✨What's the Most Challenging Part of Being a Successful Author? Lizzie Blackburn, Jessica Francis Kane & Samantha Downing Have Thoughts...✨
Also inside: Carly & CeCe Shoot the Shit, the Great Beta Reader Match-Up continues, and CeCe introduces something called "The Query Letter Studio" (!) as part of her latest course offering!
Happy Tuesday, writing friends!
And having said that (the “Happy” bit), we must now report that we once again seem to have an accidental newsletter theme, and it’s not an especially happy one: All three of today’s featured authors have shared thoughts that boil down to: It never gets easier.
Pantsed your way through your debut like Samantha Downing (Too Old For This) and it became a bestseller? You might be thinking “I did it!” but the publishing industry is thinking “You’d better be able to do it again.” Or maybe, like Lizzie Blackburn (The Re-Write), your debut was a story that had lived inside you for years before you found the time/courage/whatever it took to put it out into the world and now that you have, the world (critics! Super-famous fans!) wants more—but more is the one thing you’re not sure you have. Or maybe you’ve managed to write several prize-nominated novels in different genres (like Fonseca author Jessica Francis Kane), and would be inclined to think you’ve cracked the code that will make writing the next one a breeze except that, having written a handful of prize-nominated novels in different genres—guess what?—you now know better.
*Sigh * You may be asking “What’s the point?” (the point of writing, or the point of us kicking off this week’s newsletter in such a depressing manner. Both are valid questions), and, fortunately, we have the answer:
The point is that, despite everything (the self-doubt, the never-ending learning curve, the real or imagined external pressures, the very real internal ones), all three authors in today’s newsletter have gone on to publish again. They did not give up. And if you’re reading this, neither have you.
And (hopefully) hearing that it never gets easier, makes how hard it is now easier to take—you’re not struggling because you lack talent or don’t have what it takes. You’re struggling because you’re doing something incredibly difficult. Keep going.
And if you’d like some help along the way, you’re in luck: The one and only CeCe is back with her fantastic course on Writing Tension, and she’s made it better than ever with the addition of a little something called the Query Letter Studio! This new feature will give students the option of submitting their query letters for a chance to have them critiqued in writing by CeCe (she plans to review at least 50)! And this is, of course, in addition to the other course features, such as critiques of select pages, the formulas (yes, formulas) for creating tension, conflict and stakes, identifying the sources of tension leaks…and more! See below for more details (or follow the link above if you don’t need more convincing!).
Speaking of query letters…Last week was 📕Books with Hooks 🪝week on the podcast, so you can find Carly and CeCe’s written query critiques for last week’s guest author (and winner of Bianca’s query package contes!) below. And speaking of Bianca, her Great Beta Reader Match-Up is still on. Sign up now!
Last (but certainly not least. Especially if the effusive comments on our YouTube channel are any indicator!), Carly and CeCe are back with another edition of Shooting the Shit, inviting you to be a fly on the wall as they discuss the latest trends, industry news, and other behind-the-scenes publishing world insights that you’ll only find here!
That’s all for now. Thanks for reading! ❤️
❤️ The Shit No One Tells You About Writing Team
This Week on ‘Shooting the Shit’
In this episode of Shooting the Shit, Carly and CeCe discuss: the impact of hustle culture on work-life balance, the dynamics of summer publishing, the role of assistants for authors, and the rise of AI-generated content in the market. They also delve into the cultural implications of romance novels and the shifting landscape of the kid lit market, highlighting the importance of consumer confidence and the evolving nature of readership.
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