✨Gill Paul Shares How to Write About Real People Without Getting Into Real Trouble, and A.E. Gauntlett on the Joy of Being Edited✨

Plus, Carly Watters returns with another insider look at the author/agent relationship, two new written query critiques, and a registration update for Bianca's All About Fantasy retreat!

Happy Tuesday, writing friends!

We’ve got another great issue today, starting with this week’s author Q&A featuring double-threat author/agent A. E. Gauntlett, whose story should encourage everyone who’s working hard to squeeze some writing in around working hard—he managed to write his debut thriller, The Stranger at the Wedding (out today!), while being kept busy agenting the work of numerous bestselling authors, by taking it one sentence at a time.

Continuing her series on the author-agent relationship, our very own Carly Watters is back with more practical advice and insights in an essay that explores the Dos and Don’ts of communicating with both potential agents and with the one that says “Yes!”—including an answer to the burning question on every querying writer’s mind: How many sample chapters/pages/words am I really allowed to submit? 🤨🤓

We’ve also got a video from author Gill Paul who offers insights on writing fiction based on the lives of real people (a category which includes her latest, Scandalous Women). If you read a lot of historical fiction, you might be thinking “So what?” but there’s a big difference between writing about, say, Anne Boleyn, and people who lived recently enough that many of the “characters” who populate their stories are still alive—and potentially litigious. Anyone who dreams of writing the next Daisy Jones & the Six should watch to learn what Gill does to stay true to her vision while staying out of trouble (and how you can, too).

For everyone who was used to seeing Carly and Cece’s written query critiques on Thursdays and was wondering where they’d gone, don’t forget to look for them below! This week we’ve got one for a historical fiction and one for an adult horror novel! Check out Carly and CeCe’s notes on using academic verbiage and active emotions! 🎓⛷️🤓

And last but absolutely not least…the wait is nearly over for registration to open for Bianca’s All About Fantasy virtual retreat! Mark your calendars for this Friday, when registration opens with early-bird pricing for a very limited time only! 🧙🏼🪄🧙🏼‍♂️

That’s all for now. Happy reading!

❤️ The Shit No One Tells You About Writing Team