Why attend creator gatherings? They broaden your horizons, help you meet like-minded people, and share highly reliable industry news—for example, which publisher is seeking submissions, or that Mirror Fiction favors realistic stories with social issues. At one gathering Utsudo also heard advice on query letters: newcomers without impressive credentials can recommend themselves through the work’s own strengths, keeping the letter concise with bullet points, polite but to the point. Joining these networks also brings support when promoting your work later.

Translated from Utsudo’s original Chinese column.

News heard at a writers’ gathering

This is information I heard at a writers’ gathering a while ago.

First, Mirror Fiction tends to favor works with social issues—stories adapted from real events, for example, or stories that happen around us without much fantasy, which feel real, are easy to relate to and resonate with readers.

If such stories are adapted for film or TV, they usually need less post-production, and because they’re close to the real world or built around an issue, they’re easier to market and spread, and more likely to win investors’ favor.

How should newcomers write a query letter?

Besides that, if you’re a newcomer without impressive achievements or special experience when submitting your work, you can start with an analysis of the work and a publishing proposal. That seems more likely to spark an editor’s interest.

Admittedly, when I first submitted, I didn’t write anything so elaborate. I just submitted it, and the email at most briefly explained what genre the work was—yet I still got a contract. But the environment wasn’t as harsh then, and the format may have changed.

So I still recommend doing more to recommend your work after you finish it.

In short, politeness never hurts, but don’t spend the whole letter praising the publisher—just touch on it. Editors read text all day long; if your query letter alone is long-winded, they may roll their eyes before they even have a chance to like you.

A query letter should be concise, using bullet points to list your key points as much as possible, letting them know your strengths while looking pleasing to the eye. That way their first impression of you won’t be bad.

Attend gatherings to close the information gap

Back to the main point: I really encourage everyone to attend gatherings. They broaden your horizons and let you meet people with shared interests, so you can make friends and comfort each other when bad things happen (?). Through exchanging information, you can also get reliable news.

Since this news very likely comes from someone’s real experience, it’s highly credible—for example, that a certain publisher is seeking submissions, or a publisher is launching a new imprint.

Sometimes we lose out simply because of an information gap, missing opportunities or taking unnecessary detours.

Join the big creative family

And if you join these networks, when you need to promote a new work later, you can share it within your circle first, and these friends may help promote and support you. Having people help spread the word makes a huge difference.

Are you still fighting alone?

Try to muster the courage to step out of your comfort zone and join the warm, big family of creators!

FAQ

Further reading

• Previous: Hey! I Heard You’re a Writer on Ghost Island #184: Does Joining an Agency Make Everything Smooth Sailing?
• Start from the beginning: Hey! I Heard You’re a Writer on Ghost Island #01: Utsudo’s Debut — A Road to the Dream Covered in Frost
• Utsudo’s books

About the author

Utsudo is a Taiwanese light novelist and novelist VTuber with more than ten years in the industry and 40 commercially published print books. Her novel 《遺失的情書》 received a 2022 Ministry of Culture youth creative award. The 《嘿！聽說妳在鬼島當作家》 series records her experiences as a novelist in Taiwan.