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The Shit No One Tells You About Writing

When Reality TV Meets Cli-Fi: Hooks, Depth, and the Dreaded Coincidence

The Shit No One Tells You About Writing

Bianca Marais, Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra

Education, Fiction, Books, How To, Arts

4.8842 Ratings

🗓️ 30 October 2025

⏱️ 56 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

In this episode of Books with Hooks, Carly and CeCe hold down the fort while Bianca is away—and things get delightfully silly. The duo dig into two very different query letters.

First up, a reality-TV-inspired contemporary romance about a bisexual woman who falls for siblings on a dating show. Carly and CeCe discuss the strength of the hook, the pitfalls of coincidences, and why adding depth and critique of celebrity culture can make these stories stand out. Lastly a cli-fi mystery set in the high-stakes world of Alaskan firefighting. The hosts explore why climate fiction can be a tough sell, how to strengthen a query’s climax, and why specificity in language matters. From critiques on narrative depth to playful tangents about football analogies and reality TV sadism, this episode is packed with both sharp insights and plenty of laughs.

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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It’s Beta Reader Match Up time again where you can be matched up with those writing in a similar genre and/or time zone, so they can critique your work as you critique theirs.

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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

You know, I am not exaggerating when I say my coffee is my life. My brain doesn't come online

0:06.1

until I've had that first amazing cup in the morning. And as writers who spend so much time

0:11.1

and staring and thinking out of screen, you need that moment of ritual and focus more than

0:16.1

anyone. For years, I was chasing that perfect cup, but between messy presses and clunky pourover setups, I was spending more time on the brew method than at my desk. And if you haven't tried coffee made with an arrow press yet, you are absolutely in for a treat. The arrow press is a manual coffee maker, kind of like a French press, but frankly, it's just better. It uses completely unique brewing methods that combine the best of all the world, a little French press, a little pourover, and a little espresso. This patented three-in-one technology gives you an exceptionally delicious and unique a cup of classic coffee that you can only get with an arrow press. And here's the coffee secret you need to know. Aeroon-press coffee is less bitter than coffee made with other methods. Because it brews faster, you can actually taste the delicious notes of the coffee you bought,

0:55.2

things like the roast in the country of origin

0:57.1

and that flavor profile.

0:58.7

Instead of bitterness, you get incredibly smooth,

1:01.7

richness, and body coming through that unmatched.

1:05.3

This is the ultimate lifestyle hack for a writer,

1:07.5

because AeroPress was designed to fit your life.

1:10.4

For the audience who spends hours in front of their computers, here's why the AeroPress was designed to fit your life. For the audience who spends hours

1:11.7

in front of their computers, here's why the AeroPress Clear model is what you need. First,

1:15.9

convenience. This is the fastest single cup coffee maker I've ever used. It takes about two minutes

1:20.9

to brew and clean. That means less time fencing with gear and more time on your pages. Secondly,

1:26.4

it brings consistently great coffee wherever you are.

1:28.7

Maybe you're traveling for a conference, seeing a cabin for a writing retreat, or just working out on your deck. The AeroPress is compact, durable, and reliable, and it puts an end to bad coffee when you're on the road. It's the perfect, easy-to-cle solution for the office, your home desk, or anywhere your writing takes you. The AeroPress is shockingly affordable.

1:44.2

Less than 50 bucks, we've got an incredible offer for our audience.

1:47.2

Visit AeroPress is shockingly affordable. Less than 50 bucks. We've got an incredible offer for our audience. Visit AeroPress.com. T-S-N-O-T-Y-A-W. that's a E-R-O-P-R-E-S-S dot com slash T-S-N-O-T-Y-A-W and use the promo code T-S-N-N-A-W to save 20% off your order.

2:02.3

That's AeroPress.com slash T-S-N-N-O-T-Y-A-W and be sure to use the code. T-S-N-O-T-Y-A-W at checkout to save 20%. It's time to ditch the drive-thru, toss the French press, and say yes to better mornings-fueled a better coffee, AeroPress ships to the USA and over 60 countries around the world, and we thank

2:18.8

AeroPress for sponsoring our show. mornings fueled the better coffee. Aeropress ships to the USA and over 60 countries around the world,

2:18.3

and we thank Aeroppress for sponsoring our show. Have you been sitting on the fence about signing up

2:23.8

for the beta reader matchup? Or have you signed up before but haven't as yet found your writing

...

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