The Write It Scared Podcast

If you’re querying—or even thinking about it—this episode is going to change how you approach your pitch.
In this episode of the Write It Scared podcast, I sit down with literary agent and author Ann Rose to talk about what actually makes a query stand out. (Spoiler: it doesn’t have to be perfect. It has to be clear.) We dig into hook, stakes, market realities, why “Dexter meets Legally Blonde” works, and what happens after an agent requests a full.
We also talk about imposter syndrome, the slower publishing climate, why publishing is product (even though writing is art), and why you might want to write your query—and your synopsis—before you finish your book.
If you’ve been overthinking your pitch letter, this one will ground you fast.
Timestamps
 00:00 Queries Need Clarity (Not Perfection)
 03:30 Ann’s Path to Agenting
 07:15 Her Novels + Hook Examples
 19:29 The Current Publishing Climate
 23:57 What Makes a Hook Work
 27:46 From Full Request to Offer
 30:53 Writing Is Art, Publishing Is Product
 34:50 Why You Should Write the Query First
 36:45 Why Synopses Matter

Tobias website - www.thetobiasagency.com
Ann's website - www.amroseauthor.com
Instagram/Threads/TikTok - totally_anntastic

Books By Ann Rose
The Seemingly Impossible Love Life of Amanda Dean 
A Hexcellent Chance to Fall in Love 
www.annroseauthor.com

Have a comment or idea about the show? Send me a direct text! Love to hear from you.
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To get in touch with Stacy:
Email: [email protected]

https://www.writeitscared.co/wis
https://www.instagram.com/writeitscared/


Take advantage of these Free Resources From Write It Scared:
Download Your Free Novel Planning and Drafting Quick Start Guide
Download Your Free Guide to Remove Creative Blocks and Work Through Fears

What do you do after 197 rejections … for the same book?
Well, if you’re author Carmela Dutra, you keep going.
In this episode, Carmela shares the real story behind her debut cozy mystery, A Murder Most Foul—from querying too soon and rewriting extensively to finding the right agent after nearly 200 nos. We talk about saggy middles, tense slips, brutal feedback, and what it takes to rebuild a manuscript from the ground up.
If you're struggling with self-doubt, facing a bunch of rejection, and just feeling like maybe it’s time to throw in the towel—this conversation will arm you with what you need to keep going and protect your mindset!
Timestamps: 
04:20 Personalizing cold queries
06:12 What A Murder Most Foul is about
11:19 Craft struggles: saggy middles & tense slips
15:44 Surviving 197 rejections
18:11 Ghosting & rock bottom
19:48 Finding the right agent
21:42 Learning to plot
23:10 Imposter syndrome (“Peggy”)
28:37 Querying advice
30:20 Finding time to write as a mom
Guest Bio:
Carmela Dutra is a writer from the Bay Area who loves food trucks, family, and cozy mysteries. Her debut, A Murder Most Fowl, has been praised by Kirkus Reviews for its “serious set of crimes leavened by plenty of amusing moments,” by Criminal Element for the “juicy reasoning behind the sabotage that was almost as shocking as the murder itself,” and described as “the perfect escapist read, brimming with banter and an extra helping of fun” by New York Times bestselling author Ellery Adams. She has also been featured in CrimeReads Magazine.
To connect with Carmela and purchase her books, visit her website and check her blog series: An Author’s Guide to Quering for hot tips!

Have a comment or idea about the show? Send me a direct text! Love to hear from you.
Support the show
To become a supporter of the show, click here!

To get in touch with Stacy:
Email: [email protected]

https://www.writeitscared.co/wis
https://www.instagram.com/writeitscared/


Take advantage of these Free Resources From Write It Scared:
Download Your Free Novel Planning and Drafting Quick Start Guide
Download Your Free Guide to Remove Creative Blocks and Work Through Fears

Blog Post on Stakes with Examples 
If your story feels flat or like it’s not going anywhere, check your stakes!
Today, we break down what stakes really are, why “just make it worse” isn’t helpful advice, and how to create meaningful consequences for your characters that keep readers emotionally invested.
We’ll talk personal, relational, and thematic stakes—and how to pressure-test them so your story actually holds.
Timestamps
 00:00 What Stakes Really Mean
 01:37 Why Stakes Come from Choice
 06:43 Personal + Relationship Stakes
 11:09 Thematic Stakes
 12:27 Pressure-Testing Your Story 
Have a comment or idea about the show? Send me a direct text! Love to hear from you.
Support the show
To become a supporter of the show, click here!

To get in touch with Stacy:
Email: [email protected]

https://www.writeitscared.co/wis
https://www.instagram.com/writeitscared/


Take advantage of these Free Resources From Write It Scared:
Download Your Free Novel Planning and Drafting Quick Start Guide
Download Your Free Guide to Remove Creative Blocks and Work Through Fears

What does it really take to build a successful novel? 
Kate Broad discusses leaving her romance author career to write literary fiction and how her debut novel, Greenwich, required multiple drafts and rewrites. 
She shares what it's like to scrap early drafts, rebuild the story from the ground up, write complex characters that are hard to like, and what she tells herself when the writing feels hard. 
If you need a reminder that your first draft can become something magical, that struggling is just part of the work and process of bringing a novel to fruition, and that you’re not doing anything wrong, you’ll enjoy our conversation. 
Timestamps
 00:00 – Why Revision Is Where the Magic Happens
 00:19 – Welcome to Write It Scared
 01:29 – Meet Kate Road
 03:20 – Writing Greenwich and Starting Over
 05:03 – Themes of Wealth, Power, and Privilege
 07:34 – Crafting Complex, Unlikable Characters
 15:47 – How the Book Changed in Revision
 21:40 – Self-Doubt and Staying in the Work
 30:25 – Resilience and the Reality of the Writing Life
 39:43 – Final Reflections
Kate Broad holds a BA from Wellesley College and a PhD in English from the CUNY Graduate Center. She is a Bronx Council on the Arts award winner for fiction, and her writing has appeared in The Rumpus, No Tokens, Electric Literature, LitHub, The Baltimore Review, and elsewhere. Her debut novel, Greenwich, was released in 2025 from St. Martin's Press and was named one of People Magazine's Best New Books, a Vanity Fair Summer Read, and an Amazon Editor's Pick for Best New Literature and Fiction. Originally from Massachusetts, she lives in the Bronx.  
GREENWICH - Out now from St. Martin's Press / Macmillan!
https://katebroad.com
Have a comment or idea about the show? Send me a direct text! Love to hear from you.
Support the show
To become a supporter of the show, click here!

To get in touch with Stacy:
Email: [email protected]

https://www.writeitscared.co/wis
https://www.instagram.com/writeitscared/


Take advantage of these Free Resources From Write It Scared:
Download Your Free Novel Planning and Drafting Quick Start Guide
Download Your Free Guide to Remove Creative Blocks and Work Through Fears

How do you write a sex scene that readers actually read and not just skim? 
That’s what today’s episode is all about! 
Author Accelerator certified book coaches Stacy Frazer and Jennifer Larkin team up for an honest conversation about writing sex in fiction—without cringe.
Stacy and Jen discuss when sex scenes belong in a story, how explicit they need to be, and how to write intimacy that deepens character and advances the plot. 
You’ll learn how genre expectations (including YA vs. adult), consent, and emotional intent shape effective intimate scenes—and how to make intentional choices that serve your story.
Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
 01:50 Guest: Jennifer Larkin
 03:20 Do you need a sex scene in your novel?
 10:04 Sex scenes in YA vs. adult
 21:16 Purpose of sex scene and level of explicitness
 26:20 Common mistakes
 29:09 Consent on the page
 35:05 When to include a sex scene 
Jennifer Larkin helps romance writers turn good ideas into epic stories and jagged drafts into lovable novels. 
Grab her free guide to writing better romance scenes at https://jenniferlarkin.kit.com/scenes.
Connect on Social Media:
Instagram: @jenniferlarkinbookcoach
Substack: @jenniferlarkinbookcoach 
Have a comment or idea about the show? Send me a direct text! Love to hear from you.
Support the show
To become a supporter of the show, click here!

To get in touch with Stacy:
Email: [email protected]

https://www.writeitscared.co/wis
https://www.instagram.com/writeitscared/


Take advantage of these Free Resources From Write It Scared:
Download Your Free Novel Planning and Drafting Quick Start Guide
Download Your Free Guide to Remove Creative Blocks and Work Through Fears