At Her Service in the UK!

And other things I'm excited about!

My cuticles are a mess!

Dear Readers,

I try hard-ish to make my cuticles not look terrible, but they do. “Have you tried—” Let me stop you there, YES! I have! My lotion is expensive, I have oils and balms and masks. I’m just doomed, maybe, it’s fine. Would I become a happier, better person if I had better cuticles? Look, I can’t fully count it out but PROBABLY NOT. I’m fine!

First, I wanted to share my HRC speech with y’all:

I am still SO SO GRATEFUL to the HRC for this honor, and grateful to everyone in St. Louis who made that night truly special for me. Including the train-themed hotel I stayed at. Thanks for still being weird, St. Louis.

Next, I wanted to share the BEAUTIFUL cover of the UK edition of At Her Service! Mallory Heyer’s illustrations shine yet again, and I love that Max and Sadie look like such babes!

Seriously, from the beginning of writing For Her Consideration, I worried about covers! It’s a great kind of fear to have (better than fear of never getting published or whatever), but I had legit reasons behind it. I’ve seen publishers struggle to represent queer women on book covers. Behind the scenes, I’ve had to push! That said, I have always been fortunate to work with publishers, artists, and designers who took my concerns seriously, and understood something as simple as a haircut or how shorts were cut-off could convey gender/sexuality identity information. I love how all the women and girls on my book covers look, and I hope this just means we are in a new and better age of representation on book covers.

Finally, I’d like to say that I loved that it felt like fall for a moment there, and I am deeply annoyed that temperatures have soared into the 80s AND 90s, not cool, literally or figuratively speaking!!! Love to all my fellow summer-haters, you are my people.

Below, I have some great words of wisdom from incredible writer, person, and MY FORMER ACROSS-THE-HALL NEIGHBOR Sara Benincasa! (We found out we were neighbors because she posted something about the taco truck outside her new place, and somehow I knew it was the same taco truck that was outside MY new place AND that someone had just moved in across the hallway.)

xoxoAmy

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Cute dog or THE cutest dog? (second answer)

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Consumption

Cooking

Do you want pumpkin or butternut squash mac and cheese? You absolutely do.

Listening

One of my favorite podcasts We’re Not Over Six Feet Under is about to end but if you haven’t listened yet that means there are five seasons awaiting you! Unfortunately since a couple weeks ago I’ve been singing “Ecotone” to the tune of “Even Flow” and it is haunting me in many ways.

Also Listening

I went to see MUNA last night and had an extremely good time. Yes, it is a cliche to see MUNA on National Coming Out Day, what of it?

Drinking

Look, I love you, Diet Coke.

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Get Your Ask On

Today we’ve got advice from Sara Benincasa, author of Real Artists Have Dayjobs.

How do you balance your dayjob and other responsibilities with your writing career?

SB: It's tough. I sometimes have "Day 1," which is my 9 to 5 job, then drop into an exhausted nap, and then commence "Day 2" which is fueled by night coffee and the music app "focus @ will." I published all my books before I had a full-time job, so I was very productive. I was also an active alcoholic descending into financial and personal chaos. It is good to be sober today and currently not dead. However, I have found that I'm better able to write essays, joke punch-up, TV scripts and other short-form things on this Day 1/Day 2 system than I am long-form stuff like a book, or a feature script.

I'm worried all the cool ideas and tropes have already been done! Should I quit my manuscript?

SB: All the cool ideas and tropes HAVE been done...until somebody does a new one which is always and inevitably just a spin on something somebody else did 10 or 50 or 500 years ago. If your story wants to be told, tell it. Keep in mind that some artists will think one of their works of art is the absolute best thing they've ever done creatively while legions of fans will in fact flock to something else the artist did instead. It's not up to you to decide. Abandon the manuscript if you truly despise the process and it is harming your mental or physical health! But after a rest, start a new one, something you can finish. I know it's like pulling teeth with no anesthesia sometimes, but other times - the fun times - it's like pulling teeth WHILE ON GREAT DRUGS.

I finished my manuscript and it's time to start revising, but I have no idea how to get started.

SB: Walk away from that shit, honey. Walk or roll or crawl or run. However you wish to get away from it, do. Take a break. Do other stuff. Come back to it with fresh eyes. Is it compelling? Is it interesting? If it's too painful for you to re-read, but you believe in the story, give it to a trusted friend and tell them exactly the kind of feedback you like. Or (ahem) hire an experienced creative editor for a reasonable sum.

How did you find your agent and/or get your first book deal?

SB: My agent, Scott Mendel, found me when I was writing a sex and dating blog for Nerve.com (RIP) and had a somewhat popular Web 1.0 series on Nerve called Tub Talk with Sara B., later revamped for YouTube as Gettin' Wet with Sara B. I interviewed people in bathtubs. I wore clothes, and sometimes they did, too. Sometimes they did not. Scott and I first talked about writing a funny book about the history of bathing and bathtubs I think - maybe it was kind of an Urban Outfitters table humor book? I can't recall. Then I came up with the idea for a memoir about being a stand-up comic (at the time) who lived with agoraphobia (I still do, but it's more manageable than it was in my younger years). I started workshopping a one-woman show called "Agorafabulous!" and after about a year of taking it to tiny theaters around the country, we sold the book proposal to William Morrow. The book came out in 2012. Scott is still my agent today.

Should I start a Substack or Patreon?

SB: I say, "Yes. I do both, but most people choose one or the other. It keeps me in the writing habit, I get to support other writers and creators, and having an additional income stream from getting to do whatever you want is PRETTY GREAT." But only do it if you're sure you can fulfill whatever you promise to subscribers or patrons. It may take you time to figure out what that is, and that's okay. As an additional note: please take a moment to just breathe. Let yourself rest. You don't have to do anything but stay alive for just this moment. Sometimes that is easy and sometimes that is very hard. It is okay to cry if you're reading this and you're stressed. I need to cry more. It helps. I am proud of you. (I am also proud of you, Amy, and grateful to you.) [Ed. note: SARA THIS IS SO NICE AND I MISS LIVING ACROSS THE HALL FROM YOU!]

If you have any questions about writing, publishing, revising, genres, querying, being on submission, etc., reply to this email and ask! Your question may be featured in an upcoming newsletter!

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At Her Service is coming in February!

(And it’s on NetGalley now!)

A sweetly sexy, thoroughly modern new novel about single life, social media, career goals, and making the bold move to grab your own happiness—and write your own love story.

Max Van Doren has a wish list, and a great career and a girlfriend are at the top. But despite being pretty good at her job as an assistant to one of Hollywood’s fastest rising talent agents, she has no idea how to move up the ladder. And when it comes to her love life, she’s stuck in perpetual lust for an adorably perfect bartender named Sadie. Her goals are clear—and Max has everything but the self-confidence to go for them. Even her mother seems to assume she’ll be crawling home to her childhood bedroom at some point . . .

When Max’s roommate, Chelsey—an irritatingly gorgeous and self-assured influencer in plus-size and queer spaces—offers to sponsor her for a new self-actualization app, Max gives in. If she can’t run her own life, maybe an algorithm guiding her choices will help? Suddenly Max is scoring big everywhere, and her dreams are achingly close to coming true. But when one of Chelsey’s posts reveals Sadie’s part in the app’s campaign, Max is poised for heartbreak on all fronts. Tired of the sponcon life with its fake friends and endless selfies, Max realizes that to have true influence, she’ll have to find the courage to make her own, totally authentic way in the world.

“No one writes delightful heroines, fresh humor and dazzling portraits of the vibrance of Los Angeles like Amy Spalding. At Her Service is everything—a nuanced, deeply felt romance, a deft social-media send-up and an unforgettable story of finding your place and yourself.”

—Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka, authors of The Roughest Draft

I regret that I did not make time for Lion’s Choice.