June 30, 2025 • 7 mins
Welcome, writers and book lovers. The Bleeders is a podcast about book writing and publishing. Make sure you subscribe to the companion Substack: https://thebleeders.substack.com/welcome
In today's episode, host Courtney Kocak shares her experience attending a college reunion and how it's impacted her heading into the final revision of the manuscript for her debut memoir, GIRL GONE WILD, out March 2026 with Trio House Press! The trip brought together a close-knit group of old friends and gave her the chance to revisit college landmarks—leading to some real-time fact-checking… and what she’s calling “emotional fact-checking.”
The Bleeders is hosted by Courtney Kocak. Follow her on Instagram @courtneykocak and Bluesky @courtneykocak.bsky.social. For more, check out her website courtneykocak.com.
Courtney is teaching some upcoming workshops you might be interested in:
In today's episode, host Courtney Kocak shares her experience attending a college reunion and how it's impacted her heading into the final revision of the manuscript for her debut memoir, GIRL GONE WILD, out March 2026 with Trio House Press! The trip brought together a close-knit group of old friends and gave her the chance to revisit college landmarks—leading to some real-time fact-checking… and what she’s calling “emotional fact-checking.”
The Bleeders is hosted by Courtney Kocak. Follow her on Instagram @courtneykocak and Bluesky @courtneykocak.bsky.social. For more, check out her website courtneykocak.com.
Courtney is teaching some upcoming workshops you might be interested in:
- Start a Newsletter to Supercharge Your Platform, Network and Business: https://writingworkshops.com/products/start-a-newsletter-to-supercharge-your-platform-network-business-zoom-seminar
- Land Big Bylines by Writing for Columns: https://writingworkshops.com/products/land-big-bylines-by-writing-for-columns-zoom-seminar
- The Multi-Passionate Writer's Life: https://writingworkshops.com/products/the-multi-passionate-writers-life-zoom-seminar-with-courtney-kocak
- How to Build a “Platform” for Writers Who Shudder at the Thought: https://writingworkshops.com/products/how-to-build-a-platform-for-writers-who-shudder-at-the-thought-zoom-seminar
- Creating Your Podcast: https://www.roadmapwriters.com/products/creating-your-podcast-0
- Podcasting for Writers: How to Start, Sustain & Grow Your Podcast: https://writingworkshops.com/products/podcasting-for-writers-how-to-start-sustain-grow-your-podcast-4-week-zoom-workshop
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:06):
There's nothing to writing.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
All you do is sit down at a typewriter.
Speaker 3 (00:13):
And bleed.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Welcome to the Bleeders, a podcast and support group about
book writing and publishing. I'm writer and podcaster Courtney Coosak,
and each week I'll bring you new conversations with authors,
agents and publishers about how to write and sell books.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Hello Bleeders, it is Courtney here, and I have a
very special little shorty for you today. So I am
heading into my final revision on my Girl Gone Wild manuscript.
Girl Gone Wild will be out with Trio Host Press
(00:57):
in March twenty twenty six, and this is my last chance.
Speaker 4 (01:03):
To revise before it goes to Galley's.
Speaker 5 (01:07):
And right before this, this past weekend that is ending
right now, I have had my college reunion.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
It was just for our theater class. Our graduating theater
class was really close.
Speaker 5 (01:24):
We all got our BFA together at Stephen's College, and
we had a really special class, like we all loved
each other, even the people that weren't like best buddies.
It was like we were in a theater troupe together.
So we got really really tight. We did summer stock together,
We did two summer programs together.
Speaker 4 (01:46):
So we just got so tight.
Speaker 5 (01:50):
And then some of them I hadn't seen in like
twenty years, and I have.
Speaker 4 (01:58):
Some call college time.
Speaker 5 (02:02):
Essays in my manuscript, and it.
Speaker 4 (02:06):
Was just.
Speaker 5 (02:09):
It was almost like emotional fact checking, like I was.
I did a little bit of fact checking. It was
in Columbia, Missouri, and I took an Amtrak into Saint Louis.
By the way, I am actually a huge fan of amtrak.
(02:31):
It's kind of a crazy experience, but if you're not
a big fan of flying, it's a great way to
do distance traveling without driving, without getting up in the sky.
So I took an Amtrak to Saint Louis and was
just kind of hoping to like hit my haunts in
(02:52):
Saint Louis, hit my haunts in Columbia where we went
to college, and I got to do both.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
We drove by a few places in Colombia.
Speaker 4 (03:03):
While we were there.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
We like did a campus tour.
Speaker 4 (03:08):
We drove out to the Big Tree where we used.
Speaker 5 (03:10):
To get high all the time. This like famous tree
in Colombia. It's like the oldest certain kind of tree
in Boone County. And we just hung out for like
forty eight hours.
Speaker 4 (03:25):
It was really special.
Speaker 5 (03:27):
And then on my way back today after saying goodbye
to everyone, which was like kind of hard after such
a good reunion. After saying goodbye to everyone, I came
to Saint Louis and I had the addresses I wanted
to hit, like plotted out, and so I got to
(03:48):
drive by and like kind of feel some feelings.
Speaker 4 (03:53):
That put me right back there.
Speaker 5 (03:57):
And.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
I feel like it is kind of critical to the
work I'm doing.
Speaker 5 (04:07):
I hope to make it to Chicago because there's a
little bit about Chicago in the manuscript.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
I've definitely I grew up in Minnesota.
Speaker 5 (04:14):
I've definitely been back to my hometown since, so that
kind of fact checking has kind.
Speaker 4 (04:21):
Of already been done.
Speaker 5 (04:23):
I was in LA, you know, almost my entire adulthood,
and I was writing the manuscript in La, so there
was not a whole lot of fact checking to do
in LA. That was a question mark in my mind,
but this stage was like twenty years ago. So anyway,
(04:44):
I highly recommend not only Amtrak, but doing this little
kind of quest I've never been a reunion person. Of course,
I was going to come to this one because our
class was so tight, but like I didn't go to
my twentieth high school reunion.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
I think I'm going to go to my next high
school reunion.
Speaker 5 (05:06):
Even though we weren't as tight, we all grew up together,
most of us for like twelve years, so I'm sure
that would bring up so much stuff too.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
So again, if you are a memoirist and you have.
Speaker 4 (05:21):
A reunion.
Speaker 5 (05:25):
That you can go to before you have to turn
in your manuscript or while you're working on it, do it.
And another great way to get kind of some of
the same benefits is just to like pick a trip
to the place that you're writing about if you haven't
been there for a while, and.
Speaker 4 (05:45):
It just brings up so much stuff that's really helpful.
Speaker 5 (05:50):
So I wanted to leave you with that little takeaway
that I've been noodling on over the weekend. And I'm
going to be back with another edition of what to
Expect when You're on Submission next week, and I have
a bunch of really great interviews coming up.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Thank you for joining me for this episode of The Bleeders.
Writing is so much better with friends. I'm your host,
Courtney Cosack, and hey, let's connect on social media. I
am at Courtney Cosak. Last name is Kocak. On Twitter, Instagram,
Blue Sky, Threads, TikTok.
Speaker 4 (06:26):
I'm on all the places, and.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
Make sure you're signed up for the Bleeder's Companion substack
for all kinds of newsletter exclusives.
Speaker 4 (06:34):
There is a link for that in the episode description.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
I send out one awesome email every week to my
free subscribers, and I also have a paid subscription where
I take you behind the scenes of all my best buylines.
I've written about my return to stand up comedy and
how I got ready to crush my showcase, my MFA
and whether or not I think it is worth it.
And I also have some mini workshops behind the paywall.
(06:59):
So again, and there is a link for the Bleeders
Companion substack in the episode description. Make sure you sign
up for that and join me again next week for
another inspiring episode. In the meantime, Happy Bleeding
There's nothing to writing.
Speaker 2 (00:09):
All you do is sit down at a typewriter.
Speaker 3 (00:13):
And bleed.
Speaker 2 (00:17):
Welcome to the Bleeders, a podcast and support group about
book writing and publishing. I'm writer and podcaster Courtney Coosak,
and each week I'll bring you new conversations with authors,
agents and publishers about how to write and sell books.
Speaker 3 (00:36):
Hello Bleeders, it is Courtney here, and I have a
very special little shorty for you today. So I am
heading into my final revision on my Girl Gone Wild manuscript.
Girl Gone Wild will be out with Trio Host Press
(00:57):
in March twenty twenty six, and this is my last chance.
Speaker 4 (01:03):
To revise before it goes to Galley's.
Speaker 5 (01:07):
And right before this, this past weekend that is ending
right now, I have had my college reunion.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
It was just for our theater class. Our graduating theater
class was really close.
Speaker 5 (01:24):
We all got our BFA together at Stephen's College, and
we had a really special class, like we all loved
each other, even the people that weren't like best buddies.
It was like we were in a theater troupe together.
So we got really really tight. We did summer stock together,
We did two summer programs together.
Speaker 4 (01:46):
So we just got so tight.
Speaker 5 (01:50):
And then some of them I hadn't seen in like
twenty years, and I have.
Speaker 4 (01:58):
Some call college time.
Speaker 5 (02:02):
Essays in my manuscript, and it.
Speaker 4 (02:06):
Was just.
Speaker 5 (02:09):
It was almost like emotional fact checking, like I was.
I did a little bit of fact checking. It was
in Columbia, Missouri, and I took an Amtrak into Saint Louis.
By the way, I am actually a huge fan of amtrak.
(02:31):
It's kind of a crazy experience, but if you're not
a big fan of flying, it's a great way to
do distance traveling without driving, without getting up in the sky.
So I took an Amtrak to Saint Louis and was
just kind of hoping to like hit my haunts in
(02:52):
Saint Louis, hit my haunts in Columbia where we went
to college, and I got to do both.
Speaker 1 (02:58):
We drove by a few places in Colombia.
Speaker 4 (03:03):
While we were there.
Speaker 1 (03:04):
We like did a campus tour.
Speaker 4 (03:08):
We drove out to the Big Tree where we used.
Speaker 5 (03:10):
To get high all the time. This like famous tree
in Colombia. It's like the oldest certain kind of tree
in Boone County. And we just hung out for like
forty eight hours.
Speaker 4 (03:25):
It was really special.
Speaker 5 (03:27):
And then on my way back today after saying goodbye
to everyone, which was like kind of hard after such
a good reunion. After saying goodbye to everyone, I came
to Saint Louis and I had the addresses I wanted
to hit, like plotted out, and so I got to
(03:48):
drive by and like kind of feel some feelings.
Speaker 4 (03:53):
That put me right back there.
Speaker 5 (03:57):
And.
Speaker 1 (03:59):
I feel like it is kind of critical to the
work I'm doing.
Speaker 5 (04:07):
I hope to make it to Chicago because there's a
little bit about Chicago in the manuscript.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
I've definitely I grew up in Minnesota.
Speaker 5 (04:14):
I've definitely been back to my hometown since, so that
kind of fact checking has kind.
Speaker 4 (04:21):
Of already been done.
Speaker 5 (04:23):
I was in LA, you know, almost my entire adulthood,
and I was writing the manuscript in La, so there
was not a whole lot of fact checking to do
in LA. That was a question mark in my mind,
but this stage was like twenty years ago. So anyway,
(04:44):
I highly recommend not only Amtrak, but doing this little
kind of quest I've never been a reunion person. Of course,
I was going to come to this one because our
class was so tight, but like I didn't go to
my twentieth high school reunion.
Speaker 1 (05:01):
I think I'm going to go to my next high
school reunion.
Speaker 5 (05:06):
Even though we weren't as tight, we all grew up together,
most of us for like twelve years, so I'm sure
that would bring up so much stuff too.
Speaker 1 (05:18):
So again, if you are a memoirist and you have.
Speaker 4 (05:21):
A reunion.
Speaker 5 (05:25):
That you can go to before you have to turn
in your manuscript or while you're working on it, do it.
And another great way to get kind of some of
the same benefits is just to like pick a trip
to the place that you're writing about if you haven't
been there for a while, and.
Speaker 4 (05:45):
It just brings up so much stuff that's really helpful.
Speaker 5 (05:50):
So I wanted to leave you with that little takeaway
that I've been noodling on over the weekend. And I'm
going to be back with another edition of what to
Expect when You're on Submission next week, and I have
a bunch of really great interviews coming up.
Speaker 2 (06:07):
Thank you for joining me for this episode of The Bleeders.
Writing is so much better with friends. I'm your host,
Courtney Cosack, and hey, let's connect on social media. I
am at Courtney Cosak. Last name is Kocak. On Twitter, Instagram,
Blue Sky, Threads, TikTok.
Speaker 4 (06:26):
I'm on all the places, and.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
Make sure you're signed up for the Bleeder's Companion substack
for all kinds of newsletter exclusives.
Speaker 4 (06:34):
There is a link for that in the episode description.
Speaker 2 (06:37):
I send out one awesome email every week to my
free subscribers, and I also have a paid subscription where
I take you behind the scenes of all my best buylines.
I've written about my return to stand up comedy and
how I got ready to crush my showcase, my MFA
and whether or not I think it is worth it.
And I also have some mini workshops behind the paywall.
(06:59):
So again, and there is a link for the Bleeders
Companion substack in the episode description. Make sure you sign
up for that and join me again next week for
another inspiring episode. In the meantime, Happy Bleeding
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