The Shit No One Tells You About Writing: A Podcast Review

We almost all have had that one teacher who surpasses every other teacher. That teacher who, after years of not entirely understanding a particular subject, walks into your life, and everything becomes clear, and you think to yourself, Why wasn’t this so clear before?

The Shit No One Tells You About Writing is that teacher for me. I am in the editing stages of my memoir, and for the past three or four years, I have listened to almost every podcast and read every book about writing and publishing. Yet, I remained confused and overwhelmed with the entire aspect of the final stages of writing and preparing to query.

Then in January of this year, while listening to another forgettable podcast about writing, I heard an advertisement for The Shit No One Tells You About Writing. I listened to the first episode and was blown away by how understandable Bianca Marais, the host, made everything.

Then there was a segment called Books With Hooks, which featured two literary agents, Carly Watters and Cecilia Lyra from P.S. Literary Agency, who read the query letters and the first five pages of a book submitted by listeners. They each took turns giving their critique of the query and then of the first five pages.

The banter between the three ladies is entertaining and educational for novice and experienced writers. They don’t always agree, which makes it easier to understand that everything is subjective and that you can’t please everyone.

Bianca has a segment afterward where she interviews authors about their writing. Her interview process is unlike others in that she asks the questions listeners want asked. She keeps the chat quick and informative, and it is never dull, even if the author writes in a genre you are not writing or interested in. The guests on her show seem to have as much fun being interviewed as Bianca is giving the interview.

I binged every episode, and in some episodes, the formats vary slightly where there might be guest agents or Cecilia may conduct an interview. Unlike other writing podcasts, I have yet to skip through a single episode of TSNOTYAW. I have learned something new from every show episode, and it never gets boring.

The three hosts are also interactive with their listeners and active on social media. They will, within reason, answer listener questions and, in one instance, even accept a challenge to dance on Twitter when a book gets a certain number of pre-orders and follow through with it.

TSNOTYAW has a new episode released every Thursday and can be found on all significant podcast apps. Both the podcast and each individual host hold courses geared to the writer. More information about their courses and retreats can be found on their social media. You can follow the podcast on Twitter @TSNOTYAW and the hosts on Twitter: @BiancaM_author@CeceliCLyra @CarlyWatters.