u/SternestEarnest

Hi there, thank you for reading my ad. I won’t waste your time, I’ll get straight to the point:

I’m a writer with over a decade of experience in fiction looking to branch out to other things or to get work in my field (fiction). I published my first novel in 2013 and have done more work in both English and Portuguese ever since, including translation, ghostwriting, and editing.

If you want a writer who can spin a thread, fiction or non-fiction, with the utmost precision, I’m your guy. If you want someone to translate or localize your work from English to Portuguese or vice-versa, you won’t do wrong with me. And, if you want someone to provide structural or line editing, you’ve found what you’re looking for.

My rates are as follows, all in USD (all prices increase by $0.03/word if attribution will not be given):

• Fiction: $0.12/word
• Non-fiction: $0.09/word
• Editing: $0.06/word
• Translation: $0.09/word

You can find my portfolio here, with samples of my work over the years in fiction, non-fiction, translating and scripts.

Hello, PubTips! Hope you are all well. I'm hoping you'll critique my query letter for my novel, hopefully my first to be traditionally published, and give me pointers on how to improve. Thank you in advance for your kindness and time.

Dear [agent],

I am pleased to submit for your consideration my young adult literary fiction romantic comedy, THE GIRLFRIEND CHALLENGE (87,000 words).

Fred Guerra is a nerdy, self-deprecating seventeen year old nerd who wants nothing more than to keep the peace with his friend group. He gets roped into a toxic bet by his popular basketball playing friend, Bruce, to see who has the hottest girlfriend at the end of the school year. Not wanting to be on the receiving end of Bruce's harassment for losing, Fred concocts a terrible plan, and ends up meeting Riley, the popular instagram influencer who has no friends at school due to being hostile to everyone she meets. After a back and forth trading as many barbs as they could, Fred enrages her to the point of coming up with a plan of her own: make Fred fall in love and ruin his life by breaking up with him in the cruelest manner possible.

Riley’s plan starts having trouble, however, once she finds herself enjoying talking to—and having witty tête-à-têtes with—Fred far more than she ever thought she could, and worse: he learns how to understand her despite her hostile mask. As the two develop their fake-not-fake relationship, they find they cannot help but care for one another, albeit in their own twisted, bizarre, dishonest way.

While those two find themselves stabbing love into each other’s hearts, Bruce can only plot and let his misogynistic ways guide him both in his own relationship and in his plans to break the two up to ensure he wins the bet. This, however, also only seems to drive him into deep unhappiness as he stubbornly clings to what his dad taught him a “real man” is supposed to be.

THE GIRLFRIEND CHALLENGE speaks from a female and male perspective on dating, growing up, and learning to let go of the toxicity you are taught from birth, all while being funny, honest, and heartfelt without fear of judgement. It would speak to readers of Wish You Weren’t Here (Erin Baldwin) and of Tweet Cute (Emma Lord), while allowing itself to delve into the dramatic when necessary.