The Shit No One Tells You About Writing

This is a podcast for emerging writers who want to improve the quality of their work and learn more about the publishing industry. Your one host, Bianca Marais (the bestselling author of ‘The Witches of Moonshyne Manor’) interviews authors, agents, editors and just about anyone and everyone who’s involved in bringing a book to market. She’s joined by her cohosts, literary agents Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra from P.S. Literary Agency, who read and critique query letters as well as opening pages in their Books with Hooks segment. Expect good advice, honest insights, and a few laughs along the way.

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 down the pacing; leaning into complicated emotions and revealing contradictions from the get-go; and making intentional stylistic choices, especially in literary fiction.

After which, Bianca chats with Amita Parikh, author of The Circus Train, about choosing comps; hitting the sweet spot to get agents’ attention; what to do if you keep getting rejections; adding tension and conflict and stakes to a novel that’s not working; writing at a scene and chapter level; writing historical events as a backdrop, not a history lesson; and not allowing your character to have the benefit of your hindsight when dealing with historical times/events.

Find us on our socials:
Twitter: @TSNOTYAW @BiancaM_author @carlywatters @ceciliaclyra
Instagram: @biancamarais_author @carlywatters @cece_lyra_agent @ the_shit_about_writing
Facebook: @tsnotyaw
Websites: www.theshitaboutwriting, www.biancamarais.com and www.carlywatters.com
Amita can be found at www.amitaparikh.com and on Instagram at @amita_parikh