The Shit No One Tells You About Writing

By: Bianca Marais Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra
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  • Summary

  • 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.
    © 2022 The Shit No One Tells You About Writing
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Episodes
  • Bumper September Bonus Episode

    Bumper September Bonus Episode
    Sep 30 2024
    In this month’s bonus episode, Bianca interviews Reese's book pick and best-selling author Marissa Stapley, to discuss her latest, The Lightning Bottles. They chat about the genesis of the novel; taking your time writing and the beauty that lies in the process of creating; the inspiration behind Marissa's protagonist; why she chose specific characters as POV characters; how Marissa managed to work in a prologue that was from a younger person's perspective without it reading like YA; the challenges of writing a book after experiencing major success; working with multiple editors at the same time; and advice for when a manuscript just isn't working. After which, Bianca chats with Amy Shoenthal, author of the non-fiction work, The Setback Cycle. They discuss the journey to publication as a collection of setbacks; getting a book deal without having a huge platform; persevering despite rejections and learning from them; how to market yourself amidst insecurities; Amy's thought process and research for her work; the process of working with and interviewing experts; how Amy came up with the idea and key ideas for her work; the differences between writing journalistic pieces versus writing a book; being prepared to talk about yourself as an author; and how Amy marketed herself and her book. Bianca then interviews Frances White, author of the adult fantasy novel, Voyage of the Damned. They discuss Frances's journey to publication and the manuscripts that didn't quite make it there; writing for yourself rather than ticking boxes for publishers; the world-building that Frances did for her novel; working with a large cast of characters; the importance of representation and using sensitivity readers; the crossover potential of Frances's novel; and writing the voicey-ness of the main character. Finally, 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: https://theshitaboutwriting.substack.com/Note: Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra are literary agents at P.S. Literary Agency, but their work on this podcast is not affiliated with the agency, and the views expressed by Carly and CeCe on this podcast are solely that of them as podcast co-hosts and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of P.S. Literary Agency.Find us on our socials:Twitter: @TSNOTYAW @BiancaM_author @carlywatters @ceciliaclyraInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_shit_about_writing/https://www.instagram.com/biancamarais_author/https://www.instagram.com/carlywatters/ https://www.instagram.com/cece_lyra_agent/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TSNOTYAWWebsites: www.theshitaboutwriting.com, www.biancamarais.com, www.carlywatters.com and ww.cecilialyra.comBookshop.org affiliate page: https://bookshop.org/shop/theshitnoonetellsyouaboutwritingTo ask us a question, go to: https://sayhi.chat/TSNOTYAWYou can find out more information about Marissa on her website at https://marissastapley.comShe's also on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/marissastapley and Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/MarissaStapleyAuthorYou can find out more information about Amy on her website at https://www.amyshoenthal.com/She's also on Instagram at https://www.amyshoenthal.com/You can find out more information about Frances on her website at https://www.frances-writes.com/She's also on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/franceswhiteauthor and Twitter at https://x.com/Frances_Writes To register for CeCe’s upcoming Hacking Writing on A Line Level course, go to https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_xDo7-fz8Q-GrnyE6Nw41qA#/registrationCarly's course for writers, The Author's Publishing Playbook, is available at carlywatters.com/course. If you haven't grabbed it yet, podcast listeners can use discount code POD15To sign up for the Beta Reader Match Up, go to https://www.biancamarais.com/beta-reader-match-up.htmlOur Sponsors:* Check out Acorns: https://acorns.com/TSNOTYAW* Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: www.rosettastone.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
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    1 hr and 34 mins
  • Insights from NYT bestselling authors, Liane Moriarty and Hannah Nicole Maehrer

    Insights from NYT bestselling authors, Liane Moriarty and Hannah Nicole Maehrer
    Sep 26 2024
    In today’s episode, we have two epic author interviews!The first is with NYT best-selling romance-fantasy author, Hannah Nicole Maehrer, and her agent, Brent Taylor. Bianca interviews Hannah and Brent to discuss Hannah's latest novel, Apprentice to the Villain; Hannah's unique, TikTok-related inspiration for her debut novel; how Hannah views her genre; how Brent discovered Hannah; the importance of chemistry in an author/agent relationship; how Hannah comped her debut when querying; what the editing process looked like; Brent's submission strategies with Hannah's debut; whether there were editors that regretted passing on Hannah's extraordinarily successful debut; handling rejection; the kinds of questions that emerging authors should be asking their potential agents in order to find a good fit; whether Hannah's social media presence contributed to eventual book sales; whether the book was pitched as a series; juggling timelines for the follow-up novel; the very long prologue in Assistant to the Villain; and the use of trigger warnings at the beginning of the novel.After which CeCe interviews Liane Moriarty, NYT bestselling author of titles like Big Little Lies and Apples Never Fall. They discuss the premise of Liane's latest book, Here One Moment and the inspiration behind it; Liane's drafting process; her talent for tapping into the human psyche; her strengths and weaknesses in writing; the concept of a skill being acquired rather than innate; Liane's research process and the tools she uses when she writes; how she crafts the masterful endings to her novels, and her use of curiosity seeds; whether Liane's writing process has changed over the course of her career; her use of multi POV; how Liane gets into her characters' heads; how she would describe her genre; the craft books that Liane recommends; and her advice to aspiring authors.Note: Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra are literary agents at P.S. Literary Agency, but their work on this podcast is not affiliated with the agency, and the views expressed by Carly and CeCe on this podcast are solely that of them as podcast co-hosts and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of P.S. Literary Agency.Find us on our socials:Twitter: @TSNOTYAW @BiancaM_author @carlywatters @ceciliaclyra Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_shit_about_writing/https://www.instagram.com/biancamarais_author/https://www.instagram.com/carlywatters/ https://www.instagram.com/cece_lyra_agent/Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TSNOTYAWWebsites: www.theshitaboutwriting.com, www.biancamarais.com, www.carlywatters.com and www.cecilialyra.comBookshop.org affiliate page: https://bookshop.org/shop/theshitnoonetellsyouaboutwritingHannah is on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/hannahnicolemae and TikTok at https://www.tiktok.com/@hannahnicolemaeYou can find Brent online at www.btaylorbooks.comYou can find out more information about Liane on her website at https://lianemoriarty.com.au/She's also on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/lianemoriarty_officialand Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/LianeMoriartyAuthorTo register for the All About Fantasy course, go to https://www.biancamarais.com/all-about-fantasy.htmlTo register for CeCe’s upcoming Hacking Writing on A Line Level course, go to https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_xDo7-fz8Q-GrnyE6Nw41qA#/registrationCarly's course for writers, The Author's Publishing Playbook, is available at carlywatters.com/course. If you haven't grabbed it yet, podcast listeners can use discount code POD15Our Sponsors:* Check out Acorns: https://acorns.com/TSNOTYAW* Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: www.rosettastone.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
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    1 hr and 22 mins
  • Digging Deep to Find Your Characters’ Messy Emotions

    Digging Deep to Find Your Characters’ Messy Emotions
    Sep 19 2024

    Today, Bianca, Carly, and CeCe discuss a humorous contemporary fiction query and an upmarket book club query.

    They discuss clearly defining your genre; the importance of time stamps when you have a ticking time bomb situation; writing characters that are likeable or interesting enough that readers will want to follow their arc and journey; the necessity of giving characters wants and needs immediately; what "likeable" means in a character; ensuring your plot points are connected; starting your novel in the right place and what that requires; and digging deep to find messy emotions in your characters.

    Note: Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra are literary agents at P.S. Literary Agency, but their work on this podcast is not affiliated with the agency, and the views expressed by Carly and CeCe on this podcast are solely that of them as podcast co-hosts and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of P.S. Literary Agency.

    Find us on our socials:

    Twitter: @TSNOTYAW @BiancaM_author @carlywatters @ceciliaclyra

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_shit_about_writing/

    https://www.instagram.com/biancamarais_author/

    https://www.instagram.com/carlywatters/ https://www.instagram.com/cece_lyra_agent/

    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TSNOTYAW

    Websites: www.theshitaboutwriting.com, www.biancamarais.com, www.carlywatters.com and www.cecilialyra.com

    Bookshop.org affiliate page: https://bookshop.org/shop/theshitnoonetellsyouaboutwriting

    For more information about the All About Fantasy Virtual Retreat, go to:

    https://www.biancamarais.com/all-about-fantasy.html

    Carly's course for writers, The Author's Publishing Playbook, is available at carlywatters.com/course. If you haven't grabbed it yet, podcast listeners can use discount code POD15



    Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
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    34 mins
Art Literary History & Criticism
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Profile Image for Tara Simmons

Five Stars

Fast paced and no nonsense advice on the craft, the business, and the writing life.

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Profile Image for Laquita Dettman

Finally!

All about writing and publishing from the professionals who know in one fascinating, educational podcast.

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Profile Image for shamieka Dunn

love this format! ❤️

I literally live for this podcast. Especially this format. I cannot wait to be in a place to submit my own work. congrats on 2 million downloads!

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Profile Image for ld

Great learning resource for writers

My favorite podcast. Any books with books episodes are especially helpful for those learning to write query letters.

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