I once paid for an agent to review and give feedback on my query and first pages. The feedback was everything I needed to hear. It hurt my feelings. But I changed everything about my approach and first pages, so much so, that I eventually landed an amazing agent and book deal. It sucked I had to pay to get my feelings hurt. But I wanted to be a professional writer. And now I am. Listen to the feedback. Keep working. Keep making it better. And this advice is free.

Book Update 📚

Three days ago, a 15-yr old boy had an anxiety attack in the school bathroom to hide from his bullies and struggling grades. His “guidance” counselor pulled him into a room alone and told him to power thru and stop saying he was suicidal for attention even tho he was crying so hard the capillaries in his face were broken. Fun fact: the boy has never been in trouble nor has said this before. The boy is now in the hospital an hour away from his family due to a real attempt to leave this world. Because the school would not listen all year nor accommodate his mother’s requests for help and a 504 plan, he felt he had no hope and could not face another day. The boy is my son. And I’m so angry at the GC in his school I’m frozen. They’re now complying to help with classes and gave him a new counselor. These new accommodations are not enough. Our story isn’t rare. Schools need to wake up and make some real changes.