Shooting the Shit About Author Events and Memoirs That Sell

From The Shit No One Tells You About Writing Bianca Marais, Carly Watters and CeCe Lyra

Carly and CeCe are back for another Shooting the Shit, digging into the latest publishing news—from what’s changing with local author events to encouraging new sales numbers across the industry. They also spotlight editor Whitney Frick and unpack what makes a memoir truly resonate, why fact-checking ultimately falls on the author, and the difference between simply recounting what happened and finding the emotional truth behind an experience.

As mentioned on the podcast:

https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/books/whitney-frick-belle-burden-amy-griffin-dial-press-f67fc87

https://www.bookforum.com/print/3301/always-be-selling-62909

https://publishingperspectives.com/2026/08/aap-annual-report-u-s-publisher-revenues-rose-slightly-in-2025/

Note: CeCe Lyra is a literary agent at Wendy Sherman Associates. If you’d like to query CeCe, please refer to the submission guidelines at www.wsherman.com. Carly Watters is a literary agent at P.S. Literary Agency, but her work on this podcast is not affiliated with the agency, and the views expressed by Carly on this podcast are solely that of her as a podcast co-host and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, policies, or position of P.S. Literary Agency.

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