• Deciding to acquire a book is a gamble
• Agents act as filters and they manage writers’ careers
• It’s a very slow and long career full of hits as well as misses
• It’s not a huge moneymaking business; you will need a second job
• It costs A LOT to make a book and it’s a long before the books makes any money
• Editing is diagnosing a book’s problems and writing a prescription to make it better
• Finding the book a home is kind of a matchmaking business
• Think of editing as developing a manuscript into its best form
• There are a lot of criteria to consider in acquisitions
• Readers’ reports offer a synopsis and your recommendation
• One good part of the job is that you meet smart and interesting authors!
• It’s a very social job in an industry full of introverts
• There are so many variables: social trends, current events, and saturation
• Having a mentor would be really helpful because it’s so hard to get into this field
• Sandra Bond, literary agent, said she likes it after getting into the field at 45 and knowing her strengths

I feel like this field is very suitable for me and I am so, so glad I have found it! And I finally get what they mean when they say something “is a feature, not a bug.” The fact that I have a hard time, am patient, and have a heart is a feature, not a bug. When I heard Cory speak today it made me realize that I can let go of assigning judgment and qualities to certain jobs. As recent as a year ago, I felt that teachers had to be the greatest human beings ever because they had to be firm, fair, consistent, and kind of be an infallible person. But today, I heard someone I admire speak, and I thought to myself, she would not have thrived in a classroom. Nonetheless, she is so good at her job!!!!! I think I am starting to let go of using “teacher” as a marker for greatness. This is probably a great thing for my mental health and I will be talking to Dr. Won about that! I am really reall glad to start to accept myself INCLUDING my imperfections and I realized there is actually a lot wrong with me and that’s okay. I love my past self too even though I often felt that I *should* be more ____ or less ___,

My shadow self is becoming my outside self. My flaws are features, not bugs.

• Feeling anxious helps me relate to other anxious people.
• Being calm and passive helps me observe different situations.
• Having struggled helps me be more mature and relate to other people,
• In terms of guys, I like who I like and am not ashamed of it even if they dump me.
• I love how I try to include every one even if people don’t include me.
• I have a lot of insecurities because I’m human <3.

• I like how I get myself into good trouble.

When I love myself, it doesn’t mean I will never feel bad. In fact, I have the same insecurities that I had before. It means that it matters less whether people approve of me or not.