We are so excited to share our 100th podcast episode! This was our very first Zoom event, our first live podcast recording with Zoom guests, and we were thrilled to welcome more than 100 of you.
We asked writers to nominate friends for feedback from our panel, and then asked our panelists to each choose a nominee-nominator pair.
It was wonderful to see so many of you in one place, to watch your faces react to the pages and panel, and feel the writerly support in the (Zoom) room.
Our panelists are:
Kayla Lightner, Ayesha Pande Literary
Saba Sulaiman, Talcott-Notch Literary
Fiona Kenshole, Transatlantic Agency
Marilyn Atlas, Book-To-Film Agent
5:43: Panelist introductions and what they’d love to find in their inboxes
20:59: Kayla Lightner’s pick: Memoir, with panel focus on imagery, beautiful language, and a Christmas Eve rejection (and what it means)
35:44: Saba Sulaiman’s pick: Picture book, with panel emphasis on comp titles, how to use image notes, when to reveal that an author is writing about their own experience.
57:03: Marilyn Atlas’s pick: Women’s fiction, with panel emphasis on how to pitch a work by focusing on the main character (versus her boyfriend), share (or not share) that there’s a spiritual element, and when you know you’ve had a large enough querying sample size.
1:11:46: Fiona Kenshole’s pick: YA fantasy, with panel emphasis on choosing an age group (MG versus YA), balancing humor and fantasy elements, and what to do about prologues (and a trick about how to avoid the question and make it work).
1:37:03: If you’re getting form rejections, how do you know if it’s the query letter or first page that’s a problem?
1:39:15: What’s the best query letter format?
1:40:10: What protagonist ages are appropriate for Middle Grade vs. YA?
Featured On the Show:
- Join our Facebook group! It’s full of supportive writers in the querying trenches–plus live page critiques, Q&A’s, and more.
- Want more Manuscript Academy? We’re working on new, interactive formats for our podcasts and events. Subscribe for updates.
- Feeling brave? Submit your query or first page for a chance of feedback from our guests.
The Manuscript Academy Podcast is free for everyone, and features interviews with top agents, editors and authors on the craft, business, and community of publishing.
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