241 episodes

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 pages in their Books with Hooks segment. Expect good advice, honest insights, and a few laughs along the way.

The Shit No One Tells You About Writing Bianca Marais, Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra

    • Arts
    • 4.9 • 168 Ratings

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 pages in their Books with Hooks segment. Expect good advice, honest insights, and a few laughs along the way.

    Balancing Curiosity Seeds and Tension Without Making the Reader Feel Cheated

    Balancing Curiosity Seeds and Tension Without Making the Reader Feel Cheated

    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; being too vague in your query; the concept of the 'new adult' genre; thinking about readers' expectations for certain types of stories; making sure that characters who appear in opening scenes are essential; and the importance of emotionality and interiority in your main character.
    After which, Bianca interviews Johnny Compton about his debut novel, The Spite House. The two chat about the psychology behind reading and writing horror fiction; the heavy-lifting that horror expects of its audience; the world-building that's involved; the idea of not needing an explanation for everything; how Johnny balances curiosity seeds and tension without 'cheating' the reader; the social commentary that Johnny weaves into his novel; and Johnny's advice for writing very young characters.
    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 Johnny can be found at https://johnnycompton.com
    He's also on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/comptonwrites
    and Twitter at https://twitter.com/comptonwrites


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    • 1 hr 1 min
    Insights from Acquisitions Editors & Working on Author Collaborations

    Insights from Acquisitions Editors & Working on Author Collaborations

    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 bestselling titles as well as The Crescent Moon Tea Room by Stacy Sivinski, a Simon and Schuster Top Shelf Pick for this fall.
    The four discuss the difficulties associated with writing a query with a larger cast of characters; the importance of having an overarching reason for having a large cast and why their worlds are colliding; whether publisher interest in historical fiction is waning; an example of how to make a hook punchier; the importance on having a strong sense of place; and the need for interiority to be realistic to your character.
    After which, Bianca interviews Kate Hilton and Elizabeth Renzetti, co-authors of Bury the Lead. They discuss how Liz and Kate's joint project came about; tackling the challenges of collaborating with another author, particularly when it comes to two established authors; the drafting process; keeping track of details like how characters and settings look; when descriptions are necessary and when they don't make sense; and whether or not Kate and Liz work with separate agents for their collaborative works.
    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 Elizabeth can be found at: https://www.elizabethrenzetti.com/ 
    She's also on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/lizrenzetti and on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/lizrenzetti/
    More information about Kate can be found at: https://www.katehilton.com/
    She's also on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/KateHiltonAuthor/ and on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/katehiltonbooks/


    Our Sponsors:
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    • 1 hr 10 min
    Being Intentional With Your Novel's Timeline

    Being Intentional With Your Novel's Timeline

    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 their age; including specifics in your plot paragraph; being explicit with your stakes; including information that shows the relationship dynamics between your protagonist and others; and the need to start your story in the right place.
    After which, Bianca interviews writer and essayist, Maura Cheeks. They discuss Maura's debut novel, Acts of Forgiveness; intentionality with the novel's timeline; Maura's journey to publication; the reasons for the delay in publishing Acts of Forgiveness; the extent to which Maura's submission pitch aligns with the published book; the research process; writing a dual timeline as a debut novel; and incorporating news stories and speeches as exposition.
    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 Maura can be found at: https://www.mauracheeks.com/
    She's also on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/mauracheeks?lang=en and Instagram at:  https://www.instagram.com/mauracheeks/


    Our Sponsors:
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    • 1 hr 1 min
    Bumper February Bonus Episode

    Bumper February Bonus Episode

    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 whiteness in the romance genre; Nikki's experience using sensitivity readers; how much 'shorthand' you can use when writing a retelling; reframing scandal in the modern world; and Nikki's clever way of introducing backstory.
    After which Bianca interviews author Jessica Bull, author Miss Austen Investigates. They discuss Jessica's inspiration for her series and her journey to publication; the length of her work and how she pitched it with series potential; the process of writing real characters while also making up other aspects to the novel; how creating a ticking time bomb helped Jessica in creating tension and upping the stakes; and how Jessica managed to straddle genres when writing.
    Then, Bianca interviews returning guest, Samantha M. Bailey, author of Woman on the Edge and Watch Out for Her. They discuss Samantha's latest novel, A Friend in the Dark; the myth that novel writing becomes easier with each new book; the new challenges that Samantha faced in her latest novel; how she successfully broke the rules with her prologue; making the opening pages compelling even though the protagonist is alone for most of them; when you purposefully leave out a second POV in the novel’s flap copy; and why she chose to structure her characters' interactions partially through DMs on Facebook.
     Finally, 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/
     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 ww.cecilialyra.com
    Bookshop.org affiliate page: https://bookshop.org/shop/theshitnoonetellsyouaboutwriting
    To ask a question, go to: https://sayhi.chat/TSNOTYAW
    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 Nikki can be found at: https://www.nikkipaynebooks.com/


    Our Sponsors:
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    Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

    • 2 hrs 15 min
    How Some Stories Need You to Become a Better Writer Before Telling Them

    How Some Stories Need You to Become a Better Writer Before Telling Them

    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; and what made Sarah's pages particularly special.
    After which, Bianca interviews Donna Hemans, author of The House of Plain Truth. They discuss the DC Writers' Room; Donna's journey to publication; putting some ideas on the shelf until you're ready to do them justice; not being so rigid with the structure of your work that you hold your story back; deciding when to change your agent; and approaching characterization and backstory.
     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 Donna can be found at: https://www.donnahemans.com/
    She's also on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/donna_hemans
     and Twitter at https://twitter.com/donna_hemans
     


    Our Sponsors:
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    • 1 hr 2 min
    Torturing Your Characters in the Second Act

    Torturing Your Characters in the Second Act

    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 showing inner life in your characters.
    After which, Bianca interviews NYT's bestselling author, Robin Oliveira. They discuss Robin's latest novel, A Wild and Heavenly Place; how long it took her to write; the importance of the research trip to Scotland that Robin took; keeping the 'intention' of a novel centred while writing; torturing your characters, especially in Act Two; leveraging different types of conflict; how cutting plot points is like unravelling a thread, and strategies for 'pulling the thread' successfully; and how to know when a book is finished.
    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 Robin can be found at: https://www.robinoliveira.com/ and she can be found on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/Robin_Oliveira_Author/


    Our Sponsors:
    * Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.rosettastone.com/


    Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

    • 1 hr 7 min

Customer Reviews

4.9 out of 5
168 Ratings

168 Ratings

Jen Karp ,

Amazing podcast for writers!!

This is one of my favourite podcasts and I highly recommend it!! Bianca, Carly and CeCe do a fantastic job of providing relevant, useful and easy to integrate feedback on querying, refining your writing and the journey from author to publication. I look forward to the episodes every week and have learned so much!!!

DallasLlama ,

A life-changing listen

I can’t remember how or when I stumbled upon this absolute gem of a podcast, but I do know I was hooked immediately after one episode.

Bianca, Carly and CeCe have changed my life and help me grow into the writer I have always dreamed of becoming. I can’t thank them enough for their service to the literary community.

Also highly recommend their Deep Dive series. It’s incredible!!

Susana Molinolo ,

My Dessert Island Pic!

If I could only listen to one podcast, it would be this one. Thank you for the unbelievable wealth of knowledge and generosity of spirit.

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