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 'The Witches of Moonshyne Manor') interviews authors, agents, editors and just about anyone and everyone who's involved in bringing a book to market. She'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 page ...
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In this month’s bonus episode, Bianca interviews writer, journalist, and author Fiona Barton. They discuss the resounding success of Fiona's debut, The Widow, and its unique journey to publication; the editing process with her agent; the transition from journalism to writing fiction; why Fiona included a prologue in her latest thriller, Talking to …
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In today's Books with Hooks, we’re throwing it back to an early backlist segment. After which, Bianca interviews sisters, Lynne and Valerie Constantine, who write under the pen name, Liv Constantine. The three discuss Lynne and Valerie’s latest bestselling novel, The Next Mrs. Parish; their decision to write a sequel following their Audible prequel…
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In today's Books with Hooks, we’re throwing it back to an early backlist segment. After which, CeCe interviews Claire Jiménez, assistant professor and author of What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez. They discuss the three pivotal moments in Claire's writing career; Claire's experience writing a multitude of POVs; how she went about developing her charact…
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In today's Books with Hooks, we’re throwing it back to an early backlist segment. After which, Bianca interviews MK Pagano, author of the YA thriller romance, Girls Who Burn. The two discuss MK's journey to publication; the importance of knowing when to part ways with an agent, even if s/he is a good agent; MK's experience with beta readers and fol…
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In today's Books with Hooks, we’re throwing it back to an early backlist segment. After which, CeCe speaks with her very own client, Anamely Salgado Reyes, author of My Mother Cursed My Name. They discuss Anamely's query letter to CeCe and CeCe's response to it; Anamely's experience with her first round of edits from CeCe; the inspiration behind he…
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In this month’s bonus episode, Bianca interviews Kern Carter, author of And Then There Was Us. They discuss the different routes to publication and the differences between traditional and self publishing; how Kern worked to improve his craft while trying to land an agent; the challenges of writing from a perspective that isn’t your own, and why you…
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In today's Books with Hooks, we’re throwing it back to an early backlist segment. After which, Bianca interviews creative writing professor, essayist, and author of Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance, Alison Espach. They discuss falling into the mode of writing the same sorts of novels repeatedly; the genre that Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance w…
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In today's Books with Hooks, we’re throwing it back to an early backlist segment. After which, CeCe interviews Parini Shroff, lawyer and author of the national bestseller and award nominated The Bandit Queens. They discuss, Parini's experience working as a lawyer part-time while also writing fiction; finding it difficult to sustain writing for long…
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In today's Books with Hooks, we’re throwing it back to an early backlist segment. After which, Bianca interviews author, editor, head of Writing Ink Publishing, and creative writing teacher, Abigail Wild. They discuss Abigail's latest novel, More Than One Way To Breathe; the extent to which younger readers can handle difficult topics; Abigail's adv…
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In today's Books with Hooks, we’re throwing it back to an early backlist segment. After which, Carly interviews her very own client and best-selling author, Renee Carlino, to discuss her latest novel, This Used to Be Us. They chat about Renee's journey to becoming a published author; how she found her first agent; what it's been like changing her f…
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In today's Books with Hooks, Bianca, CeCe, and Carly are joined by Jennifer to discuss her thriller submission. They chat about trigger warnings and their necessity in a query; ensuring your stakes aren't too obvious while illustrating the bigger 'why' at hand; framing your query letter in a way that highlights your POV characters and not others; t…
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In today's bonus episode, Bianca interviews author, Kirsten Miller, to chat about her latest novel, Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books. They discuss writing across different genres and what drove Kirsten to change up her genre; writing with the intention of sharing a message with readers; the inspiration behind the novel; Kirsten's experien…
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In today's Books with Hooks, Bianca, Carly, and CeCe critique a rom-com and a YA submission. They discuss the importance of clarity in your query and avoiding language that might cause confusion; the necessity of a clear major dramatic question in your query; ensuring your protagonists aren't anticipating everything that happens in your pages; the …
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In today's Books with Hooks, Bianca, CeCe, and Carly critique two upmarket submissions, one of which is in the gothic genre. They discuss the reasoning behind placing your metadata at the top of a query; avoiding unnecessary detail in your query; avoiding slipping from pitch to synopsis; the need for interiority, particularly interiority that will …
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In today's Books with Hooks, Bianca, CeCe, and Carly are joined by guest literary agent, Mary C. Moore. They critique a resubmission and a sci-fi query, during which they discuss: the importance of making tropes as fresh and different as possible; how to ensure your pitch isn't too dense, especially in genres that involve world-building; highlighti…
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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 …
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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’…
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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 que…
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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 n…
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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 …
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In today's Books with Hooks, Bianca, Carly, and CeCe are joined by two guests, author Rachel Kapelke-Dale and her agent, Sarah Phair. They discuss ensuring your comps align with each other and with your work; making sure your query is representative of your whole novel and not just one part; using your author bio to help show why you're the one to …
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In this month’s bonus episode, Bianca interviews poet, novelist, and Chair of the Amherst Writers (AWA), Sue Reynolds. They discuss the AWA workshop method and how it differs from other workshops; what occurs in an AWA workshop; the importance of giving writers a safe and encouraging space to share their work; the concept of strength-based feedback…
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In today’s Book with Hooks, Carly and CeCe critique two listener queries, a resubmission and a YA fantasy. They discuss the issue of starting with a protagonist that has a 'simple, stable' life; a great example of an inciting incident; ensuring your major dramatic question is strong enough; good storytelling as the promise of change; making your pr…
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In today's Books with Hooks, Bianca, Carly, and CeCe critique a children's picture book and a literary fiction query. They discuss avoiding vagueness, no matter the genre; using illustrator notes in a picture book pitch; the need for tension, even in a children's book; framing your novel in your query so agents aren't confused when they get to the …
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In today's Books with Hooks, Carly and CeCe are joined by guest agent, Jo Ramsay, to critique two queries. They discuss the issue of withholding too much plot in a query; highlighting the stakes in your query; the importance of first lines in a novel; the need for psychological depth and acuity in your characters; the issue of comping to titles tha…
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In today's Books with Hooks, Bianca, Carly and CeCe discuss choosing a unique title for your work; having a strong plot connection between your main characters in a multi POV novel; avoiding situations where the agent has to make too many assumptions in a query; choosing between italics and dialogue tags when having a character talk to themselves; …
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In today's Books with Hooks, Bianca, Carly, and CeCe discuss keeping your author bio paragraph concise; the need for causality in a plot paragraph; paying attention to the language you use in a query so you don't create confusion surrounding the book's premise; knowing who your protagonist is and highlighting their interiority and inner life over o…
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In this month’s bonus episode, Bianca interviews game designer, curator, and writer, Holly Gramazio to discuss her debut novel, The Husbands. The two discuss Holly's journey to publication; the novel’s inspiration and genre; how game design lends itself to novel writing; how she structured the novel; the importance of causality; Holly's approach to…
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In today's Books with Hooks, Carly, CeCe, and Bianca are joined by Ron, to discuss his query submission. They chat about Ron's curiosity-inducing first query paragraph; the line between giving away too much plot and sharing just enough in a query; how subjective agents’ opinions can be; the right emotional calibration within your characters; the is…
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In today's Books with Hooks, Bianca, Carly, and CeCe discuss the need for external pressure in your major dramatic question; the three sets of questions that create tension at the beginning of a story; surprising your reader in your first five pages; the accuracy of third party manuscript wishlists; the need for world-building in a fantasy query; b…
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In today's Books with Hooks segment, Carly, CeCe, and Bianca are joined by two acquisitions editors at Atria Books, Elizabeth Hitti and Melanie Iglesias. Melanie is a senior editor at Atria Books and has worked on various bestselling titles, including It Starts with Us by Colleen Hoover. Elizabeth joined Atria in 2022 and has worked on various best…
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In today's Books with Hooks segment, Bianca, Carly and CeCe discuss the importance of specifying between awards for published and unpublished manuscripts; the difficulty with trying to sell a book whose main character’s race and culture differs from the author’s lived experience; the need for a main character’s interiority to accurately reflect the…
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In today's Bumper February Bonus Episode, Bianca kicks it off by interviewing interviews tech anthropologist and author, Nikki Payne. They discuss her latest novel, Sex, Lies, and Sensibility, a retelling of the classic, Sense and Sensibility; how Nikki approached writing her retelling, one which specifically centred diversity; decentering whitenes…
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In today's Books with Hooks segment, Bianca, Carly, and CeCe are joined by emerging author, Sarah. They discuss ways to make a novel sound less quiet in a query; the necessity of a hook; when it's acceptable to comp to a hugely successful novel; how to convey a longer timeline; how to share pivotal plot points in a query without spoiling the novel;…
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In today's Books with Hooks, Bianca, CeCe, and Carly discuss small tweaks for an overall 'fantastic' query; a good example of framing and planting curiosity seeds; starting a novel with a scene where the protagonist is waking up; being careful about word choice in a query; being mindful of when you're being vague vs specific; and the importance of …
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In today's Books with Hooks, Bianca, CeCe, and Carly critique an upmarket/southern-gothic query and a book club romance. They discuss a "perfect" first query paragraph; the importance of accurate framing in a query; when a content warning is necessary; tips for elevating your line level writing along with examples of sophisticated writing; writing …
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In today's Books with Hooks, Bianca, Carly, and CeCe discuss the need for specificity with regard to plot details when you have a more psychological book/concept; avoiding too much backstory in the opening pages; the need for your first chapter to be as strong as your prologue (if you have one); being as specific about your genre as possible; and h…
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In today's January Bonus Episode, Bianca interviews Jami Attenberg, author of 1000 Words: A Writer's Guide to Staying Creative, Focused, and Productive All Year Round. They discuss Jami's 1000 Words of Summer newsletter and the idea of being a good literary citizen; the essays from Jami's latest work; writing for other reasons than to get published…
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In today's Books with Hooks, Bianca, Carly, and CeCe are joined by guest listener, Erica. They discuss the need to illustrate external plot points within a query letter, even if the book is more quiet/internal; using plot as scaffolding for the emotionality within your novel; the need for propulsiveness in a query and plot; figuring out how to desc…
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In today's Books with Hooks, CeCe and Carly discuss what agents look for with a resubmission; the issue with starting with themes in a query letter; the need for your plot and stakes to have a 'domino' effect; infusing character description with emotionality; the need for specificity in plot points; the standards for literary fiction writing; the e…
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In today's Books with Hooks, Carly and CeCe discuss the importance of eliminating any confusion in your query; the distinction between having a 'perfect' query letter and one that does the job; how plausibility issues may or may not be a problem for different agents; the need to be intentional with dates you choose in your novel, rather than just c…
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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 rela…
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In today's Books with Hooks, Bianca, Carly, and CeCe discuss an example of an excellent hook and query letter in general; the issues with beginning your novel with a cliched scene; the importance of emotional layers in interiority, especially with big, messy emotions; framing your query letter in a way that gives your protagonist more agency and 'p…
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In today's December Bonus Episode, Bianca interviews Sarah Lariviere, YA author of The Bad Kid, Time Travel for Love and Profit, and the upcoming, Riot Act. They discuss Sarah's decision to base her latest novel in her hometown; pinpointing what makes a work fit into the YA category; writing in a way that is authentic to your audience (including th…
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In today's Books with Hooks, CeCe, Carly, and Bianca are joined by Harvey to discuss his submission. They chat about illustrating plot escalation in a query; boosting SEO through your title choice; stakes that are personally important to the protagonist; the importance of cross-over with characters when you have multiple main characters; the need f…
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In today's Books with Hooks, Carly, CeCe, and Bianca discuss a historical mystery and a women's fiction query. They chat about whether starting from a male or female POV may (or may not) affect how agents request pages; why an author whose work is quite polished may not have received many requests from agents; transforming hooks in ways that will g…
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In today's Books with Hooks, Bianca, Carly, and CeCe are joined by guest, Ronnie Alvarado, a senior editor at Simon Element. They discuss two queries, one of which includes a resubmission. The four discuss why agents might pass on a resubmission despite changes having been made; how info-dumping can keep readers from connecting with characters; why…
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In today's Books with Hooks, Bianca, Carly and CeCe critique two listener query letters, one fantasy and one middle-grade fiction. During which, they discuss the need for characters to physically move around and the idea that a lack of movement might mean too much interiority and not enough plot; the need for interiority to match point of view; Bia…
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In today's Bumper November Bonus Episode, Emilie Sommer of East City Bookshop kicks us off with suggested comp titles. After which, Bianca is joined by Uzma Jalaluddin and Marissa Stapley, co-authors of Three Holidays and a Wedding. They discuss the differences in approach in writing a collaborative project rather than a solo one; the benefits of w…
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In today's Books with Hooks, Bianca, Carly, and CeCe are joined by Nicole to discuss her query submission. They discuss the introduction of characters in a query letter to avoid overwhelming the reader; avoiding 'hopping' around in time and switching tenses in a query; ideas to up the stakes within the relationship of Nicole's main characters; exam…
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