Tea and Tales: Sipping on Writing, Editing, and Publishing

Agents are an important part of the publishing process for most Traditional Published Authors. They advocate for authors and help us be the best we can be. Join us and meet the amazing Cathie Hedrick-Armstrong from Marsal Lyon Literary Agency. https://marsallyonliteraryagency.com/who-we-are/cathie-hedrick-armstrong/   https://www.manuscriptwishlist.com/mswl-post/cathie-hedrick-armstrong/  

Bianca Marais is an accomplished author in historical fiction, book club fiction, fantasy, dystopian fiction, and mystery. This episode explores her journey in creating community programs to encourage Own Voices authors and about her newest mystery novel A Most Puzzling Murder. Find more about Bianca and her work at these links: https://bookshop.org/p/books/a-most-puzzling-murder-a-quirky-humorous...

Starting a Beta Reading group can be tricky. Who do I invite? How will we organize the group and coordinate calls? Join our one-time beta reading session where we discuss how we put together the group, how we coordinated with each other, and then sit in on our feedback session! This three-part episode is broken into small chunks for easier listening. Enjoy the informational part 1, and we hope you...

Listen in to the feedback on Sara and Conner's first 5 pages in this second installment of our recorded Beta Reading Session.

Listen in to the feedback on Rose and Madlené's first 5 pages in this last installment of our recorded Beta Reading Session.

As writers, we want our novels to invoke emotions in our readers. Then we have a new problem. Explaining why ink on a page makes us cry.

When it comes to horror, everyone has a different tolerance. Understanding what things can create more or less fear in readers helps writers to understand their target audience and market to them! Join Horror Author Mattea Orr on this episode for a breakdown of what makes horror, well, horror! Website: www.matteaorr.com Linktree: https://linktr.ee/MatteaOrr https://www.alieward.com/ologies/serpops...

*Awareness advised, adult topics are discussed in this episode more than normal. We worked hard to keep it PG-13, but please use your own discretion.* It's key that a writer can express to their audience what to expect in their novels. In this episode, we explore the subjective topic of romance spice levels with author Charlotte Stein. charlottestein.net @charlotte.stein on insta, @charlottest...

Every novel needs names, so how do you do it? Join us and Author Kasia Alba as we talk about everything from when we name our characters, to how we pick just the right one - or have to change a name we love.  https://writersofthefuture.com/forum/writing-craft-talent-technique/naming-characters/ https://kdpbook.link/for/B0FKYCMX4G Find more from Kasia at: Newsletter https://subscribepage.io/kayredn...

The language we use and how we use it brings so much variety to our novels. From illustrating cultural heritage to separating characters from different generations, this literary tool is a subtle but powerful one. https://wordsmarts.com/everyday-items-different-names/

Taking a great idea and making it into a great novel takes time, perseverance, and many drafts. Dive into how to get that idea formed into a story, with lots of things to remember along the way to fight off discouragement. https://writeruniv.com/classes/  

Meet Mystery/Suspense/Thriller author Darden North as we talk about his novels and writing journey. Find more about his newest novel, Rooftop, and about Darden at the following links. Tiny URL link to Amazon for Rooftop: https://tinyurl.com/ROOFTOP-by-Darden-North www.facebook.com/DardenNorthAuthor www.facebook.com/DardenNorth       www.instagram.com/dardennorth www.x.com/dardennorth www.youtube.c...

Do you know the tropes in your writing? This is one way to find the themes of your book, your target audience, and similar books! All are useful when trying to market or query. https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-fiction/popular-fantasy-tropes-for-writers   https://kindlepreneur.com/book-tropes/ https://www.buzzfeed.com/marycolussi/book-tropes-readers-love-and-hate

Writing a book can be quite the adventure and having the right tools will make it easier. *WordHippo: https://www.wordhippo.com/?fbclid=IwAR2C2RkCBBpBoYV-GR3x-P70cp6uJvPxphKuZDqyC_CAlZZDgqFjJzZL4Xo *The Emotion Thesaurus: https://www.amazon.com/Emotion-Thesaurus-Writers-Character-Expression/dp/1475004958 *Save the Cat: https://www.savannahgilbo.com/blog/plotting-save-the-cat?fbclid=IwAR1FpBgewNEaE...

Every writer knows characters have a mind of their own. We learn how to react, or interact, with these surprises. What do you do when your characters go off script? https://twiain.com/2025/01/06/when-characters-go-off-script-and-why-working-doesnt-only-mean-doing-stuff/

Having many ideas makes a writing career, but how do you juggle jumping between projects? Find our tips, tricks, and advice with some great resources to decide how working on multiple projects can work for you. https://www.writingmastery.com/blog/writing-multiple-books-at-the-same-time-tips-for-managing-multiple-projects https://careerauthors.com/how-to-juggle-more-than-one-manuscript/ https://wri...

There can be a lot of controversy about Speculative Fiction. Dive into the Speculative Fiction Genres and how to tell where your story falls under this diverse umbrella. https://fictionary.co/journal/speculative-fiction/ https://jillwilliamson.com/speculative-fiction-subgenres/ https://www.writersdigest.com/write-better-fiction/what-is-speculative-fiction

Episode 2 of our series on genres! In this one, we dig into Romance Subgenres and what they are. Resources: https://forevershereads.com/romance-genre-guide/ https://blog.reedsy.com/guide/romance/ https://novelpad.co/blog/what-is-a-romance-subgenre

Finding your genre can be a chore. Join us for part 1 of 3 where we try to tackle the reasons genre is confusing and how to chose the best ones for you. https://blog.reedsy.com/book-genres/ https://www.scribophile.com/academy/types-of-fiction-the-ultimate-guide-with-50-subgenres-and-examples https://www.servicescape.com/blog/book-genre-encyclopedia-144-genres-and-subgenres-explained https://www.ma...

Meet Debut Author Rebecca Danzenbaker as we talk about her novel, process, and experiences working with a big five publisher. Preorder at https://www.middleburgbooks.com/products/p/soulmatch-rebecca-danzenbaker-preorder-e8zjf Or order after July 29th at http://Bookshop.org rebeccadanzenbakerbooks.com @rebeccadanzenbaker on Tiktok, Instagram, Threads, Booksky, and Pinterest.  Facebook is RebeccaDan...

Test your knowledge of writers and words with us as we play Taskmaster, but for writers! https://taskmaster.info/

Do I go Traditional Published, Self-Published, or Hybrid? In this episode, author Alexandra Wendt discusses her experiences with a Hybrid publisher and how to make sure the one you are considering is legit, not a Vanity Press.  Resources: The IBPA has a list of criteria for hybrid publishers: https://www.ibpa-online.org/page/hybrid-publisher-criteria-download https://www.alexandrawendt.com/ https:...

Whether it’s your first novel or fiftieth, getting that first draft done is where it all begins. Join us for our Dos and Don’ts we’ve learned that help us get the story written!

If you're querying your novel, you're going to get rejections. Likely a lot of them. We hear a lot of things from agents, and in this episode, we explore what those might mean.

There are ways to make sure your manuscript is ready to go into the world. Let’s talk about them! Whether you are eager to get your work out in the world, or sitting on your manuscript fearing it isn’t ready, this episode is for you. Resources:https://elizabethspanncraig.com/business-of-writing/10-ways-to-tell-if-your-book-is-ready-for-publishing/