Newsletter September 2025 - It's Just Business
Would I rather be the fantasy author who has unique mystery plots? Or would I rather be the thriller writer with unique tech and settings?
Hey everyone,
I hope you found something to inspire you or make you laugh this month. Especially when times are challenging, it's important to look for fun and joy to keep your spirits up so you can keep doing the hard work. At my day job, we've reached some milestones in our mission to keep pushing science forward so we can make a better future, and that gives me hope. I also did a photo shoot to get some nice pics for my author page. If you're in San Francisco, contact Alfredo through Flytographer. He was great to work with. I enjoy trying new things and it was a lot of fun! See the photo above for an example.
To help plan out the next year at work, my boss gave me a copy of Playing To Win, a book on business strategy by A.G. Lafley, and Roger L. Martin. It has a lot of good advice and anecdotes if you're into business writing, and it applies to my writing career as well. The tips that really struck me were: 1) you have to decide where to play (and thus where not to play), and 2) you have to define what "winning" means to you.
My writing has spanned sci-fi, fantasy, mystery, thriller, paranormal, genre blends every which way, and children's books. I'm currently writing a technothriller with some sci-fi/fantasy elements. At the same time, I'm looking for an agent for my fantasy/mystery blend. I'm a bit all over. I hesitate on my agent search because I'm afraid if I sell my fantasy, then I'll have to stick with fantasy and not get to do the thriller books. So you can see why tip 1 resonated with me. Thinking about the business side of writing, I may be better off focusing on the one genre that matters most to me, rather than spreading my limited writing time around too much. But which genre?
That's where tip 2 comes in. Would I rather be the fantasy author who has unique mystery plots? Or would I rather be the thriller writer with unique tech and settings? The one is a niche within a niche, and the other is a niche withing a much larger audience. But what does "winning" really mean? I write for fun, but I also want to infuse science into my stories to inspire people to want to learn more, and maybe even move the needle on getting the broad public to trust science again. Like in my day job, I want my writing to help make a better future. So, sci-fi, right?
Nope. Sci-fi readers already like and know science. I want to get my stories out to a broader audience. I think I can have a bigger impact if I focus on the technothriller side. Think about how much Jurassic Park did to raise the level of knowledge about genetics and biotech. My dream would be to do that but for climate science.
So even though I'm 99% ready to send out queries to agents for A Clockwork Murder, I've deciding to pause and refocus my efforts on finishing and selling my technothriller, Under the Diamond Moon.
The other work/writing parallel this month was how similar hiring a new employee is to finding an agent. I've read a lot of resumes and talked to a lot of candidates in my time. This month, I discovered Manuscript Wishlist, which is essentially a mix of resume/job posting site for agents. They all post about what they are looking for, what they've done, etc. I was able to quickly search the database and generate a list of 30ish agents who all would potentially fit me and my story. I then used my same hiring techniques to whittle the list down and rank them. What they wrote, how they presented themselves, etc. all played in. It was exactly like hiring for a job.
Except that I have to also sell myself to the agents, though that happens when hiring as well, because you want to make sure the candidates decide to accept your offer. In finding an agent, I have to write my own cover letter and send the first ten pages in lieu of a resume. But having read many cover letters and resumes, I think I have a decent sense of how to craft them.
Anyhoo, I learned a lot about the agent query process in 2025, and I have a list of agents who might be good fits for Under the Diamond Moon. For now though, I need to dive back into editing the story and making it the best story it can be so I have something to sell.
Best,
Todd
