Even our podcast editor describes author Karen Outen as "a breath of fresh air." After twenty years of work, her book, Dixon Descending, features two brothers with a seemingly impossible goal: To be the first Black American men to summit Everest. We discuss how Karen learned to write realistic dialogue that jumps off the page, her publishing journey of more than 20 years, and how to pitch complicated ideas--and know when they're ready to send to agents. Karen Outen’s fiction has appeared in Glim...
Feb 05, 2024•50 min
CONTENT WARNING: Mentions of abortion, grooming, assault. Annie Cardi's new book, Red, is a very modern take on The Scarlet Letter. Today, Annie joins Jessica and Julie to discuss the importance of tough topics in YA novels, how to create "quiet" books that pack a punch, and writing advice for new authors. Transcript here: https://manuscriptacademy.com/podcast-annie-cardi We discuss: Teaching teens relationship red flags Fiction as a safe space for difficult conversations The power of supportive...
Jan 26, 2024•1 hr 5 min
A smart, poignant novel perfect for fans of Lessons in Chemistry “An incredible STEMinist read.”—The Honey Pop Transcript, timestamps and video clips here: https://manuscriptacademy.com/podcast-sara-read Join Julie and Jessica as they talk to the fabulous Sara Read, the author of the recent book Principles of (E)motion. Trust us when we say it'll make you swoon--and get excited for math like you've never thought possible. We discuss Sara's fascinating leapfrog writing approach, finding an agent,...
Jan 20, 2024•41 min
Join our workshop here! https://manuscriptacademy.com/product/three-day-submission-strategy-workshop Are you a writer thinking about querying? Or have you already queried, and you're worried that a rejection you received means you should pivot, edit for months, or--worst of all--give up? This is for you. Listen in on how we'll interpret rejections, help you do your research, workshop with you, support you, and invite an agent panel to go over your work. Whether you're ready to query now or somet...
Jan 16, 2024•11 min
We're thrilled to welcome Abrams editor Erica Finkel to the podcast to discuss editorial board meetings, the top reasons writers get rejected--and how "fit" means far more than you'd think. Book a meeting with Erica here: https://manuscriptacademy.com/faculty-members/erica-finkel Erica Finkel (she/her) is an Executive Editor for Amulet Books and Abrams Books for Young Readers. Before starting at Abrams in 2010, she was, among other things, an English teacher in France, a theater-camp counselor, ...
Jan 09, 2024•50 min
We are thrilled to welcome you to the replay of our SEVENTH (woo hoo!) Annual Holiday Party. In this event, writers nominated writers for feedback from our agent panel. Each agent chose a nominator-nominee pair to come up, read their work, and receive support and feedback in front of our audience. Our agents are: Kaitlyn Sanchez, Bradford Literary Linda Camacho, Gallt & Zacker Literary Kiana Nguyen, Donald Maass Literary Stephanie Winter, P.S. Literary Transcript here: https://manuscriptacad...
Dec 23, 2023•1 hr 6 min
We can’t wait—what an exciting month! December 5, 8:30pm ET: Our You Belong Here class with Nancy Tandon and Jeanne Zulick Ferruolo: https://manuscriptacademy.com/you-belong-here December 6, 1pm ET: For Members, we have our Mystery Agent consultation with Jenissa Graham. Apply to be on the next one here: https://manuscriptacademy.com/mystery-agent December 6, 3pm ET: Meetings go live for Members December 8, 3pm ET: Meetings go live for non-members December 12, 8:30pm ET: Member workshop with Ann...
Dec 04, 2023•7 min
Query writing is a craft in and of itself and so often, even the experts disagree on the best approach (hint: that just means there are number of ways to write an amazing query!). Today we're joined by the very talented, multi-hyphenate writer, coach, and former copy editor, reader, bookseller, and more, Jonathan Baker, who answers your rapid-fire querying questions. Learn more athttps://manuscriptacademy.com/collaborative-query-consultation
Dec 03, 2023•58 min
This pep talk was inspired by that extremely uncomfortable phenomenon of going home for the holidays, only to be grilled by your relatives. It was made with the generous contributions of writers just like you. We hope this will give you some cheer when your family asks, "Soooo--are you still writing?" "Are you a New York Times bestseller yet?" "How much money do you make?" Explaining the writing life to your family can be hard, especially during the holidays. So when they start asking you why yo...
Nov 21, 2023•11 min
In October, we wrapped up the month with a deliciously spooky Halloween #MSWL panel. Join us for a live panel recording with agents T.S Ferguson, Kelly Van Sant, Jenissa Graham, and Claire Harris as they take us through their creepy wishlists and fun bookish activities. But even if you’re writing serious nonfiction, or in a completely other genre, this is a great view into what agents love within genres—and how agenting, in general, works. With Q&A, trivia, live #MSWL and a class on dialogue...
Nov 08, 2023•1 hr 5 min
Join us December 5 for Nancy’s class, You Belong Here (meant to alleviate the “walking with your cafeteria tray toward the popular kids’ table” feeling of pitching agents): https://manuscriptacademy.com/you-belong-here After an exceptionally rocky entry to publishing—including a *five year* delay—Nancy Tandon is a well-regarded Middle Grade writer who manages to make her voice (and mystery!) age appropriate, her worlds intriguing—and the plot lines *just* advanced enough that readers of all ages...
Nov 06, 2023•1 hr
We are so happy to welcome Monica Rodriguez, agent at Context Literary, to the podcast! Not only is Monica Jessica’s Agency colleague in charge of Brand Management (and helping writers promote their work), she’s also an agent with expertise in branding, marketing, and helping creatives refine their ideas. Plus, she’s an agented writer on submission, so she has empathy for both sides of the desk. We talk about which rejections to ignore, when to incorporate edits, the author-agent empathy gap, an...
Oct 27, 2023•42 min
Starting today (we promise you're not too late!), join us for a Three-Day Workshop: Unputdownable: Write A Book Agents Can't Stop Thinking About. It's three classes, daily forums, a thriving workshop community, live Q&A and a first pages feedback panel. This workshop includes: *Class: Banner Days - have the reader looking forward and backward, imagining how characters and situations will interact–giving surprise, delight and grounding *Class: Truth as Structure - strategically decide, from t...
Oct 24, 2023•3 min
Join us in a lively conversation with debut author M Hendrix, whose book The Chaperone came out this year with Sourcebooks! From finding an agent and pitching your book during the pandemic, finding hope in dystopian novels, and making YA fun for teens to read, we cover this and more! M Hendrix (she/her) is the author of The Chaperone, published by Sourcebooks Fire on June 6, 2023. M earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism at Indiana University before studying literature and creative writing i...
Oct 12, 2023•1 hr 1 min
We are thrilled to welcome Sierra Godfrey, author of The Second Chance Hotel and A Very Typical Family, to the Member Lounge. Sierra, along with Mike Chen, built the first ManuscriptWishList.com, and her work as an author is charming, funny, romantic—and set on the gorgeous fictional Greek island of Asteri. There, her main character accidentally marries a handsome traveler—and, together, they accidentally inherit a hotel. What follows is a fun, escapist, sophisticated story of finding yourself e...
Sep 27, 2023•53 min
We are so happy to welcome Dani Segelbaum, Vice President, Literary Agent, and Subsidiary Rights Director at Carol Mann Agency. We discuss how the best nonfiction is an experience, how it relates to platform and the real world, how sub rights tie in—and why it’s so much easier to get Anti-AI clauses in contracts for books abroad. Dani Segelbaum joined the Carol Mann Agency in 2021 as a literary agent and subrights manager. She is interested in both fiction and non-fiction. Dani is seeking non-fi...
Sep 19, 2023•46 min
Join us for a deep dive into query revisions with YA fantasy writer, Julia! Julia and Jessica have spent the last few months in revisions, taking a good query and transforming it into an amazing one. Today we share all the insights learned from this process, how to be resilient, receive feedback, and make your pitch pop. Julia's bio: I am a graduate student in mental health counseling with a tendency to scribble plot points in the margins of my school notes. I am a member of SCBWI, Manuscript Ac...
Aug 28, 2023•48 min
We love Kaitlyn! She’s so happy, perceptive, kind, and talented—AND a literary agent who’s created community for her writers, a strong sales track record, and a team of authors—all while being a full-time math teacher, educating young minds. Book a meeting with her here: https://manuscriptacademy.com/faculty-members/kaitlyn-sanchez Kaitlyn Sanchez (she/her) joined Bradford Literary in 2022 with two years of agenting experience under her belt. Kaitlyn is the proud co-creator and co-host of the Sp...
Aug 21, 2023•45 min
Do you have a book that's "No plot, just vibes"? We're here to support you! Join agent Taj McCoy to discuss how to feel good from Draft One to Done. We talk about how subconscious themes, sensory details, and putting new twists on familiar tropes can bring your work to life. We love how Taj talks about starting with the layers you know best first so that you have the motivation to continue--and start from a strong, confident place. Plus: When do agents read your synopsis? (Hint: We disagree!) We...
Aug 14, 2023•43 min
Content warning: brief mentions of fictional sexual assault off the page throughout the episode. We are so happy to talk with bestselling author Cameron Kelly Rosenblum, author of The Stepping Off Place and, now, The Sharp Edge of Silence. After ten years on submission, Cameron can now sell fiction without even writing the whole book—making deals off of proposal. We hope this happens for all of you! Cameron Kelly Rosenblum is the author of The Stepping Off Place, named a Kirkus Best Book of 2020...
Jul 26, 2023•1 hr 3 min
Join us as we take a trip down memory lane with Corey Finkle, the author of picture books, Your Future is Bright and Pop's Perfect Present. From finding your writing community, the power of small but meaningful interactions at conferences and conventions, and seeing the value of every draft, we explore how Corey went from persevering writer to successful published author. Corey Finkle says: I wrote my first book as a senior project, spent ten years tinkering with and pitching it, and finally put...
Jul 19, 2023•1 hr 4 min
The more we hear about the Writer’s Guild of America West, the more we wonder why book authors don’t have something similar. Did you know that members of The Writer’s Guild of America receive health insurance (good health insurance!), among many other benefits—all for 1.5% of the member’s yearly profits? Plus, there’s education on the (complicated!) issues, the proposed Anti-AI clause, and an infrastructure to keep writers healthy and happy and writing their best work. We also talk about the mag...
Jul 11, 2023•58 min
Today we have the delightful Ashley Audrain, author of The Push, as we discuss her new book, The Whispers. From the many faces of motherhood, getting inspiration from your neighborhood, pantsing, editing, and creating suspense, we get into what it took to send this book out into the world! ASHLEY AUDRAIN’S debut novel, The Push, was a New York Times, Sunday Times (London), and number-one international bestseller, and a Good Morning America Book Club pick. It has sold in more than forty territori...
Jun 22, 2023•28 min
Join us as we speak with Daniele Hunter, Junior Agent at McIntosh & Otis, AALA member, and AALA DEI committee and Literary Agents of Change member! Becoming a literary agent is not for the faint of heart. As a passion-led industry that puts up many financial barriers to entry (unpaid internships, sky-high NYC rents, and earnings for many young workers well below a livable wage), publishing has historically been an industry that hires the most privileged. Today we talk about the fundamental n...
Jun 16, 2023•35 min
Join our Three-Day Workshop, Making & Breaking Status Quo with Anne Elliott, June 13-15, 2023. Tickets are $49 and include daily classes, daily workshops, a live Q&A, and first pages panel--all with replays, on-demand access, and 30 days to view. This podcast episode is a workshop preview for the three days together. Get your ticket here: https://manuscriptacademy.com/product/making-and-breaking-status-quo What you do with the "ordinary" in your story--and how you break it--creates the e...
Jun 09, 2023•12 min
We are thrilled to welcome Sara Sargent, Senior Executive Editor at Random House Books for Young Readers, to the podcast. In our cozy member lounge format (rather like a neighborhood potluck, we think, that happens to feature publishing experts), we asked her questions about how editors choose books, how writers get book deals without agents, and the inner workings of a publishing house—and what this means for you when you pitch your book. Want to try out our new “leave a voicemail” feature (in ...
Jun 05, 2023•57 min
Anne Elliott is back for her second three-day event! Join us June 13-15 for daily classes, workshops, exercises, Q&A, a live feedback panel, and a supportive writer community as we learn about making and breaking the status quo in your work. Get your ticket here: https://manuscriptacademy.com/anne-workshop ($0 members | $49 nonmembers). What makes this day different from all other days? This course will explore that question from several angles. A break in status quo is often the occasion fo...
Jun 01, 2023•13 min
Friends! We have the wonderful Alyssa Jennette of Stonesong Literary Agency joining us today as we tackle the current highlights and worrying dark sides of publishing. Today we chat about the varied approaches to agenting, story creation and AI, how much we need writers, the beautiful moments in publishing and more! Alyssa Jennette joined Stonesong Literary in June 2015 after interning at Sarah Jane Freymann Literary Agency. She graduated from the Maryland Institute College of Art with a BFA in ...
May 29, 2023•49 min
We are so excited to welcome the delightful author-agent pair Jessie Latimer and Kristen Terrette, Martin Literary Management. We talk about genre-blending, the power of referrals, editing, and learning from your rejections, as well as Jessie's exciting new submission (her YA protagonist dives into her favorite book to help rewrite the villain's ending!). You can learn more about Kristen here: https://www.martinlit.com and on her website: https://kristenterrette.com. And you can find Jessie on I...
May 20, 2023•47 min
The votes are in! Science Fiction, Fantasy, Speculative & Supernatural won—and we’ve built this panel to that theme. But even if you’re writing serious nonfiction, or in a completely other genre, this is a great view into what agents love within genres—and how agenting, in general, works. With Q&A, trivia, live #MSWL and a class on dialogue, this is a fun event we’re thrilled to share. Want YOUR genre to be the theme for our next panel? Vote here!https://manuscriptacademy.com/mswl-live P...
May 11, 2023•1 hr 1 min
