Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Soundcloud. View our in-depth video of what Liz did right in her query letter and first page here: www.youtube.com/@manuscriptacademy Meet Elizabeth Holden, Physics professor, travel entrepreneur, and author of Mighty Millie Novak, a YA novel coming out from Flux Publishing in August. www.elizabeth-holden.com/ Liz is also the travel coordinator for our … Read more
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Soundcloud. Please note: This episode contains mentions of alcoholism, recovery, and sobriety. We are so happy to welcome author Jessica Guerrieri and agent Ismita Hussain (Great Dog Literary) to the podcast. They’re a great example of what to look for in an author-agent relationship–they’re creative, collaborative, supportive, and successful … Read more
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Soundcloud. We are so grateful to Emmy Nordstrom Higdon, agent at Westwood Creative Associates, who has offered to teach a free workshop for you all about the elements of querying—interest, emphasis, tension—that keep a busy agent reading in 2024. Get your free ticket (or replay ticket!) here: manuscriptacademy.com/emmy The event … Read more
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Soundcloud. We are thrilled to introduce Ali McLafferty, author, teacher, and most recent winner of the as-yet-untitled (Manuscript) Academy Awards. Ali was nominated by agent Melissa Edwards (Stonesong Literary) for this gorgeous fantasy novel that brings up a lot of issues in our world as well. We discuss how … Read more
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Soundcloud. We love this creativity-packed episode with Melissa Vogan (née Melissa Warten), former editor at Macmillan, current editor at Epic For Kids. We discuss:*“Just enough” art notes – and how they’re useful for every genre*How you can guide the focus of your reader through sensory language*How to get to … Read more
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Soundcloud. You may remember Julia Alexandra from our episode in the fall when we went over three query versions with her (good, better, best): Well, she now has an agent! Ellen Goff (HG Literary) joins us with Julia to discuss balancing plot, character, and world–if your fantasy novel will … Read more
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Soundcloud. If you’ve ever had trouble with point of view in your work, wait until you hear the advanced logistical world author Nia Davenport had to navigate for her new novel, Out of Body, which she pitches as Freaky Friday meets Get Out. Not only does she have best … Read more
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Soundcloud. Tennessee, 1960. One extraordinary team of women–and the first all-Black women’s track team–found glory at the Olympic games in Rome. Here in America, their success was “an impossible dream come true.” Now, author Aime Alley Card tells us her personal connection to the team, how she did her … Read more
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Soundcloud. Join our interactive Says/Does Activity + view transcript here: manuscriptacademy.com/faculty-member…sara-schonfeld We discuss editing with love and patience, acquiring in the age of book bans (let’s just say Florida doesn’t get to choose what the rest of the country reads), how to make your book feel “fresh”–and why so many … Read more
Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Soundcloud. Sometimes publishing your novel takes an unexpected route. In today’s episode, Jessica and Julie speak with author JB Harris to discuss how she pivoted when agents told her the manuscript she’d been working on for 11 years would be hard to break out during COVID. We cover querying, … Read more