This week in the Writing Break cafe, we're digging into QueryTracker's live data to map the real supply and demand of the slush pile. Two genres are topping agents' wish lists while barely showing up in submissions, and five genres are facing the opposite problem.Then we head to the querying trenches for a reality check: current response timelines, why silence is the new rejection, the brutal math of agent signings, and what agents actually wish writers knew before hitting send.🛋️Overthinking Couch Topics:What authors are submitting vs. what literary agents are requestingThe two genres lit agents want but aren't receivingThe five genres with more supply than demand right nowWhy you shouldn't chase trends but might want to rethink your genre labelThree practical querying strategies: batching, tracking, and writing the next bookSelf-publishing vs. traditional publishingSubscribe because you deserve a Writing Break.Publishers MarketplaceAlyssa Matesic's Book Genre Trends 2026 BreakdownTop 10 Fiction Genres | QueryTrackerHome : America's Editor - Let's work together.More Writing TipsMusic licensed from Storyblocks.
This week we kick things off with a publishing conundrum: a major publisher is now offering editors optional disclosure of AI use by writers after contracts are already signed. What's the point? We want your thoughts.Then we settle onto the Overthinking Couch for a deep dive into multiple points of view.🛋️Overthinking Couch Topics:What multi-POV actually isThree reasons to use multi-POVThe downsides to multi-POVHow to choose who gets a POV and why some central characters should not get a POVFour practical rules for switching narrators without confusing your readerHow to make every voice distinctNext Episode: We're giving the narrator a break and heading to the query trenches for updates and a reality check.Subscribe because you deserve a Writing Break.Home : America's Editor - Let's work together.More Writing TipsMusic licensed from Storyblocks.
This week, we open the cafe with a toast to Dolly Parton and the 332-million-book literacy legacy she built with the Imagination Library.In publishing news: the Anthropic settlement disbursement timeline; HarperCollins's appetite for more AI payouts; Audible's AI voice expansion; and why the "godfather of AI" still needed a human writer.Then we settle onto the Overthinking Couch for a deep dive into third-person POV. 🛋️Overthinking Couch Topics:Omniscient vs. limited: scope, intimacy, and the risk of head-hoppingDeep vs. distant limited: how close your narrator should sitThree questions to help you choose the right POV before you writeWhy your narrator is always a presence, even when invisibleNext Episode: Multi-POV manuscripts: giving every point-of-view character a distinct voice and keeping your readers oriented when the narrator changes every chapter.Subscribe because you deserve a Writing Break.Book Deals: Week of August 10, 2026Sales Up, Profits Down at HarperCollins in Fiscal 2026Court Grants Final Approval of $1.5 Billion Anthropic Copyright Settlement - The Authors GuildDolly Parton's Imagination LibraryHome : America's Editor - Let's work together.More Writing TipsMusic licensed from Storyblocks.
When you choose a narrator, you're choosing whose personality the reader will inhabit for an entire book. Get it wrong, and you might find yourself rewriting 80,000 words. (I've seen it happen.)We're using Vivian the Professional Mourner as our case study to explore what first-person narrators can and can't tell us, why filter words create distance, and how to leverage your character's unique knowledge without slipping into omniscient narration.🛋️Overthinking Couch Topics:Why POV is a personality choice, not just a grammar choiceWhat can your narrator actually tell us?Cash register narration might be ruining your story"And then" testimony vs. lived experienceNext Episode: Third-Person POVThe Writing Break podcast is a six-time award-winning show for writers who want writing tips and publishing insights. Hosted by a freelance book editor with 20+ years of experience editing for major publishing houses.Subscribe because you deserve a Writing Break.Home : America's Editor - Let's work together.More Writing TipsMusic licensed from Storyblocks.
Last week we established that voice is the narrator's personality. This week, we look at all five elements that make up voice and see if your narrator is a real person or just you in disguise.🛋️Overthinking Couch Topics:Amazon KDP finally does something self-publishers want.Eight million books lost in Ukraine.Arkansas criminalizes bookshelves.How to write a narrator that sounds unique.Next episode: first person vs. third person. Is your close third narrator just the protagonist in a trench coat?Subscribe because you deserve a Writing Break.A single Russian attack destroyed one-third of Ukraine's annual book print volume5 Psychological Pricing Tactics That Attract CustomersWhere does Arkansas rank on the 2026 Best States list?Least Educated States 2026Home : America's Editor - Let's work together.More Writing TipsMusic licensed from Storyblocks.