
The Shit No One Tells You About Writing
This is a podcast for emerging writers who want to improve the quality of their work and learn more about the publishing industry. Your one host, Bianca Marais (the bestselling author of 'The Witches of Moonshyne Manor') interviews authors, agents, editors and just about anyone and everyone who's involved in bringing a book to market. She's joined by her cohosts, literary agents Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra from P.S. Literary Agency, who read and critique query letters as well as opening pages in their Books with Hooks segment. Expect good advice, honest insights, and a few laughs along the way.
Latest episodes

Nov 8, 2020 • 36min
Succeeding in the YA (Young Adult) Market
Author and host, Bianca Marais, chats with the effervescent Liara Tamani, author of two YA novels, All the Things We Never Knew and Calling My Name, about writing for the YA market, knowing what young people want to read, getting your message across without preaching, her circuitous route to a writing career after being accepted to Harvard Law School, the importance of timing, as well as barriers to entry that writers of color face in publishing.Our Sponsors:* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/tsnotyaw* Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.rosettastone.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Oct 15, 2020 • 31min
Writing Sex Scenes & Befriending Booksellers
Author and host, Bianca Marais, loves booksellers! And she especially loves Rebecca Speas of One More Page Books in Arlington, VA. In this episode, Bianca and Rebecca talk about the power of the bookseller, why authors should foster relationships with their local indie bookstores, how you can be a feminist and love bodice rippers, and how not to write awful, cringeworthy sex scenes. This episode is a bit risqué and a lot funny. Our Sponsors:* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/tsnotyaw* Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.rosettastone.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Sep 24, 2020 • 31min
When You Don't Make Shit Up - Memoir & Nonfiction
Author and Host, Bianca Marais, chats with Kelly S. Thompson, an award-winning writer and editor with a broad range of experience and education in the writing and editing field. Kelly is the author of the memoir, Girls Need Not Apply - Field Notes from the Forces, and instructs at several universities and colleges in Canada teaching creative writing and nonfiction. In this episode, Kelly discusses memoirs, creative nonfiction, fact checking, asking loved ones for permission, and various other aspects that nonfiction authors have to consider. CBC Canada Reads shortlisted author, Jesse Thistle, who wrote the memoir, From the Ashes, weighs in on honesty, paying tribute and putting personal stories out into the world.Our Sponsors:* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/tsnotyaw* Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.rosettastone.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Sep 18, 2020 • 30min
Bestselling Jane Green's Advice to Writers
Author and host, Bianca Marais, chats with the delightful international bestselling author, Jane Green, about her twenty-five year career in publishing. Jane gives insight with regards to rejection letters, bidding wars, bestselling novels, a writer's brand, when it's time to change agents or publishing houses, appreciating success, and the extreme highs and lows that are all a part of the industry.Our Sponsors:* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/tsnotyaw* Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.rosettastone.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Sep 18, 2020 • 36min
How an Editor Acquires a Manuscript
Author and host, Bianca Marais, takes you behind the scenes of publishing as she chats with editor, Kerri Kolen, about how editors acquire manuscripts; what the acquisition process looks like; how interminable the wait for news is; as well as how advances are calculated, how royalties work and Audible's opportunities that are available to authors.Our Sponsors:* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/tsnotyaw* Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.rosettastone.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

Sep 18, 2020 • 28min
Delving into the Author/Agent Relationship
In today's episode, we're exploring the most important professional relationship that an author will have in their career - the one with their literary agent. Powerhouse author/agent team, Jill Santopolo (bestselling author of the The Light We Lost and More Than Words) and Miriam Altshuler (of DeFiore and Company) , give us a behind-the-scenes look at how to find the perfect agent, how to successfully pitch yourself to them, and how to ensure that the relationship is a successful one going forward. Our Sponsors:* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/tsnotyaw* Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.rosettastone.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands