Shooting the Shit: About the hidden side of best-of-year lists, AI worries, and the "midlist bestseller"
The Shit No One Tells You About Writing
Bianca Marais, Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra
4.8 • 842 Ratings
🗓️ 8 December 2025
⏱️ 42 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In this week’s Shooting the Shit, Carly and CeCe dive into the chaos that is publishing in December—best-of-year lists, midlist “bestsellers,” AI anxiety, and the eternal question: Are books becoming luxury items?! They unpack fresh sales stats, why returns matter more than you think, real talk about authors’ AI fears, and the emotional rollercoaster of watching everyone post their “Best of 2025” wrap-ups. Plus: industry gossip, beauty-episode fantasies, and a viral Instagram carousel that EVERY writer needs to see.
New week, new tea. Press play.
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
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| 0:00.0 | Hi there. We've got a lot. We're really excited to tell you about, but I'm going to make this real |
| 0:04.9 | quick so you can get to the episode. The deep dive is coming up at the end of January. The lineup of |
| 0:10.9 | speakers is incredible and the range of topics is mind-blowing. You do not want to miss out on the last |
| 0:17.3 | deep dive ever. Then the beta reader matchup is open once again with the matchups |
| 0:22.0 | going out early in February. Sign up to kick your creative year off with a bang. Lastly, |
| 0:27.8 | there's an amazing writer's workbook available which will make the perfect gift for you or the |
| 0:32.9 | writer in your life. Head to our website, The Shit About Writing, to find out more. |
| 0:38.4 | The holidays are almost here. And if you still have names on your list, don't panic. Uncommon |
| 0:43.5 | goods makes holiday shopping, stress-free, and joyful. With thousands of one-of-a-kind gifts, |
| 0:49.1 | you can't find anywhere else. You'll discover presents that feel meaningful and personal, |
| 0:53.1 | never rushed, or last minute. |
| 0:55.0 | Uncommon goods looks for products that are high quality, unique, and often handmade or made in the U.S. |
| 0:59.9 | Many are crafted by independent artists and small businesses, so every gift feels special and thoughtfully chosen. |
| 1:05.3 | I know our crowd would love the book, nook reading ballet. It's a wood holder for your book, your mug, your reading |
| 1:11.5 | glasses, e-reader, and orophone, so you can carry it from your room to your bedside to the bathtub. |
| 1:16.6 | It has a 4.9 out of 5 rating on over 178 reviews. I also thought you guys would like, |
| 1:23.0 | all of you pet lovers out there would like the custom pet embroidered sweatshirt. So you can |
| 1:27.4 | have a custom |
| 1:27.8 | portrait of your animal on your sweater and have them with you all day. Uncommon goods has |
| 1:32.7 | something for everybody. For moms, dads, kids and teens, book lovers, sports fans, and foodies, |
| 1:37.3 | gardeners, crafters, readers and writers, you will find unforgettable gifts that are anything but ordinary. |
| 1:42.5 | When you shop at uncommon goods, you're |
... |
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