Happy Friday, all you fabulous TSNOTYAWers!
We hope you’re enjoying your summer and are managing to stay cool 😎 despite working so hard on your sizzling WIP! 🔥
Yesterday was a 📕Books with Hooks🪝segment on the podcast in which the hosts tackled a second-chance romance and an upmarket novel about a Nigerian woman adopted into a white family. As always, you don’t want to miss CeCe’s and Carly’s great insights! You’ll also find their written critiques in next Tuesday’s Substack.
Then, we have a treat for you today: a video by podcast favourite, Jo Piazza, author of The Parisian Heist, who discusses creative marketing strategies for introverts and busy authors. Jo is the queen of marketing, so you you’ll want to hear her expert advice!
A big thank you to FeedSpot for recognizing The Shit No One Tells You About Writing as the best literary agent podcast on the web! You can see the rest of the awesome lineup here.
Finally, it’s Beta Reader Match Up time again! Yay! Scroll down for more info and to register.
That’s all for now. Thanks for reading! ❤️
The Shit No One Tells You About Writing Team
P.S. Still not sure about upgrading to paid? Check out our Tuesday Teaser below to see what you’re missing!
This Week’s Podcast✨🎙️✨
This week’s Books with Hooks features two very different manuscripts. Carly, CeCe and Bianca discuss a dual-timeline second-chance romance that grapples with stakes, emotional depth, and page-one vulnerability, before they dive into an upmarket novel about an adopted Nigerian woman searching for her identity. Along the way, they unpack query structure, interiority, curiosity, and why readers need to feel a character’s messy emotions from the very first page.
Listen to it here or watch it on YouTube!
“The best place to start your story… is one that honors the three Cs: connection, context, and curiosity.”
-CeCe Lyra
Jo Piazza on Marketing Your Book Loudly and Proudly!
In this week’s author video, Jo Piazza, author of The Parisian Heist, shares practical advice on how writers can effectively promote their books despite the challenges and fears often associated with marketing. She emphasizes the importance of authentic, consistent promotion and offers creative strategies tailored to introverts and busy authors.
Tuesday Teaser 😉
Paid members will find Carly and CeCe’s written critiques of the 📕Books with Hooks🪝 queries discussed on this week’s podcast in next Tuesday’s newsletter, along with…
Carinn Jade, author of The Dahlia Suite, pens an excellent essay on rethinking your querying process:
“Most writers start thinking about the query way too late in the process.
Do not confuse this with a cardinal sin of publishing! You should never query an agent before your novel is done. But you can start writing your query letter before you even start writing your novel.
Once I have an idea for a new novel, I brainstorm setting, characters and time frame. But before I allow myself to start writing prose, I attempt a pitch like the one that would be included in a query letter. Immediately I’m confronted with vital questions, such as who is my protagonist? What is the conflict? And what’s the engine of the story?”
You’ll want to keep reading for the rest of her amazing insights!
Then, our first video is with Kat Sloane, author of The Matchmaker’s Cottage, who
explores why flawed, “unlikable” characters often make for the most compelling love stories. Remember that love stories can happen in any genre - not just romances!
Tuesday’s Meet Your Dream Agent profile is of Rachel Beck from Liza Dawson Associates who shares her breakdown of where most of her clients come from in terms of slush piles, referrals, and pitch events.
Our second video is by Amy Chozick, author of With Friends Like You, who discusses adapting a novel for a screenplay. If you’re dreaming big, and want to prepare yourself for when your WIP gets optioned for film, you don’t want to miss this!
Jillian Laine, author of Henry Tudor Must Die, tackles Tuesday’s author Q&A. Struggling with your own journey to publication? You’ll love this quote as much as we did:
“I queried for 11 years before getting a book deal, and I “quit” writing and querying for two of those years because my little heart couldn’t take it. As an eldest daughter, I’m unlearning perfectionism and trying to see how my “failures” are moments to learn, grow, or change direction.”
Not yet a member? For just $10 USD a month or $120 USD a year you get:
an exclusive newsletter on Tuesdays featuring bonus author Q&As and other exclusive content from industry experts
access to Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra’s written notes on queries from the podcast’s Books With Hooks feature
monthly bonus podcast episodes, AND
regular Ask Me Anythings / Q&As with Carly, CeCe, and Bianca Marais.
If that doesn’t kickstart your writing journey, we don’t know what will!
Beta Reader Match Up is Back!
Are you looking for beta readers, some of whom might potentially become writing group members down the line? Are you wanting to be matched up with those writing in a similar genre and/or time zone, so they can critique your work as you critique theirs at the same time?
Your manuscript doesn’t have to be complete to sign up!
On the 8th of September, Bianca will match you up with between 2-6 other writers in similar genres and/or time zones depending on how many writers sign up. After that, it’s up to you to set up a date when you’ll either all meet up virtually to discuss your work or just send each other your written critiques. Whatever works best for you!
Important Instructions:
Submit 3000 words in a Word document before midnight ET on 7 September. If they aren’t opening chapters, you need to provide a summary so your beta readers have context for the submission. You may ask 2-5 specific questions within the same document for your beta readers to address.
The summary and questions don’t form part of the 3000 words.
Cost: US $25
Please note: NO AI whatsoever may be used to critique each other’s work!
More about the match up here!
That’s all for this week’s news! If you enjoyed it, why not share the love? 🥰
Tune in again next week for more invaluable wisdom from our wonderful hosts! Until then, happy writing! 😍
❤️ The Shit No One Tells You About Writing Team
Our work takes place on land now known as Toronto and Ottawa and we acknowledge that these are the traditional territories of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee, and the Wendat Peoples as well as the unceded, unsurrendered territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation. Toronto is covered under Treaty 13 and the Williams Treaties. We respect and affirm the inherent and Treaty Rights of all Indigenous Peoples across this land and acknowledge the historical oppression of lands, cultures, languages, and the original Peoples in what we now know as Canada. We invite you to learn more about the land you inhabit, the history of that land, and how to actively be part of a better future going forward together at Native Land or Whose Land.
Cece Lyra is a literary agent at Wendy Sherman Associates. If you’d like to query CeCe, please refer to the submission guidelines at www.wsherman.com. Carly Watters is a literary agent at P.S. Literary Agency, but her work on this podcast is not affiliated with the agency, and the views expressed by Carly on this podcast are solely that of her as a podcast co-host and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of P.S. Literary Agency.
What a brilliant insight! Participate in communities and groups you like and that may lead to a granular knowledge of you as a writer. I have started to follow a great classical historian on Substack. I comment on some of her offerings and get a lot of likes from her followers. That is some serious guerilla marketing (especially as I was never doing it to market my own novels!). Thanks, Jo, for helping me see this so clearly. Back to Substack!
Thanks, Jo Piazza!