The Shit No One Tells You About Writing

In today's BONUS episode, Bianca chats with the writer Clarisse Baleja Saidi about everything you've always wanted to know about writing residencies. Clarisse gives her top 5 pieces of advice for applying for residencies, and breaks down why applying for—and attending them—could be the boost you need to finish your WIP. Prepare to be surprised! Find us on our socials! Twitter: @TSNOTYAW @B...

In today's Books with Hooks, Carly and CeCe discuss starting a book with dialogue; having tension from page one; using sharp visuals from your character’s perspective (specificity); having the right comps for the setting, plot, tone, etc.; using time and character stamps in multi-POV novels; using the story-forward rule to make the reader curious about what’s going to happen next; and reversin...

In today's Books with Hooks, Emmy Nordstrom Higdon joins us from Westwood Creative Artists to chat with Tyler and Vickie about their work. Emmy unpacks starting with action to get a good sense of voice and character; how the story needs to be front and center with opening pages before digging into issues; starting with something dramatic and compelling; showing the MC out of their depth with i...

In today's Books with Hooks, Carly and CeCe are joined by writers, Sally and Katherine , to discuss their query letters and opening pages. We discuss trigger/content warnings in query letters; being specific without being spoiler-y; as well as weaving in emotion. And... wait for it... we actually suggest a prologue! Yes, we do that sometimes! After which, Bianca chats with Jayne Allen , author...

In today's Books with Hooks segment, we have Emmy Nordstrom Higdon from Westwood Creative Artists join us as a guest agent to review submissions not directed at Carly or CeCe. In this episode, Bianca and Emmy discuss authorial voice; jumping right into where the action is; how using appropriate comps can help cut down on a query's word count; including sample pages for more than one POV; a...

In today's BONUS episode, Bianca chats with Ami J. Sanghvi and Patrick Hogan of Gutslut Press about the top ten reasons why indie presses reject submissions even if the writing is really great. After which Bianca chats with author, Lee Matthew Goldberg , about sharing your drafts with other writers; the writing process when it comes to writing characters whose gender and age are different from...

In today's Books with Hooks segment, Liz and Jami join us to discuss their submissions. Carly and CeCe unpack when to put the stakes at the beginning of the query instead of at the end; the Pixar storytelling rules about coincidences; weaving in emotion with explanation to make it more showing than telling; writing a story in first person and then going back with a “you” lens to make it hybrid...

In today's Books with Hooks, Carly and CeCe discuss whether publishing is ready for Covid stories yet; using an inciting incident that is super specific, but doesn’t give away any spoilers; the importance of having a great, unique hook and a beautiful first line; why emotion needs to be on the page before description in a tense scene; and how a protagonist’s unconscious should also be on the p...

In today's Books with Hooks segment, Melissa and Stephanie join us on the show to have their query letters and opening pages critiqued. Carly and CeCe discuss the importance of hitting current social and class elements; not missing opportunities to let readers know more about the MC by adding in descriptions and reasons behind their choices; when and why a prologue works; and anticipating read...

In today's revamped Books with Hooks segment, Carly and CeCe each tackle two queries that have been directed at them via the new submission process. They also discuss writing your first scene as if it were being filmed; trigger warnings vs. content notes; deciding what to include in the first five pages, and what to put elsewhere in the story. After which, Bianca chats with Jesse Q Sutanto , a...

In today's Books with Hooks segment, Emma joins us on the show to discuss her query and opening pages. Carly and CeCe tackle sparking curiosity;  hooking the agent with keywords; repetition with dialogue tags and replacing them with action beats; writing in multiple POVs and making the reader question who’s doing the narrating; as well as homemade pasta! After which, Bianca chats with Leila Sl...

In today's Books with Hooks, Carly and CeCe discuss putting a fresh twist on a popular trope; taking care not to use titles of novels that are already published; how the present tense offers tension and immediacy; not burying the hook in your query letter; not inadvertently dating your work; and stating specifically what obstacles are getting in your character’s way. After which Bianca chats w...

In today's bonus episode, we have three romance/rom-com authors who join Bianca to discuss all things related to the genre. NYT bestselling Lana Harper discusses her queer rom-com, Payback's a Witch , as well as world-building, character development, her inspiration for the novel, and her change of genre. Sarah Echavarre Smith, author of On Location talks about writing those racy sex scene...

In today's Books with Hooks segment, we do a lot of brainstorming, which doesn’t necessarily align with the author’s vision for her novel, reminding us all that the author is the one who decides what their story is and isn’t. Carly and CeCe also chat about how editors like unlikely friendship stories; authors not having to give up on manuscripts, but persuing the ones that give you the best ch...

In today's Books with Hooks segment, Carly and CeCe discuss avoiding hypothetical questions; escalating baseline stakes and tension; how authors are the puppet masters of their own universes and need to justify all of their choices; giving the reader something familiar in the opening of a fantasy novel; the difference between head-hopping and omniscient POV; how to format dialogue; how you nee...

Host and author, Bianca Marais, talks with the fabulous Courtney Maum, author of Before and After the Book Deal , about writing killer query letters and the ten things Courtney wishes she knew before she published her first book, I Am Having So Much Fun Here Without You . The episode is filled with tons of practical writing advice and lots of laughs. Learn from someone who's been there, done t...

In today's Books with Hooks segment, Carly and CeCe discuss digging into trauma to reveal the root emotion; how even literary fiction needs a hook; readability and writing in italics in certain fonts; needing to connect with character; how a query letter must include details of a specific climax; always keeping the reader wondering about what’s going to happen next; and tackling certain themes...

Author and host, Bianca Marais, chats with Tara Singh Carlson, the first editor to have two of their novels picked by Reese Witherspoon's Hello Sunshine Book Club. Besides acquiring numerous bestsellers like The Silent Wife , The House at Tyneford and The Light We Lost , she's also edited the publishing phenomenon, Where The Crawdad's Sing by Delia Owens, which has been on the New York...

On today's Books with Hooks segment, we have an author come onto the show to discuss her submission with us. In the segment, Carly and CeCe chat with Shari about linking multiple POV stories in a query letter; answering the 'why now?' question; establishing what’s at stake for each POV character; how an offer implies a transaction, and how all of life is about power; being careful who...

In today's Books with Hooks, Carly and CeCe discuss thinking of your query letter as real estate with curb appeal; considering what you’re providing for the reader’s sake vs what you’re providing for the character’s sake; being clear with memoir with regards to what you’re working towards as a climax; memoir needing to have a sub-genre; immersing a reader in scene instead of giving a round-up...

In today's Books with Hooks segment, Carly and CeCe discuss how paranormal stories are making a comeback; having YA characters sound like, and have the emotionality of,  teenagers; the difference between loud and quiet novels; always focusing on what’s happening in the present; who is allowed to tell which stories;  and avoiding starting stories that begin with surrender as that doesn't in...

In today's BONUS episode, CeCe chats with Katherine Miller Goldman, an intellectual property attorney, to answer all of your questions! They discuss what an intellectual property attorney does; what intellectual property is; what you can and can’t copyright and trademark; quoting song lyrics in your novel; what permissions you need when writing about real people in a memoir; if a therapist or...

In today's Books with Hooks segment, Carly and CeCe discuss leaning into specificity; concerns over white saviorism and teachable moments; dialogue needing to sound exactly like the character would speak; requiring drama outside of parallelism; starting with character and putting the reader in someone’s head right away; how multi-POV books should be pitched; and focusing on plot rather than fe...

In today's Books with Hooks segment, Carly and CeCe discuss focusing on trauma and conflict rather than the perfect life that came before; not taking up too much space for a set up in a query letter; starting with the inciting incident; the problem with objectivity in omniscient POV; how curiosity comes from active emotion; writing well on a line level; pitching plot rather than feelings; and...

In this BONUS episode, we have the author, Ruth N,  join us to chat about her query and first pages. Carly and CeCe discuss giving the characters more agency; describing the plot rather than the ingredients of a plot; and how a query should focus on your hook, inciting incident, and the escalating stakes.  After which, Bianca chats with Sara Nicolas who gives some pro tips on how to navigate the u...