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A note from Jane

When you query agents and publishers, should your book title be in all caps? What about comparable titles? What’s the best timing for the query? Exactly how long should you wait to nudge an agent or publisher after submitting the manuscript? What if you use AOL for email—will you earn a demerit?

These are but a handful of the questions I’ve fielded when teaching my annual class on how to land a book deal. I can and do patiently answer every such question. But secretly I’m thinking: please, writers, don’t get overly distracted by these details. Writer Adam Mastrioanni calls it “obsessing over tiny predictors.” He writes, “It’s scary to admit that you can’t control the future; it’s a lot easier to distract yourself by trying to optimize every decision, no matter how insignificant.”

I understand why writers obsess over such things. Agents in particular can encourage this by emphasizing high rejection rates and how everything needs to be perfect to pass muster.

Still, my position has always been, and will continue to be, that no agent (or publisher) will automatically reject a writer over mundane details if they fall in love with your writing or think they can sell your work. The best you can do is remove any major impediments to them having this realization, e.g., don’t format all your work in Comic Sans or Papyrus.
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Jane

P.S. Most popular post this month: ​Watch for These 2026 Social Media Trends​

​Bob Eckstein​

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My annual round-up of new agents and publishers

I put together this free list every year. There are always dozens and dozens of new opportunities. Browse.​

I’m trying out a new email client, Talanoa

Currently I use Thunderbird (open source, free) as my email client. Even though it does everything I need, it’s definitely an old-school way to manage email. Recently I came across Talanoa that groups messages by person rather than by time and allows for more intuitive management. You can try it for free. It works with Mac, Windows, and Linux, and most importantly—for me, anyway—you can use your own hosted email (connecting with IMAP).

Shutter Declutter: clean up photos on iPhone

I’ve seen so many of these apps come and go over the years, but Shutter Declutter is the only one I’ve stuck with. I’m chipping away every day, for about 30 seconds, on the free plan. That’s about all I can handle anyway.

If you liked Old Maps Online, try Europeana

In a recent issue, I shared Old Maps Online, which sparked this response from reader Matty Dalrymple: “Your subscribers might also be interested in Europeana. I just interviewed Europeana’s Editorial Adviser, Beth Daley, for the podcast, and like Old Maps Online, it is the most enjoyable type of research rabbit hole.”

The Holy Trinity of Fiction: Character, Plot and Stakes with Tiffany Yates Martin / Jan. 14, 1–2:30 p.m. EST

If you’ve ever hit a wall with your story—your plot feels flat, your characters aren’t quite clicking, or the tension just isn’t landing—chances are the problem isn’t with one element. It’s with how they’re working together. This class with editor and author Tiffany Yates Martin reveals that what makes good stories great is the interconnected web of these three elements driving and shaping each other in a dynamic and organic system: stakes drive the character, character drives plot, plot shapes the character’s arc.

Your turn: unwanted gifts

In the last issue, I asked what you do with holiday gifts you receive but don’t want or can’t use. Here’s a selection of what you said.

• Step 1: Send a thank-you note to the gift giver. Step 2: Ask friends and family that don’t know the gift giver if they would want the gift. If that doesn’t work, then… Step 3: Donate it to a charity. Unless the gift giver is a frequent visitor to my house, then I’ll hang on to it just in case they ask about the gift. —Dave Brewer
• We have a white elephant gift exchange for the following year. Or, I give it away. —Char Bennardo
• I donate them to my local Sharing Center. That way, someone who is less fortunate than I can enjoy something brand new that they are happy to have! —Shauna L Bowling
• First option: Offer it to my Buy Nothing group. If there are no takers there, I donate the item. If it’s a book, it goes to the library’s book sale. If it’s nonperishable food in store packaging, it goes to the Blessing Box in front of my church (looks like a Little Free Library, but it’s for food). If it’s neither, it goes to Goodwill. If it can’t be passed on for various reasons, such as giver had my full name emblazoned on it (yes, this has happened), it goes to the basement or is otherwise tucked away out of sight and out of mind. —Jo Anne Burgh
• My eight-year-old’s school does a “recycled Christmas” event every year. Families donate items, and the kids “go shopping” amongst the donations to choose presents for their family members. The kids love the autonomy of getting to choose gifts themselves, and are so proud of their choices. We love being able to recycle unwanted gifts. —Liz Green
• It depends on the gift. If it’s a great gift like the See’s Candies Peanut Brittle and Box of Assorted Chocolates I just received from my financial advisor in Toronto, I will give one box to a great friend and the other box to another great friend since I am not big on sweets. If it’s a cheesy gift like a pair of gaudy socks I received from the University of Alberta Business School, I will give it to someone I don’t like all that much. (I may even gaslight the person by sending the gift in the mail anonymously.) —Ernie J. Zelinski
• I live in a midrise building with 240 units. A fun trend started a few years ago. People leave items they don’t want in the laundry room. I’ve left items there. It’s always so rewarding knowing someone who really wants it, received it. —Alicia Dale

Next question: A reader asks, “Is there a good plugin for Microsoft Word that offers better voices than their Read Aloud feature?” Or, if not a plugin, what do you use to read aloud a Microsoft Word document? Hit reply and let me know.

Do you have a tools or resources question you would like Jane to ask all readers? Offer up your suggestion, and she might feature it.

Free resources featuring Jane

• Jan. 16: The Indie Author’s Guide to a Standout Amazon Listing with Elizabeth Lyons
• Feb. 13: Business Clinic: Should Successful Indie Authors Pursue an Agent? with Jane Friedman and D. Liebhart

Upcoming online classes

• ​How to Get Published: Land a Book Deal in 2026 with Jane Friedman, Jan. 8
• ​The Holy Trinity of Fiction: Character, Plot and Stakes with Tiffany Yates Martin, Jan. 14
• ​How Writers Can Earn a Living in the Creator Economy, master class with Jane Friedman, Feb. 7
• ​What Do Your Characters Want? with Jessica Strawser, Feb. 11
• ​Get Your Author Brand in Order with Jane Friedman, Feb. 12
• ​Identify Your Memoir’s Essential Question with Lisa Cooper Ellison, Feb. 25
• ​Making Time & Space for Your Writing with Jessica Strawser, March 11
• ​Platform Building When You’d Rather Write with Jane Friedman, March 19

Meet Jane at an event

• ​IBPA Boot Camp for Author Publishers (online only), Jan. 30, 2026
• ​IPNE Conference (online only), Feb. 20–21, 2026
• ​AWP Conference (Baltimore, MD), March 4–7, 2026 (Booth #624)
• ​Erma Bombeck Writers’ Workshop​​ (Dayton), March 26–28, 2026
• ​Publishing Professionals Network Conference (Berkeley, CA), April 24, 2026
• ​Romance Writers of Australia (Darwin, Australia), Aug. 21–23, 2026

“At electric speed, all forms are pushed to the limits of their potential.”
—Marshall McLuhan

Created by Jane Friedman I report on the publishing industry and help authors understand the business of writing. My newsletter that helps pay the bills is The Bottom Line, where I recently recapped the top publishing news in 2025.

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