In today's Books with Hooks, Carly and CeCe are joined by guest Alicia Clancy, executive editor at Lake Union Publishing. They discuss the need to establish what is real and what is made up in a fantasy query; the importance of physical movement in the opening pages to help with pacing; avoiding vague plot points in your query, especially when relating to the climax; sufficiently explaining why you chose a specific character to focus on in your query letter when writing a multi-POV novel; the importance of including reasons why you're the person to write your story in your author bio paragraph; and being mindful of showing rather than telling. After which Bianca interviews Chelene Knight, author of Let It Go. They talk about Chelene's various literary initiatives, including the Thrive Coaching Program and Forever Writers Club; writing as a marginalized writer and the pressures associated with that; the 360 view that Chelene has of the publishing world; choosing an audience for your book, rather than trying to appeal to everyone; Chelene's intentions with how she outlined and framed her latest book; and advice to writers who want to publish nonfiction.  Find us on our socials: Twitter: @TSNOTYAW @BiancaM_author @carlywatters @ceciliaclyra Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_shit_about_writing/  https://www.instagram.com/biancamarais_author/ https://www.instagram.com/carlywatters/ https://www.instagram.com/cece_lyra_agent/  Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/TSNOTYAW  Websites: www.theshitaboutwriting.com, www.biancamarais.com, www.carlywatters.com and www.cecilialyra.com Bookshop.org affiliate page: https://bookshop.org/shop/theshitnoonetellsyouaboutwriting More information about Chelene can be found at: https://cheleneknight.com/ She's also on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/bsc_literary_studio/?hl=en

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Working with a Writing Coach

This is a podcast for emerging writers who want to improve the quality of their work and learn more about the publishing industry. Your one host, Bianca Marais (the bestselling author of &#39;The Witches of Moonshyne Manor&#39;) interviews authors, agents, editors and just about anyone and everyone who&#39;s involved in bringing a book to market. She&#39;s joined by her cohosts, literary agents Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra from P.S. Literary Agency, who read and critique query letters as well as opening pages in their Books with Hooks segment.  Expect good advice, honest insights, and a few laughs along the way.

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In today's Books with Hooks, Bianca, Carly, and CeCe are joined by listener, Kelly Fuller, as they critique her book club fiction submission. They discuss picking comps that match the genre you're writing in; using your query to discuss the plot of the book rather than backstory about your characters; ensuring your stakes are high enough; pitching the right agent for your book based on its content; the need for plot that showcases causality in your query; writing a book that's as long as it needs to be; balancing plot development and character development; being mindful of intentionally writing an unlikeable character; tips for making a character more relatable; and how readers attach themselves to whoever the opener is in a multiple POV work. After which, Carly interviews Vanessa Walters, playwright and author of The Lagos Wife. The two discuss the themes in Vanessa's latest novel; what inspired it; Vanessa's ability to comment on specific social and political issues without being heavy handed; the novel's title and cover changes; why Vanessa chose a dual timeline for her work; why she framed motherhood in a specific way; and Vanessa's advice to aspiring writers. Note: Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra are literary agents at P.S. Literary Agency, but their work on this podcast is not affiliated with the agency, and the views expressed by Carly and CeCe on this podcast are solely that of them as podcast co-hosts and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of P.S. Literary Agency. Find us on our socials: Twitter: @TSNOTYAW @BiancaM_author @carlywatters @ceciliaclyra Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_shit_about_writing/  https://www.instagram.com/biancamarais_author/ https://www.instagram.com/carlywatters/ https://www.instagram.com/cece_lyra_agent/ Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/TSNOTYAW Websites: www.theshitaboutwriting.com, www.biancamarais.com, www.carlywatters.com and www.cecilialyra.com Bookshop.org affiliate page: https://bookshop.org/shop/theshitnoonetellsyouaboutwriting More information about Vanessa can be found at https://www.vanessawalters.net/ She's also on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/vanessawaltersb/ To sign up for CeCe’s Writing Interiority Course on the 6th of June, go to https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_pKP-TqW9SSOlAHqSjKM21Q#/registration Carly's course for writers, The Author's Publishing Playbook, is available at carlywatters.com/course. If you haven't grabbed it yet, podcast listeners can use discount code POD15 To sign up for the Beta Reader Match Up, go to https://www.biancamarais.com/beta-reader-match-up.html

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Choosing How to Frame Certain Aspects of Your Work

In this month’s bonus episode, Bianca chats with Courtney Preiss to discuss her debut novel, Welcome Home, Caroline Kline. They speak about the inspiration behind Courtney's novel and her journey to publication; her experiences with rejection during the querying process; being aware of cultural moments that could propel your novel forward when you’re timing your querying; the process after Courtney acquired an agent; the importance of knowing what genre you're writing in and who your readers are; Courtney's definition of upmarket women's fiction; the role personal essays can play in marketing your book; and Courtney's advice for emerging writers. After which Emilie Sommer of East City Bookshop provides the invaluable service of suggesting comp titles to our listeners. If you’re looking for our usual Q&A; segment, that now gets published as part of our end of the month Substack newsletter. Subscribe to get access to that, and so much more, for free: https://theshitaboutwriting.substack.com/ Note: Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra are literary agents at P.S. Literary Agency, but their work on this podcast is not affiliated with the agency, and the views expressed by Carly and CeCe on this podcast are solely that of them as podcast co-hosts and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of P.S. Literary Agency. Find us on our socials: Twitter: @TSNOTYAW @BiancaM_author @carlywatters @ceciliaclyra Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_shit_about_writing/ https://www.instagram.com/biancamarais_author/ https://www.instagram.com/carlywatters/ https://www.instagram.com/cece_lyra_agent/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TSNOTYAW Websites: www.theshitaboutwriting.com, www.biancamarais.com, www.carlywatters.com and w ww.cecilialyra.com Bookshop.org affiliate page: https://bookshop.org/shop/theshitnoonetellsyouaboutwriting To connect with Emilie Sommer go to https://www.instagram.com/emiliegsommer/ and you can find East City Bookshop at https://www.instagram.com/eastcitybookshop/ More information about Courtney can be found at https://courtneypreiss.com/ She's also on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/cocogolightly/

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May Bonus Episode

In today's Books with Hooks, Bianca, Carly, and CeCe critique a YA submission and a literary coming-of-age horror. They discuss avoiding using repetitive language in a query; considering SEO when choosing a book title; the concept of 'scene work'; the need for disruption to occur in opening pages; matching word choice to genre when writing your query; pitching a literary fiction; finding a balance between showing and telling, even in literary fiction; and avoiding overwriting. After which, Bianca chats with freelance TV executive and writer, Samuel Burr. The two discuss Samuel's novel, The Fellowship of Puzzlemakers; its incredible journey to publication; how to find comps when you have a more unique novel premise; how Samuel developed his protagonist; creating the puzzles that appear in his work; why he chose to use a dual timeline and the process he used when writing it; and his advice for successfully writing an ensemble cast. Note: Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra are literary agents at P.S. Literary Agency, but their work on this podcast is not affiliated with the agency, and the views expressed by Carly and CeCe on this podcast are solely that of them as podcast co-hosts and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of P.S. Literary Agency.  Find us on our socials: Twitter: @TSNOTYAW @BiancaM_author @carlywatters @ceciliaclyra Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_shit_about_writing/ https://www.instagram.com/biancamarais_author/ https://www.instagram.com/carlywatters/ https://www.instagram.com/cece_lyra_agent/ Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/TSNOTYAW Websites: www.theshitaboutwriting.com, www.biancamarais.com, www.carlywatters.com and www.cecilialyra.com To ask a question, go to: https://sayhi.chat/TSNOTYAW Bookshop.org affiliate page: https://bookshop.org/shop/theshitnoonetellsyouaboutwriting More information about Samuel can be found at https://www.samuelburr.com/ He's also on Twitter at https://twitter.com/samuelburr and Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/samuelburr/  To sign up for CeCe’s Writing Interiority Course on the 6th of June, go to https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_pKP-TqW9SSOlAHqSjKM21Q#/registration Carly's course for writers, The Author's Publishing Playbook, is available at carlywatters.com/course. If you haven't grabbed it yet, podcast listeners can use discount code POD15 To sign up for the Beta Reader Match Up, go to https://www.biancamarais.com/beta-reader-match-up.html

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A Debut Experience All Authors Dream Of

In today's Books with Hooks, Bianca, Carly, and CeCe critique a literary fiction query and a high concept YA fantasy query. They discuss the necessity of being specific with plot details and your protagonists' motivations in your query; honing in on world-building when your novel takes place in a reality that's different from ours; the issue with not grounding readers strongly enough in scene; avoiding jumping around in time too much in the opening pages; the need to correctly specify your genre so an agent knows what to expect from your pages; being mindful of spelling errors and putting your best foot forward; the hill that CeCe will die on regarding opening lines; avoiding info-dumping; interiority as helping add context for readers; and the importance of showing characters' reactions to the things that are happening to them. After which, CeCe interviews NYT bestselling author, and publishing phenomenon, Veronica Roth. They discuss Veronica's latest novel, When Among Crows; the Polish folklore that underpins the novel; why Chicago inspires Veronica; the length of the novel; the allure of modern fantasy; Veronica's entry point into a story; not throwing any ideas away; Veronica's drafting and outlining process and how/why it's changed; and what she would tell her younger writer self.  Note: Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra are literary agents at P.S. Literary Agency, but their work on this podcast is not affiliated with the agency, and the views expressed by Carly and CeCe on this podcast are solely that of them as podcast co-hosts and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of P.S. Literary Agency. Find us on our socials: Twitter: @TSNOTYAW @BiancaM_author @carlywatters @ceciliaclyra Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_shit_about_writing/  https://www.instagram.com/biancamarais_author/ https://www.instagram.com/carlywatters/ https://www.instagram.com/cece_lyra_agent/ Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/TSNOTYAW Websites: www.theshitaboutwriting.com, www.biancamarais.com, www.carlywatters.com and www.cecilialyra.com To ask a question, go to: https://sayhi.chat/TSNOTYAW Bookshop.org affiliate page: https://bookshop.org/shop/theshitnoonetellsyouaboutwriting More information about Veronica can be found at https://veronicarothbooks.com/ She's also on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/veronicaroth/ To sign up for CeCe’s Writing Interiority Course on the 6th of June, go to https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_pKP-TqW9SSOlAHqSjKM21Q#/registration Carly's course for writers, The Author's Publishing Playbook, is available at carlywatters.com/course. If you haven't grabbed it yet, podcast listeners can use discount code POD15

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Insights from Publishing Phenomenon, Veronica Roth

In today's Books with Hooks, Bianca, Carly, and CeCe are joined by Paige to discuss her query for her action-adventure romance novel. They discuss the importance of spelling out your protagonist's motivation in your query; the need for story-forward plot escalation; accurately positioning your novel’s genre; making an agent's job easier by picking the right comps; using external plot to make readers invested in your characters; following genre rules when it comes to plot points; the need for conflict and tension in act two; focusing on your protagonist in your opening lines/paragraphs; avoiding character descriptions that are too on the nose; the need for active emotions in addition to interiority; the intrigue of complex emotions; and what makes a work YA rather than adult fiction.  After which, Bianca interviews author, nurse, and co-founder of #momswritersclub, Sara Read. They discuss Sara's sophomore novel, Principles of (E)motion; her path to publication; querying her first novel and the feedback she received; structure mistakes that beginner writers tend to make; how Sara pitched her second novel; the importance of rewriting before you give up on a WIP; what Sara learned from each of her rewrites; the need for causality in story; her research process; the prologue in Principles of (E)motion; and the genre of the novel.  Note: Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra are literary agents at P.S. Literary Agency, but their work on this podcast is not affiliated with the agency, and the views expressed by Carly and CeCe on this podcast are solely that of them as podcast co-hosts and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of P.S. Literary Agency. Find us on our socials: Twitter: @TSNOTYAW @BiancaM_author @carlywatters @ceciliaclyra Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_shit_about_writing/  https://www.instagram.com/biancamarais_author/  https://www.instagram.com/carlywatters/ https://www.instagram.com/cece_lyra_agent/ Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/TSNOTYAW Websites: www.theshitaboutwriting.com, www.biancamarais.com, www.carlywatters.com and www.cecilialyra.com To ask a question, go to: https://sayhi.chat/TSNOTYAW Bookshop.org affiliate page: https://bookshop.org/shop/theshitnoonetellsyouaboutwriting Information about Sara can be found at: https://www.sararead.net/ She's also on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/sarareadauthor/  and Twitter at https://twitter.com/sarareadauthor To sign up for the All About Memoir webinar on the 11th of May, go to: https://www.biancamarais.com/all-about-memoir.html Carly's course for writers, The Author's Publishing Playbook, is now available at carlywatters.com/course. If you haven't grabbed it yet, podcast listeners can use discount code POD15

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Working with a Writing Coach

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