Fiction Writing Made Easy | Top Creative Writing Podcast for Fiction Writers & Writing Tips

#154. Coaching Call: Critiquing Jac Sahlin's Query And First Five Pages

30 snips

Aug 13, 2024

In this engaging conversation, Jac Sahlin, co-host of the Book Talk for BookTok podcast and an aspiring romance novelist, seeks guidance on her query letter and manuscript. She learns about the critical importance of genre identity, especially the nuanced differences between women’s fiction and romance. Jac experiences pivotal moments in defining her story’s genre and receives valuable feedback on her crafting process. The discussion also highlights the emotional journey of querying and the impact of effective storytelling.

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Intro

00:00 • 4min

Evaluating Writing Through Feedback and Genre Understanding

04:19 • 4min

Mastering Query Letters and Manuscript Essentials

08:00 • 12min

The Internship Dilemma

19:32 • 14min

Navigating Love and Ambition

33:24 • 9min

Crafting Engaging Narratives

41:58 • 21min

Complexities of Character Relationships

01:02:29 • 12min

Embracing Romance and Creative Clarity

01:14:32 • 2min

Exploring Deeper Character Development in Romance Writing

01:16:22 • 4min

“I think your story has a genre identity crisis. That’s probably why you’re not getting responses from agents.” ← That’s what I told my new friend, Jac Sahlin, about the duology she’s currently querying.

Tune into this episode to hear Jac and I talk through her query letter and first five pages—and to hear my thoughts on why she hasn’t received any requests from agents. Although Jac isn’t technically a client of mine, our conversation will give you a peek behind the scenes into what it’s like working with a book coach!

In the episode, you’ll hear us talk about things like:

[04:59] Jac’s thoughts about what it was like to get feedback from a book coach—and how it was different than getting feedback when she was taking creative writing courses in college
[08:32] My process for analyzing Jac’s query and first five pages, including where I start and what literary agents are looking for in a query package
[15:41] The difference between writing women’s fiction and romance—and why this matters both when writing a draft and querying agents
[31:25] Jac’s big a-ha moments about which genre she wants her story to fit into (and spoiler alert: she followed her gut and chose romance!
[01:03] Episode recap and final thoughts

If you want my help with your story, the doors to my Notes to Novel group coaching program are opening soon! Click here to get on the waitlist.

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