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What I Have Been Doing

March 30, 2023 by Tia Rose Mele Leave a Comment

I think it’s important in growth and learning to show what that has meant for me. My path started in college and has continued until now. It will continue long into the future. I am not done learning and I am not done rowing. I hope that I am not done changing.

I want to prove that I am not the person who posted those horrible tweets. I said terrible things and those things are unforgiveable, but they do not reflect the person I am now.

In college, I took many women’s studies classes which focused on diversity and intersectional feminism. My favorite author to read was bell hooks, but I also enjoyed Audre Lorde, Maya Angelou, Jacqueline Woodson, Toni Morrison and many more. These are authors I read in high school and college and have continued to explore since. I took a class on the Literature and Culture of India, and I am lucky that my English undergraduate and graduate studies involved diverse works.

I have always been an active ally and member of the LGBT+ community. One of my tweets involved a transphobic slur, and I know now how problematic it was. I was quoting a movie, a mistake I will never make again. I have learned that researching is important when it comes to quoting and making comments. I am vocal about my love for the LGBT+ community and will be a champion for these and all voices.

This is not an extensive list of what I have done. I have been vocal on Twitter supporting authors of color. My past and future reading lists are more diverse than ever. I am not the person who wrote those tweets. She is a version of me who no longer exists.

In terms of publishing, I have been out of the game for three years, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t been paying attention. The publishing world is one I love, so I have continued to watch deals, read, and watch for new editors and job moves. I may not have been working in publishing, but I have kept myself involved quietly to ensure I could make a smooth transition back into the world. I still have my editor contacts list and have been reintroducing myself to the editors to get a feel for what they are looking for now. A lot can change in three years, but I am confident that it will be a smooth transition back into this world.

I know people are worried. People don’t trust me. I understand that position, and I know that there will be authors who won’t query me. There may even be editors who won’t consider me. I believe in writers, though, and I believe in the power of growth and change. I hope that I can earn the trust of those I hurt, and gain back the respect I once had in the publishing world.

Filed Under: Uncategorized

Announcing Tia Rose Mele Literary Agency!

March 22, 2023 by Tia Rose Mele Leave a Comment

When I was going to school at UConn, I learned what a literary agent was, and I knew I wanted to be one. I started as an intern with Talcott Notch Literary Agency, learning under the incredible guidance of Gina Panettieri, and was promoted to assistant and then junior agent.

The reasons why I left are outlined here. I am not hiding my past. I am hoping to move beyond it, because I have dreamed of being a literary agent for ten years, and I know I’m good at this work.

So, I am excited to announce that I am opening Tia Rose Mele Literary Agency! I have always wanted to open my on agency, and there’s no time like the present.

Starting on April 1st, I will be opening to queries for middle grade, young adult, and romance novels. I can’t wait to work with incredible authors to build their careers!

Filed Under: Uncategorized

First Drafts and Editing

June 17, 2022 by Tia Rose Mele Leave a Comment

You know when you’re watching a movie about people making a movie/TV show and they say, “We’ll fix it in post?”

Well, so will you.

Your first draft doesn’t need to be perfect. It shouldn’t be perfect. You’re going to write and rewrite until it publishes, and then you’re going to wish you could write and rewrite some more, because there’s always something you could’ve done differently.

There are different camps when it comes to writing and editing. I’m firmly in the camp that you should write the entire project before you start editing. Some say you should edit as you go, but to me, that can cause problems.

You write chapter one. You go back and edit chapter one. Okay, that’s great. Now move on to chapter two. But, wait, you want to change more of chapter one, so you go back to that. Editing as you go can cause this road block where you want to perfect what you’ve already written before you move on. If this road block doesn’t get in your way, then okay, keep editing the way you have been.

But, since that’s not the case for most people, write first, edit later. Here’s how I suggest you work through your project. Now, remember, this won’t work for everyone, but it’s a starting point if you’re struggling!

  1. Write the entire first draft from start to finish (if you have a prologue/epilogue, these are the only exceptions for me. Write these after you’ve edited, since so much can change! I may write a whole blog post on just this.)
  2. Set the project aside. You’ve just written a ton of words (probably like 40,000 to 100,000, ideally!) and your brain needs a break from it. I recommend at least a week, longer if you can. Give your mind a chance to relax and recover after writing an entire book! You deserve it!
  3. Read your entire first draft. Don’t make any changes. Take notes as you’re reading on things you might want to consider, maybe edit a couple grammar/spelling mistakes if you find them, but this should be a plain read-through. The idea here is to get a feel for your book as a whole before you start breaking it down again during the editing process. It can also help you catch continuity errors if you read from start to finish without stopping.
  4. Take another break. This one can be shorter, just a day or two, so you can mull over what you’ve just read and come up with an editing plan.
  5. Read again, and this time, start editing. Kill your darlings! (You can create a separate document with these darlings so you can use them in the future). Work on tightening your plot and strengthening your characters. You don’t have to focus as much on grammar/spelling/punctuation at this point. This is more of a developmental edit for you.
  6. You guessed it, take another break! By this point, you’ve read your own work at least twice, and you need a palate cleanser before you dive back into it. Read other books in your genre at this point. You can also start working on your query letter here if you’re planning on submitting to agents or editors.
  7. Read again, but do it out loud this time. This will help you with the flow of the book as well as with any issues you might have with dialogue.
  8. Read through one more time for a copy edit. Focus on sentence structure, grammar, spelling, and punctuation. I don’t necessarily think a break is necessary between these last two edits, but if you need one, take one!
  9. Start submitting (or publish!) your book!

Of course, each of these read throughs might end up being multiple read throughs, especially when you get to step five. Which is why it’s important to take breaks. You want to love your story by the time you’re finished, and if you overwhelm yourself with it too soon, you might start to hate it.

Again, this is just my recommendation, as I write on my own and continue to work with editing clients (for more information, visit the editorial services tab!). The most important thing is to remember that your first draft is just that: a draft. No need to perfect it right away. You’ll fix it in post.

Xoxo Tia

Filed Under: Uncategorized

What’s At Stake?

May 4, 2022 by Tia Rose Mele Leave a Comment

It’s been a while since I posted a blog! I’m back and ready to give some more writing advice. This topic came up with one of my editing clients (click here to see more about my editorial services!) and I thought it would make for a fun blog.

As a writer, you’ve probably heard that you need to up the stakes in your project. It’s a pretty common critique, because stakes are what make a reader want to read your book, and if a reader doesn’t want to read, why would anyone want to publish it?

So, what exactly are stakes? In your book, the stakes are literally what is at stake for the characters. (Okay, ‘stake’ doesn’t even feel like a word anymore, but I’m going to keep going.) If the main character succeeds, what will they gain? More importantly, what will happen if they fail? How would it hurt them? How would it hurt (or help!) the people around them?

A common misconception is that stakes always have to be Big. They don’t!

Of course, if you’re writing a high fantasy, then yeah, you should have really big world-ending stakes (as well as really small, world-ending stakes).

But, what about your YA romance? The two main characters getting together probably won’t save the world. But, it could save their world. If they don’t get together, they’ll miss out on a great relationship, lose a great friend, or it’ll save them from heartbreak later on. These are small things, aren’t they? Even so, they’re still stakes. It still matters.

Of course, there are going to be a ton of stakes throughout your book. There’s the main plot, which should have the highest stakes, and then a bunch of sub plots, which each have stakes of their own. Every character, even the minor ones, should have something they’re working towards, some end goal, and some reason they need to reach that goal (and consequences if they don’t!).

The stakes also have to matter, just like everything in the story. I’m a big fan of chopping as an editor, and it’s incredibly hard, but it makes for a clean, tight, and strong story. If you have something that can be easily cut without changing the story, that’s not good in terms of stakes. Stakes have to be something the reader believes in, and something important enough to hold on to. If you can cut it, it’s not important enough!

Unfortunately, this isn’t easy. If it was, you wouldn’t have to worry about it!

When I’m editing, one of my favorite things to do is ask questions, because I think it helps shape the story. I do it when I’m writing too! Even when I’m writing a blog post, I’ll ask myself, what do I want to say? What do I want readers to get from this? Why do I use so many exclamation points?

So, while you’re writing, or editing, ask yourself some of these questions:

Why is the character doing this? Why does it matter?

Where will the character be if they succeed? If they fail?

How does it impact those around the character? Who else will suffer, or gain, from the outcome?

If I remove this, how will it impact the character? Do they need to be doing this? Is it vital to the story?

Where does the character start, and where do they end? How did every choice they made up until now lead them from A to B?

If you want a really fun exercise (one I highly recommend!) try doing this from the character’s POV. Answer the questions based on what your MC would say. This can help you with your voice, and it also helps with stakes. The character has to know what they’re up against, and what will happen if they win or lose!

I hope this helps you to dive into your stakes!

xoxo Tia

If you like what you’ve read, consider buying me a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/tiarosemele

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: edit, editing, editor, manuscript, query, revision, stakes, write, writer, writing

Now offering editorial services!

January 26, 2021 by Tia Rose Mele Leave a Comment

Visit the new page on my website for information on my editorial services: http://tiarosemele.com/editorial-services/

I look forward to working with you!

xoxo Tia

Filed Under: Uncategorized

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Recent Posts

  • What I Have Been Doing March 30, 2023
  • Announcing Tia Rose Mele Literary Agency! March 22, 2023
  • First Drafts and Editing June 17, 2022
  • What’s At Stake? May 4, 2022
  • Now offering editorial services! January 26, 2021

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