Sneaky Prologues That Sizzle

Sneaky Prologues That Sizzle

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

May 21, 2026 · 45 min · Season 31 · Episode 3

About this episode

The hosts discuss a satirical body horror query and emphasize the importance of specificity and strong stakes in writing.

This week on Books with Hooks , Carly, Bianca and CeCe dive into a satirical body horror query with a killer premise: an aspiring influencer’s transformation takes a dark—and literal—turn. CeCe highlights the strong setup and voice but calls for more clarity on the transformation and its stakes—what’s the trade-off, and why does it matter? Carly flags issues with comps, positioning, and vague “impact lines,” reminding writers that specificity is everything. Bottom line, agents want sharper specificity, stronger stakes, and dynamic openings that could take queries from intriguing to irresistible. 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. Find us on our socials: Threads: https://www.threads.net/@the_shit_about_writing…

Topics covered

  • query critique
  • literary agents
  • writing advice
  • prologues
  • specificity in writing

Keywords

  • body horror
  • query
  • literary agents
  • writing tips
  • specificity
  • prologues
  • transformation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Wendy Sherman Associates, P.S. Literary Agency

More episodes of The Shit No One Tells You About Writing

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the The Shit No One Tells You About Writing podcast page.