In this episode of Unpublished, Angela and Daniel dig into one of the biggest questions facing any writer trying to publish a novel: where does your story actually fit? As Angela continues drafting Eros et Flamingo, she talks through moving from outlining and planning into the messy, surprising, emotionally intense process of writing the first chapters.

This episode explores genre from both the reader side and the publishing side, including the difference between commercial fiction, romance, upmarket fiction, book club fiction, women’s fiction, and literary fiction. Angela breaks down why understanding your genre matters for story structure, audience, marketing, literary agents, query letters, and comparable titles, also known as comps.

Along the way, Angela and Daniel talk about writing a manuscript from scratch, letting an outline change once the story starts to grow, writing emotional stakes, building a doomed love story, learning from fan fiction, reading inside and outside your genre, and why every writer should understand the business of publishing before entering the query trenches.

Angela also reflects on the lessons she learned from querying The God of the Dead too early, how those lessons are shaping Eros et Flamingo, and why reading, research, and genre awareness are helping her build a stronger, stickier, more marketable story from the beginning.

Whether you are writing your first novel, preparing to query literary agents, trying to find comps, moving from fan fiction to original fiction, or figuring out whether your book is commercial, upmarket, or literary, this episode is about learning the rules of the publishing world without losing the emotional spark that made you want to write the book in the first place.

What makes a fictional character feel real?

In this episode of Unpublished, Angela and Daniel dig into one of the most important parts of writing a novel: character development. As Angela continues drafting Eros et Flamingo, she talks through how she is building Sal, Aaron, Carlos, and the supporting characters who will shape the story’s emotional core.

This episode explores how writers create complex characters, how backstory shapes motivation, and why a manuscript needs more than a good premise to truly work. Angela discusses moving from fan fiction to original fiction, avoiding self-insert characters, writing realistic relationships, and figuring out what makes two characters click on the page.

Along the way, Angela and Daniel talk about reading like a writer, emotional restraint in fiction, short stories and fan fiction one-shots, literary agents, manuscript research, imposter syndrome, and the books that change how we see the world, including Heart the Lover by Lily King and A Thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini.

Whether you are writing your first novel, developing fictional characters, drafting a romance, moving from fan fiction to original fiction, or trying to make readers care deeply about the people on the page, this episode is all about finding the heart and soul of a story.

Because a plot can be clever, the stakes can be high, and the tropes can be fun, but without characters readers love, fear for, question, and occasionally want to throw across the room, there is no book.

In this episode of Unpublished, Angela and Daniel get into the messy, magical, occasionally panic-inducing process of outlining a novel.

Angela gives an update on writing the first chapter of Eros et Flamingo, including the particular terror of turning a book idea into an actual manuscript. From introducing a main character to building an original world from scratch, this episode digs into why starting a novel can feel so different from writing fan fiction, where the characters, settings, and emotional architecture already exist.

Along the way, Angela talks about worldbuilding, imposter syndrome, fan fiction as a stepping stone to original fiction, the difference between drafting and polishing, and why reading widely is one of the most important tools a writer has. She also breaks down her own outlining process, from Google Docs and timelines to color coding, chapter notes, shower thoughts, and the very real magic of discovering a story as you write it.

Whether you are writing your first novel, outlining a romance, trying to move from fan fiction to original fiction, or just curious about how a book gets built one messy draft at a time, this episode is all about finding the path through the creative chaos.

Plus, we discuss literary romance, comps, character development, why first chapters are so hard, and why using AI to shortcut the actual craft of writing misses the best part.

Where do book ideas actually come from?

In episode two of Unpublished, Angela Mattes and Daniel Stevens dig into the strange, messy, magical, and occasionally inconvenient process of turning a tiny spark of an idea into a full novel. Angela talks through how plot bunnies appear, how music helps shape scenes, how playlists become emotional roadmaps, and how a random hotel TV turning on at 4 a.m. can suddenly feel like the beginning of a book.

Angela also shares how her upcoming manuscript, Eros et Flamingo, evolved from early character names and half-formed concepts into the story of a heartsick assassin searching for love after falling for one too many of her marks. Along the way, she breaks down how she develops themes, reverse-engineers plot from the ending, builds characters over time, and avoids writer’s block by thinking deeply before writing the first line.

If you’ve ever wondered how to start writing a book, how authors develop novel ideas, how to outline fiction, or how a story changes between the first note and the final draft, this episode pulls back the curtain on the creative writing process before the writing even begins.

Unpublished is a podcast about writing a book, chasing publication, surviving the drafting process, and figuring out what it really takes to turn an idea into a manuscript.

What does it actually take to turn an idea into a finished book?

In the first episode of Unpublished, aspiring author Angela Mattes introduces cohost Daniel Stevens to the strange, solitary, exhilarating, and occasionally tear-soaked world of writing fiction. Angela traces her path from childhood bookworm and journalism student to fan-fiction writer, manuscript author, and proud creator of hundreds of thousands of words read by hundreds of thousands of people online.

She also opens up about the heartbreak, grief, career detours, creative communities, and hard-earned confidence that helped her finally see herself as a writer. Along the way, Daniel learns the language of AO3, works in progress, beta readers, query packages, and several other concepts previously unavailable through doomscrolling and Wikipedia.

Then Angela unveils the story at the center of this podcast: Eros et Flamingo, a literary novel about a heartsick assassin who has fallen for one too many of her marks and devises a slightly unhinged plan to find someone capable of loving her back.

The manuscript has not been written. There is no literary agent. Nothing is guaranteed. But the idea is ready, the characters are waiting, and it is finally time to begin.