Lit Match

Abigail sits down with Victoria Marini, a literary agent at Irene Goodman Literary Agency (IGLA). Victoria is  actively seeking page-turning f iction for all audiences from middle grade through adult, and is expanding her Upmarket Book Club lists. She enjoys novels with high-concepts and distinctive voices in a variety of genres including: fabulism and fantasy, psycho...

Abigail sits down with indie author Jen Craven (BEST YEARS OF YOUR LIFE) to discuss why she decided to self-publish her book—even though she was getting requests on her manuscript while querying it. Jen makes it very clear that she has nothing against traditional publishing, and that for many authors, this is the best publishing path. (She remains open to publishing differently in t...

Abigail is joined by nonfiction book coach expert, Barbara Boyd, to analyze James Clear's nonfiction book (a personal growth book) phenomenon, ATOMIC HABITS. What makes this deep dive particularly interesting is that Barbara and Abigail decide to analyze not the first chapter, but the introduction—something Barbara explains is crucial for a nonfiction book and  book proposal that ho...

A special episode that shares a part of Abigail and Savannah's latest Book Notes conversation!  In this episode, Abigail and book coach companion Savannah Gilbo share a piece of their latest Book Notes Book Club meeting. Abigail and Savannah started Book Notes, their virtual book club, to teach fiction writers how to  read  like a writer by (a) reading and analyzing a best...

Abigail sits down with Howard Yoon, a literary agent and principal of the Ross Yoon Agency. Howard specializes in narrative nonfiction, history, memoir, science, current events, politics, and popular culture. In this conversation, Howard shares his wealth of expertise in publishing as a nonfiction literary agent and what makes a great nonfiction book. He enlightens Abigail about various topics fro...

Abigail sits down with book coach and fantasy writer, Dani Abernathy, to discuss a unique tool that Dani uses with her clients: the Enneagram Personality Test. Many writers love personality tests (Abigail included), but in this episode, Dani shares how to use the Enneagram test effectively—and with this knowledge, it won’t become a resource that sends writers down a research rabbit hole. How does...

Abigail sits down for an insightful conversation about agenting and craft with Senior Literary Agent, Maria Vicente , of P.S. Literary Agency.   While Maria has a love for and strong list of children’s books and graphic novels, she’s also looking to expand her list with adult fiction and nonfiction. Learn about Maria’s MSWL and her agenting style, along with other solid pieces of writing and...

This week's episode deviates from the normal Lit Match episode structure in order to honor the life of Abigail's aunt, Gail Hayes, who was a talented writer, devoted mother and wife, and active fundraiser—some of her many roles in life. Gail (who Abigail called Gigla or Gig) passed away on January 24, 2023 from Glioblastoma (brain tumor) after courageously fighting this disease for...

This week, book coach and developmental editor Savannah Gilbo joins Abigail for a first chapter deep dive analysis of a Colleen Hoover mega-hit, UGLY LOVE. This is also a particularly special episode because it pulls a small clip from the first meeting of Savannah and Abigail's virtual book club, Book Notes.  In this episode, you'll learn how the first chapter of UGLY LOVE gives &nb...

Today, Abigail brings on a guest who is an avid reader and professional book reviewer—and popular podcast host!—Sarah Dickinson. Together, they take a first chapter deep dive analysis of one of 2022’s most popular books (what NYT called the Best Book of the Year!), and one of their favorite reads in 2022: LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY by Bonnie Garmus. This episode is particularly fun since Sarah, as a rea...

Abigail sits down with book marketing expert (with 13 years Big 5 publishing experience), Andrea DeWerd, to discuss the writing community's mass departure from Twitter.   In this conversation, Andrea explains what's really happening on Twitter, why eight percent of the writing and publishing community have left this platform, and what this means for writers who want to find inf...

Come join Abigail and certified book coach, Rona Gofstein, as they analyze the first chapter of bestselling author Jasmine Guillory’s USA Today bestselling novel, THE WEDDING DATE .   Abigail and Rona explore many of the important elements of contemporary romance, as well as what makes this first chapter so engaging. Read the first chapter, listen to this conversation, and join Abigail a...

Join Abigail as she interviews CeCe Lyra, Associate Literary Agent at P.S. Literary Agency and the brilliant co-host of the popular writing podcast, The Shit No One Tells You About Writing . Abigail’s said it in more places than one: This conversation will be one that Abigail thinks about (and refers back to) for many, many years.  Here are some of the multitude of important, insightful topic...

Come join Abigail and USA Today bestselling author, Jennifer Klepper, as they perform a first chapter deep dive analysis of Celeste Ng’s bestselling masterpiece, LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE . Abigail and Jennifer agree, Celeste Ng is an exceptional author and LFE is a book that every writer can learn from. And the first pages prove why. Abigail admits that she found this scene particularly challe...

"Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices . . . Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets?" — Blurb for Matt Haig's bestselling novel, THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY  Abiga...

The first episode in a new Author Interview + Writing Tips and Assignments series on LIT MATCH! In today’s episode, Abigail pulls one of her favorite interviews from her   her old podcast (pub. 2020) and revamps it for the Lit Match listeners.   Abigail sits down with the bestselling author of the DIARY OF A WIMPY KID series, Jeff Kinney. Listen to this episode to get an inside look at t...

After writing a book comes publishing it, and to do so (or if you want to do it well), you need to know your target readers and the market. One of the most important tools a writer, literary agent, editor, and publisher uses to give a quick, clear, and catchy idea of what a story is about— and what everyone can predict for  sales—is comparable titles (or comps). That’s what Abigail covers in...

We're back with the final episode!  Abigail sits down with certified editor and book coach Savannah Gilbo to discuss and analyze the first chapter of HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS. This is a particularly special episode in the series being the final  Harry Potter book and first chapter episode, as well as Abigail's favorite book in the series.   In this conversation...

Taking a different direction for this week’s episode, Abigail speaks directly to listeners about ten pieces of writing (and life!) tips she absorbed from what she considers her favorite in-person author presentation.  Last month, Abigail was lucky enough to attend bestselling author Fredrik Backman’s book tour for the third book in his Beartown series trilogy, THE WINNERS.  Abigail had b...

We're back with book six! Abigail sits down with certified editor and book coach Savannah Gilbo to discuss and analyze the first chapter of HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE. This is an extra special episode since HBP is Savannah's favorite book in the series—plus, both Abigail and Savannah agreed that this first chapter was the most difficult to analyze, at least so far in the series—wh...

Abigail sits down for a first chapter analysis of the bestselling and Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick, COUNTERFEIT. She takes a deep dive into the first chapter analysis—and she enthusiastically welcomes the author and editor of the book to join her in this dissection and discussion.   KIRSTIN CHEN is the New York Times best-selling author of three novels. Counterfeit , her latest and t...

We're back with book five! Abigail sits down with certified editor and book coach Savannah Gilbo to discuss and analyze the first chapter of HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX. Abigail and Savannah return with a discussion on how the first chapter in the OOTP sets up expectations for the big picture and creates, to the reader's discretion, the most exciting first chapter in the&nb...

In today’s episode, Abigail sits down with another amazing Trellis Literary Management co-founder, Allison Hunter.  Allison is an expert in commercial fiction and shares exactly what she’s looking for in a manuscript wishlist, as well as other invaluable writing and publishing tips like: How to use comparable titles to pitch and market your book (with examples!) What makes a page-turning beac...

We're back with book four! Abigail sits down with certified editor and book coach Savannah Gilbo to discuss and analyze the first chapter of HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE. Abigail and Savannah return with a discussion on how the first chapter in GOF sets up expectations for the big picture story using Paula Munier's seven key first chapter questions (THE WRITER'S GUIDE TO BEGINNINGS). They a...

This is the third episode in a three-part series of episodes on how to write a query letter. Abigail teaches writers how to write the third (and final!) paragraph of the query letter, or the author bio .  Sometimes writers overthink the author bio, putting undue stress on themselves and this paragraph. This episode covers some tips on how to write this paragraph, som including: The Dos and Do...