The Manuscript Academy
The Manuscript Academy brings you conversations with agents, editors, and writers who can help you on your publishing journey.
Episodes
Also on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/QaWwJ8O5NFA
In this episode of the Manuscript Academy Podcast, hosts Julie Kingsley and Jessica Sinsheimer introduce new tools and features for writers, including a comp title finder, an advanced agent search, and a writer group creator.
They discuss the development of a virtual interactive space for writers to connect globally and announce improvements in sorting through their extensive cont...
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December 17, 2024 • 46 mins
Have you ever wondered why Publishing seems to take so much longer than any other industry?
We posed this question to agent Stefanie Molina, Ladderbird Literary--and discuss what it means for agents, editors, and - most of all - writers.
Want to talk about your work with Stefanie? Schedule a time here: https://manuscriptacademy.com/faculty-members/stefanie-molina
We discuss:
Current Trends in Publishing (00:03:57)
What Make...
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December 1, 2024 • 21 mins
We are so happy to welcome Liv Ivanov, agent at Creative Media Agency, to the podcast!
In this episode, we talk about making your work more addictive (we can all dream of the "I read it in one sitting" agent response!) through:
*Effective pacing
*Structure
*Tension
*Symmetry
*The MICE Quotient
And more!
Liv shares her insights on avoiding excessive exposition, the balance between tension and pacing, and the importance of ch...
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November 20, 2024 • 15 mins
How do you make your work more commercial--and why is commercial the trend right now?
Join agent Alyssa Jennette (Stonesong Literary) as we talk about:
1) Why is commercial trending right now?
2) What can ALL genres (including literary) do to appeal to readers in this moment?
3) Why you should focus revision efforts on stakes, character, payoff and more to make your commercial and literary works more
4) Why literary and u...
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November 7, 2024 • 44 mins
Is there a formula for success?
What do you do when "A new twist on something familiar" starts to feel overly simplistic?
Enter editor Ivan Taurisano, editor at Abrams, who works from the opposite direction of most editors: he can think of a concept that's marketable, then put together the team to make it happen.
We discuss:
***Collaborating with Licensing Partners: Ivan works closely with major brands like Disney, Netflix,...
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October 15, 2024 • 36 mins
We love Bonnie Jo Pierson. Not only is she a Manuscript Academy alum and a published author, she’s a member of a 20-person writing group—and an expert on knowing what feedback to take, what to ignore, and how to tell the difference.
After 17 years of writing, her novel is ready—and we talk about keeping work fresh, learning and growing as a person, and remaining emotionally open to your work and your life.
Bonnie Jo is the autho...
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September 20, 2024 • 49 mins
Today is a special live recording of the Manuscript Academy podcast!
In front of Manuscript Academy members, Jessica and Julie are joined by faculty member and Macmillan editor Christina Lopez in another installment of our Mystery Agent/Editor segment.
Listen in as Christina critiques writer Karissa Riffel’s YA horror query and first page, and answers all your questions.
Want to apply for next Mystery Agent/Editor Consutlation...
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September 5, 2024 • 39 mins
Have you ever been tempted to say "My book is for everyone"?
We get it! It sounds like the perfect way to convince an agent your book is a slam dunk bestseller--right?
Wrong. Realistically, no book is for everyone--and this is a great thing.
We're happy to join Emma Peters, editor at W.W. Norton, to discuss:
*Why you need to define your audience--and pitch an agent on this reader
*How specificity in your book description is...
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August 23, 2024 • 38 mins
We are so excited to welcome math teacher Ben Orlin to the podcast!
Ben Orlin is a math teacher who can't draw. His book Math with Bad Drawings (2018) has sold more than 100,000 copies worldwide, and has since been followed by Change is the Only Constant (2019), Math Games with Bad Drawings (2022), and most recently, Math for English Majors (Sept 2024). His work has appeared in The Atlantic, Popular Science, Slate, Vox, and The Lo...
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We are so happy to welcome Nour Sallam, agent at P.S. Literary, to the podcast!
We discuss:
*How agents should advocate for clients from signing to offers to contracts to publication and beyond
*Why messy characters and their interiority are often the one thing missing from your work
*Why we should experience empathy for your villain
*Opportunities to build tension, pulling the reader (or agent!) into your story
Meet with...
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July 26, 2024 • 44 mins
We are so pleased to welcome agent Erica Bauman from Aevitas Creative Management to the podcast!
We discuss:
*How to make your work more atmospheric
*Where to place emphasis when writing between genres
*Balancing keeping the reader in their heads vs. their senses
*When the genre of our world gets closer to dystopia, how does the dystopian genre change?
*Why do agents ask for exactly your metatags—and then say no?
Meet wi...
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July 12, 2024 • 47 mins
Debut author Kristy Jackson joins Julie and Jessica to talk about her new middle grade book, MORTIFIED, now out in bookstores everywhere! From embarrassing middle school moments to querying hiccups, Kristy talks about her 20+ year-long writing journey, how she found the right agent for her, and how perseverance made all the different to achieving her publishing dreams.
Learn more about Kristy here: https://www.kristyjackson.ca/
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In the first installment of the Manuscript Academy Book Club, we have Liv Constantine, the pen name for internationally bestselling sister duo Lynne and Valerie Constantine!
Joined by Jessica, Julie, and the Manuscript Academy community, Valerie and Lynne answer your questions about how to collaborate and edit as a team, how to get the best results when querying, and how to keep your work fresh when writing multiple books in the ...
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You’ve heard of the all-important voice—but how do you make it more vivid, both on the page—and in your life?
Enter Jessica Doyle-Mekkes, an author, voice coach, and eloquent speaker on how your voice in your life and your voice on the page are linked, vitally important—and within your control to improve.
Listen along for what helps your voice come out as you intend—whether singing, public speaking, or reading your character al...
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June 6, 2024 • 44 mins
We are thrilled to introduce our very own Julie Kingsley's debut novel! It's called The Space Between You and Me and came out this week!
"That summer, I finally grew into myself. The problem? I grew too fast. And fruit that grows too fast often bursts in the sunshine."
With her agent Lane Heymont (Tobias Literary Agency), we discuss:
*What happens if you have film interest before book interest
*How Hollywood runs on FOMO (fear ...
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June 4, 2024 • 52 mins
Content Warning: This podcast discusses suicide, grief, and loss.
Pam O'Hara's beautiful writing captivated our expert audience during a recent Manuscript Academy panel, so much so that it was picked for our 2024 MSWL Agent Choice Awards.
Pam joins Jessica and Julie to speak about her stunning memoir about love, loss, and losing a loved one by suicide. We discuss everything from platform, to crafting your voice, to how to posit...
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May 23, 2024 • 73 mins
Watch the free video version, slides and all (and get a coupon for our workshop!) at https://manuscriptacademy.com/emmy
Join our Three-Day Keep An Agent Reading Workshop, May 28-30, here: https://manuscriptacademy.com/product/keep-an-agent-reading-workshop
TIMESTAMPS:
Essential Elements of a Query Letter (00:03:07) Dr. Emmy Nordstrom Higdon covers the essential elements of a query letter, including the metadata paragraph, summa...
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May 17, 2024 • 22 mins
We are honored that author Elizabeth (Liz) Holden, author of the forthcoming YA novel Mighty Millie Novak, allowed us to go through her work as a teaching tool for you--what each element accomplishes, WHY it works, and how you can do the same in your own query and first page.
If you'd like to follow along visually, head to our YouTube Channel, https://www.youtube.com/@manuscriptacademy, or the podcast episode page, https://manuscr...
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May 17, 2024 • 51 mins
View our in-depth video of what Liz did right in her query letter and first page here: https://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. https://www.elizabeth-holden.com/
Liz is also the travel coordinator for our 2025 Manuscript Academy Retreat, which we're calling Enchanted Summer. Ear...
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May 10, 2024 • 46 mins
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 (Jessica's debut book club fiction, Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea, comes out 2025 with ...
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