Show Notes
Warm welcome to our new listeners, be sure to check out our archive of episodes by clicking here! --------------------------------------- Did you know we have a Patreon page!? Right now all Super Storytellers signed up at our "Silkie Chickens with Balloons" or "Snails with Mail" tier over in our Patreon get early access to interviews with Rachel Hawkins and literary agent JL Stermer this month! So, if you're not yet a Super Storyteller and you'd love early access to these interviews in addition to other cool benefits, head on over to patreon.com/88cupsoftea and become a Patron at the "Silkie Chickens with Balloons" tier or our "Snails with Mail" tier. --------------------------------------- For today's new episode, we've partnered with Four Sigmatic. Four Sigmatic is a superfood company whose mission is to take over the world with their delicious coffees, teas, and cacaos that are all made with functional mushrooms and adaptogens. Head over to foursigmatic.com/88cupsoftea to learn more and get 15% off your order. Thank you to our listeners for supporting a brand we love and a brand that believes in the work that we do here at 88 Cups of Tea. A special thank you to our sponsors and collaborators who help keep our show running! --------------------------------------- Are you curious about sustaining career longevity in your creative pursuits? How about ways to evolve your craft from story to story? Or how to develop strong romantic arcs? We talk about it all and so much more with Sarah Dessen! Sarah is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of over a dozen novels for teens, which have received numerous awards and rave reviews. Her books have been published in over thirty countries and have sold millions of copies worldwide. She's the recipient of the 2017 Margaret A. Edwards Award from the American Library Association for outstanding contribution to young adult literature for her novels like Keeping the Moon, Dreamland, This Lullaby, The Truth about Forever, Just Listen, Along for the Ride, What Happened to Goodbye, and more. In our conversation, we dive into how Sarah fell in love with storytelling and how her writing has evolved throughout her career. We discuss what it's like to write for yourself versus writing to please others, and how her mother-daughter relationships in her books are inspired by her relationship with her own mother and daughter. She shares how embracing both the good and bad parts of ourselves in our writing can help us begin to heal, and the importance of seeking help when we need it. She then talks all about her most recent novel, The Rest Of The Story, and shares a behind the scenes look into the writing and publishing process. And later in our conversation, she walks us through her experience of changing publishers, shares tips on crafting romantic arcs, talks balancing finances and your craft, and how to overcome writer's block. Say 'Hi' to Sarah Dessen on Twitter: https://twitter.com/sarahdessen. Head over to Sarah's shownotes page at https://88cupsoftea.com/podcast/sarah-dessen/ to find all the resources and books mentioned in her episode, tweetable quotes, and the timestamps of highlights throughout the entire conversation. --- 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!
More from 88 Cups of Tea
Warm welcome, Storytellers! If you're looking for a super intimate space where you can meet fellow storytellers and experience what it's like to be a part of our community, come hang out with us in our private Facebook group at facebook.com/groups/88cupsoftea. We check in with each other on the daily, and have weekly threads where you can update each other about your work-in-progress, along with swapping recommendations for books and tv shows, and there's a whole lot more that happens in there. Join us at https://www.facebook.com/groups/88cupsoftea/! --------------------------------------- We are thrilled to announce we are beginning the process of building out 88 Cups of Tea's volunteer positions and would love to hear from you if you're passionate about 88 Cups of Tea and want to be a part of building out our future. Fill out our application here: https://88cupsoftea.com/volunteer/ --------------------------------------- Tochi Onyebuchi is the author of Beasts Made of Night, its sequel Crown of Thunder, War Girls, Riot Baby, and its sequel and his newest novel Rebel Sisters. In our conversation, we explore Tochi's writing process, the ways it's evolved over time, and how he continues to find joy in the process. Tochi shares how to cultivate a specific kind of confidence that enables us to bring our story ideas to life, and how to maintain that confidence to pave way for equity in publishing. Join us for a conversation filled with crafting advice from overcoming your writing fears to plotting intricate threads in your stories and much more. Please say 'Hi' to Tochi on Twitter! https://twitter.com/tochitruestory Head over to his shownotes page at : https://88cupsoftea.com/tochi-onyebuchi to download his writing prompt and to find the resources and books mentioned in his episode, tweetable quotes, and the timestamps of highlights throughout the entire conversation.
Warm welcome to our new listeners, let's continue and build upon the momentum surrounding the active work to create a just and equitable system for the black community. Head over to our page of resources of recommended learning: https://88cupsoftea.com/learn/ If you're looking for a super intimate space where you can meet fellow storytellers and experience what it's like to be a part of our community, come hang out with us in our private Facebook group at facebook.com/groups/88cupsoftea. We check in with each other on the daily, and have weekly threads where you can update each other about your work-in-progress, along with swapping recommendations for books and tv shows, and there's a whole lot more that happens in there. Join us at https://www.facebook.com/groups/88cupsoftea/! --------------------------------------- We are thrilled to announce we are beginning the process of building out 88 Cups of Tea's volunteer positions and would love to hear from you if you're passionate about 88 Cups of Tea and want to be a part of building out our future. Fill out our application here: https://88cupsoftea.com/volunteer/ --------------------------------------- Stacey Lee is an award-winning author of historical and contemporary young adult fiction, including Outrun the Moon, Under a Painted Sky, The Secret of a Heart Note, and her most recent novel, The Downstairs Girl. In our conversation, Stacey reflects on how she cultivated her inner confidence as a storyteller at a young age and how it's continued to grow throughout her writing career. She opens up about the invaluable writing strategies she learned as a lawyer that helps her see the importance of every single word on the page and craft authenticity in her characters. Filled with crafting advice on detailed research processes, using metaphors to write strong protagonists, finding critique partners, and more, our conversation will be sure to spark inspiration and joy. Please say 'Hi' to Stacey on Twitter! https://twitter.com/staceyleeauthor Head over to her shownotes page at https://88cupsoftea.com/stacey-lee to find the resources and books mentioned in her episode, tweetable quotes, and the timestamps of highlights throughout the entire conversation.
Warm welcome to our new listeners, let's continue and build upon the momentum surrounding the active work to create a just and equitable system for the black community. Head over to our page of resources of recommended learning: https://88cupsoftea.com/learn/ If you're looking for a super intimate space where you can meet fellow storytellers and experience what it's like to be a part of our community, come hang out with us in our private Facebook group at facebook.com/groups/88cupsoftea. We check in with each other on the daily, and have weekly threads where you can update each other about your work-in-progress, along with swapping recommendations for books and tv shows, and there's a whole lot more that happens in there. Join us at https://www.facebook.com/groups/88cupsoftea/! --------------------------------------- We are thrilled to announce we are beginning the process of building out 88 Cups of Tea's volunteer positions and would love to hear from you if you're passionate about 88 Cups of Tea and want to be a part of building out our future. Fill out our application here: https://88cupsoftea.com/volunteer/ --------------------------------------- Kat Cho is the international bestselling author of Wicked Fox and Vicious Spirits and the co-host of the Write or Die Podcast. In our conversation, we reflect on our experiences navigating the pandemic as a human, a creative, and an author. Kat shines a light on the act of writing as a transformative source of solace and joy in the most challenging of times as we discuss her journey moving through grief, and fleshing out her stories that emerged from the rawest heartbreak that evolved into the most powerful form of hope. In a conversation lined with transparency and vulnerability, Kat shares wisdom on the human experience beyond her years. Please say 'Hi' to Kat on Twitter! https://twitter.com/KatCho Head over to her shownotes page at https://88cupsoftea.com/kat-cho to find the resources and books mentioned in her episode, tweetable quotes, and the timestamps of highlights throughout the entire conversation.
Warm welcome to our new listeners, you can follow us on Instagram @88CUPSOFTEA to keep up with our latest posts and Instagram stories where we announce new episodes and essays, feature our favorite quotes, and host Instagram Story takeovers by some of your favorite authors. And join our private Facebook group to experience the warmth and encouragement of our community first-hand! ---------------------------------------
Warm welcome to our new listeners, let's continue and build upon the momentum surrounding the active work to create a just and equitable system for the black community. Head over to our page of resources of recommended learning: https://88cupsoftea.com/learn/ You can follow us on Instagram @88CUPSOFTEA to keep up with our latest posts and Instagram stories where we announce new episodes and essays, feature our favorite quotes, and host Instagram Story takeovers by some of your favorite authors. So make sure to head over to https://www.instagram.com/88cupsoftea/ so you don't miss out on the next takeover! --------------------------------------- Curious about the different roles of an editor? How they help authors transform their stories and make them come alive? How about the ways to break into the publishing industry as an editor or literary agent? Or tips for crafting a strong query letter and the value a literary agent will bring to your career? We talk about it all and more with Molly O'Neill. Molly is a literary agent with Root Literary. Books that Molly has worked on have gone on to become #1 New York Times Bestsellers, have been made into major motion pictures, and received countless awards, honors, and accolades. Most recently, her clients' books have been honored to receive National Book Awards longlist nomination, the William C. Morris YA Debut Award, the Asian/Pacific American Award for Young Adult Literature, the Schneider Family Book Award, and as ALA Odyssey Honors for Audiobooks and Goodreads Choice Awards nominees, among many others. In part 2 of our conversation, we discuss how she discovers and pursues new writing talent and matches them with the best editor to help their stories come alive. She shares how an author's social media presence and writing competition victories can be a path to grabbing a literary agent's attention but it's not the only journey an aspiring author has to take and that spending your energy on making your writing the best it can be is the most important aspect. Further in, Molly talks about the query letters that have stood out to her the most and tips for improving your own query letters. She lists helpful writing and publishing resources you won't want to miss, how supporting and contributing to the publishing community will help you create connections and opportunities, and smart financial moves to make when you receive your first book advance. And later, we talk about how your relationship with writing can change when your writing hobby turns into your job, the role self-awareness plays as you're trying to reach your writing goals, and strategies for finding inspiration and uncovering the story you've always been meant to tell. Please say 'Hi' to Molly on Twitter! https://twitter.com/molly_oneill Head over to her shownotes page at https://88cupsoftea.com/molly-oneill to find the resources and books mentioned in her episode, tweetable quotes, and the timestamps of highlights throughout the entire conversation.