Insights from Acquisitions Editors & Working on Author Collaborations

In today's Books with Hooks segment, Carly, CeCe, and Bianca are joined by two acquisitions editors at Atria Books , Elizabeth Hitti and Melanie Iglesias . Melanie is a senior editor at Atria Books and has worked on various bestselling titles, including It Starts with Us by Colleen Hoover. Elizabeth joined Atria in 2022 and has worked on various bestselling titles as well as The Crescent Moon Tea Room by Stacy Sivinski, a Simon and Schuster Top Shelf Pick for this fall. The four discuss the difficulties associated with writing a query with a larger cast of characters; the importance of having an overarching reason for having a large cast and why their worlds are colliding; whether publisher interest in historical fiction is waning; an example of how to make a hook punchier; the importance on having a strong sense of place; and the need for interiority to be realistic to your character. After which, Bianca interviews Kate Hilton and Elizabeth Renzetti , co-authors of Bury the Lead . They discuss how Liz and Kate's joint project came about; tackling the challenges of collaborating with another author, particularly when it comes to two established authors; the drafting process; keeping track of details like how characters and settings look; when descriptions are necessary and when they don't make sense; and whether or not Kate and Liz work with separate agents for their collaborative works. Find us on our socials: Twitter: @TSNOTYAW @BiancaM_author @carlywatters @ceciliaclyra Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/the_shit_about_writing/ https://www.instagram.com/biancamarais_author/ https://www.instagram.com/carlywatters/ https://www.instagram.com/cece_lyra_agent/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TSNOTYAW Websites: www.theshitaboutwriting.com , www.biancamarais.com , www.carlywatters.com and www.cecilialyra.com To ask a question, go to: https://sayhi.chat/TSNOTYAW Bookshop.org affiliate page: https://bookshop.org/shop/theshitnoonetellsyouaboutwriting More information about Elizabeth can be found at: https://www.elizabethrenzetti.com/ She's also on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/lizrenzetti and on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/lizrenzetti/ More information about Kate can be found at: https://www.katehilton.com/ She's also on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/KateHiltonAuthor/ and on Instagram at: https://www.instagram.com/katehiltonbooks/ Our Sponsors: * Check out Quince: https://quince.com/tsnotyaw * Check out Rosetta Stone and use my code TODAY for a great deal: https://www.rosettastone.com * Check out Wayfair: https://www.wayfair.com Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands