The Long Game of Publishing
The Shit No One Tells You About Writing
Bianca Marais, Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra
4.8 • 842 Ratings
🗓️ 5 February 2026
⏱️ 58 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
In part one of this week’s double author interview, Bianca sits down with executive by day and dark-fiction writer by night, Marisa Walz. They talk about her chilling debut novel ‘Good Intentions’ and the long, emotional road it took to get there. They dive into books dying on submission, leaving agents, trusting your instincts, and what it really means to keep going after heartbreak. Marisa shares how years of failed books shaped the voice and confidence behind her debut.
Next up is romance author Olivia Jackson. Olivia gets brutally honest about her debut year—from the thrill of landing a two-book deal to the crash of unmet expectations. She and Bianca unpack what digital-first really means, the emotional whiplash of publishing timelines, comparison spirals, and why authors need to ask more questions (and stop apologizing for them). A powerful, practical conversation about the business of being an author—after the dream comes true.
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 | What's up, everyone? This is Cece. Do you know something I'm always looking for when I review the slush file? |
| 0:06.1 | Strong interiority. Well-written interiority shows what your protagonist is thinking about in a way that is realistic and interesting. |
| 0:14.2 | It propels the story forward instead of holding it back, but it doesn't stop there. |
| 0:19.5 | A strong writer will leverage interiority into a |
| 0:22.8 | superpower into something I call psychological acuity. Think about it this way. Plot is what happens. |
| 0:30.1 | Interiority is how your protagonist processes what happens. And psychological acuity is why it matters. |
| 0:36.8 | It gives a book depth and meaning and staying power. |
| 0:40.9 | All breakout books have psychological acuity. |
| 0:43.8 | You have been asking me to teach a course about psychological acuity for years, years. |
| 0:48.7 | Well, it's finally here. |
| 0:50.4 | Why did it take me so long? |
| 0:51.9 | Because my courses take years to build. |
| 1:12.5 | They're dense, they're thorough, and they're filled with examples and specific techniques. So this five-day course begins on March 2nd. We'll have an optional interactive component. Students are invited to submit excerpts from their work for a chance to have them critiqued live during a class. If you're ready to take your writing to the next level, join me for writing interiority and psychological acuity. Don't worry if |
| 1:18.5 | you can't attend live. The sessions will be recorded. And for more information, check out my bio |
| 1:23.6 | on Instagram or the podcast website. I'm looking forward to seeing you there. |
| 1:34.3 | Hi there and welcome to our show. The ship no one tells you about writing. I'm best-selling |
| 1:40.8 | author Bianca Murray and I'm joined by Cici Lira of Wendy Sherman Associates and Carly Waters of PS Literary. |
| 1:50.0 | Hi, everyone. |
| 1:51.5 | Today's guest is a Federal Reserve Executive who also writes novels about people behaving badly. |
| 1:58.3 | She lives in the Chicago suburbs with her husband and two young children. It's my |
| 2:03.2 | pleasure to welcome Marissa Walsh. Marisa, welcome to the show. Thank you so much. I'm excited to be |
| 2:09.5 | here. I've been a listener for a long time. Yeah, we're going to actually discuss that soon. |
... |
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