✨So You've Just Comped a Booker Nominee in Your Query. Do Your Pages Deliver? Our Hosts Have the Answer✨
Plus, Pickleballers author Ilana Long shares how to know if you're really a writer, and it's Deep Dive Series final reveal time!
Today’s the day, friends!
Finally, at last, the big Deep Dive final reveal is here! We know you’re curious, so we’ll kick things off with our final hints. Today’s speaker reveal includes an agent in the Media Rights Department at UTA who’s been involved in the adaptations of The Tinder Swindler and The Other Black Girl (among others) and currently has 100 (!) adaptations in development; a big book influencer and Executive Vice President of Creative Acquisitions and IP Management for Universal Studio Group; and someone who’s spent the last three decades in the publishing industry as both an editor and the author of eight works of fiction and non-fiction. Collectively, this talented trio have had a hand in bringing the following into the world:
Keep reading to find out more, and for the reveal of which of our incredible speakers are offering life-changing 10 000-word critiques as prizes! 🤩🎁
It’s a📕Books with Hooks🪝week on the show, and in this week’s episode Bianca, Carly and CeCe discuss the opening pages and queries for two manuscripts, one literary fiction and the other a historical fiction. Our hosts dig into structure, emotional depth, character development and more as they share some of their trademark pearls wisdom (including some really interesting insights about how comps are used that might well be new to you!).
If you’re in need of some encouragement today, look no further than our Q&A with essayist, children’s book co-author, and novelist Ilana Long. She shares about the seven years she spent writing and editing a novel only to have it die on submission when its fictional premise collided with world events, and how she managed to move past that to get to her adult debut, Pickleballers (out now!). And if the fact that you haven’t managed to publish yet has you questioning yourself, the wise words of Ilana’s former acting teacher should help.🥒🎾📖
That’s all for now. You’ve got this! ❤️
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 on the podcast (listen to it here!), Bianca, Carly and CeCe analyze a literary fiction query and a historical fiction query. They discuss:
The importance of compelling opening lines
The need for emotional complexity in characters;
The nuances of familial relationships in writing;
The significance of pacing in storytelling; and
How to effectively convey a protagonist's journey.
For a deeper dive, listen here!
“It's really important in a story, to have that ‘dominoes tipping over’ effect. We talk about it all the time on the podcast for a reason. You don't want highlights. You don't want orbiting satellite points that don't fit together... Like, what thing caused the other thing? … that’s really, really important.”
— CeCe Lyra
Q&A with Ilana Long 😍
Before her debut novel, Pickleballers, Ilana authored the children’s book Ziggy’s Big Idea, and many essays in the popular Chicken Soup for the Soul series. Additionally, Ilana wrote a monthly, twin-parenting column for Multiple Madness and a lighthearted, monthly column for The Tico Times, Costa Rica’s national English language newspaper (2015-2017). Ilana supported her writing compulsion with a teaching career, mostly in Bellevue, Washington, where her twin children and her pickleball addiction were born. Currently, she lives outside Seattle with her husband and brilliant website technician, Steve.
TSNOTYAW: Were you ever close to giving up on writing and, if so, what stopped you?
Ilana Long: Yes! I nearly threw in the towel when a novel I had been working on for seven years, a YA sci-fi about a tragic pandemic, finally went out to publishers in the spring of 2020, only to run into an actual pandemic. I was so discouraged, also because I felt I worked too long on revising that book and missed the dystopian boat, too. But when my agent suggested I write something funny, as my background was in comedy, I jumped in head first. Comedy helped lift me out of the gloominess that surrounded that lonely and isolating time. Comedy and pickleball.
What one piece of advice (craft- or publishing industry-related) has always resonated with you?
An acting teacher once told me (back when I was acting) that if you do one thing each day toward your craft, you can call yourself an actor. Not just acting in a play, but working on your resume or taking headshot photos or auditioning. The same applies to writing. As long as you are consistently querying, or creating an outline, or meeting with other writers, or researching agents, or meta-writing, or revising; you can call yourself a writer—whether or not you are published. Yet. Got persistence and perseverance? Well then, you're a writer.
How do you ensure you have enough time to write amidst so many obligations competing for your time?
I taught high school for 30 years, raised twins, and wrote all at once. Now that I've stopped teaching I find it's actually harder to manage my time. Until this year, when I stopped teaching to write, I would press through every aspect of my day and squeeze my writing time into the little cracks between the bricks. Now that I have all the time, I find it is harder to make a schedule for myself, but I am learning to be disciplined. If I write in two hour blocks, that's more manageable than having the whole day at my disposal.
What's one writing "rule" or commonly followed piece of advice that you decidedly break?
I have to break the rule of “color within the lines.” In writing, that means write within the genre, and stick to the tropes, and although Pickleballers is clearly within the enemies-to-lovers trope, I like to go to the extremes with the “com” side of a romcom and toss in some slapstick and wild, screwball humor. I love broad comedy.
How important do you think it is for writers to be on social media?
Being on social media is a real struggle for me It's hard to tell the impact overall for those of us debut authors who have to work so hard to gain social media traction, and it can be overwhelming to try to post content. I find myself checking my posts too often, or spending too much time creating content, and that takes away from time when I could be creative and writing. So even though I think the more exposure, the better, I am still wary of the time and effort and skeptical of the effect and impact.
How did you get your literary agent? What was the querying process like for you?
For maybe a year and a half, I researched literary agents and agencies, and sent over 140 personalized query letters to agents for three different books. Honestly, the no's and the non-responses grew very disheartening. My niece, author Danya Kukafka, gave me the advice to seek out agents who were emerging and be sure to find agents who have clients who want your type of writing. I did not give up, because it only takes one "yes" and now I am grateful to have an agent who is an amazing sounding board and support.
What question do you wish an interviewer would ask you? (And what’s the answer to that question!)
What are my other hobbies? I love to write, but in order to do so I keep engaged in a lot of other activities to keep my brain and body active and energized. I play pickleball, of course, and I love the socializing as well as the adrenaline high. I hike in the beautiful Pacific Northwest, and I lake swim. I play piano and guitar and write music, mostly folk-rock, and I like to act and sing and watercolor paint and go out dancing and enjoy book club with my friends. I've lived and taught in Mexico and Costa Rica and love travel. I'm a super extrovert, so I really enjoy hanging out with other people and being very active to balance all the time I spend sitting alone writing.
Pickleballers is out today! Get it through our Bookshop.org affiliate page here and support Ilana, us, and an indie bookstore! 📚❤️
Deep Dive Series Final Reveal! 🏊♀️📕
Still not completely convinced that we have the most stellar lineup ever for our upcoming Deep Dive in February? Today’s final reveal should do the trick, especially when you find out about the special format of two of the sessions. (What makes them so special? If having your work reviewed live and receiving feedback from one of our industry experts sounds good to you…well, you might just be in for a treat…) 😉
First up is Addison Duffy who has more than 100 adaptations in development, through her position as an agent in the Media Rights Department at UTA. Among Duffy’s many clients are Cecilie Fjellhoy and Pernilla Sjöholm, whose story, in Duffy’s hands, became the hit Netflix doc The Tinder Swindler, along with author Zakiya Dalila Harris (Hulu’s The Other Black Girl) and Carola Lovering (Tell Me Lies). She also represents the novel The Dark Manual by Colin O’Sullivan, which is the basis behind the 10-episode TV series for Apple called Sunny. In addition, Duffy represents New York Times Best Selling author, Elin Hilderbrand, whose novel The Perfect Couple starring Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Dakota Fanning and many others recently premiered at #1 on Netflix.
Addison’s Workshop: Loglines, Loglines, Loglines!
You already know about the importance of a strong logline. But how can you tell if yours is a winner?
Join Addison Duffy in this live, interactive workshop in which she’ll review a select number of attendees’ pre-submitted loglines. Listen to Addison dissect what is compelling about a logline, what needs improvement, and/or how the market currently feels about each type of story. If your logline is your chance to make a great first impression, then this workshop is your opportunity to find out whether or not you’re in need of a makeover! To wrap it up, Addison will present a brief case study with slides.
Next up, we have Jordan Moblo who is the Executive Vice President of Creative Acquisitions and IP Management for Universal Studio Group.
Prior to joining Universal, Jordan oversaw similar divisions at both Netflix and Disney Television.
His Bookstagram account (@jordys.book.club), which has over 239K followers, has established him as an influential voice in the publishing world.
Jordan’s Topic: How Do You Spell Algorithm? Navigating Bookstagram and Social Media in Today's Competitive Marketplace
Platform! Platform! Platform! It’s all emerging authors hear about these days. And while it isn’t absolutely necessary to have a platform to sell a debut, you need to know how to successfully navigate social media to reach a wider audience.
Join Jordan as he demystifies the world of Bookstagram and gives you advice on how best to position yourself and your debut to grab the attention of book influencers who can set you up for success.
Lastly in our lineup reveal is Tiffany Yates Martin who has spent nearly thirty years as an editor in the publishing industry, working with major publishers and New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, and USA Today bestselling and award-winning authors as well as indie and newer writers.
She is the founder of FoxPrint Editorial (named one of Writer’s Digest’s Best Websites for Authors) and author of Intuitive Editing: A Creative and Practical Guide to Revising Your Writing and her latest, The Intuitive Author: How to Grow & Sustain a Happier Writing Career. She is a regular contributor to writers’ outlets like Writer’s Digest, Jane Friedman, and Writer Unboxed, and a frequent presenter and keynote speaker for writers’ organizations around the country. Under her pen name, Phoebe Fox, she is the author of six novels. Visit her at www.foxprinteditorial.com.
Tiffany’s Workshop: Live Edit Workshop Session
Submit a page of your work-in-progress and Tiffany will edit it on the spot, so that authors can see and participate in the process, and witness the effect judicious editing can have on their prose.
There’s no better way to learn to edit your own work than to learn to edit others’, and live editing is a visual, visceral, and enlightening way to learn to polish your own stories
For those of you who enjoyed the breakout rooms and discussion sessions during the 10-week Deep Dive earlier this year, have no fear! We’ll be having two additional sessions on the 25th of January (11am – 2pm ET) and on the 8th of February (11am – 2pm) specifically to incorporate those sessions which will enable you to build community and ask questions.
Prizes:
Every registered delegate will automatically be entered into a draw which will be done live at the end of the retreat. Twelve (!) lucky participants will win one of the following incredible prizes:
A 10,000-word critique done by one of our speakers. There are 9 prizes available being offered by Jenny Jackson, Cherise Fisher, Annabel Monaghan, Pilar Garcia-Brown, Mark Tavani, Sarah Cantin, Diane Marie Brown, Stephanie Delman and Tiffany Yates Martin.
Free Registration for Deep Dive 2026 — 3 of these prizes available
Pricing:
Standard pricing for the Deep Dive Virtual Retreat is $ 499, but on November 29th only we’re offering amazing discounts. Check it out!
the first 50 delegates to sign up after 8am ET will pay only $299
the next 50 to sign up will pay $349
and the next 50 after that will pay $399
After those first 150 discounted slots have been filled, standard pricing will apply.
Scholarship applications will open in January.
If you’d like to register for a reminder email that will go out the day before our early bird pricing opens on November 29th, sign up here:
Tuesday Teaser 😉
Next week’s newsletter exclusively for our paid members, is another jam-packed edition!
Curious to know more about Bianca’s next book, A Most Puzzling Murder? We’ve got a sneak peek for you. We also have a video from Robin Morris, in which she helpfully shares the Five Things I Wish I’d Known Before Starting My Writing Journey, and not one but two insightful essays: Lilli Sutton (whose debut novel Running Out of Air, comes out next Tuesday) shares how paying attention to even the smallest bits of feedback from agents who reject your manuscript can make all the difference, and Mia Manansala (author of the Tita Rosie's Kitchen Mystery series) offers up Community & Spite: The Two Things that Keep Me Going in Publishing (which is worth the price of admission for the title alone! 😂)
Not yet a member? For just $8USD a month or $80USD a year you get:
an exclusive newsletter on Tuesdays featuring bonus author Q&As and other exclusive content from industry experts
weekly 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!
The Ultimate Planner for Writers!
Have you been frustrated with the limitations of your daily planner which, while allowing for hour-to-hour scheduling of your usual appointments, doesn't allow you to include all the myriad activities associated with your rich writing life?
This planner allows you to:
Keep track of your daily word count, as well as assign and monitor time spent on brainstorming, researching, drafting, editing, etc.
Log and track your agent queries
Brainstorm and make editorial notes
Outline your WIP
Create character profiles
Outline your plot/scenes
Complete scene cards
Keep all your ideas in one place
Keep a record of your research and material sources
Make notes of inspiration
Track the books you've read
The Ultimate Planner for Writers has all the monthly, weekly and daily functionalities of a usual planner, but with added features designed specifically for writers. It’s available for purchase either as a hardcopy or as an e-planner that's been designed for use on an iPad or similar touch screen tablet, and makes the ultimate gift for the writer in your life.
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.
Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra are literary agents at P.S. Literary Agency, but their work in this newsletter is not affiliated with the agency, and the views expressed by Carly and CeCe in this newsletter are solely that of themselves and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of P.S. Literary Agency.
"An acting teacher once told me (back when I was acting) that if you do one thing each day toward your craft, you can call yourself an actor." I love this advice. It also felt like a throw back to Sister Act II where Whoopie Goldberg gives a book to one of the girls played by Lauryn Hill stating something along the lines of if you wake up every morning and all you can think about is singing then your a singer.
I have the same problem (also a subscriber). There are no links to the documents in query critique weeks in the Substack posts, and you’ve stopped sending email notifications which used to contain links to the documents too (I’ve checked and I’m still signed up to receive these).