Kayla Lightner's guest appearances

Kayla Lightner

The Manuscript Academy

Elizabeth Bishop

Jorjeana Marie

Vivian Lee

Kristy Hunter

Helen Gurley Brown

Barbara Poelle

Mike Chen

Gordon Warnock

Kelly Thomas

Juno Dawson

ERIC SMITH

Whitney Gardner

Julie Falatko

Andrea Bartz

Norma Perez-Hernandez

OwlTail

Kaitlyn Sanchez

I think we can all agree the world has been tough lately.To keep your spirits up, we invited some of our favorite friends–agents Kayla Lightner (Ayesha Pande Literary) and Kaitlyn Sanchez (Context Literary), plus writers Anna Conathan (Anna Conathan Coaching) and Cameron Kelly Rosenblum (author of the award-winning The Stepping Off Place) to choose from YOUR pages–and give only positive feedback.What follows is a delightfully fun, uplifting evening designed to remind you of the power of writing, community, and creativity to get us through tough times.View video clip here: https://manuscriptacademy.com/podcast-positivity-panel

I think we can all agree the world has been tough lately. To keep your spirits up, we invited some of our favorite friends–agents Kayla Lightner (Ayesha Pande Literary) and Kaitlyn Sanchez (Context Literary), plus writers Anna Conathan (Anna Conathan Coaching) and Cameron Kelly Rosenblum (author of the award-winning The Stepping Off Place) to choose from YOUR pages–and give only positive feedback. What follows is a delightfully fun, uplifting evening designed to remind you of the power of writing, community, and creativity to get us through tough times. View video clip here: <a href="https://manuscriptacademy.com/podcast-positivity-panel" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://manuscriptacademy.com/podcast-positivity-panel</a>

Live Recorded: Positivity Agent Panel with Kayla Lightner and Kaitlyn Sanchez

Saba Sulaiman

Fiona Kenshole

Marilyn Atlas

We are so excited to share our 100th podcast episode! This was our very first Zoom event, our first live podcast recording with guests in the room with us--and we were thrilled to welcome more than 100 of you. We are so happy to welcome:Kayla Lightner, Ayesha Pande LiterarySaba Sulaiman, Talcott-Notch LiteraryFiona Kenshole, Transatlantic AgencyMarilyn Atlas, Book-To-Film ProducerWe discussed what each agent would like to find in her inbox, how to know when you've queried enough people (and when to pivot), rejections on Christmas Eve (and what they mean), how best to focus on your main character in women's fiction, how to write age-appropriate fiction (and properly age your protagonist) for children, how to balance humor and fantasy elements, how to know if it's your query or your pages that are getting you rejected...and much, much more. On a personal note, we are amazed that we made it through 100 episodes! Thank you for joining us, and for bringing us along with you on your walks, commutes, and even mountain biking trips. We wouldn’t be here without you, and we appreciate you.Hope this finds you well in this incredibly unusual year. Timestamps:5:43: Panelist introductions and what they’d love to find in their inboxes20:59: Kayla Lightner’s pick: Memoir, with panel focus on imagery, beautiful language, and a Christmas Eve rejection (and what it means)35:44: Saba Sulaiman’s pick: Picture book, with panel emphasis on comp titles, how to use image notes, when to reveal that an author is writing about their own experience.57:03: Marilyn Atlas’s pick: Women’s fiction, with panel emphasis on how to pitch a work by focusing on the main character (versus her boyfriend), share (or not share) that there’s a spiritual element, and when you know you’ve had a large enough querying sample size.1:11:46: Fiona Kenshole’s pick: YA fantasy, with panel emphasis on choosing an age group (MG versus YA), balancing humor and fantasy elements, and what to do about prologues (and a trick about how to avoid the question and make it work).1:37:03: If you’re getting form rejections, how do you know if it’s the query letter or first page that’s a problem? 1:39:15: What’s the best query letter format?1:40:10: What protagonist ages are appropriate for Middle Grade vs. YA?

We are so excited to share our 100th podcast episode! This was our very first Zoom event, our first live podcast recording with guests in the room with us--and we were thrilled to welcome more than 100 of you.  We are so happy to welcome: Kayla Lightner, Ayesha Pande Literary Saba Sulaiman, Talcott-Notch Literary Fiona Kenshole, Transatlantic Agency Marilyn Atlas, Book-To-Film Producer We discussed what each agent would like to find in her inbox, how to know when you've queried enough people (and when to pivot), rejections on Christmas Eve (and what they mean), how best to focus on your main character in women's fiction, how to write age-appropriate fiction (and properly age your protagonist) for children, how to balance humor and fantasy elements, how to know if it's your query or your pages that are getting you rejected...and much, much more.  On a personal note, we are amazed that we made it through 100 episodes! Thank you for joining us, and for bringing us along with you on your walks, commutes, and even mountain biking trips. We wouldn’t be here without you, and we appreciate you. Hope this finds you well in this incredibly unusual year.  Timestamps: 5:43: Panelist introductions and what they’d love to find in their inboxes 20:59: Kayla Lightner’s pick: Memoir, with panel focus on imagery, beautiful language, and a Christmas Eve rejection (and what it means) 35:44: Saba Sulaiman’s pick: Picture book, with panel emphasis on comp titles, how to use image notes, when to reveal that an author is writing about their own experience. 57:03: Marilyn Atlas’s pick: Women’s fiction, with panel emphasis on how to pitch a work by focusing on the main character (versus her boyfriend), share (or not share) that there’s a spiritual element, and when you know you’ve had a large enough querying sample size. 1:11:46: Fiona Kenshole’s pick: YA fantasy, with panel emphasis on choosing an age group (MG versus YA), balancing humor and fantasy elements, and what to do about prologues (and a trick about how to avoid the question and make it work). 1:37:03: If you’re getting form rejections, how do you know if it’s the query letter or first page that’s a problem? 1:39:15: What’s the best query letter format? 1:40:10: What protagonist ages are appropriate for Middle Grade vs. YA?

100th Episode! Agents Kayla Lightner, Fiona Kenshole, Saba Sulaiman & Producer Marilyn Atlas

We talk with Kayla Lightner, agent at Ayesha Pande Literary, about how agents are trained to go through their inboxes—the role of subjectivity—and the benefits of a very specific #MSWL.We discuss the energy of querying—how that’s conveyed to new publishing hires—and what this means for you, your work, and your chances in publishing. Comps, also, come up as useful not only to your pitch, but also as an editorial tool to convey specific direction. And we talk about why people in publishing are discouraged from writing, themselves. We also talk about literary scouts, and what they do (hint: they’re the spies of the publishing world).Our favorite takeaway? In publishing, there is no wrong answer, as long as you can back it up. You can view Kayla's #MSWL here: https://www.manuscriptwishlist.com/mswl-post/kayla-lightner/And find her on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/lightnerkaylaYou can find our Facebook group (and the writers who want to be your critique partner!) at ManuscriptAcademy.com/Facebook.

We talk with Kayla Lightner, agent at Ayesha Pande Literary, about how agents are trained to go through their inboxes—the role of subjectivity—and the benefits of a very specific #MSWL. We discuss the energy of querying—how that’s conveyed to new publishing hires—and what this means for you, your work, and your chances in publishing. Comps, also, come up as useful not only to your pitch, but also as an editorial tool to convey specific direction. And we talk about why people in publishing are discouraged from writing, themselves. We also talk about literary scouts, and what they do (hint: they’re the spies of the publishing world). Our favorite takeaway? In publishing, there is no wrong answer, as long as you can back it up. You can view Kayla's #MSWL here: <a href="https://www.manuscriptwishlist.com/mswl-post/kayla-lightner/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://www.manuscriptwishlist.com/mswl-post/kayla-lightner/</a> And find her on Twitter here: <a href="https://twitter.com/lightnerkayla" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">https://twitter.com/lightnerkayla</a> You can find our Facebook group (and the writers who want to be your critique partner!) at <a href="http://ManuscriptAcademy.com/Facebook" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">ManuscriptAcademy.com/Facebook</a>.

Subjectivity In Publishing (And Why It's Good For Your Book) With Agent Kayla Lightner