Delivering on the DNA of the Book

Carly Watters (0:00)

As a literary agent, I spend every day looking at how words connect with an audience, and you might be surprised by how many iconic authors honed that exact craft through copywriting. Legends like Kurt Vonnegut, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Liam Moriarty, Salman Rushdie, Joseph Heller, and Bonnie Garmus all work as copywriters. Today, even in an AI era, skilled human copywriters are needed more than ever. The industry is projected to reach nearly 50 billion by 2032, and the best part is learning the craft authentically. The Comprehensive Copywriting Academy specifically teaches students never to use AI to write their copy, but rather how to craft compelling high-converting marketing that truly resonates. We are supported by the Comprehensive Copywriting Academy, the number one all-in-one online training program for building a copywriting career. Created by Nicky Krozek, a copywriter with over 20 years of experience writing for brands like Adidas, TripAdvisor, and Hasbro, CeCe is designed to teach you how to write marketing copy that gets real results. What makes it stand out is that it's not just about writing theory, it gives you everything you need to build a viable career at your own pace. Whether you want a flexible side income or full-time business, with over 12,000 students worldwide, members get access to portfolio building training, live coaching calls, professional feedback, and active private community and practical systems for pitching and landing actual clients. Go to the CeCe.co.ts podcast to sign up for their free on-demand video workshop and learn if copywriting might be the right next step for you.

Bianca Marais (1:28)

Hi there, and welcome to our show, The Shit No One Tells You About Writing. I'm best-selling author Bianca Marais, and I'm joined by CeCe Lyra of Wendy Sherman Associates and Carly Watters of PS. Literary.

Hi everyone, welcome back to another Books with Hooks. We have a special guest joining us today, we're very excited about it. But before I get CeCe to introduce our guest, there is something super exciting that CeCe wants to tell you about. CeCe.

CeCe Lyra (1:57)

I am speaking from the future because even though we're not in October, this is airing on October 8th, which means that currently I'm on Tenter Hooks, Future Me is anyway, waiting for our live presentation of the acquisitions pipeline. And fun fact, Emma Caruso, who works with Elizabeth, who I'm about to introduce, is on our panel of acquiring editors, taking the lead on romance and romcom submissions.

Now, if you're listening to this, it's too late to sign up for the acquisitions pipeline. Sorry, that ship has sailed, but there is another fun ship you can board. Head over to my Instagram page or website to find out all about CeCe's Coaching Corner, a year long membership program featuring lots and lots of cozy break room sessions and presentations led by top publishing professionals. Our speaker in November is Kate Dresser. She's kicking off Industry Hour. She's going to tell us all about how she sells. Kate is an acquiring editor at Putnam, and acquiring editors don't just buy, they have to sell before they can buy a book, they have to pitch it to their team, and they must be persuasive because there are only so many titles an imprint can buy.

Kate is going to take us through five titles that she pitched to her team. Some of them she was able to buy, some of them she wasn't. She's going to tell us all about the questions she had to field from her team and how various publishing departments analyze a title's market potential. So you don't want to miss it, head over and sign up.

Now without further ado, Future Me can stop futureizing and we can live in the present. I am so excited to welcome our very special guest, Elizabeth. Elizabeth is an editor at Dial Delights, who was recently brought over to help expand the list across all romance subgenres. Think Romantic, Dark Romance, Paranormal Romance, Contemporary Romance, Romantic Comedies, Cozy Romantic Fantasy and everything in between. She's looking for stories about strong main characters and the love interests who are obsessed with them. Before Dial, she was at Atria Books, where she worked with Colleen Hoover, Elsie Silver, Penn Cole, among others. She also posts about life as an acquiring editor for a Big 5 publisher on Instagram and on TikTok. I love her Instagram page. So check her out at Elizabeth Off The Page. Welcome, Elizabeth.

Elizabeth Hitti Musicant (4:19)

Thank you so much for having me.

Bianca Marais (4:21)

That's one heck of a bio.

Elizabeth Hitti Musicant (4:23)

Yay.

CeCe Lyra (4:25)

The best bio.

Bianca Marais (4:26)

Just in case you're wondering about the quality of acquiring editors that CeCe is bringing to us, this whole segment was CeCe's idea and what an amazing idea it is. Without further ado, we are going to dive right in. CeCe, will you please kick us off with the first query?