88 Cups of Tea

How do you approach agents during the querying stage? How do you the one who will champion your work? How important is the pacing of your manuscript in order to keep your readers intrigued? Do you struggle with writing and editing difficult and emotional scenes? We get into all of it with today's special guest: R.F. Kuang.

Her debut novel, "The Poppy War" was recently released and is the first installment in a trilogy that grapples with drugs, shamanism, and China's bloody twentieth century. R.F. immigrated to the U.S. as a child and just graduated from Georgetown University where she studied Chinese history with a focus on Chinese military strategy, collective trauma, and war memorials. In addition to working on the rest of her installments of "The Poppy War" trilogy, she's a 2018 Marshall Scholar and will be heading to the University of Cambridge to do her graduate studies.

Today's episode is proudly brought to you by Fab Fit Fun! (Be sure to use the promo code 'TEA' for $10 off your first box) Sabaa and I pick up where we left off from the first time around and we discuss things that will hit you right in the gut and empower you to make a difference. I'm thrilled to finally share this episode with

Say 'Hi' to R.F. Kuang on Twitter and be sure to head over to her shownotes page. It features highlights covered from her episode along with our favorite quotes. Click here!

Xo,

Yin

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If you got some awesome takeaways from this episode and would love to show your appreciation, the best way would be through any of the following:

• Help sustain 88 Cups of Tea by making a monthly gift in any amount through our 'tokens of love' page

• Pick up our carefully crafted writing prompts with your gift of $10 or more

• Sign up to receive email updates about 88 Cups of Tea

• Subscribe to us on iTunes and leave a rating and a review

• Hang out with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or in our private Facebook group

• Tell your friends about our podcast and why you believe it would benefit them

We dedicate a ton of heart and soul into fostering a space that encourages learning, creativity, growth, and community. The most sincerest thank you for your love and support!

---

Have you checked out our archive of episodes by yet?

If you'd love to keep 88 Cups of Tea going strong, please consider supporting us through our Patreon membership. We added EARLY ACCESS TO INTERVIEWS for our Super Storyteller patrons in the $8.88 tier. Your kind support at any of our tiers is so helpful. A heartfelt thank you in advance.

https://www.patreon.com/88cupsoftea

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Do you struggle with the day-to-day of parenthood and the professional life? Can one person really make a difference in standing up to bigotry? What are the differences between honesty and kindness, and when are they called for? We unpack all of that (and way more) with today's special guest: Sabaa Tahir.

Sabaa is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of "An Ember in the Ashes" and its sequel, "A Torch Against the Night". Her highly anticipated third book "A Reaper at the Gates" just released this week!

And guess what else? This is Sabaa's second time on the show, our first-ever repeat guest! Click here to listen to her first episode.

Today's episode is proudly brought to you by Fab Fit Fun! (Be sure to use the promo code 'TEA' for $10 off your first box) Sabaa and I pick up where we left off from the first time around and we discuss things that will hit you right in the gut and empower you to make a difference. I'm thrilled to finally share this episode with

Say 'Hi' to Sabaa on Instagram and be sure to head over to her shownotes page. It features highlights covered from her episode along with our favorite quotes. Click here!

Xo,

Yin

---

If you got some awesome takeaways from this episode and would love to show your appreciation, the best way would be through any of the following:

• Help sustain 88 Cups of Tea by making a monthly gift in any amount through our 'tokens of love' page

• Pick up our carefully crafted writing prompts with your gift of $10 or more

• Sign up to receive email updates about 88 Cups of Tea

• Subscribe to us on iTunes and leave a rating and a review

• Hang out with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or in our private Facebook group

• Tell your friends about our podcast and why you believe it would benefit them

We dedicate a ton of heart and soul into fostering a space that encourages learning, creativity, growth, and community. The most sincerest thank you for your love and support!

---

Have you checked out our archive of episodes by yet?

Have you always wanted a close relationship with your grandparent? Do you dream of writing a children's book and have no idea where to start? Do you struggle with juggling your professional and personal responsibilities while writing? We get into all of that (and way more) with today's special guest: Minh Le.

Minh is a national early childhood policy expert, author of "Let Me Finish!", and has written for the New York Times, the Horn Book, and the Huffington Post. A first-generation Vietnamese American, he went to Dartmouth College and has a master's in education from Harvard University.

Today's episode is proudly brought to you by Fab Fit Fun! (Be sure to use the promo code 'TEA' for $10 off your first box) The conversation with Minh is so full of heart. I can't even begin to explain how much this discussion filled my soul and I'm thrilled to finally share this episode with you!

Say 'Hi' to Minh on Twitter and be sure to head over to his shownotes page. It's PACKED with highlights of the topics that are covered from his episode along with our favorite quotes and a list of all the helpful books and resources that he mentions throughout our conversation. We also included the WRITING PROMPT he created just for our community over in the shownotes page. Click here!

Xo,

Yin

---

If you got some awesome takeaways from this episode and would love to show your appreciation, the best way would be through any of the following:

• Help sustain 88 Cups of Tea by making a monthly gift in any amount through our 'tokens of love' page

• Pick up our carefully crafted writing prompts with your gift of $10 or more

• Sign up to receive email updates about 88 Cups of Tea

• Subscribe to us on iTunes and leave a rating and a review

• Hang out with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or in our private Facebook group

• Tell your friends about our podcast and why you believe it would benefit them

We dedicate a ton of heart and soul into fostering a space that encourages learning, creativity, growth, and community. The most sincerest thank you for your love and support!

---

Have you checked out our archive of episodes by yet?

If you'd love to keep 88 Cups of Tea going strong, please consider supporting us through our Patreon membership. We added EARLY ACCESS TO INTERVIEWS for our Super Storyteller patrons in the $8.88 tier. Your kind support at any of our tiers is so helpful. A heartfelt thank you in advance.

https://www.patreon.com/88cupsoftea

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Have you ever reached a point where you wanted to give up on your creative dreams after piles of rejections? Have you been struggling to push past a serious creative block? How about knowing when to put a story aside, and when to start a new one? We get into all of that (and so much more) with today's special guest: Stephanie Garber.

Stephanie is the New York Times and internationally bestselling author of "Caraval" and "Legendary" that just released this week! Her debut novel, Caraval, has been translated into over 30 languages, and the film rights for it have been optioned by 20th Century Fox.

I can't get enough of soul-filling conversations and this chat with Stephanie fulfilled that need to a tee (or shall I say, tea?)

This episode is longer than most and I promise you it's worth every minute.

Say 'Hi' to Stephanie on Twitter and be sure to head over to her shownotes page. It's PACKED with highlights of the topics that are covered from her episode along with time stamps. We also put up our favorite quotes and a list of all the helpful books and resources that she mentions throughout our conversation. Click here!

Xo,

Yin

---

If you got some awesome takeaways from this episode and would love to show your appreciation, the best way would be through any of the following:

• Help sustain 88 Cups of Tea by making a monthly gift in any amount through our 'tokens of love' page

• Pick up our carefully crafted writing prompts with your gift of $10 or more

• Sign up to receive email updates about 88 Cups of Tea

• Subscribe to us on iTunes and leave a rating and a review

• Hang out with us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or in our private Facebook group

• Tell your friends about our podcast and why you believe it would benefit them

We dedicate a ton of heart and soul into fostering a space that encourages learning, creativity, growth, and community. The most sincerest thank you for your love and support!

---

Have you checked out our archive of episodes by yet?

If you'd love to keep 88 Cups of Tea going strong, please consider supporting us through our Patreon membership. We added EARLY ACCESS TO INTERVIEWS for our Super Storyteller patrons in the $8.88 tier. Your kind support at any of our tiers is so helpful. A heartfelt thank you in advance.

https://www.patreon.com/88cupsoftea

-----------------

Where does a literary agent find new author clients? What are specific examples of query letters that really catch an agent's attention? We get into all of that (and so much more) with today's special guest: Eric Smith.

He's an author, blogger, podcaster, and literary agent for P.S. Literary. As an author, his first humor book, The Geek's Guide to Dating, was an Amazon 2013 Best Book of the Year selection in Humor, as well as a Best of the Year pick by PopSugar and Wired's GeekDad. He's also the author of the young adult novels "Inked" and its sequel "Branded". Eric's newest Young Adult novel "The Girl and the Grove" was just released this month.

You know I love picking our guests' brains, and I give Eric a million and one brownie points for being so transparent, genuine, and generous during our conversation.

Say 'Hi' to Eric on Twitter and be sure to head over to his shownotes page. There's a downloadable PDF featuring a query letter guide where I compiled notes, transcriptions of examples, and quotes to help ease your querying process. Be sure to download the guide by heading over to his shownotes page and scrolling to the bottom of the page. Click here!

Get ready to dive into the nitty-gritty and happy listening!

Xo,

Yin

PS. Do you know anyone who would love our conversation? Please share this episode to help spread the word!

---

If you got some awesome takeaways from this episode and would love to show your appreciation, the best way would be through any of the following:

• Grab our story idea prompts

• Contribute tokens of love

• Sign up to receive email updates about 88 Cups of Tea

• Subscribe to us on iTunes and leave a rating and a review

• Tell your friends about our podcast and why you believe it would benefit them

We dedicate a ton of heart and soul into fostering a space that encourages learning, creativity, growth, and community. The most sincerest thank you for your love and support!

---

Meet fellow members in our community and check in about your work-in-progress, and join in on other bookish talks and 88 Cups of Tea related things, join our private Facebook group! You can really feel the love and support in our community. You also get the opportunity to submit your questions for upcoming guests on the show. Click here to join our private Facebook group!

---

Have you checked out our archive of episodes by yet?

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"The way you promote yourself is the way you promote other people."

-Eric Smith

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WHAT YOU'LL LEARN IN TODAY'S EPISODE:

• Flashback: Eric's earliest memory of when he first fell in love with storytelling [6:00]
• The light-bulb moment when Eric discovered his immediate connection to the YA voice and audience [11:23]
• How his job at Quirk Books led to his first book deal for "The Geek's Guide to Dating" [12:43]
• How to approach opportunities working in different areas of the literary world [13:41]
• Is it necessary for our listeners to build a digital platform for ourselves? [15:06]
• Fun random side note in the episode: We talk about my big road trip move from California to New York and how we were hearing about each other through the community meetups in Chicago and Ann Arbor! [17:34]
• What prompted Eric to look into being a literary agent [19:05]
• Cameo featuring the one and only Auggie [19:50]
• Eric's early days as a literary agent, learning how to negotiate for his authors, and how negotiations are made [21:37]
• Where Eric finds new author clients to bring on [23:26]
• What kinds of stories attract him most when bringing on new representation [24:55]
• Example of a great hook used to describe a novel to editors [30:39]
• Eric unpacks the "hook, book, cook" idea of writing query letters and grabbing the attention of literary agents [31:15]
• Two specific exemplary examples of query letters that caught Eric's attention [32:27]
• What comp titles are and why they're important to include in your query letter [35:10]
• How Eric develops and guides his authors' careers and his role as an agent [38:38]
• We dive into our listeners' Q&A segment of the episode (If you'd love to submit your questions for upcoming guests, join our private Facebook group):
  • As a disabled writer working on an #ownvoices YA novel I would love to know: What does he feel is the most important part of a novel that is written by someone who shares their character's marginalization?
  • As a white cisgender person, I have a hard time writing outside of my lane mainly because I'm worried it isn't my place. Is there any advice he can give about writing diversely, while also being respectful of the fact that you are not part of those marginalized groups?
  • Who is more helpful as an assistant: Langston or Auggie?
  • Positive voices can be so hard to find in the confusing, tortuous, and anxiety-riddled labyrinth that is publishing. How do you stay human in an industry that can feel at times so dehumanizing with goal posts always moving and the only certainty is uncertainty?
  • I would love to know a little about anthology editing: How do you go about finding the authors to write the stories on the theme; where does agent representation come into it; and how you find an editor to publish the work?
  • Does he have any tips for writers balancing full-time jobs?
  • Please ask him how his corgi is doing for me because I am very invested thanks.

If you'd love to keep 88 Cups of Tea going strong, please consider supporting us through our Patreon membership. We added EARLY ACCESS TO INTERVIEWS for our Super Storyteller patrons in the $8.88 tier. Your kind support at any of our tiers is so helpful. A heartfelt thank you in advance.

https://www.patreon.com/88cupsoftea

---

Jenny founded The Bent Agency nearly 10 years ago and it has now grown into having nine agents with a strong focus on international rights and has offices in New York City and London. Her agency works with each author to map the publishing career of their dreams and make it a reality. They pay careful attention to details, from the terms of a first contract, editorial work and cover design, to the publisher's marketing and publicity plan, royalties and sales figures. The Bent Agency prides themselves on nurturing and discovering authors who they can help propel to the top of their category. They've even earned a reputation where they're known for their work ethic, their responsiveness, the quality of their client list and the results they achieve.

In this episode, we discuss the early days of Jenny's career and the path that unfolded to become a founder of her own company. She walks us through her role as a literary agent and touch briefly on film/tv and foreign rights deals and how understanding your co-agent's tastes in what they're seeking plays an important role.

Further into the conversation, we have a very inspiring discussion about how Jenny faced moments of paralysis during the lowest points in her life and how she moved past it by gritting her way through. We get into a lot of really insightful and helpful listener questions and you'll discover what tends to spark Jenny's interest and what she'd love to see more of from submissions, the voices that are most under-represented in the YA community and the key changes that need to be made. Towards the end of the episode, we flesh out Jenny's thoughts about authors' social media presence, and she shares when she will be re-opening to queries and what she is hoping to see more of.

Say 'Hi' to Jenny on Twitter! Head over to her shownotes page by clicking here.

Happy listening!

Xo,

Yin

PS. Do you know anyone who would love our conversation? Please share this episode to help spread the word!

---

If you enjoyed this episode, I'd really love your support in growing our community by subscribing to us on iTunes, and leaving a rating and review. These specific steps help to increase our visibility on iTunes which really helps new listeners discover us. A huge heartfelt thank you for your time and support! You can click here to go directly to our iTunes page!

---

Meet fellow members in our community and check in about your work-in-progress, and join in on other bookish talks and 88 Cups of Tea related things, join our private Facebook group! You can really feel the love and support in our community. You also get the opportunity to submit your questions for upcoming guests on the show. Click here to join our private Facebook group!

---

Warm welcome to our new listeners, be sure to check out our archive of episodes by clicking here!

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"Sometimes it's just as important to say no to an opportunity as it is to say yes."

-Jenny Bent (Click to tweet!)

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WHAT YOU'LL LEARN IN TODAY'S EPISODE:

• We discuss the early days of her career and dive into the path that led her to create her own literary agency
• We go into detail about her role as an agent
• How understanding your co-agent's tastes in what they're seeking plays an important role in film/tv deals and foreign rights deals
• The pros and cons of working from home as your own boss VS. working for someone else in an office setting
• Facing moments of paralysis at our lowest points and gritting our way through
• Discover what tends to spark Jenny's interest and what she'd like to see more of from submissions
• We discuss voices that are most under-represented in the YA community and the key changes that need to be made
• Jenny's thoughts on an author's social media presence
• Jenny shares when she will be re-opening to queries and what she is hoping to see more of

If you'd love to keep 88 Cups of Tea going strong, please consider supporting us through our Patreon membership. We added EARLY ACCESS TO INTERVIEWS for our Super Storyteller patrons in the $8.88 tier. Your kind support at any of our tiers is so helpful. A heartfelt thank you in advance.

https://www.patreon.com/88cupsoftea

---

In today's episode, we're featuring our conversation with Victoria Aveyard from the archives! During the time of the original release back in January 2016, Victoria just celebrated her 21st week on the New York Times list for "Red Queen", the first book in her series. Movie rights for the series were also sold to Universal Pictures with Gennifer Hutchison (from "Breaking Bad") penning the film adaptation and Elizabeth Banks in talks to direct. According to The Hollywood Reporter, RED QUEEN is similar to HUNGER GAMES, GAME OF THRONES, X-MEN, and CINDERELLA.

Since the time of her episode release back in 2016, Victoria has now published three #1 New York Times bestselling and USA Today bestselling books, and two New York Times bestselling novellas. The Red Queen series is currently being translated into 37 languages and counting, and the fourth and final book to conclude her beloved series, "War Storm", is releasing next week on May 15!

In the archived episode, we discuss story ideas and character development, how Victoria got her foot in the door with her literary agency, the ups and downs throughout her writing career, the publishing community, the importance of family, and a lot more incredibly inspiring stories and advice.

I specifically pulled this conversation from the archives because a lot of our listeners have shared that they've been struggling with getting through their first draft and are held back by the idea of "perfection". If you're struggling with this too, be sure to pay special attention to Victoria's episode. You'll learn so much and my hope is for you to feel just as refreshed, inspired, and motivated as I did after our interview!

Say 'Hi' to Victoria on Twitter! Head over to her shownotes page by clicking here.

Happy listening!

Xo,

Yin

PS. Do you know anyone who would love our conversation? Please share this episode to help spread the word!

---

If you enjoyed this episode, I'd really love your support in growing our community by subscribing to us on iTunes, and leaving a rating and review. These specific steps help to increase our visibility on iTunes which really helps new listeners discover us. A huge heartfelt thank you for your time and support! You can click here to go directly to our iTunes page!

---

Meet fellow members in our community and check in about your work-in-progress, and join in on other bookish talks and 88 Cups of Tea related things, join our private Facebook group! You can really feel the love and support in our community. You also get the opportunity to submit your questions for upcoming guests on the show. Click here to join our private Facebook group!

---

Warm welcome to our new listeners, be sure to check out our archive of episodes by clicking here!

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"Finish. Finishing is the most important thing no matter what you have to do."

-Victoria Aveyard (Click to tweet)

"I must be writing, in some way, shape, or form, to be happy."

-Victoria Aveyard (Click to tweet)

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WHAT YOU'LL LEARN IN TODAY'S EPISODE:

• Victoria's journey of transitioning from screenwriting to crafting her first novel
• How Victoria built her RED QUEEN series off of a single image and how this techniquecan help you craft your next story
• How Victoria creates an outline for her novels and how her advice can help you find your perfect outline structure
• The importance of knowing where your character comes from to create their perfect personality
• How writing for the fanfiction world indirectly became a writing workshop for Victoria
• Victoria shares writing techniques and tips used to grab readers' attention at the beginning of a novel

Nikki Grimes is the award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of dozens of children's and young adult books as well as a poet and journalist. Throughout her prolific career, Nikki has highlighted stories and characters from communities that have been largely underrepresented in young people's literature. Her latest novel, "Between The Lines", is the thought-provoking follow-up to her critically acclaimed "Bronx Masquerade", where readers follow the lives of a group of classmates that School Library Journal calls "a perfect blend of the many facets of American teens' lives." It also shows the capacity poetry has to express ideas and feelings, and connect us with ourselves and others.

Nikki received the Coretta Scott King Award for "Bronx Masquerade", and has also received four Coretta Scott King Honors. In 2017, she was awarded the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award for her substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children. She has written more than fifty books, including "The Road to Paris", "Jazmin's Notebook", the "Dyamonde Daniel" series, and the New York Times bestseller "Barack Obama: Son of Promise, Child of Hope".

In Nikki's episode, we discuss how writing first became Nikki's survival tool and coping strategy as a way to express herself during her younger years in and out of foster homes and we get a glimpse into her younger years.

Further into the conversation, Nikki brings us behind the scenes into the inspiration behind "Bronx Masquerade" and "Between The Lines", and how she is a very character-driven writer. Storytellers, this episode is such a special treat especially for our craft-focused writers who could use some inspiration and advice for creating compelling characters. We dive deep into Nikki's writing process and even deeper into the way she creates characters. From how she organizes the differences between all of her characters to why it's important to instill hope in them.

We also kick off the conversation talking all about traveling as y'all know I love my travels, and we wrap up the episode with advice from Nikki about coping with cutting large chunks out of our drafts during the revision process.

Say 'Hi' to Nikki on Twitter! Head over to her shownotes page by clicking here.

Happy listening!

Xo,

Yin

PS. Do you know anyone who would love our conversation? Please share this episode to help spread the word!

---

If you enjoyed this episode, I'd really love your support in growing our community by subscribing to us on iTunes, and leaving a rating and review. These specific steps help to increase our visibility on iTunes which really helps new listeners discover us. A huge heartfelt thank you for your time and support! You can click here to go directly to our iTunes page!

---

Meet fellow members in our community and check in about your work-in-progress, and join in on other bookish talks and 88 Cups of Tea related things, join our private Facebook group! You can really feel the love and support in our community. You also get the opportunity to submit your questions for upcoming guests on the show. Click here to join our private Facebook group!

---

Warm welcome to our new listeners, be sure to check out our archive of episodes by clicking here!

---

"When I had things on my heart or on my mind that I needed to get out, the way I got them out was to write."

-Nikki Grimes (Click to tweet!)

"There's always a deep, emotional connection for me with each of my books because, for me, the most important thing about writing is making an emotional connection with my reader and in order for them to go there, I have to go there first."

-Nikki Grimes (Click to tweet!)

"I had fun pairing various characters to explore one another's stories because I think you really can't come in as an adult and tell kids what to think. Really, the stories and the truths have to be revealed from their perspective."

-Nikki Grimes (Click to tweet!)

"Everything has a place. Nothing is ever, ever, ever really wasted. Even if you don't use a character or storyline again, you learn so much from the process of doing it that you then are able to apply to the next thing you write. So it's never wasted."

-Nikki Grimes (Click to tweet!)

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WHAT YOU'LL LEARN IN TODAY'S EPISODE:

• How writing first became Nikki's survival tool and coping strategy as a way to express herself during her younger years in and out of foster homes
• We discuss the inspiration behind "Bronx Masquerade" and "Between the Lines"
• How deep diving into your character's backstory provides fuel for writing your characters
• A look into Nikki's writing process and how she organizes the differences between her many characters
• Why it's crucial to instill hope in your characters
• Coping advice on removing large amounts of content from your story during the revision process

Rachel Caine is the New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of more than fifty novels in a diverse range of genres and categories. She has been honored with multiple awards from RT Booklovers Association and the Texas Library Association, and was honored with two spots on the 2012 "Most Favorite Books of UK Schoolchildren" list. More recently in 2017, she began writing thrillers with the huge bestsellers "Stillhouse Lake" and "Killman Creek". In early July of this year, she'll also be releasing "Smoke and Iron", her 4th book in the Great Library Series where she continues the adventures of her unforgettable characters from "Ink and Bone", "Paper and Fire", and "Ash and Quill".

In Rachel's episode, we discuss how she first fell into storytelling, how her musical background taught her to be in the moment with her writing, and how she met her first editor and then sold her first book. Be sure to pay special attention to the helpful advice on carving out time for your writing around a full-time job from the time management queen herself. We also dive into the details about the inspiration behind her stories that helped establish the urban fantasy genre, how she proactively gets the word out about her novels, advice on navigating the world of conventions, conferences, and school visits to promote your work, and how Rachel and her team packages her different genres to make her series distinct from one another.

Further into our conversation, we discuss how to go about the writing business by taking control of your expectations, the different ways to overcome writing difficult scenes in your story, crafting a plot that interacts naturally with your characters, and advice on how to decide which point of view works best for your story. We also discuss why it's important to keep the passion with your story alive throughout the entire process.

Say 'Hi' to Rachel on Twitter! Head over to her shownotes page for a list of resources mentioned in the episode by clicking here.

Happy listening!

Xo,

Yin

PS. Do you know anyone who would love our conversation? Please share this episode to help spread the word!

---

If you enjoyed this episode, I'd really love your support in growing our community by subscribing to us on iTunes, and leaving a rating and review. These specific steps help to increase our visibility on iTunes which really helps new listeners discover us. A huge heartfelt thank you for your time and support! You can click here to go directly to our iTunes page!

---

Meet fellow members in our community and check in about your work-in-progress, and join in on other bookish talks and 88 Cups of Tea related things, join our private Facebook group! You can really feel the love and support in our community. You also get the opportunity to submit your questions for upcoming guests on the show. Click here to join our private Facebook group!

---

Warm welcome to our new listeners, be sure to check out our archive of episodes by clicking here!

---

"Writing is unique business in that there is so much of it that you can't control. You can only control what you do and nothing else."

-Rachel Caine (Click to tweet!)

"You have to figure out what your expectations are and how you can best apply yourself to the process."

-Rachel Caine (Click to tweet!)

"You have to learn to balance just like you balance your work and your family life and all that. You've got to learn how to balance writing and everything else. If it's a matter of your health, then I think you have to choose your health."

-Rachel Caine (Click to tweet!)

"As far as points of view, you pick the person to whom the story matters the most. That's my general rule."

-Rachel Caine (Click to tweet!)

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WHAT YOU'LL LEARN IN TODAY'S EPISODE:

• How Rachel met her first editor and sold her first book
• A look into Rachel's musical background that taught her how to be in the moment with her writing
• Ways you can carve out time for your writing while working a full-time job
• The importance of taking care of your health and the tips and tools that can help you stay healthy as a writer
• The inspiration behind Rachel Caine and her stories that helped establish the urban fantasy genre
• How taking control of your expectations will help you navigate the writing business
• How Rachel proactively promotes and gets the word out about her novels
• Advice on how to strategically navigate the world of conventions, conferences, and school visits to promote your work
• An exciting look at all the projects Rachel is currently working on
• How a conversation on Twitter pushed Rachel and Ann Aguirre together to craft the "Honor Among Thieves" series
• Ways to overcome writing difficult scenes in your story
• How Rachel and her team packages her different genres to make her series distinct from one another
• The importance of crafting a plot that interacts naturally with your characters
• Rachel's experience with writing from different points of view and advice on how to decide which point of view works best for your story
• The importance of keeping the passion and attraction you have towards your story alive throughout the entire process

Emily X.R. Pan is the New York Times bestselling author of her debut novel "The Astonishing Color of After". She is the founding editor-in-chief of Bodega Magazine, and a 2017 Artist-in-Residence at Djerassi, and she received her MFA in fiction from the NYU Creative Writing Program where she was a Goldwater Fellow.

"The Astonishing Color of After" received five starred reviews and is a Wall Street Journal's top 12 picks of the season. Entertainment Weekly described her first novel as "accessible and compelling." and was also recommended by other popular media outlets like Buzzfeed, Book Riot, PopSugar and more.

In today's episode, we get deep into discussion about Emily's career paths and why and how she made the shift from business to writing. We dive into the details about "The Astonishing Color of After", from the family story that inspired her to write the novel, to discovering the voice in her story, and to her editing process. Emily also shares what it was like to re-discover Taiwan as an adult for the research phase of her book.

Further into our conversation, we talk about the importance of trusting your instincts when sharing your work with your peers, the role that negative space serves in crafting short stories, and tips on organically marketing your novel.

Say 'Hi' to Emily on Twitter! Head over to her shownotes page for a list of resources mentioned in the episode by clicking here.

Happy listening!

Xo,

Yin

PS. Do you know anyone who would love our conversation? Please share this episode to help spread the word!

---

If you enjoyed this episode, I'd really love your support in growing our community by subscribing to us on iTunes, and leaving a rating and review. These specific steps help to increase our visibility on iTunes which really helps new listeners discover us. A huge heartfelt thank you for your time and support! You can click here to go directly to our iTunes page!

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"I want to have that community. I want to be immersed and surrounded by people who are reading novels and who are talking creatively and talking about the things that they're creating and the characters they're making and the stories they're trying to tell."

-Emily X.R. Pan (Click to tweet!)

"It's really crucial to be able to take away and let the negative space speak for itself."

-Emily X.R. Pan (Click to tweet!)

"I kind of just wanted to create in this cave with just myself which at times is very lonely but I also feel like I sort of needed it for this book. I needed to develop the confidence to trust in my own words and in my own voice again."

-Emily X.R. Pan (Click to tweet!)

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WHAT YOU'LL LEARN IN TODAY'S EPISODE:

• Emily's shift in career paths and the success and happiness she found in her dream career
• Emily's family story that inspired her to write "The Astonishing Color of After"
• How to overcome feeling overwhelmed during your research process
• The importance of writing your story in the voice you know best
• The role negative space serves in crafting short stories
• A look into Emily's editing process to rework the world of "The Astonishing Color of After"
• Tips on organically marketing your novel
• The importance of trusting your instincts when sharing your work with your peers