Events

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: manuscriptacademy.com/faculty-member…tefanie-molina We discuss: Current Trends … Read more

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 … Read more

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 … Read more

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. … Read more

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 … Read more

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 … Read more

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 … Read more

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 … Read more

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 … Read more