In today’s Books With Hooks, Carly and Cece co-critique two queries, discussing showing how the protagonist is propelled on their journey; dealing with major dramatic questions and stakes; dense query letters for well-worn tropes; surprises and predictability in the opening pages; line edits and synopsis-like queries; reactive protagonists vs giving your protagonist agency; “soft” women’s fiction; movement in the opening pages; and having an obviously bad love interest in the beginning of a story.After which, Carly talks with author Rebecca Makkai, author of I Have Some Questions For You, about creating a fictional podcast for her story; dealing with social media as an author and in your book; chapter lengths; judgement of authors and of characters; boarding school settings, adding real life trauma situations to fiction; and tackling the messiness of life in novels. We also play you an excerpt from the I Have Some Questions for You audiobook.This episode is brought to you by BetterHelp. Give online therapy a try at betterhelp.com/WRITING and get on your way to being your best self.Find us on our socials:Twitter: @TSNOTYAW @BiancaM_author @carlywatters @ceciliaclyraInstagram: @biancamarais_author @carlywatters @cece_lyra_agent @ the_shit_about_writingFacebook: @tsnotyawWebsites: www.theshitaboutwriting.com, www.biancamarais.com, www.carlywatters.com and www.cecilialyra.comRebecca can be found on Instagram @rebeccamakkai and on Twitter @rebeccamakkai. Her website is www.rebeccamakkai.com.Our Sponsors:* Check out Quince: https://quince.com/tsnotyaw* Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.rosettastone.com* Check out Uncommon Goods: https://uncommongoods.com/tsnotyaw* Check out Wayfair: https://www.wayfair.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.