Abigail sits down with book coach and fantasy writer, Dani Abernathy, to discuss a unique tool that Dani uses with her clients: the Enneagram Personality Test. Many writers love personality tests (Abigail included), but in this episode, Dani shares how to use the Enneagram test effectively—and with this knowledge, it won’t become a resource that sends writers down a research rabbit hole. How does this work? Dani explains how, by deeply understanding the Enneagram test, writers can develop a more...
Feb 15, 2023•59 min
Abigail sits down for an insightful conversation about agenting and craft with Senior Literary Agent, Maria Vicente , of P.S. Literary Agency. While Maria has a love for and strong list of children’s books and graphic novels, she’s also looking to expand her list with adult fiction and nonfiction. Learn about Maria’s MSWL and her agenting style, along with other solid pieces of writing and business advice, in this episode. Some key takeaways from this conversation include: How Maria got into age...
Feb 08, 2023•56 min
This week's episode deviates from the normal Lit Match episode structure in order to honor the life of Abigail's aunt, Gail Hayes, who was a talented writer, devoted mother and wife, and active fundraiser—some of her many roles in life. Gail (who Abigail called Gigla or Gig) passed away on January 24, 2023 from Glioblastoma (brain tumor) after courageously fighting this disease for 21-months. In this episode, Abigail pulls her interview with Gail from her first podcast, Story Effect. She intervi...
Feb 03, 2023•48 min
This week, book coach and developmental editor Savannah Gilbo joins Abigail for a first chapter deep dive analysis of a Colleen Hoover mega-hit, UGLY LOVE. This is also a particularly special episode because it pulls a small clip from the first meeting of Savannah and Abigail's virtual book club, Book Notes. In this episode, you'll learn how the first chapter of UGLY LOVE gives readers insight into what the Big Picture is all about, and how it works as a well-structured scene that hooks readers....
Jan 25, 2023•1 hr
Today, Abigail brings on a guest who is an avid reader and professional book reviewer—and popular podcast host!—Sarah Dickinson. Together, they take a first chapter deep dive analysis of one of 2022’s most popular books (what NYT called the Best Book of the Year!), and one of their favorite reads in 2022: LESSONS IN CHEMISTRY by Bonnie Garmus. This episode is particularly fun since Sarah, as a reader, shares her analysis based on her reaction as a reader, paired with Abigail's editorial viewpoin...
Jan 10, 2023•1 hr 15 min
Abigail sits down with book marketing expert (with 13 years Big 5 publishing experience), Andrea DeWerd, to discuss the writing community's mass departure from Twitter. In this conversation, Andrea explains what's really happening on Twitter, why eight percent of the writing and publishing community have left this platform, and what this means for writers who want to find information about the publishing business, discover agents (among other professionals in the book industry), and sell books. ...
Jan 03, 2023•1 hr
Come join Abigail and certified book coach, Rona Gofstein, as they analyze the first chapter of bestselling author Jasmine Guillory’s USA Today bestselling novel, THE WEDDING DATE . Abigail and Rona explore many of the important elements of contemporary romance, as well as what makes this first chapter so engaging. Read the first chapter, listen to this conversation, and join Abigail and Rona as they share their craft knowledge and observations. In today’s episode, you’ll learn: How the first ch...
Dec 22, 2022•1 hr 8 min
Join Abigail as she interviews CeCe Lyra, Associate Literary Agent at P.S. Literary Agency and the brilliant co-host of the popular writing podcast, The Shit No One Tells You About Writing . Abigail’s said it in more places than one: This conversation will be one that Abigail thinks about (and refers back to) for many, many years. Here are some of the multitude of important, insightful topics CeCe covers—like the writing process, the realities of the publishing industry, and even questions that ...
Dec 15, 2022•1 hr 10 min
Come join Abigail and USA Today bestselling author, Jennifer Klepper, as they perform a first chapter deep dive analysis of Celeste Ng’s bestselling masterpiece, LITTLE FIRES EVERYWHERE . Abigail and Jennifer agree, Celeste Ng is an exceptional author and LFE is a book that every writer can learn from. And the first pages prove why. Abigail admits that she found this scene particularly challenging to analyze, and she’s curious what YOU think. Read the first chapter, listen to this conversation, ...
Dec 07, 2022•1 hr 8 min
"Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices . . . Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets?" — Blurb for Matt Haig's bestselling novel, THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY Abigail sits down with certified book coach Sharon Skinner to analyze the first chapter of THE MIDNIGHT LIBRARY. This is ...
Dec 01, 2022•1 hr 23 min
The first episode in a new Author Interview + Writing Tips and Assignments series on LIT MATCH! In today’s episode, Abigail pulls one of her favorite interviews from her her old podcast (pub. 2020) and revamps it for the Lit Match listeners. Abigail sits down with the bestselling author of the DIARY OF A WIMPY KID series, Jeff Kinney. Listen to this episode to get an inside look at the makings of Diary of a Wimpy Kid, writing comics, and other valuable writing tips. Then, join Abigail for Part I...
Nov 09, 2022•1 hr 13 min
After writing a book comes publishing it, and to do so (or if you want to do it well), you need to know your target readers and the market. One of the most important tools a writer, literary agent, editor, and publisher uses to give a quick, clear, and catchy idea of what a story is about—and what everyone can predict for sales—is comparable titles (or comps). That’s what Abigail covers in this episode. She pulls from her first-hand experience as an editorial intern and various insightful articl...
Nov 02, 2022•38 min
We're back with the final episode! Abigail sits down with certified editor and book coach Savannah Gilbo to discuss and analyze the first chapter of HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS. This is a particularly special episode in the series being the final Harry Potter book and first chapter episode, as well as Abigail's favorite book in the series. In this conversation, Abigail and Savannah discuss how the first chapter sets up expectations for the big picture and delivers a well-structured scen...
Oct 26, 2022•1 hr 14 min
Taking a different direction for this week’s episode, Abigail speaks directly to listeners about ten pieces of writing (and life!) tips she absorbed from what she considers her favorite in-person author presentation. Last month, Abigail was lucky enough to attend bestselling author Fredrik Backman’s book tour for the third book in his Beartown series trilogy, THE WINNERS. Abigail had been wanting to read Backman’s books for years but constantly failed to prioritize them on her reading list—until...
Oct 19, 2022•36 min
We're back with book six! Abigail sits down with certified editor and book coach Savannah Gilbo to discuss and analyze the first chapter of HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE. This is an extra special episode since HBP is Savannah's favorite book in the series—plus, both Abigail and Savannah agreed that this first chapter was the most difficult to analyze, at least so far in the series—which makes for a fun challenge and discussion. In this analysis, Abigail and Savannah discuss how the firs...
Oct 05, 2022•1 hr 2 min
Abigail sits down for a first chapter analysis of the bestselling and Reese Witherspoon Book Club pick, COUNTERFEIT. She takes a deep dive into the first chapter analysis—and she enthusiastically welcomes the author and editor of the book to join her in this dissection and discussion. KIRSTIN CHEN is the New York Times best-selling author of three novels. Counterfeit , her latest and the book discussed in this episode, has sold the translation rights in seven languages and television rights have...
Sep 28, 2022•55 min
We're back with book five! Abigail sits down with certified editor and book coach Savannah Gilbo to discuss and analyze the first chapter of HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX. Abigail and Savannah return with a discussion on how the first chapter in the OOTP sets up expectations for the big picture and creates, to the reader's discretion, the most exciting first chapter in the Harry Potters series yet. Once again, Abigail and Savannah use tools like the seven key questions to ask about f...
Sep 14, 2022•1 hr 5 min
In today’s episode, Abigail sits down with another amazing Trellis Literary Management co-founder, Allison Hunter. Allison is an expert in commercial fiction and shares exactly what she’s looking for in a manuscript wishlist, as well as other invaluable writing and publishing tips like: How to use comparable titles to pitch and market your book (with examples!) What makes a page-turning beach read Why secrets are imperative in engaging fiction How publishing is moving away from the term “women's...
Sep 08, 2022•55 min
We're back with book four! Abigail sits down with certified editor and book coach Savannah Gilbo to discuss and analyze the first chapter of HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE. Abigail and Savannah return with a discussion on how the first chapter in GOF sets up expectations for the big picture story using Paula Munier's seven key first chapter questions (THE WRITER'S GUIDE TO BEGINNINGS). They also nerd out about whether or not GOF is a thriller or an action story, why Frank models a sympathet...
Aug 18, 2022•1 hr 1 min
This is the third episode in a three-part series of episodes on how to write a query letter. Abigail teaches writers how to write the third (and final!) paragraph of the query letter, or the author bio. Sometimes writers overthink the author bio, putting undue stress on themselves and this paragraph. This episode covers some tips on how to write this paragraph, som including: The Dos and Don’ts of the Author Bio ( great tips especially pulled from Kelly Simmons blog on Career Authors! ) Do you n...
Aug 10, 2022•21 min
This is the second episode in a three-part series of episodes on how to write a query letter. In it, Abigail teaches writers how to write the second paragraph of the query letter, otherwise known as the blurb or back cover copy. The back cover copy is the most important section in a query letter. Abigail shares important details writers need to make it stand out, some including: 3 Key Details Needed in Every Back Cover Copy: Character: Who is the main character? What do they want? What makes the...
Aug 03, 2022•40 min
In the first episode of a three-part series of episodes on how to write a query letter, Abigail teaches writers how to write the first paragraph of their query letter. To do this, she covers important elements like: What a query letter is and why a writer who wants to traditionally publish needs one 4 essential details in every first paragraph 4-5 factors that determine a strong comp (comparable title) More! Plus! Abigail offers a free critique of the first paragraph to the first 10 writers only...
Jul 20, 2022•20 min
We're back with book three! Abigail sits down with certified editor and book coach Savannah Gilbo to discuss and analyze the first chapter of HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN. Following the normal first chapter analysis format, Abigail and Savannah discuss how the first chapter in POA sets up expectations for the big picture story using Paula Munier's seven key first chapter questions (THE WRITER'S GUIDE TO BEGINNINGS). They take a special look at how Harry's balance of internal feelings...
Jul 13, 2022•53 min
Welcome to the first Quick Query Tips episode! While Abigail books more literary agents and editors for the show, she turns the focus from interviews with literary agents to the research and submission process. In this episode, Abigail shares three of her favorite and strategic ways to research literary agents. This is a very hands-on episode as Abigail shares how she researches literary agents, editors, and authors for the show. Although the spreadsheet she uses is slightly different than what ...
Jul 06, 2022•31 min
We're back! Abigail sits down with Savannah Gilbo to discuss and analyze the first chapter of HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS. This is an especially interesting conversation on first chapters since the first chapter of HPCOS is also the first chapter in the sequel to middle grade fantasy phenomenon, HARRY POTTER AND THE SORCERER'S STONE. In it, they discuss the big picture for HPCOS using Paula Munier's seven key questions to analyze a first chapter—shortly followed by a debate: Does the...
Jun 22, 2022•55 min
"Working with a book coach is an investment, and there's no guarantee. No book coach is going to say, ‘I guarantee that you will get an agent and a book deal.’ That would be dishonest. They can't do that. So you're paying money to give yourself the best shot.” – Jennie Nash, Book Coach and Founder of Author Accelerator Abigail K. Perry sits down with leading book coach and the founder of Author Accelerator, Jennie Nash. Together they discuss what exactly a book coach is, when a writer should hir...
Jun 08, 2022•58 min
"I love books that sort of take you through the pain of living in some way. Life inherently has tragedy and hardship. And I love books that take you to that, but also give you an opportunity to see a way out and to see hope in even dark places." – Michelle Brower, Literary Agent at Trellis Literary Management Abigail K. Perry sits down with literary agent and co-founder of Trellis Literary Management, Michelle Brower. Together they discuss how Michelle and her co-founders formed Trellis (and in ...
Jun 01, 2022•51 min
QUICK NOTE! THE BOOK VS. THE AUTHOR As much as I love the HARRY POTTER series, I am saddened by and do not condone JKR’s attacks on the trans community. It’s this reason that, for these first chapter episodes featuring the Harry Potter books, I choose to separate my love for the books from the author’s public actions. I decided to do this because the series has taught me indispensable lessons about great storytelling, and I believe such examples can also benefit burgeoning writers. However, if y...
May 25, 2022•1 hr 9 min
"I'm becoming more intentional about my dreams because my purpose didn't just die when I became a mom, it actually became more realized. Being a mom was just part of my purpose. It's part of the path. I meant to be a mother to these three kids, but I'm also meant to write these stories.” – Tee Moore, Author Abigail K. Perry sits down with author Tee Moore (rep. by Jemiscoe Chambers-Black, Andrea Brown Literary Agency) to discuss her writer’s journey turned life as a career author and how to find...
May 11, 2022•38 min
"I'm here to answer any questions and help create a strong positioning for the work. Whether that means, figuring out how the creator needs to receive feedback, that they can best process the information or adjusting to their communication style so that they can process the information that's what I'm here to do." – Stephanie Winter, P.S. Literary Agency Abigail K. Perry sits down with Stephanie Winter to discuss her manuscript wishlist with a special focus on millennial fiction. Stephanie also ...
May 04, 2022•33 min
