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The Shit No One Tells You About Writing

What is a familiar query letter...

The Shit No One Tells You About Writing

Bianca Marais, Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra

How To, Books, Education, Fiction, Arts

4.8733 Ratings

🗓️ 10 July 2025

⏱️ 47 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this episode of Books with Hooks, literary agents Carly and CeCe return with insightful feedback on query letters, focusing on commercial women’s fiction and book club fiction. They celebrate Bianca’s exciting book launch and dive deep into the craft of storytelling—discussing character development, emotional resonance, and the vital role of originality in fiction. This episode also highlights the importance of clearly conveying conflict and stakes in query letters, offering practical tips for writers looking to capture an agent’s attention.

Don’t miss this powerful reading from ‘Let Us Play.’ Harrison Brown opens up about his remarkable journey from competing as a female athlete to living authentically as a transgender man. Through his story, he sheds light on the emotional and physical complexities of transitioning, the hurdles trans athletes face in sports, and the ongoing evolution of inclusion policies. With honesty and courage, Harrison explores the vital role of advocacy, visibility, and compassion in creating a more equitable athletic world.

Note: Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra are literary agents at P.S. Literary Agency, but their work on this podcast is not affiliated with the agency, and the views expressed by Carly and CeCe on this podcast are solely that of them as podcast co-hosts 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

Did you know that your calendar age doesn't always match how old your body truly is?

0:05.1

It's true. Your biological age, the age of your cells and organs, is actually the number

0:09.7

one predictor of your risk for serious diseases like heart disease, cancer, dementia, and more.

0:14.9

That's why learning your biological age can be truly life-changing, and that's what the true

0:19.5

age test from true diagnostic helps you do.

0:22.3

With just a simple at-home test, you can uncover your true biological age and get personalized insights

0:26.4

to your true biological age and take control of your health like never before. No doctor's visits,

0:31.6

no labs, just a quick finger prick from the comfort of your home. As you guys know, I care a lot

0:36.9

about fitness and lifestyle

0:38.3

because I do triathlons, and it's really important for me to take care of my health.

0:43.3

So here's the thing that really inspired me. Up to 90% of biological aging is driven by lifestyle.

0:48.3

That means the way we eat, move, sleep, and manage stress. It is a massive role in how fast or slow our bodies age. True diagnostic

0:55.3

just doesn't tell you your biological age. It gives you a personalized report of full, clear

1:00.5

science back steps you can take to actually slow down aging and improve your health over time.

1:06.0

I'm really excited to see the results and see what they have to say about my health because, as I said,

1:11.1

I do take it very seriously.

1:13.9

The test itself is super easy, just a quick, painless finger prick.

1:17.9

You send in your sample using a prepaid mailer.

1:20.1

In about two to three weeks, you get detailed online reports with actionable insights that you can use.

1:25.3

If you care about protecting your health and want to find out what your

1:28.0

real age is, head over to Truediagnostic.com and use my code T-Snotiaw to get 20% off your

1:36.0

entire order or subscription. That's TrueT-R-U-Diagnostic.com and use T-Snotiaw at checkout to get 20% off.

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