Happy Tuesday, writing friends!
Yesterday was Shooting the 💩 day on the podcast! In the episode, CeCe Lyra welcomes literary agent and author, Alia Hanna Habib, to discuss Alia’s new book, Take It From Me: An Agent’s Guide to Building a Nonfiction Writing Career from Scratch.
Then, today’s first video is by Julie Carrick Dalton, author of The Forest Becomes Her, on the topic of chiastic novels. No clue what a chiastic novel is? 👀 Make sure you watch the video and see what Julie has to say about how mirrored scenes, emotional callbacks, and thematic echoes can create deeply satisfying reading experiences and memorable endings.
Our weekly Meet Your Dream Agent profile is of Erika Staiger from Spencerhill Associates. We love this quote about making your work memorable:
“A rule I have adopted is that if I am unsure about requesting a manuscript, put it in the “maybe” pile and wait a day. If I go twenty-four hours without thinking about the book, I know I am not passionate enough about the project to devote any further time to it.”
This one too:
“With the romance fulls I request, usually the problems arise somewhere in the end of the second act or beginning of the third. The final issue that makes me set the manuscript aside almost always has something to do with the relationship or the other external conflict being under developed. Remember that while the focus in romance is always going to be on the main couple falling in love, it’s the external conflict that stands in the way of the couple that makes readers want to turn the page.”
Our second video is by Shirlene Obuobi, author of Die for Me. In it, she shares her insights on the importance of drawing from personal experience to craft authentic and compelling stories.
Today’s Q&A is with Molly Fader, author of Lady X:
“I am a firm believer in the Butt in Chair: Nothing Works Unless You Do routine. I’m most effective and creative in the morning so I protect that time as best I can. I have an office in my home, but I also rent space in a shared office because sometimes it’s good for me to put on pants and talk to other people. ☺ In direct opposition to the butt in chair routine – I’m a devote of You Must Take Breaks. When my kids were little, I took every summer off to hang out with them, and I would attack every September with a full well and excited to take on new projects.”
Keep reading for the rest of Molly’s great insights like this one:
“When I get rejection or difficult feedback – I step away from my computer and give myself some time. I go for a very long walk, I see friends – I do everything but talk or think too hard about the bad news. I try and schedule things for the next few days – drinks with friends, shopping, spa, date with husband, going to see my son at university – the idea is to get busy and stay busy. Walking around at home, rereading the email a million times, and then talking about the email a million times – is the kiss of death. You must put that bad news in your subconscious. Do everything BUT talk about it.”
Finally, if you’ve been a fan of the podcast for a while, you’ll be familiar with Marissa Stapley who was first interviewed back in 2021 about Lucky before the novel was chosen as a Reese’s Book Club pick. The book has now been adapted into an Apple TV Series which has been executive produced by Reese Witherspoon / Hello Sunshine, and stars Anya Taylor-Joy, Annette Bening, Timothy Olyphant, and Drew Starkey! We give you a glimpse of the show in the trailer below ahead of it airing tomorrow!
That’s all for now. Thanks for reading! ❤️
❤️ The Shit No One Tells You About Writing Team
This Week on ‘Shooting the Shit’
This week on Shooting the Shit, CeCe Lyra welcomes literary agent and author Alia Hanna Habib to discuss Alia’s new book, Take It From Me: An Agent’s Guide to Building a Nonfiction Writing Career from Scratch. CeCe and Alia talk about her journey from agent to author, the surprising realities of writing a book, and why you don’t have to draft in order to finish a manuscript. They also unpack the latest publishing news, including a new romance imprint, shifting acquisition trends, and what AI may mean for nonfiction publishing. Plus, they answer listener questions on co-authoring, ghostwriters, and whether having multiple literary agents can impact your publishing career.
Listen to it here or watch it on YouTube!
