https://www.patreon.com/88cupsoftea
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We have Ruta Sepetys on 88 Cups of Tea this week! Ruta is a New York Times bestseller and a Carnegie Medal winning crossover author whose critically acclaimed novels are read by both teens and adults. Ruta was awarded The Rockefeller Foundation’s prestigious Bellagio Center writing residency for her historical novel “Salt to the Sea”. The feature film adaptations of “Salt to the Sea” and her debut “Between Shades of Gray” are also on their way to theaters.
In our conversation, we talk about the real-life details that inspired “Salt to the Sea” and Ruta’s emotional process while writing the novel. We walk through a massive deep-dive of her research process, and she shares tips on interviewing techniques along with advice on how to respectfully approach people to interview for your own novels.
For our craft-focused listeners, you’re going to love our discussion about writing from multiple POVs and how to master each voice. Along that same topic, Ruta shares why it’s important for listeners to not shy away from writing dark and emotional POVs. We also touch on how she writes emotionally challenging characters.
Further into our conversation, we cover the role of rejection and how failure helps to set us up for future success, and how admitting your fears can help you move beyond them.
Say 'Hi' to Ruta on Twitter and check out the books/resources mentioned in her episode by clicking here!
Happy listening!
Xo,
Yin
PS. Do you know anyone who would love our conversation? Please share this episode to help spread the word!
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If you enjoyed this episode, I’d really love your support in growing our community by subscribing to us on iTunes, and leaving a rating and review. These specific steps help to increase our visibility on iTunes which really helps new listeners discover us. A huge heartfelt thank you for your time and support! You can click here to go directly to our iTunes page!
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Meet fellow members in our community and check in about your WIP, and join in on other bookish talks and 88 Cups of Tea related things! You can really feel the love and support in our Facebook community. You also get the opportunity to submit your questions for upcoming guests on the show. Click here to join our private Facebook group!
IMPORTANT NOTE: Be sure to have a clear profile picture of yourself. If not, send over links to either your Twitter or Instagram. And also fill out the 3 questions that pop up as soon as you join. To protect our group's safe space, these steps help us weed out any spam/fake profiles/creepers. Can't wait to meet you!
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Our website went through MAJOR changes. Check out our virtual headquarters by clicking here!
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Warm welcome to our new listeners, be sure to check out our archive of episodes by clicking here!
https://www.patreon.com/88cupsoftea
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We're back with episode 101 and we have literary agent Barry Goldblatt, founder of Barry Goldblatt Literary, on 88 Cups of Tea today.
In our conversation, Barry shares how he transitioned from an 11-year career in the rights and contracts departments at various publishing houses to opening his own literary agency. Barry walks us through the elements of a story that attracts him to a novel for representation, his manuscript wish list, the categories he represents and what he’s actively seeking. We discuss Barry’s relationship with his clients, how he meets their needs, and how he guides their work to publication.
Further into our conversation, we get into the nitty gritty of the technicalities like how literary agents match authors and their manuscripts with editors and publishing houses, and what happens to a manuscript after it’s sold to an editor and publishing house. Barry also walks us through what exactly subsidiary rights are in the publishing world.
If you’re about to query a literary agent, you’re in luck because Barry covers the do’s and don’ts of a query letter.
Say 'Hi' to Barry on Twitter and check out the books/resources mentioned in his episode over at his shownotes page by clicking here!
Happy listening!
Xo,
Yin
PS. Do you know anyone who would love our conversation? Please share this episode to help spread the word!
---
If you enjoyed this episode, I’d really love your support in growing our community by subscribing to us on iTunes, and leaving a rating and review. These specific steps help to increase our visibility on iTunes which really helps new listeners discover us. A huge heartfelt thank you for your time and support! You can click here to go directly to our iTunes page!
---
Our website went through MAJOR changes. Check out our virtual headquarters by clicking here!
---
Meet fellow members in our community and check in about your WIP, and join in on other bookish talks and 88 Cups of Tea related things! You can really feel the love and support in our Facebook community. You also get the opportunity to submit your questions for upcoming guests on the show. Click here to join our private Facebook group!
IMPORTANT NOTE: Be sure to have a clear profile picture of yourself. If not, send over links to either your Twitter or Instagram. And also fill out the 3 questions that pop up as soon as you join. To protect our group's safe space, these steps help us weed out any spam/fake profiles/creepers. Can't wait to meet you!
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Warm welcome to our new listeners, be sure to check out our archive of episodes by clicking here!
Oh..My..LAWD: It’s our 100th episode.
I can not believe how far we’ve come. Thank you all for helping me grow 88 Cups of Tea into the incredible community it is today.
We have a really fun mash-up of voice messages from our listeners and interviews with my loved ones.
I can’t wait for you all to hear from your fellow listener-friends. Thank you so much to Andrew Pryor, Jessica Lemmons, Sarah Suk, Tracy Badua, Jeanne Rodrigue, Melissa See, Jennifer Chen, Megan Lynch, and Kit Grant for taking the time to share their stories. They recorded such heartfelt and inspiring voice messages for our 100th episode and I was moved to tears. Their stories are incredible.
For the interviews, I asked Moonlynn and my best friends Micky Shiloah and Aimee Teegarden to hop on a recorded conversation so that listeners can learn more about me. These three specific people are my nearest and dearest who know me the best and they all bring so much happiness to my life. I’ve never shared so much about my personal life or behind-the-scenes about the podcast. I’ll be honest, I’m a little nervous because there’s so much of me in this episode, but I’m also excited to hear from you and learn what you resonated with or found most exciting.
In our conversations, we get into some serious real talk about what it’s like running the podcast, the pros and cons of producing our show, relationships, how I’m feeling about turning 30, and we made sure to get to our listener questions for this episode.
Thank you so much for getting us to episode 100 and for helping us reach 88 Cups of Tea’s 2nd birthday. I have so much love for you all!
Head over to the shownotes page for the time stamps of our interviews and listener-messages by clicking here!
Xo
Yin
PS. To see what Moonlynn, Micky and Aimee are up to, follow them on Instagram!
Moonlynn (click here)
Micky (click here)
Aimee (click here)
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To keep up with what Micky and Aimee are up to in the acting world, click on their IMDB pages:
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To check out the short film I wrote/directed (mentioned in this episode), click here! (FYI: It's a silent film)
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If you enjoyed this episode, I’d really love your support in growing our community by subscribing to us on iTunes, and leaving a rating and review. These specific steps help to increase our visibility on iTunes which really helps new listeners discover us. A huge heartfelt thank you for your time and support! You can click here to go directly to our iTunes page!
---
Meet fellow members in our community and check in about your WIP, and join in on other bookish talks and 88 Cups of Tea related things! You can really feel the love and support in our Facebook community. You also get the opportunity to submit your questions for upcoming guests on the show. Click here to join our private Facebook group!
IMPORTANT NOTE: Be sure to fill out the 3 questions that pop up as soon as you join. And have a clear profile picture of yourself. If not, send over links to either your Twitter or Instagram. To protect our group's safe space, these steps help us weed out any spam/fake profiles/creepers. Can't wait to meet you!
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Would you love to support our show with some 88 Cups of Tea swag? Grab our limited edition mug (signed by yours truly) here!
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Warm welcome to our new listeners, be sure to check out our archive of episodes by clicking here!
Hena Khan is an award-winning picture book and middle grade author whose work includes an Islam-themed picture book for the Curious George books. Hena was tapped to write the first release of Simon & Schuster’s groundbreaking imprint Salaam Reads, where she wrote the highly acclaimed middle grade novel “Amina’s Voice”.
Hena and I discuss the inspiration behind “Amina’s Voice” and her universal story of self-acceptance and the acceptance of others. Hena walks us through how she introduces Islam to her young readers and we continue to talk about how important it is to have diverse representation in children’s literature.
Further into our conversation, Hena unpacks how she strengthens her character’s voice by knowing exactly what they want, and we touch on ways that writers can instill accountability to inspire a finished story. For those of you who are currently looking for writing groups to be a part of, Hena shares the specific characteristics of writing groups you should look out for when finding your perfect group.
Say 'Hi' to Hena on Twitter and check out the books/resources mentioned in her episode over at her shownotes page by clicking here!
Happy listening!
Xo
PS. Do you know anyone who would love our conversation? Please share this episode to help spread the word!
---
If you enjoyed this episode, I’d really love your support in growing our community by subscribing to us on iTunes, and leaving a rating and review. These specific steps help to increase our visibility on iTunes which really helps new listeners discover us. A huge heartfelt thank you for your time and support! You can click here to go directly to our iTunes page!
---
Meet fellow members in our community and check in about your WIP, and join in on other bookish talks and 88 Cups of Tea related things! You can really feel the love and support in our Facebook community. You also get the opportunity to submit your questions for upcoming guests on the show. Click here to join our private Facebook group!
IMPORTANT NOTE: Be sure to have a clear profile picture of yourself. If not, send over links to either your Twitter or Instagram. And also fill out the 3 questions that pop up as soon as you join. To protect our group's safe space, these steps help us weed out any spam/fake profiles/creepers. Can't wait to meet you!
---
Would you love to support our show with some 88 Cups of Tea swag? Grab our limited edition mug (signed by yours truly) here!
---
Warm welcome to our new listeners, be sure to check out our archive of episodes by clicking here!
---
“Stories have the power to change hearts and minds.” -Hena Khan (Click to tweet)
“We are not a monolith and one story can’t represent all of us.” -Hena Khan (Click to tweet)
“Having people say that these books…matters to them and it made a difference to them in some way is how I define success.” -Hena Khan (Click to tweet)
“I realized I couldn’t understand other people’s loss until I had experienced it myself.” -Hena Khan (Click to tweet)
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WHAT YOU'LL LEARN IN TODAY'S EPISODE: