Iris Blasi

I'm a Thriller Author Who Figured Out the Secret to Actually Selling Books And it’s not ideal—because it’s all about the things you can’t control

"Successful authors are the ones who keep showing up through failure."

Three cheers to @robwhart.bsky.social for his transparency in this great @opensecretsmag.bsky.social essay about the many failures that come before success. JUST KEEP GOING.

Can't wait to see your revisions!!!!

Some exciting deal news today!

Yesss! I love to see this!!!

I could not be more excited myself! Rare are the books that make me laugh AND break my heart, and I feel so lucky to have spent the time I have in this place with these people @daniellebarrwrites.bsky.social has created. I can't wait to get to invite the rest of the world in!

I’m going to put “co-conspirator” on my business cards going forward.

An interesting tactic in my inbox today: An author calling attention to the number of rejections he's received thus far from other agents ("at least 35").

I love to hear that. I always tell my clients: It only takes one "yes" when it comes from the right person!

textCrunch, No. 2: Looking Inside the Slush Pile And your odds of getting out of it

"Any agent will tell you that finding a writer in slush is like finding a needle in a haystack."

This is a VERY good piece by data scientist @lbmcgrath.bsky.social about the realities of the slush pile:

From your lips to some mystery novelist's ears!

Haha. I love that.

I just received a query referring to me as "Agent Blasi" and, honestly, I could really get into this honorific.

My favorite recent query is for the "literary fiction work of approximately [word count] words."

I love @olgakhazan.bsky.social's answer to the question "What about writing surprises you?"

Via @memoirland.bsky.social: memoirland.substack.com/p/the-memoir...

you’re fired. wait you’re rehired. email us a list of things you’ve done today wait forget it you’re fired again. come back your job was important. you’re fired. or hired. come in to the office. wait the office has no computers go home. we are the department of government efficiency.

Happy first birthday, Mind Game Plus, a shiny new website.

"I think my main takeaway is that writing a book is exhausting beyond belief, and yet here I am doing it all over again." @juliekliegman.com

Happy first birthday, MIND GAME!!!

Dear Daddy Advice Column March 2025: Do You Need an MFA to Get Your Novel Published? Our advice columnist has strong opinions about MFA programs: “The unifying factor amongst successful writers tends to be stubbornness, not MFAs. “

"Here’s the thing about first books: It might not be the book that gets you there. ... I know writers who didn’t hit until their third, fourth, or even seventh book. The unifying factor amongst successful writers tends to be stubbornness, not MFAs."

via @opensecretsmag.bsky.social

For me, fighting fascism has nothing to do with thinking I’ll win. I don’t fight because there’s an inevitable outcome, I fight because I couldn’t live with myself if I didn’t do something.

If you like incredibly intelligent fiction with horror elements, you are going to LOVE what @joshuadbellin.bsky.social and I working on right now. Stay tuned…

I can’t wait either! Let’s do this book and then many more to come!

Hey, artists, in case you were wondering if your work matters: I'm a scientist working on climate change and biodiversity, and I would not be who I am today without The Lorax, The Secret of NIMH, Watership Down, The Last Unicorn, and The X-Files. I know I'm not alone. Thank you for all you do.

Hiiiiiiiii! 👋

Thank YOU, Linda! I’m a big fan of your fiction, and this book helped catapult me out of a real reading slump this new year. Good luck with launch!

Just popping in to say that @lindaholmes.bsky.social's BACK AFTER THIS is officially out today, and, if you're looking for a smart, funny book to lift you up in these dark times, this is it. And, as a bonus: Linda reads the audiobook herself, which any fan of PCHH is going to LOVE. I certainly did!

Let's Talk About Crossing the Finishing Line By returning to the starting line.

Advice from @jamiattenberg.bsky.social for writers trying to finish a book:

"I think less about the finish line & more about the starting line. I think about my reason for beginning the book in the first place. I have found when I tap into the spirit of that original purpose, it often renews me."

Hah! It's almost like it was meant to be or something!

I love that.

I cannot even begin to tell you how much I love the tv show "From."

If you are an author whose manuscript is anything in the vein of that vibe (character-driven horror in an isolated small town with mysteries rooted decades back), please send it to me immediately, as I want to represent you.

Fresh stack.

It just means a novel that was finished but then set aside—for any of a whole host of reasons—without being published.