This week, we’re not airing our scheduled episode.

We couldn’t.

In this unfiltered, off-schedule conversation, we talk honestly about why continuing as normal felt wrong and how writing, reading, and storytelling have always existed as responses to power, fear, and collapse.

We discuss:

• why silence isn’t neutral for creators
• writing during rage, grief, and political overwhelm
• books as resistance (even when they’re fantasy or romance)
• how to create without forcing productivity
• and why processing the moment matters, even if you never share the work

This episode isn’t polished. It isn’t profound. It’s real.

If you’re feeling frozen, angry, exhausted, or unsure how to keep creating while the world feels on fire...this conversation is for you.

Content note: This episode references current political realities and may be heavy for some listeners. If today isn’t the day for this kind of conversation, it’s okay to skip. We’ll return to our regular programming soon.

You’re not alone. And your voice, whatever form it takes, still matters.

Getting a literary agent is supposed to feel like the moment—but no one really talks about what it’s actually like when it finally happens.

In this bonus episode, we sit down with Crystal to talk through her real querying journey: nearly 90 queries, revise & resubmits, unexpected phone calls, multiple agent offers, and the emotional whiplash that comes with all of it.

We talk about the envy no one admits to, the panic of “I can’t not query,” and why so much publishing content feels performative and unhelpful. This is the version of the story most writers don’t hear—but desperately need.

If you’re querying, waiting on responses, revising yet again, or refreshing your inbox while trying not to spiral, this episode is for you.

🍸 A short bonus episode pulled from our Episode 8 conversation—because this story deserved its own space.

Romance Novels Are the #1 Bestselling Genre—Here's Why | Heated Rivalry Review, Book Recs & Publishing Trends

How did romance become the bestselling fiction genre? From bodice rippers to contemporary romance to romantasy—romance novels have evolved alongside feminism, LGBTQ+ rights, and what readers want from love stories.

In this episode of Margs & Manuscripts, we talk with Crystal Leigh (@crystal.writes)—sapphic F1 romance writer—about:

📚 How Heated Rivalry became the best book-to-TV adaptation

📚 Romance sales: 21.5M to 51M copies in 8 years

📚 The history of romance novels and feminism

📚 Why romance outsells thriller, mystery, and sci-fi combined

📚 Book recommendations: Sarah Adams, Ali Hazelwood, Carly Fortune, Jessica Joyce

📚 The difference between romance, erotica, and smut

📚 LGBTQ+ representation and diversity in modern romance

Perfect for romance readers, BookTok fans, writers, and anyone who loved Heated Rivalry.

Subscribe for author interviews, writing advice, and book recommendations
Find us on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram @margsandmanuscripts

#RomanceBooks #HeatedRivalry #BookRecommendations #BookPodcast #ContemporaryRomance #BookTok

Traditional publishing vs indie publishing, how do you choose as a writer when you’re burned out, mid-edits, or stuck in the querying spiral?

In this episode of Margs & Manuscripts, we talk honestly about querying agents, full requests, developmental editors, self-publishing, creative control, money, and the emotional whiplash of publishing decisions.

We’re not experts...we’re writers in the middle of it. If you’re finishing a manuscript, questioning traditional publishing, or considering indie publishing, you’re not alone.

Subscribe for more honest author conversations
Find us on YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram @margsandmanuscripts

Imposter syndrome: the uninvited co-author on every writing project. In this episode of Margs & Manuscripts, we’re digging into what it really means to feel like a fraud as a writer, no matter where you are in the process.

We’re joined by Lindsey Goldstein, author of the upcoming novel Gap Year (out February 3), for an honest conversation about self-doubt, comparison, confidence, and why publishing milestones don’t magically cure the voice in your head that says you don’t belong here.

We talk about:

• How imposter syndrome shows up at different stages of a writing career
  
  
  
• Why even “successful” writers still feel like they’re faking it
  
  
  
• The impact of social media and comparison culture on creativity
  
  
  
• What actually helps when self-doubt threatens to derail your work
  
  
  
• How to keep showing up to the page anyway
  
  
  

If you’ve ever questioned your talent, your voice, or your right to call yourself a writer…this episode is for you. It’s candid, comforting, and hopefully makes you feel less alone.

Pour a drink. Open the doc. Let’s talk about it.

Typing The End feels euphoric.
Starting the next book? Immediately humbling.

In this episode of Margs & Manuscripts, we’re talking about the emotional whiplash that hits writers between finishing one project and daring to begin another — the adrenaline, the crash, the identity crisis, and the quiet panic of wondering if you’ll ever be able to do it again.

We dive into:

• The high of finishing a manuscript (and briefly believing you’re the next Emily Henry)
• The crash that follows: querying anxiety, imposter syndrome, and comparison spirals
• How writers choose their next project — and how different it’s allowed to feel
• Shifting tone, voice, or genre without losing confidence
• When to push forward and when to actually rest
• Why book #2 is emotionally weirder than anyone warns you

We’re joined by Susan Poole, award-winning novelist and essayist, who shares what the space between projects has looked like in her own career, what she wishes someone had told her before starting again, how to emotionally reset, and why starting over is always messier than we expect.

If you’ve ever finished a book and thought, Great. Now what? ... this episode is for you.

🥂 Here’s to finishing the damn thing… and finding the courage to start the next damn thing.

This week we’re talking writing hacks ... the real ones, the unhinged ones, and the ones we’ve all been guilt-tripped into trying. We’re joined by Crystal Leigh, author of a sapphic Formula One romance, to break down which techniques actually help you write and which ones you can toss into the pit lane.

From skipping scenes to screenwriting your entire draft, from character letters to emotional recall, we explore the habits that make the writing process deeper, messier, and surprisingly more joyful.

In this episode:

• The myth of “write every day”
• Using big emotions to unlock creativity
• Freewriting and character letters that reveal hidden depth
• Screenwriting as a drafting tool
• Ethical, intentional ways writers use AI
• Why jumping around in your manuscript can break you out of a rut
• How F1 story structure inspires Crystal’s writing process

About Our Guest

Crystal Leigh is a contemporary romance writer, Stanford Novel Writing Certificate candidate, and Romance Writers of the Rockies’ 2025 Volunteer of the Year. Her current project is a sapphic feminist Formula One romance (yes, it’s as amazing as it sounds).

In this week’s episode, we crack open the sacred text of Writing Men, from swoony book boyfriends to the fictional disasters we’ve accidentally dated in real life. We’re talking craft, clichés, red flags, green flags, and the unhinged art of building a man from scratch… because apparently that’s the only way we get the bare minimum.

It’s chaotic, it’s honest, it’s probably a little too revealing for Episode Three, but hey, if we’re going to scare listeners off, better to do it early. Grab your margarita and dive in as we ask the hard questions like: Should he brood? Should he banter?

By the end, you’ll either be inspired to write your next great love interest… or delete your dating apps entirely.