Bad Lit Friends

Ah, capitalism! BLF gets all topical as we dive into the Mia Ballard Shy Girl debacle and spoiler alert: we're not here to pile on Mia. We've got bigger, smellier fish to fry, starting with the Big Five publisher who somehow forgot that editors kinda-sorta are supposed to, like, edit? Oh no, that costs money, so whatevs, we guess.

We talk about how Ballard is simultaneously the most and least powerful person in this disaster show, the publishers who hung her out to dry, and the uncomfortable truth about who gets pilloried for literary fraud and who doesn't. Plus we get all intersectional-like as we get SUPER ANGRY about misogyny, racism, classism, and why capitalism is gobbling up artistry to make yet more yacht money. Somehow we're still capitalists, but... watch this space???

Plus in Hot Goss: Some twerp on Substack asserted that it costs $25,000 to successfully query a literary agent and he is awfully and confidently wrong. Not surprising when you come across as having an ego the size of Saturn!

Welcome to Bad Lit Friends. We're glad you're here, even if none of us know what we're doing.

Bad Lit Friends was created and is hosted by Meagan Thompson-Mann and Kirk Rafferty.

Show email: [email protected]

Bluesky: @badlitfriends.bsky.social

Threads: @badlitfriends

Instagram: @badlitfriends

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BadLitFriends

Website: badlitfriends.com

Show notes:

Shy Girl

• New York Times (boo hiss -- free link because we love you): https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/19/books/shy-girl-book-ai.html?unlocked_article_code=1.UlA.SBZg.n608mfV3RwdK&smid=url-share
• Reddit post from r/horrorlit: https://www.reddit.com/r/horrorlit/comments/1q8so32/shy_girl_by_mia_ballard_does_anyone_else_think/
• Frankie Shelf's 2 hr 40 min video (for those with a lot of time): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbeKTa5xhZo
• Whyn Lewis's amazing art! https://www.instagram.com/whynlewispaintings/

Hot Goss

For true connoisseurs of wankerdom only, may we recommend the stylings of Michael O. Church?

• It costs $25k for a successful query. Okay, Jan. https://antipodes.substack.com/p/yes-it-costs-25000-to-query-literary
• More whining, just earlier, also very wrong: https://antipodes.substack.com/p/literary-agents-dont-read-how-i-proved

This week we're revisiting some old Hot Gos, and seeing what's changed. Also a new hot gos that we hope to never revisit again because yuck.

Welcome to Bad Lit Friends. We’re glad you’re here, even if none of us know what we’re doing.

Bad Lit Friends was created and is hosted by Meagan Thompson-Mann and Kirk Rafferty.

Show email: [email protected]

Bluesky: @badlitfriends.bsky.social.

Threads: @badlitfriends

Instagram: @badlitfriends

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BadLitFriends

Website: badlitfriends.com

Show notes:

ALL the Milo Winter!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jfKcAoJGR80

youtube.com/watch?v=rWgVsq4igx4&si=dxhoraDJlVdg4s1j

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-Pg93B7dTY

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9I_KX_FFw0

Saints and Sinners!

https://annalisereads.com/sinners-stardust-2025)

Organizers handled this RIGHT – took responsibility and said this won’t happen againWebsite for next event – Boston August 14-16: https://www.sinnersandstardust.com/boston-2026

Event site has a link to a thoughtful and clear code of conduct: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-CqSF31HSogkY1d0rKR8pIsYYl3QY0hr2T4QFyNShBo/edit?tab=t.0

Willow Talks!

Episode 17 – BookTuber Willow Talks caught heat when she went off on “romantasy girlies” being “not that bright” https://www.reddit.com/r/booktubesnarkreddit/comments/1p0a508/willow_talks_books_hating_on_romantasy_readers/ 

Jordan Lee and eating sandwiches at the fascist kids' table

Discussed at TOO MUCH LENGTH in this Substack: https://substack.com/home/post/p-172988157

New Hot Gos!

The author who dedicated her book to Charlie Kirk and no this wasn’t a troll: https://www.threads.com/@mkm_library/post/DVlrlOWkeWd?xmt=AQF0xNbcng3YiqeighF1NbsYjA3lmWyXO-6DLr5k165TgLYf-XvzuK4aShdq_BGiFAL1arE7&slof=1

But she’s watched so many many hours of Charlie Kirk videos and all those big meanies aren’t understanding how very wrong they are: https://www.instagram.com/p/DVrOSnFEYzp/?img_index=1

This week, BLF's all about our agent wish list: all the things we wish literary agents would do better. (You're all perfect though! Utterly and thoroughly!) We are back in the trenches (deal with it, PubTips gatekeepers) and ready to tank our author careers before they get started because who doesn't feel like a soupçon of nihilism these days???

We have SO MANY THOUGHTS about query forms, submission pipelines, communication gaps, and why the *%#! are we still doing partials in 2026 when no one sends physical manuscripts anymore? We discuss streamlining query requirements, the importance of updating MSWLs (help us help you!), closing to queries occasionally, and the eternal mystery of "why did you query this agency?" We also turn the mirror on ourselves and talk about what writers can (gulp) do better. Because—shocker!— we're not perfect either. Well, sometimes we are, but it's good to be humble.

PLUS Hot Goss about Grammarly's new AI "expert review" feature that let dead authors critique your work (!!!). Nobody asked for this who wasn't being paid to sell it! Also: sex dolls somehow came up and we're very sorry. Sort of.

Welcome to Bad Lit Friends. We’re glad you’re here, even if none of us know what we’re doing.

Bad Lit Friends was created and is hosted by Meagan Thompson-Mann and Kirk Rafferty.

Show email: [email protected]

Bluesky: @[email protected].

Threads: @badlitfriends

Instagram: @badlitfriends

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BadLitFriends

Website: badlitfriends.com

Show notes: HOOOO BOY GRAMMARLY! : https://www.theverge.com/ai-artificial-intelligence/890921/grammarly-ai-expert-reviews 

Since we recorded, Grammarly has walked this revolting “function” all the way back after authors, researchers, and users revolted but does this wash the sin away? My sources (bashed up Magic 8-Ball, common sense, and my vague recollection of California privacy torts law) say NO: https://www.wired.com/story/grammarly-is-facing-a-class-action-lawsuit-over-its-ai-expert-review-feature/

In this episode, we explore the complex landscape of social media and why it's all evil evil evil. We talk about our own personal experiences with social media, going all the way back to the halcyon days of Usenet, MySpace, and forums, because we are oooold.

HOT GOS: Should you refuse to read in a genre, write a book in that genre, and then crap all over the genre? The answer may surprise you!

Welcome to Bad Lit Friends. We’re glad you’re here, even if none of us know what we’re doing.

Bad Lit Friends was created and is hosted by Meagan Thompson-Mann and Kirk Rafferty.

Show email: [email protected]

Bluesky: @[email protected].

Threads: @badlitfriends

Instagram: @badlitfriends

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BadLitFriends

Website: badlitfriends.com

Show notes:

You can hear more about Print Run Podcast's $100 query deal to benefit Open Market at the Zion Community Commons here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0NRCvMqEBJXYUkHvTi2DC6

What's in your boneyard? This week we're talking about shelf novels, not-ready-for-primetime attempts, and all those beautiful disasters collecting dust in your Scrivener files. Join us as we confess to our abandoned manuscripts (Kirk's got a fantasy novel about Irish legends, Meagan's got EIGHT BOOKS in something called "the Melaverse"), discuss why sometimes quitters CAN be winners, and consider whether some books only exist to teach you how to write the next one. (Hmmmm, maybe??)

PLUS Hot Goss: authors should be allowed to talk about their rejection letters in public as long as they're not being dickish when spilling tea, more on the power dynamics between writers and agents, and why the algorithm on Threads will absolutely make you the main character when you least expect it so, uh, don't be a dick?

Welcome to Bad Lit Friends. We’re glad you’re here, even if none of us know what we’re doing.

Bad Lit Friends was created and is hosted by Meagan Thompson-Mann and Kirk Rafferty.

Show email: [email protected]

Bluesky: @[email protected].

Threads: @badlitfriends

Instagram: @badlitfriends

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BadLitFriends

Website: badlitfriends.com

Show notes:

The Shit No One Tells You About Writing podcast (yes, yes, we know we bungled the name of an amazing podcast that we both listen to so you think we'd know better but NO): https://www.theshitaboutwriting.com/

In this episode, we read some iconic opening lines, from timeless classics to modern favorites (we got you covered too, indies!), and why those first few words have so much pressure to be brilliant (nbd right?).

We also give some well-deserved attention to epistolary novels and at least try to make the case for reading more broadly, even when it means stepping out of your comfort zone. We’re here to celebrate great writing, side-eye lazy tropes, and remind everyone that books are better when they surprise you.

In hot goss, we talk about why empathy might just be literature’s greatest superpower.

Welcome to Bad Lit Friends. We’re glad you’re here, even if none of us know what we’re doing.

Bad Lit Friends was created and is hosted by Meagan Thompson-Mann and Kirk Rafferty.

Show email: [email protected]

Bluesky: @[email protected].

Threads: @badlitfriends

Instagram: @badlitfriends

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BadLitFriends

Website: badlitfriends.com

Show notes:

Pride and Prejudice: https://bookshop.org/p/books/pride-and-prejudice-jane-austen/d037d070de87e54f
Bleak House: https://bookshop.org/p/books/bleak-house-charles-dickens/0a8f64b370463d43
Maeve Fly: https://bookshop.org/p/books/maeve-fly-cj-leede/96a041c5c9a4bca4
Crazy Rich Asians: https://bookshop.org/p/books/crazy-rich-asians-movie-tie-in-edition-kevin-kwan/f0c74f97854adae8
The Midnight Dolls: https://a.co/d/05U56oDk
Dear Committee Members: https://villagewell.com/item/ERwtpK2h44AEywicI58rtg
READ MORE DIVERSELY!!! https://www.instagram.com/reel/DUJqpOWEvzh/?igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

After Meagan's car tries to murder her (and she still shows up to record because some people have PRIORITIES), we tackle something actually positive for once: the writing community! Well, we try to stay positive. This week we're exploring what writing communities are, why they matter, and how they keep us from feeling like dysfunctional, self-hating chaos goblins screaming "MUST WRITE MORE" into the deep, dark night. (See? Positive!)

As Kirk tries to enforce the promise that we're going to keep this episode upbeat, we talk about the benefits, practical and otherwise, of communities: feedback, accountability, emotional support, and not feeling so effing alone in a solitary pursuit. Plus we dive into When Communities Go Wrong: toxic positivity, gatekeeping (not again!), jealousy of others who are doing nothing wrong except ummmmm succeeding when we're not, and the particularly vile corners of social media that engender all this grossness. It's mostly cheery! Mostly!

Plus in Hot Goss: More publishers behaving badly! Who'da thunk it?? Red Ogre Review's proudly not backing down from some hellacious submission terms that read like a stick-em-up, and Harper's Bazaar is doing the EXACT SAME THING they got called out for in 2019: making you assign them some rights when you submit that nobody should want to. (But some people will; selling your soul never goes out of style.) Also, just when you thought this podcast was marked safe from contract interpretation, we break down why trusting someone who says "I'm a nice guy who would never enforce this garbage term" maybe isn't such a great idea.

Also Victoria Strauss of Writer Beware is now following Meagan on Bluesky and Meagan's being completely normal about it.

Welcome to Bad Lit Friends. We’re glad you’re here, even if none of us know what we’re doing.

Bad Lit Friends was created and is hosted by Meagan Thompson-Mann and Kirk Rafferty.

Show email: [email protected]

Bluesky: @[email protected].

Threads: @badlitfriends

Instagram: @badlitfriends

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BadLitFriends

Website: badlitfriends.com

Show notes:

Red Ogre Review brouhaha:

https://bsky.app/profile/j-tkelly.bsky.social/post/3me2qrh5odk2t

https://bsky.app/profile/victoriastrauss.com/post/3me2vhydn6223

Harper's Bazaar sucking all over the place: https://writerbeware.blog/2026/02/06/unhappy-returns-harpers-bazaar-short-story-contest-america-star-books/

In this episode, we chat about our own writing journeys: what went wrong, what went right, and what we really wish we’d known back in the day. We talk discipline (no, not that discipline, get your mind out of the gutter--or don't, we're not your boss), luck and timing, and whether writers actually have to be on social media or if we can all just, like, not.

Along the way, we swap stories about building an online presence, finding (and leaning on) a writing community, and riding the emotional roller coaster that comes with putting our work into the world.

On hot gos, we explore everything ever that is wrong with romance. (no, we don't)

Welcome to Bad Lit Friends. We’re glad you’re here, even if none of us know what we’re doing.

Bad Lit Friends was created and is hosted by Meagan Thompson-Mann and Kirk Rafferty.

Show email: [email protected]

Bluesky: @[email protected].

Threads: @badlitfriends

Instagram: @badlitfriends

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BadLitFriends

Website: badlitfriends.com

Show notes:

The video mentioned in our hot gos segment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TReLoQAfrYQ

Thank you, Christy, for your delightful comment!

Rejection letters: they suck! But also they're not the end of the world! (Trust us, we've been there. Repeatedly.) Join us for a loosey-goosey conversation about what you can learn from form and personalized rejections from literary agents, the agony of being ghosted, and why your "dream agent" might not actually be your dream agent at all. Kirk shares war stories from 200+ queries, Meagan credits her law degrees for her cold dead heart, and we debate whether the worst icon on QueryTracker is that red frowny face (yes).

PLUS Hot Goss about an agent who accused a writer of using AI and shared their manuscript with colleagues to gossip about it (!!!). Do we have to tap the "unless there's an literal prompt left in the text, maybe don't accuse a writer of using AI if you don't know better" sign again? Because between us we have twenty fingers. We can keep tapping.

Welcome to Bad Lit Friends. We’re glad you’re here, even if none of us know what we’re doing.

Bad Lit Friends was created and is hosted by Meagan Thompson-Mann and Kirk Rafferty.

Show email: [email protected]

Bluesky: @[email protected].

Threads: @badlitfriends

Instagram: @badlitfriends

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BadLitFriends

Website: badlitfriends.com

Show notes:

Rejection letter drama on Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/PubTips/comments/1qjhidt/discussion_very_strange_response_from_an_agent/

Reddit post about whether Mia Ballard's Shy Girl was written by AI: https://www.reddit.com/r/horrorlit/comments/1q8so32/shy_girl_by_mia_ballard_does_anyone_else_think/

In this episode, we dive into the oft-dreaded topic of comparison titles, or 'comps,' which are essential for writers looking to query agents. We talk about the importance of comps in understanding market placement and how they can help writers articulate their book's unique qualities. We also discuss finding appropriate comps, the pitfalls of choosing titles that are either too obscure or too popular, and the nuances of crafting a compelling query letter that includes these comparisons.

In Hot Goss, we opine on the very real and true meaning of friendship: buy my book, or you're dead to me.

Welcome to Bad Lit Friends. We’re glad you’re here, even if none of us know what we’re doing.

Bad Lit Friends was created and is hosted by Meagan Thompson-Mann and Kirk Rafferty.

Show email: [email protected]

Bluesky: @[email protected].

Threads: @badlitfriends

Instagram: @badlitfriends

Website: badlitfriends.com