Breaking In: November/December 2025
Debut authors: How they did it, what they learned, and why you can do it, too.
WD uses affiliate links.
Ana Garriga and Carmen Urbita
Convent Wisdom: How Sixteenth-Century Nuns Could Save Your Twenty-First-Century Life
(Nonfiction, November, Avid Reader Press)
“ An infectiously edifying, not-so-saintly self-help book that dives into the wild, wise, and unconventional lives of 16th- and 17th-century nuns, offering advice for our modern age and proving one thing: no matter the century, nuns know best.”
Writes from: Halfway between Madrid (Spain) and New York.
Pre-Convent: We like to think that the seed of Convent Wisdom was planted the night we first met in August 2016. We weren’t the only prospective graduate students visiting Brown University that summer, but we were the only two ones matching our very specific freak: a passion for the lives and texts of 16th- and 17th-century nuns. That night, we knew that we would spend years of sleepless nights trying to reduce our fascination for nuns to the rigid formulas of academic writing.
What we didn’t know was that, four years later, in 2020, we’d decide to take our nuns out of dusty archives and aseptic academic journals and bring them to more playful realms. "Las hijas de Felipe," our podcast devoted to unearthing hidden stories from the 16th- and 17th-century stories, confirmed what we already suspected: 16th- and 17th-century nuns were refreshingly relatable today. By the time we embarked on Convent Wisdom, we were used to spending most of our days writing—whether our PhD dissertations, academic papers, or podcast scripts—but this book demanded something new. It required us to craft a new voice—the two of us merged in one—and a new genre—rigorous academic research turned into a playful self-help guide.
Time frame: Once we started writing, we finished Convent Wisdom in about a year. But we had been researching, first separately and then together, for more than a decade.
Enter the agent: Our agent found us! She had been listening to our podcast for a while, and she had the feeling that we might have an idea for a book. In fact, when she approached us, we were already conceiving the general idea for the book with our Spanish editor.
Biggest surprise: When we received all the offers at the Frankfurt Book Fair in 2023—nine countries plus an auction between seven U.S. publishing houses—we were shocked. It was both a huge surprise and a well-deserved confirmation that our intuition was right: in the crumbling 21st century we live in, we all need a portable convent to find solace. It was comforting to see that, after all the years spent in libraries and archives, we had found a way to share the stories of those nuns who had captivated us and helped us survive throughout the most challenging moments of our lives.
What I did right: We were not in a hurry to publish, and that helped. Well before the 2023 Frankfurt Book Fair, we were approached by a couple of publishers, but we decided not to go ahead with them. We felt it was hasty at that point, and that their aim was to make a hurried and shallow translation of our podcast into a book. Instead, we decided to wait until we had reached a more elaborate and nuanced idea of the book.
What I would have done differently: We had no idea how to navigate those situations, but somehow our intuition was right. However, we would happily erase all the anxiety and the self-doubt that we went through.
Platform: Our podcast and our social media are great platforms, but only for Spanish-speaking audiences. We’ll have to work on English content to try and gain new international readership
Advice for writers: You don’t have to write on your own. Sometimes, it can be so much better with friends. It worked for us, and it worked for many of our nuns.
Next up: We’re working on a historical audio fiction. We’d also love to launch some episodes of our podcast in English.
Website: LasHijasDeFelipe.com
Mia Jay Boulton and Laurel Boulton
Of Swamp & Sea
(Romantasy graphic novel, November, 23rd Street)
"A woman possessed by a monster must embark on a dangerous and magical journey, accompanied by a monster hunter who could be friend, foe, or lover."
Writes from: Gulf Shores, Ala.
Pre-Swamp: We’ve really been building the bones of this story since 2014 (the year we got married), and back then, it was almost unrecognizable aside from the characters’ names. It really evolved and transmuted throughout the decade as we worked on the story back and forth alongside our other projects. Of Swamp & Sea began in prose form, as all our work does, before making the leap to an illustrated comic in 2019. We finally wrapped up the art for it earlier this year, meaning it took us around six years to write, illustrate, and color close to 5,000 individual panels. But it only took us less than a year to format them into a five-novel series, the first of which is coming out this November.
Time frame: When we first went searching for an agent, there were still very few Webtoon properties that had made the leap to print—we think the industry was still really figuring out how that could work. We searched high and low through online databases like Manuscript Wish List, looking for someone with a mind for art, romance, and the supernatural. We were so happy when our agent, Lane Clarke, decided to hear us out.
Enter the agent: We were surprised by just how difficult it could be to take a vertical-scrolling comic and reimagine it for print format. Every new page felt like a puzzle to solve and an exercise in problem-solving. The goal was always to have the art look as natural as possible, like it was born for the printed page. We really do think we accomplished that goal, and we’re looking forward to current and new readers discovering the story of Mercy and Jonah in a whole new format.
Biggest surprise: Measured persistence has really been one of the keys to getting this far. Every step of the way from creating to publishing has felt like a new obstacle course to learn to navigate and overcome, but we never let a failure steep for too long before trying again. However, we also didn’t let an output goal control our lives, and we still made time for the things we love, for our hobbies, and for each other. It’s important to never give up, while never letting it burn your candle down entirely.
What I did right: I joined a writers’ group. I’ve been in my writers’ group now for over seven years, and I’ve learned so much and grown so much from being in that group. When we started, none of us had books published, and most of us didn’t have agents yet. Now, everyone has at least one book published. Seeing my friends in the group go through that process taught me a lot about what publishing is like and what to expect. So actually, not a lot of things were a surprise to me about the publishing process because I’d already seen how everything plays out through my writers’ group.
What I would have done differently: We do plan on doing it all again, because we want to keep creating forever. Next time, we’ll put more of a focus on future-proofing our projects, mainly through the way we’ll keep our files organized and prepared for both digital and print outcomes.
Platform: Our platform of readers on WEBTOON has followed us through the whole Of Swamp & Sea saga, and we’re endlessly grateful for their loyalty. We hope that many of them will pick up its first print installment for their shelves when it hits storefronts, as a print edition has been much requested since the very earliest days. Of course, we also want to bring the story to the eyes of a new audience, which we’re working on building via social media with the help of our publisher, 23rd Street.
Advice for writers: Never stop loving what you do: people change, and it’s okay for their stories to change with them. You can’t let the fear of losing what you already have in a project stop you from exploring what it could be. In the end, your finished work is always going to look different than how it started, and that’s a good thing. You just have to see it through to find out what your story becomes.
Next up: After book one, we’ve got four more Of Swamp & Sea volumes on the way. After that? We want to write more adventures about love and magic, and continue telling stories through art.
Website: Linktr.ee/ofswampandsea
Marco Anderson
This Book Is About Nothing
(Children's picture book, November, Moon + Bird)
"A hilarious and colourful picture book about a child’s unique journey to making new friends."
Writes from: London.
Pre-Book: I wrote this book coming out of COVID lockdown. I had not written a book before, so when I had the idea, I definitely did not think that it would get published. But, as the idea kept growing, I became more and more confident in this idea and the reality of it actually being published.
Time frame: I originally wrote this in a PowerPoint, and we developed the story into what it is now over the next couple of years. I had this idea back in spring of 2021, and we just got the ideas out into a basic PowerPoint presentation. About a month or two later, I first met with the publishing team and showed them my concept. We continued working together over the next four years and turned the idea into a real book.
Enter the agent: I do not have an agent. After coming up with the concept, I was introduced to Etan and the team at Moon + Bird. They helped me do this, and I worked with my dad on this book as well.
Biggest surprise: One of the things that surprised me most was simply how long it takes to get a book published. I originally had the idea in 2021, and now four years later, it’s about to get published.
What I did right: I was really lucky because I didn’t know what I was doing and the team at Moon + Bird was really amazing at guiding me through the process.
What I would have done differently: I really don’t think that there’s anything that I would have done differently with this book, but there are a lot of skills that I learned over the process of creating this book, which I would apply to future books.
Platform: No, I don’t currently have a platform because I’m too busy with my middle school studies.
Advice for writers: The best piece of advice that I can give you is to just keep on going and trying to make what you want a reality.
Next up: Honestly, I have too much homework right now to think that far into the future.
