The Shit No One Tells You About Writing

In today’s Books with Hooks, Carly and CeCe critique two queries each, discussing catchy titles; voice-y and specific details in queries; using line breaks; grounding readers in the scene; using opportunities for interiority; the emotional entryway technique for any genre; ensuring a unique hook to make your story stand out in a sea of similar stories; the web effect of characters and plot points;...

In today’s jampacked Bonus Episode, Carly and CeCe answer all your questions, tackling the difference between trade and academic publishing; using a title that already exists; the use of historical slang in historical YA; using comps from self-published authors; the difference between the various genres of suspense novels; the potential mistakes that make it past the revision stage; the use of dom...

In today’s Books with Hooks, Carly, CeCe and Bianca look at two queries, in the process discussing a metafiction query letter; the idea of having characters written by other authors being used in your novel; digging deeper on a line level; originality and tropes; and the importance of specifics in interiority. After which, Bianca chats with Audrey Burges, author of The Minuscule Mansion of Myra Ma...

In today’s Books with Hooks, Carly and CeCe critique two queries each, in the process discussing the concept of a protagonist knowing their fate or path; the importance of imbalance in the opening scene; an example of an 'excellent' query letter; and what is required in a query letter when your novel covers a long period of time. After which Bianca chats with James M. Lang and Sarah Connell Sander...

In today’s Books with Hooks, Carly and CeCe critique two queries each, in the process discussing extraordinarily long query letters; why it’s tricky to have a character whose ultimate goal is death; including dual-POV in the metadata; the importance of curiosity seeds in the opening pages through interiority and emotionality; how not being specific enough in a query letter makes agents hesitate to...

In today’s Books with Hooks, Carly and CeCe critique two queries each, in the process discussing putting your own spin on a classic trope; writing physical descriptions of characters; the difficulties w beginning your novel focusing on a character who is not the protagonist; how to explain that you've had a previous agent; and a good example of voicey prose. After which Carly chats with Kitty John...

In today’s Books with Hooks, Carly and CeCe critique two queries each, in the process discussing the pros and cons of epistolary novels; the #ownvoices term being retired; baiting the reader in the opening pages; having too much character description and not enough plot in the query; linguistic calibration and earned emotionality; problems with omniscient POV and breaking the fourth wall; vulnerab...

In today’s Books with Hooks, Carly and CeCe each look at two query letters, and in the process discuss making sure interiority adds up—showing not just what a character thinks, but how they think; ensuring the line-level writing and unfolding of tension is allowing the reader to actively put the pieces of the puzzle together; ensuring there is specificity and the story climax in the query letter;...

In today's Bonus Episode, Carly and CeCe answer all your burning questions, in the process discussing whether agents ever ask for full manuscripts right after reading a query; whether query word count will keep an agent from reading or requesting pages; the concept of “new adult"; and how to deal with query letters having been sent off with the incorrect comps. After which Emilie Sommer from East...

In today's Books with Hooks ,  Jessica and Kate join Carly and CeCe who critique their work, in the process discussing  the important difference between a reader's curiosity about what happened before your pages started versus curiosity about what is going to happen in the novel; knowing exactly what you want your readers to be thinking  after reading your first pages; the issues with having a pro...

In today's Books with Hooks , Carly and CeCe each critique two query letters, in the process discussing WWII fatigue in the industry; the importance of the butterfly effect in time travel stories; how to compress plot in your query; packing in as many compelling elements as possible; and reading a perfect query letter. After which, Bianca chats with Brad Smith , author of Copperhead Road, about ho...

In today's Books with Hooks , Carly and CeCe analyze two query letters each, and in the process discuss what constitutes a long query, in respect of word count; how statements in dialogue shouldn't be made simply to tell the reader something; avoiding vague references in queries; and getting a submission that reads like a published book. After which, Bianca chats with Alexa Martin , author of Bett...

In today's Books with Hooks , Carly and CeCe are left unsupervised as they critique two query letters each, in the process discussing the best way to frame your novel if it has series potential; the difficulty of marketing a quiet novel right now; how you should open your novel; matching query tone and novel tone to your genre; and the importance of readers being invested in your characters. After...

In today's Books with Hooks , Carly and CeCe are joined by two authors, Melissa and Elizabeth , whose work they critique. In the process, they discuss ensuring each that timeline in a dual timeline is its own story; keeping scenes condensed to keep propelling the story forward; mentioning the pandemic in contemporary fiction; baking in subtle references to things instead of explaining them to the...

In today's Books With Hooks , Carly and CeCe look at two critiques each, discussing the importance of using sharp specifics and strong interiority; ensuring there’s tension and stakes in the first pages; having distinct character voices; dropping hints but leaving them unanswered; challenges with omniscient POV; keeping all the metadata together in one paragraph; stories within stories slowing dow...

In today's Books with Hooks, Carly and CeCe each look at one submitted query letter, after which they each discuss a query letter that they ended up representing as an example of what grabs their attention. They discuss redacted titles; explaining POV in a query letter; putting the hook front and center; coincidences in the story; too much internal and not enough external in the first pages; dual...

In today's Bonus Episode, Carly and CeCe answer all your questions and Emilie Sommer from East City Book Shop gives you comp titles. After which, CeCe chats with Susie Yang , author of White Ivy, which was a Books with Hooks Book Club pick in the spring. CeCe and Susie discuss fairytale elements and omniscient POV; how suspicious writers make the best writers; what it’s like to work with an editor...

In today's Books with Hooks, Jael Richardson (author of Gutter Child) joins Carly and CeCe to critique query letters. During the segment, they discuss starting in the right place; using time stamps to make it easier for the reader to ground themselves; ensuring there’s interiority with the narrating character; the web effect in query letters; clarifying the emotionality of the main character; teas...

In today's Books with Hooks , Carly and CeCe are joined by Jennifer and David, two authors who submitted their work for consideration. During the segment, they discuss whether you should have themes in a query letter; query letter vs proposal for memoirs; having something happening every five pages; letting the reader ask the question before you answer it as the author; keeping passive plot points...

In today's Books with Hooks , Carl y and CeC e each review two query letters, in the process discussing overexplaining and taking the readers out of the scene; leaning into your scene from a reader’s perspective; having a very clear idea of the major dramatic question that is specific to the protagonist’s plot journey; prioritizing a character's interiority over their noticing other characters’ re...

In today's Books with Hooks , Carly and CeCe discuss being clear about your age category and details of the plot; keeping the query letter short; fleshing out character dynamics and not focusing too much on worldbuilding; connecting with a character, as opposed to the world, in the opening pages; a children’s picture book query letter; including some illustrator notes; exploring darker themes in a...

In today's Books with Hooks , Carly and CeCe discuss keeping secrets from the reader vs. keeping them from the character; choosing a variety of comparable titles and authors; relatability to what the character is going through; ways to make a story believable; interiority and emotionality in the characters; not giving too much in the opening pages; revealing information in the right order; how the...

In today's Bonus Episode, Bianca, Carly and CeCe answer all your burning questions about writing and publishing. After which, Bianca chats with Elizabeth Held , creator of the What to Read substack, who answers your first batch of comp title requests. Followed by a chat with Emilie Sommer of East City Bookshop who answers the second batch of comp title requests. Find us on our socials: Twitter: @T...

In today's Books with Hooks , we're joined by guest agent, Emmy Nordstrom-Higdon from Westwood Creative Artists who looks at four submissions. During the segment, Emmy discusses executing the world-building in a way that’s accessible to readers, and ensuring you’re also covering your characters' conflicts, goals, stakes, etc. in a query; keeping your query letter under a page; ensuring something h...

In today's Books with Hooks , Carly and CeCe review a resubmission and in the process discuss an impressive author paragraph; writing the subtleties of familial relationships; the difficulties of a plot that hinges on a secret that isn't revealed in the query; and an example of a very good hook. After which, Bianca chats with the NYT bestselling Deanna Raybourn , author of Killers of a Certain Age...