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bettebergeron.bsky.social
@bettebergeron.bsky.social
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Writer, book advocate, cat lady, Mainer, amateur saxophonist, recovering university administrator 📚🐈🎷
she/her/hers
Happy Thursday #writingcommunity! 🖊️

Passing along the info from #MWPA for a great opportunity for 1st and 2nd generation Mainers to submit prose & poetry for a new anthology celebrating the many cultures & peoples of our state. 🌲🌊🦞

Good luck! 😀

#amwriting #amquerying #writesky
November 13, 2025 at 1:22 PM
I loved a recent post from #julieartz about embracing the zero:

"...a first draft is just that; it’s first pass, not a published book. It’s not meant to be flawless or ready for publication."

Let's take pressure off ourselves for perfection in our WIP! 🖊️📖

#amwriting #amquerying #writingcommunity
November 9, 2025 at 2:34 PM
I am so thankful to be part of this #writingcommunity. 🙏

As the shutdown grinds on, I'm passing along this link where our neighbors can find resources to address food insecurity. If you know of others, please pass them along!

#writesky #amquerying #amwriting

www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-am...
Hunger in America: Causes, Stats, and How to Help | Feeding America
Hunger in America affects 1 in 7 people. Learn the causes, see the facts, and discover how you can help end food insecurity.
www.feedingamerica.org
November 7, 2025 at 1:19 PM
It's National Saxophone Day! 🎷🎶

I have the privilege of playing my Mom's 1937 Conn tenor sax in a local community band. (Though I don't play up to the instrument's potential!) 🙃

I have a feeling that jazz/saxes will play a central role in my next WIP...🖊️

#amquerying #writingcommunity #writesky
November 6, 2025 at 1:45 PM
#agentsguide: RESISTING THE RABBIT HOLE

As increasingly restrictive mandates pile up from an over-zealous Governing Board, Joplin must choose between protecting her teaching colleagues or the career she’s grown to love.

Book Bans 📚
Reconciliation 👭
ME Setting 🌲

#QuestPit #Q #A #WF #amquerying
November 5, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Reposted
Querying writers -- Please give yourselves some grace and stop fretting about a few silly typos in your queries. We probably won't notice them, we're not going to hold them against you, and if we DO hold them against you, you don't want to work with us anyway.
November 3, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Reposted
btw everyone, take my querying advice with a grain of salt -- the thing about agents is we have general rules of thumb that we collectively agree on, but many of us have very different ways of seeing things!
November 4, 2025 at 3:40 AM
It's Maine Beer Week! 😀🍺🌲

“What care I how time advances? I am drinking ale today.” --Edgar Allan Poe

I'm raising a toast to this incredible #writingcommunity! 🍻

#amquerying #amwriting #querying #writesky
November 2, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Happy Halloween #writingcommunity!

My Editorial Assistant made her own costume this year... She's going as the Ghost of Past Rejection Letters. 👻

Happy haunting, #writesky! 🎃💀

#amwriting #amquerying #querying
October 31, 2025 at 12:53 PM
An unexpected inheritance, tacky shell art, dueling in-laws—and a touch of Mark Twain’s unconventional wisdom—all lead Esidora to the shocking truth of her aunt’s death on a remote Maine island...🌲💀

#GhostPit #A #Q #WF #MM #querying #amquerying #agentsguide
October 30, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Such great info yesterday from the #TiffanyYatesMartin & #JaneFriedman webinar on editing! ☑️

One of my favorite takeaways: a reminder that we are the writers (not AI); it is our responsibility as artists to wield the tools of our art. 🎨📝💻

Happy wielding, #writingcommunity! #amwriting #amquerying
October 30, 2025 at 2:45 PM
On this #NationalCatDay, my Editorial Assistant reminds us that the best writing always comes after taking a long nap. 🐱🐾

#amwriting #amquerying #writingcommunity #writesky
October 29, 2025 at 12:35 PM
Reposted
🎃 Horror writers! Our FREE panel is TOMORROW (Oct 28, 2pm ET)

✨ 3 top agents share horror #MSWL
📚 Mini classes on character/fear + tension/dread
🔍 Live query critique

Featuring Literary Agents Linda Camacho, Erica Bauman & Tamara Kawer

Get your free ticket: manuscriptacademy.com/mswl-live-ag...
October 27, 2025 at 9:03 PM
Reposted
Possible new AI-driven impersonation scam spinning up: someone contacts you out of the blue w/ praise for your work, recommends you contact a (real) literary agent & provides an email addy--but of course it's fake & results in a referral for editing or marketing. Example below 1/2
October 26, 2025 at 11:51 PM
So glad it's the weekend!

I finally have time to focus on my speculative fiction WIP, The Sea Curser. 🌊

What ancient evil beckons beyond Maine's rugged coastline...

#writingcommunity #amwriting #amquerying #writesky
October 26, 2025 at 2:16 PM
TGIF #WritingCommunity! (caffeine, anyone?) ☕

Passing along this info on the Anthropic settlement- includes a searchable database to find out if any of your works have been used w/out permission to train their AI model.

This is one database we hope we're NOT on! 🤪

#amquerying #writesky #amwriting
Submit a Claim
secure.anthropiccopyrightsettlement.com
October 24, 2025 at 1:15 PM
Though not technically a "ghost" story, THE FRAGILITY OF SEASHELLS delves into dark family secrets and the consequences of obsessions... set on a remote island off the coast of Maine. Will Esidora discover the truth, before it's too late? 🌊🐚

#amquerying #amwriting #writingcommunity
October 23, 2025 at 2:21 PM
At band rehearsal, our director reminded us to "make every note mean something to you." 🎷🎶

That made me think of how this could also apply to my writing. Today, I'm focused on making sure that every word means something to me (and to the reader). 😀🖋️

#amquerying #writingcommunity #amwriting
October 22, 2025 at 1:02 PM
Happy Monday #writingcommunity!

Went on a field trip this weekend to one of the locations for my speculative fiction WIP. It really helped to ground my protagonist--I'd definitely recommend this strategy. (Bonus--it was a gorgeous day for a ride here in Maine!) 🍂🌲

#amquerying #amwriting #writesky
October 20, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Reposted
Impersonation alert! Writers, if you get an email from someone recommending you contact literary agent Annie Bomke at either anniebomkeliterary@gmail.com or submissions@anniebomke.com, it's a SCAM. Both emails addys are fake. Annie's real domain is abliterary.com writerbeware.blog/2024/03/15/t...
The Impersonation List - Writer Beware
The most pernicious scams focused on English-speaking writers these days come from overseas: publishing/marketing/fake literary agency scams from the Philippines, and ghostwriting/editing/marketing sc...
writerbeware.blog
October 15, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Our meditation in yoga today was "surround yourself with nature; let it breathe life into your soul." 🙏🌲

Perfect for yoga-- and for opening ourselves to a productive mindset for writing! 🖋️

#writingcommunity #amwriting #amquerying #writesky
October 15, 2025 at 5:23 PM
I love this quote from author Jocelyn Lieu: "Writing first drafts is flinging nets of words around dreamed moments that defy capture." 🌈📝

Happy drafting #writingcommunity!

#amwriting #amquerying #writesky
October 14, 2025 at 1:44 PM
On this National Indigenous Peoples Day, I acknowledge that the land my city occupies was originally inhabited by the Abenaki & Wabanaki people. The broader place we now call Maine is still home to the sovereign people of the Wabanaki Confederacy. 🙏🌲🌊

#writingcommunity #amwriting #amquerying
October 13, 2025 at 1:09 PM
Hello #writingcommunity!

Passing along this info from #janefriedman for a free seminar on 10/16 regarding the Anthropic settlement.

Hope you're having a productive #writing day today! 📝

#amwriting #amquerying

janefriedman.com/get-your-que...
Get your questions answered about the Anthropic settlement on Oct. 16 | Jane Friedman
The Authors Guild is holding a free webinar for all authors (you don’t have to be a member) on Thursday, October 16, at 6 p.m. ET.
janefriedman.com
October 12, 2025 at 3:25 PM
TGIF #writingcommunity!

As Banned Book Week wraps up, I'm passing along this great link from the #ALA with the top 10 challenged books. Looks to me like a great reading list! 📚🌈

Let's hope that diverse voices are never silenced!

#amwriting #amquerying #booksky

www.ala.org/bbooks/frequ...
Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2024
Every year, the American Library Association compiles a list of the Top 10 Most Frequently Challenged Books based on reports from the field and media coverage.
www.ala.org
October 10, 2025 at 2:03 PM