Janet Alcorn

Pink daisies growing through a white picket fence

Red and white striped miniature rose

Peach blossoms

Blooming rosemary

Here’s what’s blooming in my Clovis, CA garden right now. Spring has sprung! #Gardening #CentralValley

My Query Stats Active Project: Vanishing, Inc. Outstanding Queries: 30 Outstanding Submissions: 4 Queries Sent: 100 Negative Replies: 65 (65%) Positive Replies: 5 (5%)

I just sent my 100th query! I've had 5 partial/full requests, one of which was rejected. The other 4 are still outstanding.

Here are my stats as of today:

#QueryTrenches #AmQuerying #WritingCommunity

What it's like to reread my old work - Janet Alcorn This week on the IWSG blog hop, we’re talking about rereading old work. What’s it like to reread my old work? Before I dive into that: This post is part of the Insecure Writers Support Group (IWSG) bl...

New month, new post for the Insecure Writers Support Group (#IWSG). This month we’re talking about rereading our old work. For me, the words sound familiar, but I have no idea where I got the idea to write them. Inspiration is fleeting. #WritingCommunity

janetalcorn.com/2026/02/03/w...

My Query Stats (from Query Manager) Active Project: Vanishing, Inc. Outstanding Queries: 35 Outstanding Submissions: 3 Queries Sent: 93 Negative Replies: 54 (58.1%) Positive Replies: 4 (4.3%)

Current query stats. Some more rejections in January as agents catch up on backlogs. I'm nearing the end of my list of agents to query for this book. Waiting for a few more to open, then moving on to small presses if one of my outstanding submissions doesn't pan out. #QueryTrenches #AmQuerying

Tongs can be helpful.

It is profoundly ironic that the whole stated purpose of mass gun ownership in the US - which carries it with the associated cost of frequent mass shootings, including in schools - is to protect against oppressive tyrannical government and yet...

Interesting webinar coming up for screenwriters (and romance writers): a look at cinematic meet/cutes. I don't get any referral fees for this, just saw it and thought others might find it useful. www.wendallthomas.com/private-clas... #RomanceWriters

My 2025 highlight reel: writing, travel, and more - Janet Alcorn It’s time for my 2025 highlight reel post. I love writing annual highlight reel posts, because 1) I get reminded of things I forgot I did last year, and 2) I get to relive some good memories. 2025 was...

I finally finished my 2025 highlight reel blog post. Check it out if you want to see what shenanigans I got up to last year.
janetalcorn.com/2026/01/21/m...

Query stats from Query Manager: 42 outstanding queries, 3 outstanding submissions. Queries sent: 91. Negative replies: 45 (49.5%). Positive replies: 4 (4.4%)

Time for another episode of Janet's Query Stats. Picked up a few more rejections since my last update, including a rejection on a full--but I also got another full request. And yes, I'm still checking my email every 1.7 seconds.

Send help.

#QueryTrenches #AmQuerying #QueryingAuthors

15 MINUTES TO SPRINT!
Get your WIP ready! Not familiar with social media sprints? Check out the outline on the graphic.

Not a SinC member? You can participate in the January Jumpstart for 5 Zoom sprints a day through the end of the month for only $15!
Register here: https://twp.ai/4itVG3

My writing plans for 2026 - Janet Alcorn My writing plans for 2026 balance progress with the need to be realistic and gentle with myself. And there are memes. Always memes.

Let’s talk about goals and plans for 2026! In my latest post for the Insecure Writers Support Group, I share mine. What are yours?

#WritingCommunity #IWSG

janetalcorn.com/2026/01/06/m...

Just got a full request from an agent who had a partial!! Squee!!!

Cue me checking my email every 1.7 seconds… #AmQuerying #WritingCommunity

My earliest Christmas memory: meat trays, cardboard, and Krylon - Janet Alcorn One of my earliest Christmas memories, involving ornaments made from scraps of cardboard, styrofoam, eucalyptus, and spray paint.

When I was a kid, Christmas wasn't always merry at my house, but some happy memories stand out. I'm upcycling this post about the time my amazing mom brightened Christmas with cardboard, Styrofoam, and spray paint.

Merry Christmas, BSky friends!

janetalcorn.com/2021/12/25/m...

Writing well happens through regular, intentional practice. It is like any other skill, practice improves quality. You should be writing daily and feel low pressure and low stress when doing so. Face the page until you no longer fear its emptiness. It is just opportunity.

#writingcommunity #booksky

Fresno State Today has a good article on California's Central Valley. If you aren't from here, it'll give you a sense of what this unique and fascinating place is like. And if you are from here, it'll remind you why you live here. #CentralValley #California

today.fresnostate.edu/pines-palms-...

Thanks! Best of luck to you too, and I look forward to see where your journey goes.

I sent a batch a few years ago and then figured out my manuscript wasn’t ready. I worked on it more, took a break for awhile for life reasons, then started up again this year. This time I’ve sent queries as my time permitted, and I’m just about done.

Screenshot of my query stats from Query Tracker: 45 outstanding queries, 3 outstanding submissions, 78 queries sent, 30 negative replies, 3 positive replies.

I got another partial request!! And racked up a few more rejections too, all part of the process. Here are my query stats as of this morning.

Onward.

#QueryTrenches #AmQuerying #WritingCommunity

Thanks for the response and the good wishes! Much appreciated.

Adversarial Poetry as a Universal Single-Turn Jailbreak Mechanism in Large Language Models We present evidence that adversarial poetry functions as a universal single-turn jailbreak technique for Large Language Models (LLMs). Across 25 frontier proprietary and open-weight models, curated po...

A colleague pointed me to this paper, which I'm sharing here because 1) it's fascinating and kind of wonderful that you can use poetry to trick genAI into breaking its own rules, and 2) Adversarial Poetry would be an amazing band name.

#Poetry #AI

arxiv.org/abs/2511.15304

I'd love to hear your experiences with Entwined. I'm considering submitting to them, but online comments are mixed.

The best gift I ever received as a writer - Janet Alcorn The best gift I ever received as a writer: family support. Also an update from the query trenches and some fresh memes.

It's #IWSG Day, and we're talking about the best gifts we've received as writers. Here's my post.

What's the best gift you ever received as a writer?

#WritingCommunity

janetalcorn.com/2025/12/02/t...

Why a 400-mile long fog bank lingered over California for a week Nicknamed “Tule fog” after the tule reeds that grow in the damp foothills, the fog is expected to carry into this weekend.

Our tule fog made WaPo!

Now maybe when (not if!) I publish my novel in progress, set here in the Valley, I won't have to explain tule fog to everyone who reads it. #CentralValley #California
www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2025...

I had high hopes for the SinC marathon, but work and other life stuff have sapped my energy this month. I still attend one or two write ins a week but nothing like I’d hoped.

I nominate the mosquito. Blood sucking fiend that annoys the crap out of everyone, serves no useful purpose, and sometimes spreads disease.

Unsolicited writing advice, no. 33788:
Don't front-load your work with unnecessary backstory and intricate worldbuilding. Give your readers only as much as they need to engage with the plot and characters, and let them discover the rest as and when they need it...

How to Budget for Self-Publishing So you wrote a book. Now what? For many people, the vicissitudes of the publishing industry make traditional publishing unappealing, not to mention improbable. So you’ve decided to self-publish! Ex…

Sharing a useful post on how to budget for self-publishing. #WritingCommunity

booleanop.wordpress.com/2025/04/12/h...

Query stats from Query Tracker: 42 outstanding queries, 2 outstanding submissions. 69 queries sent, 25 negative replies, 2 positive replies.

Query stats so far. I sent a handful of queries back in 2021, realized my manuscript wasn't ready, and resumed querying in earnest this year. It's rough out there, folks. #AmQuerying #WritingCommunity