.
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You can publish a book at any age.
You can publish a book at any age.
You can publish a book at any age.
You can publish a book at any age.
You can publish a book at any age.
You can publish a book at any age.
You can publish a book at
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Saying it again.
We need more YA where the protag has mental illness but the book isn't about mental illness.
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For new writers just starting to query, I made a spreadsheet of reputable (and to avoid) agencies.
Older writers, please add any I've missed or make comments as needed!
#amquerying
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Okay writers, here's a weird one. What's the first line of your last chapter?
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Comps in queries: Now it must be exactly like your vibes and not too famous and no more than two years old and
Comps in publicity: It's Harry Potter meets the Bible!
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@heymintmiller
@BiruktiWrites
Forget the beta readers and do it anyway. Sometimes we have to be aspirational
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I'm curious, writers! How many WIPs have you finished (at least one draft) and how many WIPs do you have pending?
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This year I'm trying to read more adult fantasy and sci-fi. Some favorites already are SHADES OF MAGIC, RED RISING, UPROOTED, CITY OF BRASS, THE POPPY WAR, old school stuff like LOTR and GAME OF THRONES, NAME OF THE WIND, SORCERER TO THE CROWN.
Rec me all your favorites please!
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I've been querying for a year and three months now. A thread of what I've learned, for the
#amquerying
crowd and general amusement:
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Give me more genre fiction that deals with mental illness.
MCs with depression on epic quests. MCs with ADHD solving crimes. MCs with anxiety battling in space.
Mental illness shouldn't be restricted to contemporary issue books. People with MI should inhabit every world.
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Someday we'll also talk about how many big time authors were independently wealthy but I don't have that in me today.
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What's a book you read way too early?
Mine was The Vampire Lestat, c. age 10.
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Romance in YA is great, but how about some NO romance, right?
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Good morning. I identify as demisexual and bisexual and I don't know that I've ever said both those things out loud in public before. Eep. 🏳️🌈
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Publishing is waiting. Whatever stage you're at, it's waiting. No one tells you that the best writing skill you can develop is patience.
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Positivity time! Who's an author in this community you admire and respect, someone who seems to treat everyone with kindness?
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Comp your book to two things that are NOT books or movies.
Video games, smells, poems, etc. Get creative!
I've done this before but it's fun.
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It's 2024 and querying is different now. So, let's skip the Cinderella stories.
Tell me about your LONG, harrowing, and yet successful querying journeys!
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If you want a book with a bi love interest and a bi best friend (and a demi MC), check out REBELLION
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I've reached the stage of querying where I hate my book, it's dumb, why did I ever think anyone would love my stupid fairy tale romance so yeah that's how I'm doing 🫠
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What is your WIP's working title vs actual title?
I've asked this before but I always love the answers.
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In REBELLION,
Tyler is dating Chloe
Alicia is dating Celeste
Logan is dating no one
All three of them are bi and valid
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Ngl though, it's hard to keep hope alive when all you hear is "I signed with an agent on my first book in six months!" I'm so thankful to all the trad pubbed authors sharing their much longer, more difficult journeys with me today.
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Every day I have to remind myself that there is no deadline for becoming a published author. There is no ideal timeline. No end date.
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You know what I want more of in YA? Crushes that don't work out. People crushing on one person only to fall in love with someone else. Fewer soulmates, more mess.
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While I admire them so deeply for prioritizing the pain of hurt people over their own pride and career success,
While I hope they return to tell their stories,
Let's not forget WHO in this industry is allowed to screw up without repercussions and who isn't.
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If I've learned anything today, it's that the wheels of publishing turn EVEN MORE SLOWLY than you could have guessed. But if you persevere, success is still possible.
I just have to keep hoping.
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A huge part of querying is luck. It would be great if more people admitted that.
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Authors can be 100% sure their work is ready to submit, then get a bunch of rejections from agents and start to doubt themselves, then worry they're going to blow their one chance with their dream agent, so they pull it.
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"Kathleen Hale stalked her Goodreads critic. Then the internet called out her inappropriate and possibly criminal behavior."
There I fixed it.
Kathleen Hale came for her Goodreads critic. Then the internet came for her.
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Querying is like throwing darts at an invisible board.
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Writers be like:
My book is trash but yours is beautiful
No MY book is trash but yours is beautiful
No MY book
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If you're bored this week, here's a round-up of writing games to play!
#amwriting
#writingcommunity
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I hate fated mates.
First of all, mates are for animals. Can we not think of a better word???
Second, it feels inevitable which is boring.
What tropes give you the ick?
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Comp your WIP using two or more things that AREN'T books
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Everyone who sees this tweet is required to reply with one writing thing they're proud of themselves for
#amwriting
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I want to see more LGBT+, BIPOC, and disabled characters in fantasy. We're getting great rep in contemp, but fantasy is often skipped. I know it exists, I just want MORE. I want it to be commonplace instead of something you have to search out.
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We've talked about your WIP being a love letter.
So what's it a hate letter to? In what ways is it written to spite something?
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Yeah the soap is creepy, but where are all the people talking about how it's creepy that ACOTAR is marketed as YA at all?
Have you read that shit?!?
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Absolutely call out S&S but don't boycott the whole publisher, remember that they publish a lot of BIPOC who had nothing to do with this hellish deal and who don't deserve to be hurt by it.
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If you see this, QT with one out-of-context line from your WIP.
ONE LINE ONLY.
#amwriting
#writingcommunity
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✨If you see this tweet and you're a writer, you are morally obligated to QT or reply with one thing you're proud of about your current WIP. ✨
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Not a contemporary reader? Here's a thread of Black-authored fantasy books you should check out:
A SONG BELOW WATER by Bethany C. Morrow
Black girl sirens in Portland, coming to you tomorrow!
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Please send all your positive vibes my way. Something big could be happening for me today.
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THAT'S MY AGENT. I get to say that now! So excited to be working with Maria.
I'm so delighted to be working with C.J. Subko on her wonderfully immersive, dark, lush fantasy novel THE WANDERING DOLLS!
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Writers, let's talk process. At what point in your writing process do you typically start to panic, and when does that panic finally subside?
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