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.
Show episodes
Today Bianca, Carly, and CeCe critique a coming-of-age submission set in the 80s, as well as a speculative literary fiction query. They chat about the importance of details in a query, as opposed to big-picture themes; an example of a prologue that induces curiosity; layering emotion to create more realistic interactio
Join Bianca in our October bonus episode as your favourite book person, Emilie Sommer from East City Book Shop, answers all your comp requests! If you’re looking for our usual Q&A segment, that now gets published as part of our end of the month Substack newsletter. Subscribe to get access to that, and so much more: htt
Today Bianca interviews NYT bestselling nature writer, Leigh Ann Henion. They discuss Leigh Ann's latest work, Night Magic: Adventures Among Glowworms, Moon Gardens, and Other Marvels of the Dark; the inspiration behind the book; the process of getting a book like this written and published; being able to illustrate ho
Today, Bianca, Carly, and CeCe critique a speculative fiction query and a literary fiction one. They discuss avoiding confusion in your query letter; using names, rather than pronouns, in queries; ensuring your plot and climax match your genre; writing interiority that reflects your characters' realities; title expecta
In today’s episode, Bianca interviews the Hugo-Award winning and NYT bestselling sci-fi and fantasy author, Alix E. Harrow. They discuss Alix's latest novel, Starling House; her journey to publication and being chosen for Reese's Book Club; novellas and the fantasy/sci-fi genre's flexibility in the length of a work; Al
Today, Bianca, Carly, and CeCe critique a family saga submission and a psychological thriller. They discuss whether there's a need for personalization at the top of your query; the importance of having POV information at the beginning of your letter; being concise with your wording; ensuring you illustrate how your mu
