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  • Marissa chats with Makiia Lucier about her new romantic YA fantasy inspired by Pacific Island mythology, DRAGONFRUIT. Also discussed in this episode: writing by hand in notebooks, what it’s like to revise and resubmit to an agent, the advantage of keeping early writing a secret, the joy of research and using it to build lush worlds and believable fantastical creatures, how characters can surprise even the writer, the huge evolution in story and characters from first to final draft, writing standalones versus series, and so much more!

    The Happy Writer at Bookshop.org
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    Writing Mastery Academy
    Use the code HAPPYWRITER at WritingMastery.com for $20 off your first year of unlimited access.

    Amplify Marketers
    Our mission is to help your message rise above the noise so it can be heard loud & clear.

    Red Herrings Society
    Use the code HappyWriter at RedHerringWriters.com to try the first month for free.

    Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

    Find out more and follow The Happy Writer on social media: https://www.marissameyer.com/podcast/

  • Marissa and Joanne get together to answer listener-submitted questions about publishing, getting into nitty gritty details of what it’s like to be a published author. Also covered in this jam-packed episode: word count guidelines, what happens after signing with an agent, the submission process, what it’s like to break up with an agent, advances and how they’re determined and paid out, who has the control of what in publishing, marketing, building a social media presence – and is it really necessary – and so much more. Also—what it was like for Marissa and Joanne when they each got “the call”.

    Show Notes:

    Marissa and Joanne’s upcoming co-written book: LET IT GLOW: https://www.marissameyer.com/let-it-glow/

    Best Portrait felting course: https://www.daniives.com/bestportraitcourse

    Agent Jill Grinberg - Episode 91: https://www.buzzsprout.com/950767/9487840

    Agent Lucinda Halpern (author of GET SIGNED) - Episode
    185: https://www.buzzsprout.com/950767/14539225

    Dedicated episode 125 about query letters and the agent
    search: https://www.buzzsprout.com/950767/11225534

    Jane Friedman’s ‘Where to Start’ guide: https://janefriedman.com/start-here-how-to-get-your-book-published/

    Word counts: https://blog.reedsy.com/how-many-words-in-a-novel/

    Word Counts: Board Book up to YA: https://www.marykole.com/how-to-write-childrens-books

    To find the approximate word count of books https://www.kobo.com/

    NAKED AT THE PODIUM: http://peterkahle.com/Naked-at-the-Podium.html

    The Happy Writer at Bookshop.org
    Purchasing your books through our webstore at Bookshop.org supports independent bookstores.

    Writing Mastery Academy
    Use the code HAPPYWRITER at WritingMastery.com for $20 off your first year of unlimited access.

    Amplify Marketers
    Our mission is to help your message rise above the noise so it can be heard loud & clear.

    Red Herrings Society
    Use the code HappyWriter at RedHerringWriters.com to try the first month for free.

    Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

    Find out more and follow The Happy Writer on social media: https://www.marissameyer.com/podcast/

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  • Marissa chats with Adib Khorram about his new YA romantic comedy, THE BREAKUP LISTS. Also discussed in the episode: the challenges of pandemic books and virtual launches, the positive influence of We Need Diverse Books, having fun mining your own experiences for fiction, showcasing the people who work behind-the-scenes in theater, identifying and consciously including themes in a book, discovering a character’s voice, making yourself laugh during the writing, researching and including disability and intersectionality representation, winning awards, and so much more!

    Show notes:

    Pretty Gritty Tours: https://www.prettygrittytours.com/index.html

    We Need Diverse Books: https://diversebooks.org/

    Agent Janet Reid’s blog: https://jetreidliterary.blogspot.com/

    The Folgers Ad: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMwFWDIFVCU

    The Happy Writer at Bookshop.org
    Purchasing your books through our webstore at Bookshop.org supports independent bookstores.

    Writing Mastery Academy
    Use the code HAPPYWRITER at WritingMastery.com for $20 off your first year of unlimited access.

    Red Herrings Society
    Use the code HappyWriter at RedHerringWriters.com to try the first month for free.

    Amplify Marketers
    Our mission is to help your message rise above the noise so it can be heard loud & clear.

    Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

    Find out more and follow The Happy Writer on social media: https://www.marissameyer.com/podcast/

  • In this week’s episode, Marissa chats with Stephanie Kuehnert about her new YA zine-style memoir, PIECES OF A GIRL, that includes journal entries, original illustrations, and pages from her actual diaries and zines. Discussed in this episode: how a book can take the time it needs to take, how even a memoir can be a challenge to structure and know where it should end, the decision to include zines and poetry, on finding the courage to be vulnerable in a memoir, the mythology and romanticization of suffering contributing to creativity, the current climate of book banning and why book banning is not the answer, how healing can be non-linear and messy, and so much more.

    The Happy Writer at Bookshop.org
    Purchasing your books through our webstore at Bookshop.org supports independent bookstores.

    Writing Mastery Academy
    Use the code HAPPYWRITER at WritingMastery.com for $20 off your first year of unlimited access.

    Amplify Marketers
    Our mission is to help your message rise above the noise so it can be heard loud & clear.

    Red Herrings Society
    Use the code HappyWriter at RedHerringWriters.com to try the first month for free.

    Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

    Find out more and follow The Happy Writer on social media: https://www.marissameyer.com/podcast/

  • In this week’s special episode sponsored by Amplify Marketing, Marissa has a fascinating chat with company founder, Franklin Goldberg, about getting books into the hands and hearts of readers. Discussed in this jam-packed episode about marketing: how every book needs to be looked at individually depending on a complex set of variables, the most effective ways to market books, the difference between interruption and interception as pertaining to marketing, the complex Amazon marketing system and why it can be worth the effort, the importance of search and keywords, how to leverage Facebook and other social media platforms with testimonials, excerpts, and freebies, the importance of packaging quality and cover design, common marketing mistakes, how marketing your backlist can be even more successful than focusing on new releases, and so much more.

    Amplify Marketers Year in Review + Infographic: https://www.amplifymarketers.com/2023-year-in-review-for-book-publishers

    Amplify Marketers
    Our mission is to help your message rise above the noise so it can be heard loud & clear.

    The Happy Writer at Bookshop.org
    Purchasing your books through our webstore at Bookshop.org supports independent bookstores.

    Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

    Find out more and follow The Happy Writer on social media: https://www.marissameyer.com/podcast/

  • In this week’s episode Marissa chats with John Schu about his semi-autobiographical novel in verse, LOUDER THAN HUNGER. Also discussed: the difficulty in determining an age label for a book, writing a fictionalized account of your own experiences instead of a memoir and deciding when and how much to fictionalize, the healing power of writing from a place of vulnerability, making the choice to write in verse, struggling with compliments and so much more.

    The Happy Writer at Bookshop.org
    Purchasing your books through our webstore at Bookshop.org supports independent bookstores.

    Red Herrings Society
    Use the code HappyWriter at RedHerringWriters.com to try the first month for free.

    Amplify Marketers
    Our mission is to help your message rise above the noise so it can be heard loud & clear.

    Writing Mastery Academy
    Use the code HAPPYWRITER at WritingMastery.com for $20 off your first year of unlimited access.

    Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

    Find out more and follow The Happy Writer on social media: https://www.marissameyer.com/podcast/

  • In this week’s episode Marissa chats with debut author and podcaster Bethanie Finger about her YA historical fantasy, MORE THAN LIFE. Also discussed in this episode: expedited series releases, being a pantser, even when worldbuilding, finding the magic in editing, short chapters, the effectiveness of writing exercises and sprints, the Prince Kai Fan Pod, the importance of setting boundaries, taking breaks, and asking for help, and so much more.

    Show notes:

    The Prince Kai Fan Pod: https://princekaifanpod.wixsite.com/website

    Follow Litjoy for info about The Heartless Annotated Special Edition: https://www.instagram.com/litjoycrate

    The Happy Writer at Bookshop.org
    Purchasing your books through our webstore at Bookshop.org supports independent bookstores.

    Amplify Marketers
    Our mission is to help your message rise above the noise so it can be heard loud & clear.

    Red Herrings Society
    Use the code HappyWriter at RedHerringWriters.com to try the first month for free.

    Writing Mastery Academy
    Use the code HAPPYWRITER at WritingMastery.com for $20 off your first year of unlimited access.

    Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

    Find out more and follow The Happy Writer on social media: https://www.marissameyer.com/podcast/

  • In this week’s episode Marissa chats with literary agent, coach, and now author, Lucinda Halpern, about her new book, GET SIGNED: FIND AN AGENT, LAND A BOOK DEAL, AND BECOME A PUBLISHED AUTHOR. Also discussed in this jam-packed episode: the varied job of representing authors, why the query letter is the most important document a writer will ever create, the three keys to getting an agent and a subsequent book deal (and how you may not need all three), BIG ideas, how agents also have to face rejection, common errors made in query letters, the reminder that agents are humans, and so much more!

    Show notes:

    As mentioned in the episode, check out this Free gift for our listeners from Lucinda.

    For agent research: Publishers Marketplace: https://www.publishersmarketplace.com/


    Writing Mastery Academy
    Use the code HAPPYWRITER at WritingMastery.com for $20 off your first year of unlimited access.

    Red Herrings Society
    Use the code HappyWriter at RedHerringWriters.com to try the first month for free.

    Amplify Marketers
    Our mission is to help your message rise above the noise so it can be heard loud & clear.

    The Happy Writer at Bookshop.org
    Purchasing your books through our webstore at Bookshop.org supports independent bookstores.

    Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

    Find out more and follow The Happy Writer on social media: https://www.marissameyer.com/podcast/

  • In this week’s episode Marissa chats with Hafsah Faizal about her latest YA fantasy heist, the first of a new duology, A TEMPEST OF TEA. Also discussed in this episode: how a non-reader can turn into a reader and then a published author, planning out a heist when being mostly a pantser, struggling with doubts and imposter syndrome, planning out romance, worldbuilding and the wisdom of editors, the benefits of time and space away from a project, and so much more!

    The Happy Writer at Bookshop.org
    Purchasing your books through our webstore at Bookshop.org supports independent bookstores.

    Red Herrings Society
    Use the code HappyWriter at RedHerringWriters.com to try the first month for free.

    Amplify Marketers
    Our mission is to help your message rise above the noise so it can be heard loud & clear.

    Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

    Find out more and follow The Happy Writer on social media: https://www.marissameyer.com/podcast/

  • In this week’s episode Marissa chats with Dinesh Thiru about his debut YA fantasy adventure, INTO THE SUNKEN CITY. Also discussed in this episode: how a gag project can inspire a writing career, retelling a literary classic (TREASURE ISLAND) in a postapocalyptic setting, how much of the source material to use, and creating a more modern diverse cast of characters, being conscious about your setting and sensory details, using real maps and biology to make the setting and details feel real, creating the voice of colorful characters, balancing being a stay at home parent with the writing, and so much more!

    Show notes:

    The Artists’ Way – Julia Cameron https://bookshop.org/a/11756/9780143129257

    The official MM merchandise shops:

    https://www.etsy.com/shop/happywriterstore

    https://thehappywriter.creator-spring.com/

    https://www.teepublic.com/user/the-happy-writer

    The Happy Writer at Bookshop.org
    Purchasing your books through our webstore at Bookshop.org supports independent bookstores.

    Amplify Marketers
    Our mission is to help your message rise above the noise so it can be heard loud & clear.

    Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

    Find out more and follow The Happy Writer on social media: https://www.marissameyer.com/podcast/

  • In this week’s episode, the first of the 2024 season, Marissa chats about her brand-new book, WITH A LITTLE LUCK, the companion to INSTANT KARMA. Featured in this episode are two special guests: Chuck Gonzales, the illustrator for the comic book pages inside WITH A LITTLE LUCK, and Stacy Carolan, the book’s audio edition narrator.

    Discussed in this episode: the process of illustrating graphic novel panels (in black and white) as spot illustrations through a novel, illustrating a story within a story, the challenges of some of the finer details of illustrations, how the pandemic inspired the move into audiobook narration, behind the scenes of being an audiobook narrator, starting out in the industry, how narration is more acting and not merely reading a book, what makes audiobook narration fun, and so much more.

    Also in this episode, a special exclusive clip of the WITH A LITTLE LUCK audiobook!

    Show notes:

    Chuck Gonzales, Illustrator https://chuckgonzales.com, https://www.instagram.com/cgonzaillo/

    Stacy Carolan, Audio book narrator https://www.mrstacycarolan.com/

    The official Marissa Meyer/The Happy Writer merchandise shops:

    https://www.etsy.com/shop/happywriterstore

    https://thehappywriter.creator-spring.com/

    https://www.teepublic.com/user/the-happy-writer

    The Happy Writer at Bookshop.org
    Purchasing your books through our webstore at Bookshop.org supports independent bookstores.

    Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

    Find out more and follow The Happy Writer on social media: https://www.marissameyer.com/podcast/

  • In this week’s episode, Marissa chats with Elle Gonzalez Rose about her queer YA rom-com, CAUGHT IN A BAD FAUXMANCE. Also discussed: How a career writing marketing copy for the screen is transferable to writing books and book marketing materials, the fun of writing favorite tropes in romance, bonding characters over cultural foods, the challenge of showing both sides of romantic feelings when writing a first person POV, worldbuilding an entire town that’s outside your own experience, the catharsis of writing from a place of grief, favorite holiday traditions and so much more!

    The Happy Writer at Bookshop.org
    Purchasing your books through our webstore at Bookshop.org supports independent bookstores.

    Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

    Find out more and follow The Happy Writer on social media: https://www.marissameyer.com/podcast/

  • In this week’s episode, Marissa chats with Andrea Tang about her latest sci-fi heist YA, KINGDOM OF WITHOUT. Also discussed, genre-bending in YA, on discovering who your character is during the writing process, how edit notes really can give perspective and sometimes, exactly what the book needs, leaning on experts to help ensure details are authentic and appropriate, how to balance the sci-fi and fantasy elements to create a specific aesthetic, the process of writing a whole distinct ensemble of characters, exploring gender role reversal, the challenges of writing a heist novel, and so much more!

    Scrivener writing software - https://www.literatureandlatte.com/scrivener/overview

    Episode 60: Leigh Bardugo - https://www.buzzsprout.com/950767/8226816

    The Happy Writer at Bookshop.org
    Purchasing your books through our webstore at Bookshop.org supports independent bookstores.

    Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

    Find out more and follow The Happy Writer on social media: https://www.marissameyer.com/podcast/

  • In this week’s episode, Marissa chats with Jessica Vitalis about her latest contemporary middle grade, COYOTE QUEEN. Also discussed: how to pronounce ‘coyote’ (which is not as simple as one might think) and fascinating coyote facts, digging deep to put difficult emotions on the page and how much of a challenge that can be, mining lived experiences for fiction, how books build empathy, creating ongoing tension, and so much more.

    The Happy Writer at Bookshop.org
    Purchasing your books through our webstore at Bookshop.org supports independent bookstores.

    Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

    Find out more and follow The Happy Writer on social media: https://www.marissameyer.com/podcast/

  • In this week’s episode, Marissa chats with Kate Pearsall about her debut YA mystery (with magic!), BITTERSWEET IN THE HOLLOW. Also discussed: NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month), creating an evocative and lush setting, using real locations as inspiration but changing details to suit the story, the brilliance of using gravestones for character names, how the setting of a small town can influence the story, using charts and graphs to diagram character relationships, adapting magic and folklore to deepen the story and so much more!

    Isabel Ibañez’s episode (#56) https://www.buzzsprout.com/950767/episodes/8045448

    The Happy Writer at Bookshop.org
    Purchasing your books through our webstore at Bookshop.org supports independent bookstores.

    Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

    Find out more and follow The Happy Writer on social media: https://www.marissameyer.com/podcast/

  • In this week’s episode, Marissa chats with Leanne Schwartz about her YA fantasy debut, A PRAYER FOR VENGEANCE. Also discussed: National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), using a theater background to help get into characters’ heads and allowing you to keep your audience in mind, writing neurodivergent characters from the place of a lived experience but still using beta readers, writing the motivations of a villain, bringing a sumptuous setting to life, creating parallel religious and value systems, and so much more!

    The Happy Writer at Bookshop.org
    Purchasing your books through our webstore at Bookshop.org supports independent bookstores.

    Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

    Find out more and follow The Happy Writer on social media: https://www.marissameyer.com/podcast/

  • In this week’s episode, Marissa chats with Terry J. Benton-Walker about his middle grade fantasy, ALEX WISE VS THE END OF THE WORLD. Also discussed: how a varied background that seems to not be related to writing can still inform a writer’s career, on being a super-plotter, exploring how people react in stressful situations (like an apocalypse!), creating real-life superhero characters, being thoughtful about writing characters and their arcs, curating an extensive resource to help writers, the importance of writing books that let kids see themselves, showing that representation matters, and so much more!

    Download Terry’s Novel Planning Kit: https://tjbentonwalker.com/writing-resources

    The Happy Writer at Bookshop.org
    Purchasing your books through our webstore at Bookshop.org supports independent bookstores.

    Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

    Find out more and follow The Happy Writer on social media: https://www.marissameyer.com/podcast/

  • In this week’s episode, Marissa chats with S.H. Cotugno about their YA graphic novel, THE GLASS SCIENTISTS, based on the popular webcomic of the same name, inspired by the classic Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde story. Also discussed: collaborating with others and how to leave space for other people’s creativity, the relatability of Jekyll and Hyde and the feeling of not fitting into specific categories, the appeal of Victorian settings, the accessibility and evolution of webcomics and transitioning the content to a graphic novel, creating a large cast of characters and keeping track of them, the comic sans technique (brilliant!), the difficulty in avoiding reviews, and so much more.

    The Happy Writer at Bookshop.org
    Purchasing your books through our webstore at Bookshop.org supports independent bookstores.

    Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

    Find out more and follow The Happy Writer on social media: https://www.marissameyer.com/podcast/

  • In this week’s episode, Marissa chats with Kalyn Josephson about her latest YA fantasy, THIS DARK DESCENT. Also discussed: how technical writing can help with creative and novel writing, using Jewish mythology as inspiration for fantasy (golems!), the joy in worldbuilding, how all fantasy books should have a map, how to decide whose point of view to write scenes in when crafting a multiple POV story, the intrigue of morally gray characters, balancing multiple book releases with a day job, and so much more!

    The Happy Writer at Bookshop.org
    Purchasing your books through our webstore at Bookshop.org supports independent bookstores.

    Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

    Find out more and follow The Happy Writer on social media: https://www.marissameyer.com/podcast/

  • In this week’s episode, Marissa chats with John Connolly about THE LAND OF LOST THINGS, his long-anticipated companion to THE BOOK OF LOST THINGS. Also discussed: how being a journalist can help and/or hinder being a novelist, the concept of writing being a muscle, how even many books into a career you may recognize planning would make it easier to write, but still will never do it, reading reviews of your own books, the draw of fairy tales and why they are so enduring, and so much more!

    The Happy Writer at Bookshop.org
    Purchasing your books through our webstore at Bookshop.org supports independent bookstores.

    Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.

    Find out more and follow The Happy Writer on social media: https://www.marissameyer.com/podcast/