How to Build a Protagonist Who Actually Makes Sense
The Shit No One Tells You About Writing
Bianca Marais, Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra
4.8 • 842 Ratings
🗓️ 16 April 2026
⏱️ 47 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Debut author Miranda Shulman joins literary agent CeCe Lyra to talk about turning a childhood dream into her literary suspense novel ‘Harmless’—and why the stories we tell ourselves about adulthood don’t always hold up. From writing her first draft at Planned Parenthood to landing an agent through a fellowship (no traditional querying required), Miranda shares her unconventional path to publication. They dive into obsession, messy female friendships, and the existential spiral of your late 20s—plus what it really takes to shape a compelling, complex protagonist.
Note: CeCe Lyra is a literary agent at Wendy Sherman Associates. If you’d like to query CeCe, please refer to the submission guidelines at www.wsherman.com. Carly Watters is a literary agent at P.S. Literary Agency, but her work on this podcast is not affiliated with the agency, and the views expressed by Carly on this podcast are solely that of her as a podcast co-host and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of P.S. Literary Agency.
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Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Hi there and welcome to our show. |
| 0:09.0 | The Ship No One Tells You About Writing. |
| 0:11.8 | I'm bestselling author Bianca Murray and I'm joined by C.C. Lira of Wendy Sherman Associates and Carly Waters of PS Literary. |
| 0:21.9 | All right, everyone, we have a very special episode of the shit. |
| 0:25.8 | No One Tells You About Writing. |
| 0:27.1 | I am here with the debut author, Miranda Schulman. |
| 0:31.2 | She wrote a wonderful novel called Harmless. |
| 0:34.9 | I'm holding it up. |
| 0:35.7 | If you're watching on YouTube, you can see me holding it up. |
| 0:39.1 | I have an arc, guys. It's not a finished copy yet because as I interview the lovely Miranda, |
| 0:44.1 | her book has not come out yet. So we're going to talk about all the things that go into making |
| 0:49.1 | a book a real thing out in the world. Once upon a time, Miranda, was exactly where you were, |
| 0:55.8 | listening to the shit and don't tell you about writing, |
| 0:57.8 | drafting away, dreaming of this day. |
| 1:00.3 | And now, pretty soon on April, wait, is it April 14? |
| 1:04.5 | Do I have that right? |
| 1:05.7 | It's April 14th. |
| 1:07.3 | Yeah. |
| 1:07.7 | And now on April 14, she will be a published author. |
| 1:10.3 | It's so exciting. So I will read her |
| 1:12.7 | official bio, which is like super short and sweet. So Miranda Schulman attended Bard College, |
| 1:18.2 | where she majored in human rights. Before pursuing a career in publishing, she worked at Planned |
... |
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