When Intrigue Turns Into Confusion
The Shit No One Tells You About Writing
Bianca Marais, Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra
4.8 • 842 Ratings
🗓️ 23 April 2026
⏱️ 35 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week on Books with Hooks, Bianca CeCe and Carly unpack what makes a query actually work—and where things quietly fall apart. From a gripping friends-to-lovers premise with a dark past to a stranded-on-an-island YA romance, they dive into high-stakes storytelling, dual POV risks, and the fine line between intrigue and frustration. They break down why accessible literary might raise eyebrows, how withholding key information can backfire, and why surprise on the page needs context to land. Plus: opening pages that hook, voice that shines, and the ongoing debate between depth vs momentum.
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 | Have you been sitting on the fence about signing up for the Bateser-read a matchup, |
| 0:04.5 | or have you signed up before but haven't yet found your writing soulmates? |
| 0:08.6 | The next matchup is the last one for the summer, so don't snooze on it. |
| 0:13.1 | Get matched up with those writing in a similar genre and or time zone so they can critique your work as you critique theirs. |
| 0:22.5 | Your manuscript doesn't have to be complete to sign up for those 3,000 word evaluation. This particular matchup will be open to |
| 0:28.4 | registrations from now until the 1st of June with the matchup emails going out on the 2nd of June. |
| 0:35.3 | For more information and to register, go to Bianca Moray.com and go to the beta reader |
| 0:40.9 | matchup page. |
| 0:48.5 | Hi there and welcome to our show. |
| 0:51.2 | The shit no one tells you about writing. |
| 0:54.1 | I'm bestselling author Bianca Moray and I'm joined by Cic Leone. Welcome to our show, the ship no one tells you about writing. |
| 0:54.2 | I'm best-selling author Bianca Murray and I'm joined by C.C. |
| 0:58.2 | Lira of Wendy Sherman Associates and Carly Waters of PS Literary. |
| 1:04.5 | Hi everyone, welcome back to another Books with Hux. |
| 1:07.6 | We are starting off as we usually do by diving straight in. |
| 1:11.6 | Cece, can you please kick us off with your query letter? |
| 1:14.6 | Let's do this. Dear Cece, years after a tragic event tore them apart, two former best friends |
| 1:21.6 | finally fall in love just as the past rises up, threatening to destroy their relationship forever. |
| 1:28.2 | I am writing to seek representation for how to be good, a dual point of view, accessible literary |
| 1:33.4 | novel of 94,000 words. It will appeal to readers who enjoyed the evolving intimacy of |
| 1:40.8 | tomorrow and tomorrow by Gabrielle Zeven, the morally complex characters |
| 1:46.5 | in Heart the Lover by Lily King, and the vivid sense of place in the paper palace by |
... |
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