#Authoring

That parenthetical quote above comes directly from the fantastic new book Loving Sports When They Don’t Love You Back: Dilemmas of the Modern Fan, and we are very excited to have that book’s authors, Jessica Luther and Kavitha A. Davidson, on #Authoring this week. The sports journalists have written a deeply insightful and thoughtful examination of the many issues that today’s thinking sports fan faces when considering their fandom...

The concept of “building an author platform” provokes fear in many writers: Why do we need to be media stars in addition to writing great books? The simple answers: so you can get paid more for your work, get your books into more readers’ hands, and go on to write and sell more books. But building a platform might not be as hard as you think—and it doesn’t necessarily require Today show appearances or m...

You’re writing your book, dreaming of the Hollywood stars who will play the leads in the TV or movie version. But what are the chances you’ll really see your book on the small screen? How might that happen? And what are the chances of that happening right now, given the pandemic?

We get all the answers from Chris Ceccotti, head of development and content strategy at Gidden Media. He walks us through the process of a book getting a ...

You want to write a nonfiction book. Maybe you’ve already written a book proposal. Maybe you’ve already sold the book. Now you have to actually write it, which has you wondering: HOW DO I ACTUALLY WRITE A BOOK?! They don’t give you a handbook with the book contract (no matter how much you may wish for one), and no bookstore shelf has yet contained that magic tome that will guide you step-by-step through the writing of 300 glorious ...

Just because you started your career in one genre doesn’t mean you have to stick with it for the rest of your life—just ask Judy Blume and J.K. Rowling! But it’s not as easy as it might seem (especially when you’re not Judy Blume or J.K. Rowling). It may involve starting all over with a new agent, a new publisher, and new readers.

We talk this week with Leah Konen, the autho...

Why do you have to finish your novel before getting an agent? What should you look for when choosing agents to send it to? What does an effective fiction query letter include? We walk through exactly how to get from having a cool novel idea to having a cool agent representing it with the help of Kate McKean, VP and agent at Howard Morhaim Literary Agency and author of the indispensable Agents & Books ne...

We answer questions from listeners Beth Schap, Kirthana Ramisetti, and Curtis Honeycutt!

From Beth: Can you become enough of an expert on a passion topic to be a credible author of articles or books if you're not in that industry? And if so how? (Spoiler: yes, and we tell you how!)

From Kirthana: Right now I'm back on Twitter and am trying to re-...

Ben Widdicombe is the only writer to have worked for the New York Post’s Page Six, TMZ, and The New York Times, “an unusual Triple Crown,” to say the least. It also helped him build a resume of interviewees that includes bold-faced names from Hollywood, high society, New York hotspots, and the White House. He recalls his most memorable experiences with all of them in his fun, insightful new book, Gatecrasher: How I Helped the Rich ...

Curious about self-publishing? Considered trying it, but found the whole process complicated and more than a little intimidating? Ditto, which is why we sought out expert advice from Miral Sattar, founder and CEO of self-publishing go-to sites Bibliocrunch and LearnSelfPublishingFast.com.

Miral chats with us about why now is the perfect time to try self-publishing, who makes a good candidate to be a successful self-publisher, and w...

Anna David’s done the memoir thing, to critical acclaim. And having shared her own story, as well as that of one very interesting, Golden Globe-nominated actor, in multiple books, now she’s created a clever new way to tell even more of her life experiences, while helping other writers figure out how to tell theirs: introducing the “biz-oir.”

The biz-oir, as per the term Anna coins, is a combination memoir and how-to on writing your...

We know it means money in our bank accounts, but beyond that, there is a lot about book advances that a lot of authors don’t know. While it might seem, for instance, that publishers are just pulling arbitrary numbers out of the air, there is a process they follow before every contract they offer: the P & L, or profit and loss spreadsheet. How exactly does that work? It’s a key document in any traditionally published book project, a...

We continue discussing ways to strengthen your author business plan in a recession with superstar business coach, branding expert, and author Dorie Clark. As Clark explains, authors are uniquely positioned to turn their platform into more money-making opportunities to further fund their writing.

Here, she walks us through why authors should work through their resistance to p...

Whether you’re making most of your living from writing books or using it as a side hustle, you still must contend with some sticky financial issues: how to manage large(ish) checks with long dry spells in between, how to pay taxes when they’re not automatically deducted for you, and how to pay for, you know, life when those authoring checks aren’t enough to live off of.

Jour...

We continue our discussion about how to handle book releases when events are canceled, authors are stuck in their houses indefinitely, and it’s nearly impossible to break into a packed—and terrifying—news cycle. This week, we get insightful social media tips from Sarah Frier, the author of the excellent new narrative history No Filter: The Inside Story of Instagram; and we brainstorm publicity ideas wit...

Publishing a book is stressful enough, as we have noted many times on this podcast, even in the most normal of times. But books are continuing to come out, even as much of the world takes to quarantining itself in the coronavirus pandemic. That means many authors are left with cancelled book tours and are now scrambling to refocus their efforts toward online promotion—and hope at least some readers can tear themselves away from the...

There are any number of things related to releasing a book that can send your stress level off the charts … like, for instance, monitoring how well your book is doing on the sales charts! That’s why it’s so crucial to practice extra good self care at these times in your authoring career.

From setting and maintaining routines with your physical and mental health – yoga! meditation! healthy meals! – and talking to friends and colleag...

It’s harder than ever to break through the crowded media landscape to get coverage for your upcoming book release. But one great way to do it—and to literally create your own publicity—is to pitch articles and essays that you yourself can write, tied to your book release.

Novelist Andrea Bartz (The Lost Night, The Herd

Think publishing a book is a competitive business? So is promoting one! Book tours are not a given for the majority of authors, and planning an event – even finding a venue to host you – takes a lot of time and know-how.

It’s harder than ever to break through the endless media noise to get the word out about your book. Grand Central Publishing publicist Kamrun Nesa walks us through how you, as an author, can generate publicity for your work, and how you can better work with your publisher and publicist. She offers insight about how and when to pitch your book to media, what the publicity cycle looks like, whether to ...