https://www.patreon.com/88cupsoftea
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Joanna Volpe is a literary agent and the president of New Leaf Literary & Media, one of the hottest and most sought after management and representation firms today. Joanna discovers and helps to shape the careers of talented and successful authors like Veronica Roth. For those who've gone MIA for the past several years, Veronica is the author of the DIVERGENT series, also an extremely successful Hollywood Blockbuster trilogy that Joanna's firm helped to shepherd into the world. FYI: You'll hear all about those specific details in Joanna's episode!
Joanna and I dive right into the heart of why she's a literary agent and we dissect her leadership skills as an entrepreneurial badass. A special note to fellow writers, this episode is L-I-F-E. We discuss agent representation, what it takes to be the kind of author that stands out from the crowd, Joanna's ideal client, how she likes to creatively work with them, and crafting solid query letters (Joanna even shares examples of rare query letters that have made her fall head-over-heels).
Get ready for an episode that'll blow your mind!
XO,
Yin
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“You’ll never work at your best capacity if you’re constantly fighting against your weaknesses.” -Joanna Volpe [Click to tweet]
“Just keep writing. Get your butt in the seat and keep going.” -Joanna Volpe [Click to tweet]
“Keep reading. You’re not going to be able to be a good writer unless you know what good writing looks like.” -Joanna Volpe [Click to tweet]
“It gets me really excited for people to do things that excite them.” -Joanna Volpe [Click to tweet]
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New Leaf Literary & Media, Inc. is a non-traditional, full service management and representation firm that will be with authors and illustrators before and beyond the sale. A few of the writers and illustrators they represent: Veronica Roth, Leigh Bardugo, David J. Peterson, Margot Lee Shetterly, Kody Keplinger, Kara Thomas, Gabby Rivera, Soman Chainani, Melanie Conklin, Victoria Aveyard, and Elizabeth Rose Stanton.
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Joanna’s entrepreneurial journey building a strong foundation for New Leaf Literary & Media
How to lead your team to success by leaning into your strengths instead of fighting against your weaknesses
What Joanna looks for in potential future clients
Joanna represents all brands of fiction from picture books to adult novels. Her picture book taste is the most eclectic, ranging from sweet to fun to smart to quirky. For other fiction (both adult and children’s) she has an affinity for stories that have a darker element to them, whether they be horror, drama or comedy. She’s not the kind of reader that needs a romance in her novels, though she does appreciate a good one.
On the non-fiction side her tastes are much more specific. For children she looks for topics that captivate kids: biographies, animal-related stories, all sciences and history, etc. Joanna also has an affinity for morbid, weird or offbeat topics. In her adult non-fiction tastes she tends toward all things geek-related, foodie books, travel books, and general pop-culture and pop-science.
Caroline Leavitt is a book critic, essayist, screenwriter, and an award-winning author of the Indie Next Pick "Cruel Beautiful World", and the New York Times Bestsellers "Is this Tomorrow" and "Pictures of You", as well as 8 other novels.
Click here to head over to her shownotes page for all of the incredibly helpful resources and books she recommends!
I met Caroline in her online creative writing class at UCLA’s Writers’ Program where she teaches step-by-step how to create story structure for a novel. Just like she does in her classes, Caroline bares her heart in today’s new episode, peeling back all the layers, generously exposing and sharing all that she has learned and experienced in life and in her writing career.
Caroline and I dive deep in our conversation about her intimate tie with loss and grief, and how she is able to push forward with strength and courage. This episode is the most emotionally powerful discussion we’ve had on the show to date.
Caroline also shares the haunting story that inspired her newest novel Cruel Beautiful World, how to find your confidence as a writer, and how to edit your manuscript. She walks us through creating strong characters by using character webs, and breaks down the function of a writer’s synopsis and how it can help jumpstart your novel.
We unpack what the ‘core question’ means, how it brings depth to your story and characters, and how to structure your novel around it. We also dive into Caroline’s advice on choosing the right writers’ group that will give you constructive feedback, along with her tips on finding a writing mentor through social media.
Today's episode is proudly brought to you by Vermont College of Fine Arts.
Xo,
Yin
PS. Do you know anyone who’s struggling with loss and grief? Or anyone who’s curious about story structure? Please share this episode, it may really be of help!
PPS. Looking for an intimate community for storytellers to check in about your writing and hang out with other writers? Want to submit questions for future guests on our show? Hang out with us in our new Facebook group by clicking here!
Please leave a review about the podcast by clicking here. Your honest feedback helps to shape the show. Thank you for your time and for helping with the ranking of the show when leaving a review and rating!
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“Your job is to just keep writing the story that haunts you & eventually it will find what you want it to find.” -Caroline Leavitt (click to tweet)
“You never know how much time you have, so you should do everything that you can.” -Caroline Leavitt (click to tweet)
“You just have to be patient and believe in yourself and things will happen.” -Caroline Leavitt (click to tweet)
“Never give up. You never know what’s going to happen.” -Caroline Leavitt (click to tweet)
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WHAT YOU'LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE
Caroline Leavitt is the author of the Indie Next Pick "Cruel Beautiful World", and the New York Times Bestsellers "Is this Tomorrow" and "Pictures of You", as well as 8 other novels. A book critic for the San Francisco Chronicle, the Boston Globe and People, and teaches writing online and privately.
"Cruel Beautiful World" has won raves from The Boston Globe, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, Tampa Bay Times, Real Simple, The Miami Herald, The Minneapolis Star-Tribune, The Pittsburgh Post Gazette, The New York Times, New York Newsday, Marie Claire, Parade Magazine, Lit Hug, BBC.Com, Book Riot and more.
Her ninth novel, "Pictures of You", went into three printings months before publication and is now in its fourth printing. A New York Times bestseller, it was also a Costco “Pennie’s Pick,” A San Francisco Chronicle Editor’s Choice “Lit Pick,” and was one of the top 20 books published so far in 2011, as named by BookPage. Pictures of You was also on the Best Books of 2011 lists from The San Francisco Chronicle, The Providence Journal, Bookmarks Magazine and Kirkus Reviews.
Her novel, "Is This Tomorrow" is a New York Times and USA Today bestseller, a San Francisco Chronicle Lit Pick/Editor’s Choice, a Jewish Book Council Bookclub Pick, a WNBA National Great Group Reads, a May Indie Next Pick, A Best Book of 2013 from January magazine, on the longlist for the Maine Readers’ Choice Award, and the winner of an Audiofile Earphones Award.
Her many essays, stories, book reviews and articles have appeared in Salon, Psychology Today, The New York Times Sunday Book Review, The New York Times Modern Love, Publisher’s Weekly, People, Real Simple, New York Magazine, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe and numerous anthologies. She won First Prize in Redbook Magazine’s Young Writers Contest for her short story, “Meeting Rozzy Halfway,” which grew into the novel. The recipient of a 1990 New York Foundation of the Arts Award for Fiction for "Into Thin Air", she was also a National Magazine Award nominee for personal essay, and she was awarded a 2005 honorable mention, Goldenberg Prize for Fiction from the Bellevue Literary Review, for “Breathe,” a portion of "Pictures of You". As a screenwriter, Caroline was a 2003 Nickelodeon Screenwriting Fellow Finalist, and is a recent first-round finalist in the Sundance Screenwriting Lab competition for her script of "Is This Tomorrow".
Known to be one of the greatest writers of our time, it’s an absolute honor to feature Jane Smiley on our show! Jane is the Pulitzer Prize winning author of A Thousand Acres, and numerous novels, most recently, The Last Hundred Yearstrilogy: Some Luck, Early Warning, and Golden Age.
She has written a novel in every literary genre; consciously choosing to change the style, tone, and setting for each one, and is celebrated for transitioning from one novel to the other with ease and grace.
Jane walks us through her earliest memories of how she fell in love with writing, and shares the inspiration behind her first picture book Twenty Yawn. We also explore the ideas of teaching in her series of books for middle-grade readers, The Horses of Oak Valley Ranch.
Jane walks us through how to jot down story ideas, how to write effective outlines for the story, and why it’s crucial to remain organized throughout it all.
We dive into the importance of writing workshops and exactly how it provides you with the support and help you need as a writer, why it’s incredibly important to be analytical versus critical, and how to effectively learn from critiques and feedback about your work.
For the recommended books and resources Jane mentions in her episode, click here!
Xo,
Yin
Jane's episode is proudly brought to you by Vermont College of Fine Arts.
PS. Do you know anyone who’d love to hear amazing writing advice from a legend? Please share this episode, it may really be of help!
Please leave a review about the podcast by clicking here. Your honest feedback helps to shape the show. Thank you for your time and for helping with the ranking of the show when leaving a review and rating!
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If you’re looking for a safe-space to check in about your writing and hang out with other fellow writers, or submit your questions for upcoming guests on our show, along with sneak peeks of future episodes-- JOIN US!
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“If you ask any writer, most of what happened to them was a combination of effort and luck. You have to keep trying.” -Jane Smiley (click to tweet)
“The nature of children’s literature and YA literature is always about teaching.” -Jane Smiley (click to tweet)
“You have to do the best to be yourself.” -Jane Smiley (click to tweet)
“If someone’s criticizing your work, try to figure out what you can learn from that. Don’t be offended by it.” -Jane Smiley (click to tweet)
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Jane Smiley is the author of numerous novels, including A Thousand Acres, which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, and most recently, The Last Hundred Years trilogy (Some Luck, Early Warning, and Golden Age). She is also the author of five works of nonfiction and a series of books for young adults. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters, she has also received the PEN Center USA Lifetime Achievement Award for Literature. She lives in Northern California.
War and Peace by Leo Tolstory
The Bobbsey Twins by Laura Lee Hope
13 Ways of Looking at the Novel by Jane Smiley
The Once and Future King by T.H. White
The Good Soldier: A Tale of Passion by Ford Madox Ford