In today's Books with Hooks, Bianca, Carly and CeCe are joined by guest agent, Dana Murphy. The four discuss the need for specificity in a query letter; whittling at larger ideas to hone them and make them clearer; internal logic within a scene; the necessity of 'upfront' world building; being clear with stakes in a query letter; the difficulty of pitching something as 'humorous'; the issue with a character’s intuition that is proven correct; and the need to trust your reader through showing rather than telling.

After which, Bianca chats with Jean Kwok about her book, The Leftover Woman. They discuss Jean’s journey to publication; the importance of choosing an agent who thinks of you as a star; how rejections can be doorways; imposter syndrome; preserving your integrity; intentionality behind POV choices; reverse outlining your favourite books; and the two timelines of every successful book.

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More information about Jean can be found at jeankwok.com. She’s on Twitter @JeanKwok, Instagram @jeankwokauthor, and Facebook @jeankwokauthor.