Thriller 101

Send me a Text Message!

Welcome to part 1 of this 2 part interview. Today, I'll be talking to Amy Elizabeth Bishop.

LINKS
Writerly Lifestyle Free Newsletter
Article and Full Transcript
Amy's Agency Page
Query Manager
Manuscript Wish List
Connect with her on Twitter

BIO
Amy joined Dystel Goderich & Borret literary agency in 2015 after interning for them in 2014. At DG&B, she's cultivating a wide-ranging list in literary and upmarket fiction, expert-driven narrative nonfiction, and select YA, with a special interest in the voices of BIPOC authors. Her list includes titles such as The Last Story of Mina Lee by Nancy Jooyoun Kim (a Reese's Book Club selection and NYT bestseller), The Silence of Bones by June Hur (a Junior Library Guild selection and Edgar Award nominee), and Living Brave by Shannon Dingle (published Summer 2021). Before diving into the world of publishing, she graduated from SUNY Geneseo with a degree in Creative Writing. Though she grew up upstate, she currently resides in Astoria, Queens. You can find her on Twitter at @amylizbishop.

If you ever wondered what it was like to be a literary agent, Amy takes us on quite the tour through her day to day life, but also how she got to where she is. It’s important to remember that people don’t become agents 

3 Big Takeaways

1. Get book or media industry experience under your belt
2. Structure your day around your brain power
3. Reach out to professionals in the career you want.

Favorite Quote:
"[As an agent] you work in the service of your clients, and their best interests, and if people get mad at you about that, that's not your problem. Your clients come first, and always first. And so you're going to ruffle some feathers sometimes but like that's, you know, we want to be courteous and polite at all times if possible, but you can't be faulted for doing what is in the best interest of your clients."

In part two of this interview, Amy and I will be talking about what she’s looking for now, why it's helpful to go with newer agents, trends in publishing, twitter pitch parties, and Amy's tips for writers. Be sure to check that out next week!

Get the list of 125+ Literary Agents who rep Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, and Crime Fiction

Study the Opening Paragraphs of the Top Authors Writing Thrillers Right Now

Send me a Text Message!

Bennett Pellington is an award winning filmmaker who is hard at work at Part 2 of his award winning short film. He and I talk about storytelling, the struggles with filmmaking, and how to over come them!

Links
Writerly Lifestyle Free Newsletter
Miner's Mountain
Miner's Mountain Part II Trailer
Bennett Pellington's Website
Instagram
Link to Full Transcript

3 Big Takeaways

1. Use "Master Texts" to practice your craft
2. Best books for aspiring filmmakers: Blake Snyder's Save the Cat & Hollywood Standard
3. The Silent Film Check: Watch a movie silently and see if you can follow what's happening. If you can't there's probably too much exposition. Do this check with your own work.

Favorite Quote
"No one should plagiarize. That is not anywhere near when I'm even trying to get across here. But one thing that helped me kind of learn screenwriting and find my voice and writing is looking at other scripts. And they don't even have to be in the genre that you're working on. But to read from those writers who have done it in the past and sold their script and just hear how they wrote, like even your action lines or describing lines. It's really informative, 

You know, as long as you're not stealing like dialogue and other big things are set pieces whatever like, don't, don't take it but make it your own. Take what they did, which works, and go make it your own. Now you have a bit of a roadmap. 

I have a buddy who used to take a scene from a movie that he'd say it's kind of like the general same sense of a scene from another movie. And he'll take that scene, and he would open up a new draft and not copy that scene, but he would put his characters in, and paste all the action lines, and then he'd go through one by one, and write it out as if he was writing, you know Die Hard or whatever, right. 

But then by manipulating it and changing and making his own, you have a totally different scene, but it's in the same arc as a scene from, you know, Die Hard or something, and it just helped inform him how to go about that next hurdle right because you cross that hurdle and then you got 100 more in front."

Get the list of 125+ Literary Agents who rep Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, and Crime Fiction

Study the Opening Paragraphs of the Top Authors Writing Thrillers Right Now

Send me a Text Message!

Bennett Pellington is an award winning filmmaker who is hard at work at Part 2 of his award winning short film. He and I talk about storytelling, the struggles with filmmaking, and how to over come them!

Links
Writerly Lifestyle Free Newsletter
Link to Article and Full Transcript
Miner's Mountain
Miner's Mountain Part II Trailer
Bennett Pellington's Website
Bennett's Instagram


3 Big Takeaways

1. Feel comfortable making things up — but in the right way
2. Leave your ego at the door.
3. Use whatever you have to make good art

Favorite Quote
"I think just resilience, just, just don't give up, I know it's so cliche, but you just keep powering through. If you believe in the story you're trying to tell, or, you know if you’re a cinematographer in totally immersing yourself and learning that craft, and then even pushing it further to like, now everyone knows you can shoot something that looks beautiful. 
But now immerse into the psyche of like story, right, trying to understand why are we pushing in here? Why not use this lens instead of this lens? When to hold in closer? 
It becomes such a wonderful collaboration that I think if you just really stick it out, and if you can find yourself working alongside others that inspire you are better than you. It can really become a beautiful relationship in many ways because you're going to learn a lot from them."

Get the list of 125+ Literary Agents who rep Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, and Crime Fiction

Study the Opening Paragraphs of the Top Authors Writing Thrillers Right Now

Send me a Text Message!

Bennett Pellington is an award winning filmmaker who is hard at work at Part 2 of his award winning short film. He and I talk about storytelling, the struggles with filmmaking, and how to over come them!

Links
Writerly Lifestyle Free Newsletter
Miner's Mountain
Miner's Mountain Part II Trailer
Bennett Pellington's Website
Instagram
Link to Full Transcript

3 Big Takeaways

1. It's important to write the stories that stick with you
2. Don't always rush something into publication. It's often worth it for you to wait until it's fully fleshed out.
3. Character is vital to telling a great story.

Favorite Quote
"...when I started discovering other movies like dramas that I really really really enjoyed. I started finding the whole character arcs and seeing how filmmakers and writers like develop the plot points and characters when I started falling in love with that more. So, I do love the thriller.

I just think it's such a great genre to help build tension and kind of feel a little claustrophobic and who hasn't ever felt like they just have the world on their shoulders and, yeah, you know what I mean I think that a lot of people can relate, even if it is like wild circumstances."

Get the list of 125+ Literary Agents who rep Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, and Crime Fiction

Study the Opening Paragraphs of the Top Authors Writing Thrillers Right Now

Send me a Text Message!

Hey friends, my name is Dave and on the Writerly Lifestyle Podcast, we're going to explore the strategies and tools that help writers and creatives live happier, richer, more productive lives. We're here to prove that writing careers are more than hobbies and that making a good living isn't just possible, it's probable. We're going to do this through interviews, articles, tutorials, reviews and more.

On this channel you'll hear from award winning filmmakers, best-selling authors, literary agents, talented editors, and more! Every week you'll get episodes that will help you grow as a writer and achieve the goals you have for yourself. This podcast will show you what it takes to make it in a creative career.

So be sure to subscribe and join the Writerly Lifestyle Community. Because you're not going to want to miss a single episode!

Get the list of 125+ Literary Agents who rep Thriller, Mystery, Suspense, and Crime Fiction

Study the Opening Paragraphs of the Top Authors Writing Thrillers Right Now