Books that keep you up all night

Book-related insomnia & a new Twitter. Plus TONS of writing resources!

*For writing links and resources, scroll down.*

I love you, but I can’t read you anymore

I’ve written about my insomnia before, and it’s waaaay better than it was last summer, but I still have bouts of it from time to time during which I lie in bed for hours, completely exhausted but unable to fall asleep.

Sometimes it’s because of family/work stress, but sometimes it’s because of something I watched or read right before bed.

I love thrillers and disturbing/spooky stories, but these days, if I read them at night, they get my adrenaline going and I can’t fall asleep. For example, I loved The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz, but it literally kept me up all night. I couldn’t stop reading it, and then, when I finally forced myself to put it down, I was too keyed up to sleep.

And it’s not even thrillers. Any book with lots of tension or emotion can churn up my anxiety and keep me awake until the wee hours. I had to put down Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka even though it was fascinating (second person from the POV of a serial killer), because the abuse scenes were too upsetting and I knew if I continued reading I wouldn’t be able to sleep.

I even had trouble falling asleep after reading the non-scary but darkly satirical novel Yellowface by R.F. Kuang (I highly recommend this book about race and the publishing industry, BTW, especially if you’re looking for something to discuss in your book club). And I also struggled with sleep after staying up late reading the child acting/eating disorder memoir I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jeannette McCurdy.

If only I could be as relaxed as my cat. Here she is waking up from a leisurely nap.

It’s so strange that as I get older I have to sensor myself more. I never used to have an issue with reading or watching upsetting things (as a teenager I watched Kids and Gummo multiple times, no problem), but these days, if it involves child abuse or sexual violence, I might have to say no thanks. And if it’s full of anxious tension or scary suspense, I’ll probably still watch or read it, but then I’m at risk of staying up half the night with adrenaline coursing through my poor, exhausted body.*

So what am I to do? Give up reading thrillers, ghost stories, and novels with tension? Of course not! But I need to be careful what I consume before bed. So I’ve decided to start reading “chaser books.” I can read a chapter of a thriller in bed, but then I have to chase it with a chapter from something calm and soothing. It’s okay if it puts me to sleep, because that’s the point.

So far, my chaser books are nonfiction: I’m rereading Bill Bryson’s A Brief History of Nearly Everything, and next I plan to reread Oliver Sacks’ The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat. (Mostly because I already own both of these books and therefore know they are delightful and contain nothing upsetting or anxiety-provoking unless thinking about the incredible vastness of the universe upsets you). In fact, I may just reread all of Bryson’s and Sack’s delightful nonfiction books as my chasers. That should do me for a while.

What do you think? Do you have this problem of books that keep you up all night? Any suggestions for soothing “chaser” books, either fiction or non?

I thought the film Promising Young Woman was brilliant. It may not be the best for right before bed, though.

*The other night, I was watching Promising Young Woman, and my husband, who had already read about it on Wikipedia because he loves to spoil movies for himself, told me, “Eva, stop watching this right now or you’re not going to be able to sleep tonight.” So I stopped and finished watching it the next day, and his warning was justified. That being said: incredibly unique and powerful film, and I highly recommend it.

A New Twitter?

I haven’t left Twitter (yet), but I did set up a Threads account, and boy was it depressing to see my follower number at zero. I spent a decade on Twitter, figuring out the best people to follow for writing-related info and collecting my own followers. Starting all over is depressing, but everybody’s doing it: in it’s first four hours Threads already had 30 million users!

The nice thing about Threads is you can import your profile and followers from Instagram so you’re not actually starting from scratch. (Not that it helped me much since I don’t do much on Instagram.) The other nice thing is: Threads is very similar to Twitter. For a while I was trying to make Instagram my new Twitter, but this seems a much more likely candidate for finding and sharing writing-related news and links.

TBH, though, I still haven’t found my groove on Threads. There’s no computer version yet (you can only get it on your phone), and it doesn’t use hashtags, so it’s hard to search for topics you care about. (If pitch contests move to Threads, how will that work?) Right now my feed is mostly a hodgepodge of randomness. But I’m hopeful.

I guess it will take a while to find the people I want to follow, and just I’ll have to be patient. Maybe Meta will add new features to Threads that will make it more user-friendly. In the meantime, I’m also going to stay on Twitter. I’ll probably be there until the bitter end.

Come find me on Threads at evalangston!

From Crickets to Full Requests

Have you read my most recent Query Guru post? The author had been sending his original query to agents with no takers. I gave him some feedback and he rewrote the query. Within a week of sending out his revised query, he got a full request. My methods work, people! They really do!

Paid subscribers can read his original query and revised version. And both paid and free subscribers can receive feedback on your query letter and first pages by filling out the following Query Guru form.

Writing News & Resources

For All Writers:

• Since COVID I’ve seen an uptick in sketchy publishing behavior, so Jane Friedman’s most recent youtube video, Spotting Scams & Bad Deals, seems like a very good thing to watch. Learn the red flags so you don’t get burned!

• Great Twitter thread from editor Alyssa Matesic on mistakes she often sees writers make with close third person point-of-view (POV).

• Check out the Chestnut Review for stubborn artists. Their submissions are always open and they pay $120/piece. They promise to respond in 30 days, which is HUGE in the lit mag space. Free submissions in most genres and free issues online, plus paid feedback options. They also offer workshops and international retreats. Sounds pretty amazing to me.  

• NYC Midnight’s 500-word Fiction Challenge kicks off August 25th, and will challenge writers worldwide to create short stories no longer than 500 words based on genre, action, and object assignments in 48 hours. 

• So TikTok is starting its own publishing company. That’s all I’m going to say about that.

• Craft First Chapters Contest with cash prizes is open until July 30, and the guest judge, Rebecca Makkai, is looking for stories in all genres, as long as they don’t bore her.

• If sitting at a desk typing away is taking a toll on your body, check out Yoga & Writing At Home Retreat via Zoom from StoryStudio Chicago. July 31-Aug. 4

• I updated my list of writing and publishing resources — my very favorite books, websites, and podcasts and writing, publishing, and creative life.

• Thinking about self-publishing? This detailed guide tells you all the steps you need to take: How to Self-Publish a Book: A Guide for Aspiring Authors.

For KidLit Writers:

• The Searchlight Writing for Children Awards submissions are open from now until August 31. Shortlisted winners have their text sent to agents and publishers, and first place wins a sizable cash prize.

  • Best Children’s Picture Book Text

  • Best Novel Opening for Children’s or Young Adults (novel does not need to be complete)

• The Highlight's Foundation is offering three sessions of the Whole Novel Workshop: a life-changing retreat with amazing faculty members for those with a full novel manuscript they want to workshop:

  • In-person all genres August 17-22

  • In-person all genres November 5-10

• From Bitsy Kemper’s blog: over 100 publishers accepting unsolicited picture book manuscripts. (Updated June 2023)

• WowCon, WriteMentor’s annual online conference for writers of children’s fiction will be held September 22-24.

• Check out this incredible list of upcoming events for KidLit writers!

For Querying Writers:

• Check out the new Pitched website. Its creator is calling it Zillow for manuscripts, but to me it’s a bit like an online dating site. Writers can upload their manuscripts for agents (who can search by genre or trope) as well as search through a database of agent bios to find people to query. I have not used this site, and it’s brand new, so I don’t know how many agents are participating (yet), but it’s a very cool idea!

• Check out this query letter template from agent Samantha Wekstein.

• Traditional indie publisher CamCat Books is looking for genre fiction, suspense, thriller, mystery, sci-fi, fantasy, horror, and romance (both YA and adult). No agent required.

• Find a long list of example query letters on Quite the Query.

• From The Good Story: Successful Query Letters: 40+ Real World Query Letters with Literary Agent Feedback.

• Every Friday, Operation Awesome offers one free query critique through their #QueryFriday contest.

• Every month I will chose one subscriber for a FREE submission package critique. Send me your query letter and the first two pages of your manuscript, and, if you’re the winner of the month, I will send you back in-depth feedback on both. Interested in receiving a critique? Fill out the form here.

• Twitter pitch contests continue to happen, and though they can be frustrating, it certainly doesn’t hurt to try. (After all, I found my agent through a Twitter pitch party. I am now an official success story.) So mark your calendar for these upcoming Twitter pitch parties. And be sure to read my updated article 13 Things to Know About Twitter Pitch Events.

  • #QueerPit, Aug. 1, for any unagented writer who identifies as 2SLGBTQIA+ (Your story does not have to center center on queer themes or issues or 2SLGBTQIA+ characters, but if you're a cishet writer with a queer story/characters, this pitch event is not for you. 

  • #LatinxPitch, Sept. 15, for Latinx writers of kidtlit.

Writing Conferences & Events:

• The Writing Day Workshop “How to Get Published” Conferences will held both online and in person this year. I attended one of these conferences in person a few years ago, and I thought it was fantastic. I can’t vouch for the virtual version, but there are some benefits: recorded classes, no travel expenses, attend in your comfy pants. Plus, sign up for pitch sessions with agents for $29 a piece. Check out the upcoming conferences: 

  • Pittsburgh Writing Workshop: August 4-5, 2023 (online)

  • Colorado Writing Workshop: September 8-9, 2023 (online)

  • Seattle Writing Workshop: October 13-14, 2023 (online)

  • Portland Writing Workshop: October 14, 2023 (live and in-person)

• Writers Digest offers loads of virtual conferences on a variety of publishing and writing craft topics.

• Killer Nashville International Writers’ Conference is happening August 17-20. For mystery, suspense, and thriller writers.

• WowCon, WriteMentor’s annual online conference for writers of children’s fiction will be held September 22-24.

• For more writing conferences, check out this list or this list of 19 Writing Conferences for Emerging and Established Writers.