The Shit No One Tells You About Writing

Today's episode is sponsored by Riverside.fm. Using the promo code TSNOTYAW offers you a 15% discount on all individual plans! Click here for more info! In today’s episode, Hazel Gaynor joins Bianca, Carly, and CeCe to critique Books with Hooks submissions while also talking about The Last Lifeboat. During the episode, they discuss different book titles in international locations; the order of par...

Today's episode is sponsored by Riverside.fm. Using the promo code TSNOTYAW offers you a 15% discount on all individual plans! Click here for more info! In today’s episode, Laura Barrow, joins Bianca, Carly and CeCe to critique Books with Hooks submissions while also talking about Laura's debut novel, Call the Canaries Home. During the episode, they discuss doing the wrong things in a manuscript;...

Today's episode is sponsored by Riverside.fm. Using the promo code TSNOTYAW offers you a 15% discount on all individual plans! Click here for more info! In today’s episode, we’re rolling out a new format wherein our guest authors will help Bianca, Carly, and CeCe critique submissions. We’re starting with Carly’s client, Mai Nguyen, author of Sunshine Nails. In this episode, we discuss great query...

Today's episode is sponsored by HelloFresh. Go to HelloFresh dot com slash tsnotyaw16 and use code tsnotyaw16 for 16 free meals plus free shipping! In today's bumper Bonus Episode, we chat with two internationally bestselling authors in the romance genre before taking your questions and giving you comp titles. CeCe kicks us off by interviewing Carley Fortune, author of Meet Me at the Lake, about p...

Today's episode is sponsored by HelloFresh. Go to HelloFresh dot com slash tsnotyaw16 and use code tsnotyaw16 for 16 free meals plus free shipping! In today’s Books With Hooks segment, Carly and CeCe each critique two submissions, discussing query length; having enough of a hook; writing style in a query letter; confusion vs curiosity in a query letter; explanatory vs curiosity seeds; putting the...

Today's episode is sponsored by Riverside.fm. Using the promo code TSNOTYAW offers you a 15% discount on all individual plans! Click here for more info! In today’s Books with Hooks, Carly and CeCe are joined by special guest, Traci Thomas from The Stacks podcast for a special segment focusing on non-fiction. During the segment, they discuss surprising readers in the first chapter; specificity in m...

In this short bonus episode, Bianca pays tribute to the bravery of Coceka Lubobo, a young woman who ended a serial killer's reign of terror in Orlando, Soweto. Special thanks go to: the immensely talented English actress, screenwriter and film producer, Katharine McEwan, for narrating this episode. the brilliant singer and songwriter, Daphne Willis, for composing the music for the piece. the incre...

This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/WRITING and get on your way to being your best self. In today’s Books with Hooks, Carly and CeCe each critique two submissions and cover topics like voice-y queries; using direct and specific terms in a query letter; selecting the right comps for the right reasons; having the query letter match what’s in the...

In today’s Books with Hooks segment, Bianca and guest agent, Rachel McMillan, discuss the importance of social media presence; tailoring your queries to specific agents; putting your best content forward; and word count expectations. After which, Bianca chats with Caroline Kepnes, author of the YOU series, about the charming façade of serial killers; how she created her own major in college; how J...

In today’s Books with Hooks segment, Carly and CeCe discuss descriptive specificity; comping to famous writers; sensitivity when describing mental health and mental illness; picking the correct comps; the importance of interiority to dual narrative experience; and choosing titles that work best for you. After which, Bianca chats with J Ryan Stradal, author of Saturday Night at the Lakeside Supper...

In today's bumper Bonus Episode, in an incredibly emotional interview, Bianca talks with Carol Major, author of the memoir The Asparagus Wars, about the difference between cerebral writing and visceral writing; the reliability of memory; the importance of being intentional; allowing the reader to become a part of the story; creating meaning for the reader (not just the memoirist); why people read...

This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/WRITING and get on your way to being your best self. In today’s Books with Hooks segment, Carly and Cece each critique two submissions, discussing pitching literary vs upmarket fiction; naming non-POV characters in a query letter; head-hopping, interiority and emotionality; mentioning sensitivity/authenticity...

In today’s Books With Hooks segment, Carly and Cece each critique two submissions, discussing tongue twister titles; putting a fresh spin on feminist issues; first lines that could be doing more; differentiating your own writing from original stories in retellings; ensuring important details are clarified in a query letter; making sure there’s a reason for having two heroes in a story; what happen...

This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/WRITING and get on your way to being your best self. In today's Books with Hooks, Bianca, CeCe, and Carly discuss a successful prologue; 'showing' weather rather than telling; being specific about your genre in order to find the right agent; the concept of a 'telling' prologue; breaking the 'fourth wall'; the...

In today's Books with Hooks segment, Bianca, Carly, and CeCe discuss keeping names in a query to a minimum; an 'excellent' query with opening pages that have almost no notes; the importance of having movement in opening pages; a three POV query letter; CeCe meets a prologue that she likes; using a third person bio; and the effective use of weather in opening pages. After which, Carly chats with he...

In today's bumper Bonus Episode, Bianca chats with Amy Tector, author of three novels which have all been released in the last year, including Speak for the Dead, now available this month. They discuss finding and prioritizing writing time; rewarding ourselves for hitting our goals; working on Scrivener; respecting your work as a writer (and having others respect it); setting brain boundaries; how...

In today's Books with Hooks, Carly and CeCe discuss the line between YA and adult historical fiction; category mashups; plausibility of plot points; mentioning side characters in query letters; considerations when writing for younger kids; and the importance of emotionality in the pages rather than the query letter. After which, Carly chats with her client, Andrea Dunlop, author of Women Are the F...

In today's Books with Hooks segment, Dongwon Song, an agent at Howard Morhaim Literary Agency who specializes in the sci-fi and fantasy genres, joins Bianca to look at four query letters. The two discuss the difference between sci-fi, fantasy, and speculative fiction; the very specific sub-genre of magical realism; the length of queries in sci-fi/fantasy genres; being deliberate with the limited r...

In today’s Books With Hooks, Carly and Cece co-critique two queries, discussing showing how the protagonist is propelled on their journey; dealing with major dramatic questions and stakes; dense query letters for well-worn tropes; surprises and predictability in the opening pages; line edits and synopsis-like queries; reactive protagonists vs giving your protagonist agency; “soft” women’s fiction;...

In today’s Books With Hooks, which is our 100th segment, Carly and CeCe each critique two queries, discussing comps; clear and compelling inciting incidents; plausibility; interiority and emotionality; the beginning, middle and end of memoirs; balancing tension and the mundane in a memoir; including social media handles with signatures; YA vs Adult; the right type of prologue; using swear words; a...

In today's jam-packed Bonus Episode, Bianca, Carly, and CeCe answer questions about whether dark novels and WWII novels have a place in the current market; when it's okay to pitch an unfinished book; how to evaluate comps through number of reviews; about liking your own comps; submitting through query tracker; writing outside of genre conventions; following up with agents; and how to distinguish o...

In today's Books with Hooks, Bianca speaks to guest agent, Emmy Nordstrom-Higdon, about five submissions including middle grade queries, a rom-com, and a graphic novel script. They discuss the best way to personalize your query letter to your specific agent; balancing narrative dialogue and action in a scene; content warnings; non-fiction book proposals; overwriting in non-fiction; and the need fo...

In the latest Books with Hooks, Carly and CeCe each critique two queries and discuss pitching only one genre; having a solid reason that a story takes place in near-history; POV changes within a single chapter; when a query sounds more like a synopsis; opening with a daydream; sucking the agent in with curiosity and tension; needing to be the best in a busy category; using an elevator pitch; diali...

In today's Books with Hooks, Carly, CeCe, and Bianca are joined by listeners Marnie and Karisa. In the process, they discuss the importance of stakes in a query letter, even if it's literary; immersing yourself in place; the concept of 'historical' YA; the difference between YA and coming of age; how to set a scene; connecting specific plot points with the hook; and why interiority is important. A...

In today’s Books with Hooks, Carly and CeCe critique two queries each, discussing strong hooks; coincidences; describing a character indirectly; grief, day-to-day, and voicey-ness in the pages; submitting polished queries, character observations tying in with their story-forward intentions, characterization, covering a long time period in a story, what a frame narrative is, clarifying genre, vague...