By Rebecca Lawrence

Welcome to the Booker Albert Biweekly! I'm thrilled to be writing the first of what will be our weekly newsletter. Starting in December on Thursday at 10AM, I’ll discuss industry insights, tips on querying, topical issues, and marketing, as well as updates on new deals. I have so much to say!

For our first newsletter, I want to introduce myself.

Hi! I’m Rebecca. I’ve been in the publishing industry for the last several years. I started out at Arthouse Literary where I interned for a year, before moving to Booker Albert Literary Agency. If you are interested in querying me (or anyone else at Booker Albert), subscribe to get insights about what we look for!

This spot will usually be occupied by an article. I’m so excited to write about the industry, and here are just a few things that I’m planning to write about in upcoming newsletters.

• Querying: Why it so hard to get an agent? How can I stand out from the crowd? What are some common pitfalls? If I can’t get an agent, should I ever self-publish?

• Writing quality breakdowns: What makes a good hook? What makes a good first page? What makes a good query/synopsis? How can I convey chemistry through dialogue? How do I maintain tension? How do I conquer writer’s block? As an editorial agent, I will definitely be posting about common formatting mistakes, comma rules, and unnecessary fragments.

• Marketing: Now you have a publishing deal (or you have decided to self-publish), how do you sell your book? How do you run a social media campaign? Should you do in-person promotion? Should you pay for a program or hire a book promotion company? Do ads work?

This section will also feature guest blogs from our authors and qualified industry professionals.

NaNoWriMo’s AI Attitude

NaNoWriMo is under fire for allowing AI writing tools in 2024. Critics argue that promoting AI as a "tool" for writers is problematic, as it pulls from unpaid author content and undermines the writing craft. Some authors, including notable names like Daniel José Older and Maureen Johnson, resigned from NaNoWriMo’s advisory board in protest, feeling the organization’s stance ignored the creative needs of human authors while potentially exploiting their work for AI training​. NaNoWriMo’s response—opposition to AI could be "classist and ableist"—only fueled the controversy.

We’re excited to share some recent success stories with you! Here is one of our latest deals!

Stay tuned every otherThursday 10 AM.

If you have a topic that you think I should write about or you want to write an article for us, email me at [email protected] with your bio and topic. We’re always looking for fresh perspectives.

Of course, authors or industry professionals if you want to write about something email me!

Authors, do you want to submit a book to us?

Check us out at the Booker Albert website.

Happy reading,
Rebecca Lawrence