Tina Strachan interviews author Amy Doak about her YA mystery thriller What Have They Done to Liza McLean?, pitched as a twisty story set at an elite boarding school with dual viewpoints and secrets leading to a death. Amy discusses crafting one-liners using comp titles to convey “vibe,” avoiding overthinking, and balancing the ongoing Eleanor Jones series (book four, Eleanor Jones Is Not Drowning, due in July) with writing a standalone to avoid being a “one trick pony.” She shares her publishing journey: an unsellable adult action-adventure manuscript, writing Eleanor Jones for her teenage self and niece, pitching agents, submitting to Penguin’s open window, and being selected after an editor spotted her pages at the printer; she signed with agent Alex Adsett, who negotiated a two-book deal. Debut Spotlight features Amanda Hewitt’s contemporary romance The Last Resort (Echo Publishing), about Abby’s solo holiday fling with Nick that becomes complicated when he buys her hotel chain; it was the only manuscript signed from 300 submissions in August 2024.

00:00 Podcast Intro
00:56 Meet Amy And The New Book
01:17 Story Pitch And Premise
02:19 One Liner And Comp Titles
05:45 Eleanor Jones Vs Standalone
08:43 Keep Writing While Waiting
11:52 Writing Habits And Process
13:50 Plotting Mysteries And Clues
16:16 Standalone Or Sequel Plans
18:16 Origin Story And First Drafts
21:42 Rejections And Market Fit
24:52 Penguin Submission Breakthrough
28:35 Signing With An Agent
29:05 Book Deal Spotlight
31:01 Pitching Agents Vs Publishers
34:15 Why Pitch Sessions Matter
37:15 Defining The YA Market
41:13 Kids Reading Up Too Fast
43:40 Romance Spice And Labels
46:10 BookTok And Going Viral
47:23 Writing In The Cracks
53:06 Top Tip Be Kind
56:21 Podcast Wrap Up

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