Write the Damn Book Already

Ep 186: Cassie Miller on Marketing, Publicity, and Meet Me on Mistletoe Lane

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! She's back! Cassie Miller joined me last spring to talk about her debut, Meet Me Under the Lights, and now she's here with book two, Meet Me on Mistletoe Lane, out October 6, 2026 from Penguin Teen. I somehow have three copies, one of which is the finished edition with glitter on the cover. Cassie, the actual author, has not yet seen the glitter. I felt terrible about this for almost a full minute. This time we talked marketing, because I've been in a lot of marketing conversations lately and the same misconceptions keep coming up. Namely, that traditional publishers do nothing to market your book (which is sometimes somewhat true), and that marketing and selling are the same thing. Cassie was generous enough to walk us through what her experience has actually looked like, one book in and with a second about to launch. We got into: Cassie's definition of marketing versus publicity, and why she thinks one has a face and the other happens behind the scenes The marketing campaign printed right on the back of her ARC, and what it means in practice Why she's never been afraid to ask her publicist questions, and why she thanks her publishing team in nearly every email How she coordinated with her publicist to personally send ARCs to the bookstagrammers who championed her first book How a fellow author confessed that her gorgeous social media presence came courtesy of a publicist she hired herself Why a fall farmer's market book became a Christmas book during contract negotiations, and why Cassie said yes immediately Whether launching in a crowded holiday season makes you a needle in a haystack Cassie describes herself as an introvert who can extrovert, and then describes unboxing her ARCs to the Sugar Plum Fairy while her son filmed and shook his head. She makes a really good case that authors, especially those writing for kids and teens, need to be willing to be a little silly. We also debated the appeal of "It's a Wonderful Life." I will not be taking questions at this time regarding my position. 🧭 BACK COVER BLUEPRINT Get back cover templates for nonfiction, memoir, and fiction; real-world examples; a polishing checklist; and a guide for turning it into an optimized online description that attracts the right readers. 🔗 https://www.publishaprofitablebook.com/blueprint WONDERING EXACTLY HOW TO SELF-PUBLISH SO YOU CAN STOP GUESSING? Grab the action plan and finally feel confident you’re doing this the right way. 👉 PublishAProfitableBook.com/actionplan WANT TO SELL MORE BOOKS (WITHOUT THE SELF-PROMO CRINGE)? The Author Visibility Bundle gives you 200+ done-for-you email templates, social media graphics, and other book promo tools designed to help authors build buzz and drive sales, without feeling pushy. 👉 PublishAProfitableBook.com/visibility ✍️ 33-DAY BOOK WRITING BOOTCAMP You've Been Thinking About This Book Forever. So let's get it written (for real this time). 👉 https://www.publishaprofitablebook/writethebook Support the show ****** Write the Damn Book Already is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with authors as well as updates and insights on writing craft and the publishing industry. Available wherever podcasts are available: Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Let's Connect! Instagram Website Email the show: elizabeth [at] elizabethlyons [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. To see all the ways we can work together to get your book written and published, visit publishaprofitablebook.com/work-with-elizabeth

Ep 185: Kim Purcell on Writing a Novel in 100 Days

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! After writing 6 nonfiction books, I'm working on my first novel, which everyone who listens to this show is painfully aware of by now. So when Kim Purcell reached out about her new book, Write a Novel in 100 Days, the timing felt less like coincidence and more like the universe smacking me on the head. Kim is the author of Trafficked and This Is Not a Love Letter; she has an MFA; she's been teaching novel writing to kids, teens, and adults for about as long as I've been in this business; and her new guide comes out September 22 from Penguin Random House with a foreword by Donald Maass. It also took her longer to write than three of her novels, which made me feel enormously better about my own life. We covered a lot: Why the 100 days aren't consecutive, and what to do when life detonates in the middle of your draft The 15-minutes-a-day approach, and what counts as writing when you can't actually write "Method writing," and why becoming your character is where the scenes that make readers cry actually come from Why rewriting a scene from scratch is roughly ten times faster than fussing with the one you have The handful of plot points even devoted pantsers need to know before they start, and why the muddy middle is almost always a missing midpoint Kim's theory on asking for critical feedback before your first draft is finished Near the end, Kim gives some advice I'm putting into my own toolbox: Let go of it being good and entertain yourself instead. 🧭 BACK COVER BLUEPRINT Get back cover templates for nonfiction, memoir, and fiction; real-world examples; a polishing checklist; and a guide for turning it into an optimized online description that attracts the right readers. 🔗 https://www.publishaprofitablebook.com/blueprint WONDERING EXACTLY HOW TO SELF-PUBLISH SO YOU CAN STOP GUESSING? Grab the action plan and finally feel confident you’re doing this the right way. 👉 PublishAProfitableBook.com/actionplan WANT TO SELL MORE BOOKS (WITHOUT THE SELF-PROMO CRINGE)? The Author Visibility Bundle gives you 200+ done-for-you email templates, social media graphics, and other book promo tools designed to help authors build buzz and drive sales, without feeling pushy. 👉 PublishAProfitableBook.com/visibility ✍️ 33-DAY BOOK WRITING BOOTCAMP You've Been Thinking About This Book Forever. So let's get it written (for real this time). 👉 https://www.publishaprofitablebook/writethebook Support the show ****** Write the Damn Book Already is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with authors as well as updates and insights on writing craft and the publishing industry. Available wherever podcasts are available: Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Let's Connect! Instagram Website Email the show: elizabeth [at] elizabethlyons [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. To see all the ways we can work together to get your book written and published, visit publishaprofitablebook.com/work-with-elizabeth

Ep 184: How a Weekly Substack Post Turned Into a Book Deal, with Katie Clapham

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! Katie Clapham didn't set out to build an author platform. (Anyone else tired of that word?) She had a week where she had nothing ready to publish, she was working her usual shift at the bookshop she runs with her mom, and she opened a draft and started writing down the day as it happened. She called it Receipt from the Bookshop, numbered it one on the off chance she'd do it again, and sent it to a couple hundred subscribers at the end of her shift. Roughly 250 people read it. Nearly 12,000 read it every week now, and it's been turned into a book. Receipts from the Bookshop comes out in the US on September 8, 2026 from William Morrow, after publishing in the UK in June 2026. Keep in mind, when the publishing offer came in, her subscriber number was sitting in the low 2,000s. The numbers arrived after the deal, not before. In this episode, Katie and I get into what actually went into the pitch, since this was her first time writing a nonfiction proposal after years of children's and YA books. Sample pages, a short introduction, and about two months of work getting the voice right. We also talk about paid subscribers do to your Sunday-night brain. Why she keeps her best work free and prices her subscription as low as the platform allows. Why she has no website at all (and her publisher has never asked her to have one). And her honest fear going into launch, which was less about the marketing and more that this was the part where she'd find out the book isn't as good as she hopes it is. If you've been circling Substack wondering whether it's the magic platform, or you're mid-manuscript and quietly convinced you need a bigger following before anyone will take you seriously, this episode is a great listen! In this episode: Why Katie joined Substack in November 2022 and what she was actually looking for when she did How she splits free and paid posts so the pressure doesn't run her life What a nonfiction book proposal looks like when you don't have a finished book Why she disabled Substack's new AI detection scan (very on-trend topic, no?) How she defines success for this book 🧭 BACK COVER BLUEPRINT Get back cover templates for nonfiction, memoir, and fiction; real-world examples; a polishing checklist; and a guide for turning it into an optimized online description that attracts the right readers. 🔗 https://www.publishaprofitablebook.com/blueprint WONDERING EXACTLY HOW TO SELF-PUBLISH SO YOU CAN STOP GUESSING? Grab the action plan and finally feel confident you’re doing this the right way. 👉 PublishAProfitableBook.com/actionplan WANT TO SELL MORE BOOKS (WITHOUT THE SELF-PROMO CRINGE)? The Author Visibility Bundle gives you 200+ done-for-you email templates, social media graphics, and other book promo tools designed to help authors build buzz and drive sales, without feeling pushy. 👉 PublishAProfitableBook.com/visibility ✍️ 33-DAY BOOK WRITING BOOTCAMP You've Been Thinking About This Book Forever. So let's get it written (for real this time). 👉 https://www.publishaprofitablebook/writethebook Support the show ****** Write the Damn Book Already is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with authors as well as updates and insights on writing craft and the publishing industry. Available wherever podcasts are available: Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Let's Connect! Instagram Website Email the show: elizabeth [at] elizabethlyons [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. To see all the ways we can work together to get your book written and published, visit publishaprofitablebook.com/work-with-elizabeth

Ep 183: Developmental Editing, Beta Readers, and Knowing When Your Book Is Actually Ready (with Allison Buehner)

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! I have been quietly fangirling over Allison Buehner's editing tips on Instagram for months. I have so many of them saved that at this point she deserves her own folder. So I finally asked her to come on the show, and then discovered we had already sort of met years ago, when she emailed me to suggest I talk to another editor she admired. No pitch. Nothing in her it for herself. In twenty years of doing this, nobody had ever done that, and I've thought highly of her ever since. Allison runs Golden Editorial out of Colorado and works mostly with indie and self-publishing authors. She started out in nonfiction and memoir before following her heart into fantasy, contemporary fiction, and, lately, a truly impressive amount of cowboy romance. We got into the things first-time authors usually find out the expensive way: Why "I'll just hire a proofreader" is the priciest shortcut in self-publishing, and what has to happen before your manuscript ever reaches an editor The real difference between an alpha reader, a critique partner, and a beta reader, plus why handing the book to your best friend is a terrible plan What a developmental edit actually looks like, and why it can feel like you paid a lot of money for a document that says "go do more work" What good editors will and won't do, because fixing it for you crosses into co-authoring Breaking craft rules on purpose versus breaking them because you never learned them, and roughly how many you can get away with in one book The want-versus-need conflict Allison has been recommending to nearly every fiction author lately, and why it makes characters feel like people instead of plot delivery devices How to know you're genuinely ready to hand your manuscript to a professional 🧭 BACK COVER BLUEPRINT Get back cover templates for nonfiction, memoir, and fiction; real-world examples; a polishing checklist; and a guide for turning it into an optimized online description that attracts the right readers. 🔗 https://www.publishaprofitablebook.com/blueprint WONDERING EXACTLY HOW TO SELF-PUBLISH SO YOU CAN STOP GUESSING? Grab the action plan and finally feel confident you’re doing this the right way. 👉 PublishAProfitableBook.com/actionplan WANT TO SELL MORE BOOKS (WITHOUT THE SELF-PROMO CRINGE)? The Author Visibility Bundle gives you 200+ done-for-you email templates, social media graphics, and other book promo tools designed to help authors build buzz and drive sales, without feeling pushy. 👉 PublishAProfitableBook.com/visibility ✍️ 33-DAY BOOK WRITING BOOTCAMP You've Been Thinking About This Book Forever. So let's get it written (for real this time). 👉 https://www.publishaprofitablebook/writethebook Support the show ****** Write the Damn Book Already is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with authors as well as updates and insights on writing craft and the publishing industry. Available wherever podcasts are available: Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Let's Connect! Instagram Website Email the show: elizabeth [at] elizabethlyons [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. To see all the ways we can work together to get your book written and published, visit publishaprofitablebook.com/work-with-elizabeth

• Transcript

Ep 182: Laurie Notaro on Living Book to Book

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! Laurie Notaro has hit the New York Times bestseller list more times than she can pin down. She's also written so many books she can't tell you the number without checking. And she drives a 2008 Mini Cooper, lives in a 1,500 square foot house, and has earned out on exactly one of those books. If you've ever wondered what a long career in publishing actually looks like from the inside, start here. We talk about I've Got a New Complaint, her new essay collection out September 8 from Little A, which is so hysterical I'll be giving it to everyone for the holidays. Laurie walks through her essay writing process, including the structural trick she wishes she'd figured out thirty years earlier. She's also as blunt as you'd expect about the parts nobody prints on a book jacket. Her first book, The Idiot Girls' Action-Adventure Club, was self-published after seven years of rejections, then picked up by Random House. Her career came apart twice. She was dropped by her agent over email while she was on tour. She spent three years living on credit cards. And she was told repeatedly that nobody wants to read about middle-aged women, which is a fascinating position to take on the largest book-buying demographic in the country. We also get into why she left the Big Five for an Amazon imprint, plus her genuine affection for one-star reviews and why they may be the best free marketing a first-time author will ever receive. If you're writing a book and trying to figure out whether traditional publishing or self-publishing is the right road, this is a candid look at both from someone who has done all of it, more than once. 🧭 BACK COVER BLUEPRINT Get back cover templates for nonfiction, memoir, and fiction; real-world examples; a polishing checklist; and a guide for turning it into an optimized online description that attracts the right readers. 🔗 https://www.publishaprofitablebook.com/blueprint WONDERING EXACTLY HOW TO SELF-PUBLISH SO YOU CAN STOP GUESSING? Grab the action plan and finally feel confident you’re doing this the right way. 👉 PublishAProfitableBook.com/actionplan WANT TO SELL MORE BOOKS (WITHOUT THE SELF-PROMO CRINGE)? The Author Visibility Bundle gives you 200+ done-for-you email templates, social media graphics, and other book promo tools designed to help authors build buzz and drive sales, without feeling pushy. 👉 PublishAProfitableBook.com/visibility ✍️ 33-DAY BOOK WRITING BOOTCAMP You've Been Thinking About This Book Forever. So let's get it written (for real this time). 👉 https://www.publishaprofitablebook/writethebook Support the show ****** Write the Damn Book Already is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with authors as well as updates and insights on writing craft and the publishing industry. Available wherever podcasts are available: Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Let's Connect! Instagram Website Email the show: elizabeth [at] elizabethlyons [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. To see all the ways we can work together to get your book written and published, visit publishaprofitablebook.com/work-with-elizabeth

Ep 181: Joyce Maynard on Storytelling, Permission, and Who Gets to Tell the Truth

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! Joyce Maynard has been publishing books for fifty-three years. In Wonderland is her fourteenth novel, and it came out eight days before we recorded this. She still does not outline. She sits down knowing exactly who her characters are, what they want, what they're afraid of, what they can't stop thinking about, and then she lets them take her somewhere she didn't plan on going. We talked about the year she rented a little house on the shores of Lake Atitlán, and then bought a piece of land, which now serves as a retreat center where she's hosted well over a thousand women for memoir workshops. The question she gets there, every single time, from women only: How do I tell an honest story about my life without hurting the people in it? Other things we covered: Why she doesn't consider writing to be therapy, and what she thinks needs to happen before your story is ready for the page The difference between resilience and reinvention (she has a great analogy involving an inflatable clown) Going back to Yale at sixty-five, and the D- on a French exam that led to a diagnosis at an age when nobody in her generation got one Her approach to writing as making a movie that plays inside the reader's head, and why she refuses to over-explain Write what you know, and also the case for writing what you don't know 🧭 BACK COVER BLUEPRINT Get back cover templates for nonfiction, memoir, and fiction; real-world examples; a polishing checklist; and a guide for turning it into an optimized online description that attracts the right readers. 🔗 https://www.publishaprofitablebook.com/blueprint WONDERING EXACTLY HOW TO SELF-PUBLISH SO YOU CAN STOP GUESSING? Grab the action plan and finally feel confident you’re doing this the right way. 👉 PublishAProfitableBook.com/actionplan WANT TO SELL MORE BOOKS (WITHOUT THE SELF-PROMO CRINGE)? The Author Visibility Bundle gives you 200+ done-for-you email templates, social media graphics, and other book promo tools designed to help authors build buzz and drive sales, without feeling pushy. 👉 PublishAProfitableBook.com/visibility ✍️ 33-DAY BOOK WRITING BOOTCAMP You've Been Thinking About This Book Forever. So let's get it written (for real this time). 👉 https://www.publishaprofitablebook/writethebook Support the show ****** Write the Damn Book Already is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with authors as well as updates and insights on writing craft and the publishing industry. Available wherever podcasts are available: Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Let's Connect! Instagram Website Email the show: elizabeth [at] elizabethlyons [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. To see all the ways we can work together to get your book written and published, visit publishaprofitablebook.com/work-with-elizabeth

Ep 180: What First-Time Authors Need to Hear Before Querying an Agent (with Eli McCann)

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! Eli McCann never planned to write a novel. He wrote one chapter kind of, maybe, to prove to himself he couldn't. But when he handed it to his husband, who both laughed and cried reading it, his curiosity and determination grew. That chapter became Stitched, his debut novel about competitive quilting, unlikely friendships, and found family. The story of how it got published is required listening for any first-time author who's ever been told to change their book to make it more marketable. We talk about the year Eli spent building a storytelling following before he had a book to sell, the agent who warned him publishing has a bias problem against older women (and how unfortunately correct she turned out to be), why he refused to rewrite his book into something it wasn't just to land a deal, and what it was actually like to narrate his own audiobook, complete with dialogue-heavy scenes from multiple distinct voices. 🧭 BACK COVER BLUEPRINT Get back cover templates for nonfiction, memoir, and fiction; real-world examples; a polishing checklist; and a guide for turning it into an optimized online description that attracts the right readers. 🔗 https://www.publishaprofitablebook.com/blueprint WONDERING EXACTLY HOW TO SELF-PUBLISH SO YOU CAN STOP GUESSING? Grab the action plan and finally feel confident you’re doing this the right way. 👉 PublishAProfitableBook.com/actionplan WANT TO SELL MORE BOOKS (WITHOUT THE SELF-PROMO CRINGE)? The Author Visibility Bundle gives you 200+ done-for-you email templates, social media graphics, and other book promo tools designed to help authors build buzz and drive sales, without feeling pushy. 👉 PublishAProfitableBook.com/visibility ✍️ 33-DAY BOOK WRITING BOOTCAMP You've Been Thinking About This Book Forever. So let's get it written (for real this time). 👉 https://www.publishaprofitablebook/writethebook Support the show ****** Write the Damn Book Already is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with authors as well as updates and insights on writing craft and the publishing industry. Available wherever podcasts are available: Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Let's Connect! Instagram Website Email the show: elizabeth [at] elizabethlyons [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. To see all the ways we can work together to get your book written and published, visit publishaprofitablebook.com/work-with-elizabeth

Ep 179: Meg Mitchell Moore on Messy First Drafts and Why Nobody Has Publishing Figured Out

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! Ten books in, Meg Mitchell Moore still doesn't know what her plot is going to be when she starts writing. Meg Mitchell Moore has published ten novels. And she still starts most of them with no idea what's going to happen. No outline, no plot, sometimes not even a reason her characters are in the room together. She figures it out as she goes, often with her agent's or editor's help. If that sounds like it shouldn't work, that's kind of the point of this conversation. It does work. It's worked ten times! And I love how honest Meg is about the fact that her first drafts are a mess and revisions are where it all comes together. We also get into the parts of book publishing that show up in very few highlight reels. Meg talks about learning, book by book, how much of a "big author moment" (the 10-city tour, the massive publisher push) is actually the author funding it themselves. She talks about the fear of writing a book with no contract attached to it, and how that fear doesn't necessarily go away with experience. We talk about the business-versus-art tension every working writer eventually has to make peace with, and why the current pace of the industry has authors feeling more frantic than they perhaps did fifteen years ago, even as the community itself has gotten more supportive. 🧭 BACK COVER BLUEPRINT Get back cover templates for nonfiction, memoir, and fiction; real-world examples; a polishing checklist; and a guide for turning it into an optimized online description that attracts the right readers. 🔗 https://www.publishaprofitablebook.com/blueprint WONDERING EXACTLY HOW TO SELF-PUBLISH SO YOU CAN STOP GUESSING? Grab the action plan and finally feel confident you’re doing this the right way. 👉 PublishAProfitableBook.com/actionplan WANT TO SELL MORE BOOKS (WITHOUT THE SELF-PROMO CRINGE)? The Author Visibility Bundle gives you 200+ done-for-you email templates, social media graphics, and other book promo tools designed to help authors build buzz and drive sales, without feeling pushy. 👉 PublishAProfitableBook.com/visibility ✍️ 33-DAY BOOK WRITING BOOTCAMP You've Been Thinking About This Book Forever. So let's get it written (for real this time). 👉 https://www.publishaprofitablebook/writethebook Support the show ****** Write the Damn Book Already is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with authors as well as updates and insights on writing craft and the publishing industry. Available wherever podcasts are available: Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Let's Connect! Instagram Website Email the show: elizabeth [at] elizabethlyons [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. To see all the ways we can work together to get your book written and published, visit publishaprofitablebook.com/work-with-elizabeth

Ep 178: What If You Already Found Yourself? Angela Brown on Fiction, Fear, and Saying No

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! This episode quickly got personal because I'm elbow-deep in my first novel after six nonfiction books, and Angela Brown writes the kind of fiction that makes one feel quite seen. Angela is the author of Olivia Strauss Is Running Out of Time, Some Other Time, and her newest, Ways to Find Yourself. And I will fully admit I read the prologue the night before we recorded and had a moment. Not a cute moment. A "why am I like this" moment. So we start there, obviously. But this conversation goes way past my feelings about her book (though we do talk about her characters, her sneaky habit of naming them after real people in her life, and the "what if" questions that kick off each of her novels). We get into the actual mess of writing fiction: how she doesn't always know where a story is headed when she starts it, the time an entire book arrived in the shower (why does all our best thinking happen there?) and she wouldn't leave her desk for two hours because she was afraid it would vanish, and the moment (mid-draft) when she realized the book wasn't broken—she was just writing from the wrong point of view. We also talk about her MFA (Was it worth it?), the myth that there's one right way to write a book, and how she's getting much better at saying one simple word: no. Oh, and stick around for the end. You'll walk away saying "no ploblem" for the rest of your week. You're welcome. 🧭 BACK COVER BLUEPRINT Get back cover templates for nonfiction, memoir, and fiction; real-world examples; a polishing checklist; and a guide for turning it into an optimized online description that attracts the right readers. 🔗 https://www.publishaprofitablebook.com/blueprint WONDERING EXACTLY HOW TO SELF-PUBLISH SO YOU CAN STOP GUESSING? Grab the action plan and finally feel confident you’re doing this the right way. 👉 PublishAProfitableBook.com/actionplan WANT TO SELL MORE BOOKS (WITHOUT THE SELF-PROMO CRINGE)? The Author Visibility Bundle gives you 200+ done-for-you email templates, social media graphics, and other book promo tools designed to help authors build buzz and drive sales, without feeling pushy. 👉 PublishAProfitableBook.com/visibility ✍️ 33-DAY BOOK WRITING BOOTCAMP You've Been Thinking About This Book Forever. So let's get it written (for real this time). 👉 https://www.publishaprofitablebook/writethebook Support the show ****** Write the Damn Book Already is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with authors as well as updates and insights on writing craft and the publishing industry. Available wherever podcasts are available: Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Let's Connect! Instagram Website Email the show: elizabeth [at] elizabethlyons [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. To see all the ways we can work together to get your book written and published, visit publishaprofitablebook.com/work-with-elizabeth

Ep 177: There Are No Rules (Except the Oxford Comma) -- with Eric Garcia

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! TV writer, screenwriter, and author Eric Garcia has published six books (so far). He sold three of them to Hollywood and somehow still managed to write his latest novel entirely by accident. He set out to write a short story. Then it got longer. Then it was a novella. Then it was 80,000 words and he had to admit he'd written a whole book, mostly at night, while still juggling film and TV work. We also talk about what's changed in publishing since his Random House days (Hint: mid-list used to mean stable; now everyone's terrified of it), why chasing trends is a losing game when a book takes years to reach shelves, and why there are no rules for how long a chapter should be, except the one that matters: Don't make me want to stop reading. We also bond hard over the Oxford comma as well as the correct use of "less" and "fewer." I nearly combust with joy over our shared grammar rage. 🧭 BACK COVER BLUEPRINT Get back cover templates for nonfiction, memoir, and fiction; real-world examples; a polishing checklist; and a guide for turning it into an optimized online description that attracts the right readers. 🔗 https://www.publishaprofitablebook.com/blueprint WONDERING EXACTLY HOW TO SELF-PUBLISH SO YOU CAN STOP GUESSING? Grab the action plan and finally feel confident you’re doing this the right way. 👉 PublishAProfitableBook.com/actionplan WANT TO SELL MORE BOOKS (WITHOUT THE SELF-PROMO CRINGE)? The Author Visibility Bundle gives you 200+ done-for-you email templates, social media graphics, and other book promo tools designed to help authors build buzz and drive sales, without feeling pushy. 👉 PublishAProfitableBook.com/visibility ✍️ 33-DAY BOOK WRITING BOOTCAMP You've Been Thinking About This Book Forever. So let's get it written (for real this time). 👉 https://www.publishaprofitablebook/writethebook Support the show ****** Write the Damn Book Already is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with authors as well as updates and insights on writing craft and the publishing industry. Available wherever podcasts are available: Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Let's Connect! Instagram Website Email the show: elizabeth [at] elizabethlyons [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. To see all the ways we can work together to get your book written and published, visit publishaprofitablebook.com/work-with-elizabeth

Ep 176: How to Publish A Children's Book with Erin Thorburn

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! In this episode, I chat with children's book author and illustrator Erin Thorburn. (She also happens to be my best friend.) We wax not so poetic on book writing, publishing, marketing children's books (her lane, not mine), and navigating the creative industry with humor and properly set expectations. CONVERSATION HIGHLIGHTS: Challenges of publishing (and marketing) children's books Marketing strategies for authors The myths (and, of course, truths) of our experiences building both confidence and community How to navigate industry egos and rejection without making it mean you should quit (or just plain quitting) 🧭 BACK COVER BLUEPRINT Get back cover templates for nonfiction, memoir, and fiction; real-world examples; a polishing checklist; and a guide for turning it into an optimized online description that attracts the right readers. 🔗 https://www.publishaprofitablebook.com/blueprint WONDERING EXACTLY HOW TO SELF-PUBLISH SO YOU CAN STOP GUESSING? Grab the action plan and finally feel confident you’re doing this the right way. 👉 PublishAProfitableBook.com/actionplan WANT TO SELL MORE BOOKS (WITHOUT THE SELF-PROMO CRINGE)? The Author Visibility Bundle gives you 200+ done-for-you email templates, social media graphics, and other book promo tools designed to help authors build buzz and drive sales, without feeling pushy. 👉 PublishAProfitableBook.com/visibility ✍️ 33-DAY BOOK WRITING BOOTCAMP You've Been Thinking About This Book Forever. So let's get it written (for real this time). 👉 https://www.publishaprofitablebook/writethebook Support the show ****** Write the Damn Book Already is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with authors as well as updates and insights on writing craft and the publishing industry. Available wherever podcasts are available: Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Let's Connect! Instagram Website Email the show: elizabeth [at] elizabethlyons [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. To see all the ways we can work together to get your book written and published, visit publishaprofitablebook.com/work-with-elizabeth

Ep 175: How Consistency Fuels Creativity (with Nadia Hashimi)

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! Nadia Hashimi's newest novel (her seventh published book), City of Widows (William Morrow), releases in July 2026. She's already published four books for adults: The Pearl that Broke Its Shell (which is an international bestseller), When the Moon in Low, A House Without Windows, and Sparks Like Stars, as well as two middle grade novels, One Half from the East and The Sky at Our Feet. Our conversation was both fascinating and enlightening as we talked about Afghan culture, the importance of discipline in creative work, and Nadia's writing process. As a mom of four and pediatrician, her schedule most certainly doesn't allow for "easy" writing blocks, and her encouraging, honest words will no doubt reassure new and seasoned authors alike. 🧭 BACK COVER BLUEPRINT Get back cover templates for nonfiction, memoir, and fiction; real-world examples; a polishing checklist; and a guide for turning it into an optimized online description that attracts the right readers. 🔗 https://www.publishaprofitablebook.com/blueprint WONDERING EXACTLY HOW TO SELF-PUBLISH SO YOU CAN STOP GUESSING? Grab the action plan and finally feel confident you’re doing this the right way. 👉 PublishAProfitableBook.com/actionplan WANT TO SELL MORE BOOKS (WITHOUT THE SELF-PROMO CRINGE)? The Author Visibility Bundle gives you 200+ done-for-you email templates, social media graphics, and other book promo tools designed to help authors build buzz and drive sales, without feeling pushy. 👉 PublishAProfitableBook.com/visibility ✍️ 33-DAY BOOK WRITING BOOTCAMP You've Been Thinking About This Book Forever. So let's get it written (for real this time). 👉 https://www.publishaprofitablebook/writethebook Support the show ****** Write the Damn Book Already is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with authors as well as updates and insights on writing craft and the publishing industry. Available wherever podcasts are available: Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Let's Connect! Instagram Website Email the show: elizabeth [at] elizabethlyons [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. To see all the ways we can work together to get your book written and published, visit publishaprofitablebook.com/work-with-elizabeth

Ep 174: Writing Compelling Stories with Ann Garvin

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! In this episode, Ann Garvin (who will release her 7th novel, Tell Two Friends, in September 2026 with Lake Union) discloses the often messy, unglamorous truth of how a story actually starts. For her, that's usually as some tiny thing Ann can't stop thinking about, long before it has a plot or even characters attached to it. We talk about how to take that one nagging "kernel" of fascination and slowly build a book around it, and why your characters' flaws are usually what make readers care. Ann also walks through a deceptively useful trick for getting unstuck: asking, "What's the worst possible thing that could happen to this character right now?" (and then doing that to them). Whether you write memoir, self-help, or fiction, this conversation is really about the same question every writer eventually has to answer: What am I actually fascinated by, and am I brave enough to explore it further? No matter how you're published or what genre you're writing, the part about having to sit down and write the damn book is the same for everyone! 🧭 BACK COVER BLUEPRINT Get back cover templates for nonfiction, memoir, and fiction; real-world examples; a polishing checklist; and a guide for turning it into an optimized online description that attracts the right readers. 🔗 https://www.publishaprofitablebook.com/blueprint WONDERING EXACTLY HOW TO SELF-PUBLISH SO YOU CAN STOP GUESSING? Grab the action plan and finally feel confident you’re doing this the right way. 👉 PublishAProfitableBook.com/actionplan WANT TO SELL MORE BOOKS (WITHOUT THE SELF-PROMO CRINGE)? The Author Visibility Bundle gives you 200+ done-for-you email templates, social media graphics, and other book promo tools designed to help authors build buzz and drive sales, without feeling pushy. 👉 PublishAProfitableBook.com/visibility ✍️ 33-DAY BOOK WRITING BOOTCAMP You've Been Thinking About This Book Forever. So let's get it written (for real this time). 👉 https://www.publishaprofitablebook/writethebook Support the show ****** Write the Damn Book Already is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with authors as well as updates and insights on writing craft and the publishing industry. Available wherever podcasts are available: Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Let's Connect! Instagram Website Email the show: elizabeth [at] elizabethlyons [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. To see all the ways we can work together to get your book written and published, visit publishaprofitablebook.com/work-with-elizabeth

Ep 173: Publishing Hot Takes with Jordan Roter

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! The woman. The myth. The legend: Jordan Roter. She's a TV writer, screenwriter, author, and one of the funniest and most genuine people I know. I truly could talk to her for days (and I'd like to, as it would preclude the need any sort of formal abdominal workout). Her novel, Moms Like Us (2025, Little A), was recently optioned for the screen, and she's back to give her hot takes on: Midlife transitions (welcome, all my fellow perimenopause travelers!) Self-publishing versus traditional publishing The currently hot TV shows I was previously afraid to watch (Heated Rivalry, Off Campus, and Euphoria) Navigating publicity and marketing as an author The importance of remembering that you only need 1 "yes" 🧭 BACK COVER BLUEPRINT Get back cover templates for nonfiction, memoir, and fiction; real-world examples; a polishing checklist; and a guide for turning it into an optimized online description that attracts the right readers. 🔗 https://www.publishaprofitablebook.com/blueprint WONDERING EXACTLY HOW TO SELF-PUBLISH SO YOU CAN STOP GUESSING? Grab the action plan and finally feel confident you’re doing this the right way. 👉 PublishAProfitableBook.com/actionplan WANT TO SELL MORE BOOKS (WITHOUT THE SELF-PROMO CRINGE)? The Author Visibility Bundle gives you 200+ done-for-you email templates, social media graphics, and other book promo tools designed to help authors build buzz and drive sales, without feeling pushy. 👉 PublishAProfitableBook.com/visibility ✍️ 33-DAY BOOK WRITING BOOTCAMP You've Been Thinking About This Book Forever. So let's get it written (for real this time). 👉 https://www.publishaprofitablebook/writethebook Support the show ****** Write the Damn Book Already is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with authors as well as updates and insights on writing craft and the publishing industry. Available wherever podcasts are available: Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Let's Connect! Instagram Website Email the show: elizabeth [at] elizabethlyons [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. To see all the ways we can work together to get your book written and published, visit publishaprofitablebook.com/work-with-elizabeth

Ep 172: Writing Memoir When Your Memories Have Disappeared (with Cinelle Barnes)

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! In this heartfelt interview, author Cinelle Barnes shares her journey through writing A Way Home (Little A, June 9, 2026), a heart-wrenching memoir about remembering and rebuilding a life after everything known disappears in a flash. Her latest memoir takes us alone with her as she recovers from a sudden ruptured brain aneurysm. But her journey was far more than physical. It's the healing of soul, of body, of identity. It's a woman/mother/daughter/immigrant/writer redrawing the map of herself. The mere existence of this book is a triumph, and the beautiful magic of it is a feat of awe. Cinelle is also the author of Monsoon Mansion: A Memoir and Malaya: Essays on Freedom. 🧭 BACK COVER BLUEPRINT Get back cover templates for nonfiction, memoir, and fiction; real-world examples; a polishing checklist; and a guide for turning it into an optimized online description that attracts the right readers. 🔗 https://www.publishaprofitablebook.com/blueprint WONDERING EXACTLY HOW TO SELF-PUBLISH SO YOU CAN STOP GUESSING? Grab the action plan and finally feel confident you’re doing this the right way. 👉 PublishAProfitableBook.com/actionplan WANT TO SELL MORE BOOKS (WITHOUT THE SELF-PROMO CRINGE)? The Author Visibility Bundle gives you 200+ done-for-you email templates, social media graphics, and other book promo tools designed to help authors build buzz and drive sales, without feeling pushy. 👉 PublishAProfitableBook.com/visibility ✍️ 33-DAY BOOK WRITING BOOTCAMP You've Been Thinking About This Book Forever. So let's get it written (for real this time). 👉 https://www.publishaprofitablebook/writethebook Support the show ****** Write the Damn Book Already is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with authors as well as updates and insights on writing craft and the publishing industry. Available wherever podcasts are available: Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Let's Connect! Instagram Website Email the show: elizabeth [at] elizabethlyons [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. To see all the ways we can work together to get your book written and published, visit publishaprofitablebook.com/work-with-elizabeth

Ep 171: From YA to Adult: Liz Lawson's Publishing Journey

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! In this episode, Elizabeth Lyons and Liz Lawson discuss Liz's journey from YA to adult fiction (It Happened One Murder, July 2026), the realities of book launches, and insights into the publishing industry. She shares personal experiences, misconceptions about launch days, and the evolving landscape of genre categories. TOPICS INCLUDE: - Transitioning from YA to Adult Fiction - Understanding Reader Expectations - The Differences in Writing YA vs. Adult - Navigating Genre and Audience - The Evolution of YA and Adult Fiction - The Challenge of Engaging Young Readers - The Complexity of Book Marketing 🧭 BACK COVER BLUEPRINT Get back cover templates for nonfiction, memoir, and fiction; real-world examples; a polishing checklist; and a guide for turning it into an optimized online description that attracts the right readers. 🔗 https://www.publishaprofitablebook.com/blueprint WONDERING EXACTLY HOW TO SELF-PUBLISH SO YOU CAN STOP GUESSING? Grab the action plan and finally feel confident you’re doing this the right way. 👉 PublishAProfitableBook.com/actionplan ✍️ 33-DAY BOOK WRITING BOOTCAMP You've Been Thinking About This Book Forever. So let's get it written (for real this time). 👉 https://www.publishaprofitablebook/writethebook Support the show ****** Write the Damn Book Already is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with authors as well as updates and insights on writing craft and the publishing industry. Available wherever podcasts are available: Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Let's Connect! Instagram Website Email the show: elizabeth [at] elizabethlyons [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. To see all the ways we can work together to get your book written and published, visit publishaprofitablebook.com/work-with-elizabeth

Ep 170: Mastering the Art of Outlining with Joan F. Smith

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! In this episode, Joan F. Smith, author of Your Soulmail is Attached (her debut adult novel), shares her journey through the publishing world, her writing process, and insights into navigating multiple editors, genres, and the realities of a writing career. TOPICS COVERED Writing process and outlining techniques Navigating multiple editors and genre shifts Balancing income and writing career Handling feedback and critique partners Publishing industry insights and author experiences 🧭 BACK COVER BLUEPRINT Get back cover templates for nonfiction, memoir, and fiction; real-world examples; a polishing checklist; and a guide for turning it into an optimized online description that attracts the right readers. 🔗 https://www.publishaprofitablebook.com/blueprint WONDERING EXACTLY HOW TO SELF-PUBLISH SO YOU CAN STOP GUESSING? Grab the action plan and finally feel confident you’re doing this the right way. 👉 PublishAProfitableBook.com/actionplan ✍️ 33-DAY BOOK WRITING BOOTCAMP You've Been Thinking About This Book Forever. So let's get it written (for real this time). 👉 https://www.publishaprofitablebook/writethebook Support the show ****** Write the Damn Book Already is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with authors as well as updates and insights on writing craft and the publishing industry. Available wherever podcasts are available: Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Let's Connect! Instagram Website Email the show: elizabeth [at] elizabethlyons [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. To see all the ways we can work together to get your book written and published, visit publishaprofitablebook.com/work-with-elizabeth

Ep 169: From Short Stories to a Debut Novel (with Louise Marburg)

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! Louise Marburg has spent years devoted to the short story form. So naturally, she accidentally wrote a novel. Her debut, Fancy Meeting You, features Laura Harrigan: a psychiatrist, mother of twin boys, and pathological liar who apparently had too much personality to stay confined to a short story. Louise and I talked about what it was like to finally write a character she didn't want to let go of, and why she'd actually consider a sequel (which, she says, she'd never say about anything else she's written). We also got into the bigger picture stuff: the current state of publishing, why small presses are having a real moment, and why luck is a bigger factor in this industry than most people want to admit. Louise is refreshingly clear-eyed about the money side of writing (hint: making loads of money isn't the point), and her take on what a publicist is actually for might shift the way you think about hiring one! Plus we talked AI, the two completely separate industries that both call themselves "the book world," and what Louise is reading right now—including one very famous book she was not a fan of (because no book is for everyone!). 🧭 BACK COVER BLUEPRINT Get back cover templates for nonfiction, memoir, and fiction; real-world examples; a polishing checklist; and a guide for turning it into an optimized online description that attracts the right readers. 🔗 https://www.publishaprofitablebook.com/blueprint WONDERING EXACTLY HOW TO SELF-PUBLISH SO YOU CAN STOP GUESSING? Grab the action plan and finally feel confident you’re doing this the right way. 👉 PublishAProfitableBook.com/actionplan ✍️ 33-DAY BOOK WRITING BOOTCAMP You've Been Thinking About This Book Forever. So let's get it written (for real this time). 👉 https://www.publishaprofitablebook/writethebook Support the show ****** Write the Damn Book Already is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with authors as well as updates and insights on writing craft and the publishing industry. Available wherever podcasts are available: Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Let's Connect! Instagram Website Email the show: elizabeth [at] elizabethlyons [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. To see all the ways we can work together to get your book written and published, visit publishaprofitablebook.com/work-with-elizabeth

Ep 168: How Reality TV Inspired a Debut Novel (with Amy Mass)

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! If you've ever thought "I could write a book about this" while watching a reality TV show at 10pm, you're going to love this episode! Amy Mass spent years writing for TV (you might recognize "The Goldbergs" and "Last Man Standing" from her credits), and after relocating from LA to a charming small town outside Atlanta during COVID, she channeled all of that storytelling experience into her debut novel, Reality Bites, out May 12, 2026 from Harper Perennial. In this episode, Amy and I talk about what it actually looked like to make the leap from TV writer to novelist, including writing three books and two movies in four years, going out on submission, shelving her first manuscript, and finally landing a deal with a major publishing house. We also get into her writing process (she's both a pantser and a plotter), why she writes dialogue first, and how she keeps a running collection of joke scraps and character notes scattered across her phone, her laptop, and random Post-its around the house. We also talk about what it was like getting notes from her agent and her editor, and how to push back on notes without being precious about it. Her phrase "find the note behind the note" is one to hold onto! And then we get into the part that surprises most authors: how much marketing is still on you. Amy was genuinely caught off guard by how much time, energy, and social media hustle a book launch requires—even with a publicity team in your corner. 🧭 BACK COVER BLUEPRINT Get back cover templates for nonfiction, memoir, and fiction; real-world examples; a polishing checklist; and a guide for turning it into an optimized online description that attracts the right readers. 🔗 https://www.publishaprofitablebook.com/blueprint WONDERING EXACTLY HOW TO SELF-PUBLISH SO YOU CAN STOP GUESSING? Grab the action plan and finally feel confident you’re doing this the right way. 👉 PublishAProfitableBook.com/actionplan ✍️ 33-DAY BOOK WRITING BOOTCAMP You've Been Thinking About This Book Forever. So let's get it written (for real this time). 👉 https://www.publishaprofitablebook/writethebook Support the show ****** Write the Damn Book Already is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with authors as well as updates and insights on writing craft and the publishing industry. Available wherever podcasts are available: Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Let's Connect! Instagram Website Email the show: elizabeth [at] elizabethlyons [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. To see all the ways we can work together to get your book written and published, visit publishaprofitablebook.com/work-with-elizabeth

Ep 167: Self-Publishing Surprises with Allie Hill

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! Most authors don’t realize that publishing isn’t just about writing a book. Before long, it often becomes a full-on entrepreneurial rollercoaster. In this episode, I talk with Allie Hill, author of the Girlfriend's Guide to Empty Nesting, about what really happens after you hit "publish." She reveals what surprised her, what flopped, and what secretly skyrocketed her confidence. This episode is perfect for first-time authors, seasoned writers, or anyone curious about the gritty truth behind that glossy book cover. (And just wait until you hear her book recommendation from the "What I'm Reading Now" segment!) 🧭 BACK COVER BLUEPRINT Get back cover templates for nonfiction, memoir, and fiction; real-world examples; a polishing checklist; and a guide for turning it into an optimized online description that attracts the right readers. 🔗 https://www.publishaprofitablebook.com/blueprint WONDERING EXACTLY HOW TO SELF-PUBLISH SO YOU CAN STOP GUESSING? Grab the action plan and finally feel confident you’re doing this the right way. 👉 PublishAProfitableBook.com/actionplan WANT TO SELL MORE BOOKS (WITHOUT THE SELF-PROMO CRINGE)? The Author Visibility Bundle gives you 200+ done-for-you email templates, social media graphics, and other book promo tools designed to help authors build buzz and drive sales, without feeling pushy. 👉 PublishAProfitableBook.com/visibility ✍️ 33-DAY BOOK WRITING BOOTCAMP You've Been Thinking About This Book Forever. So let's get it written (for real this time). 👉 https://www.publishaprofitablebook/writethebook Support the show ****** Write the Damn Book Already is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with authors as well as updates and insights on writing craft and the publishing industry. Available wherever podcasts are available: Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Let's Connect! Instagram Website Email the show: elizabeth [at] elizabethlyons [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. To see all the ways we can work together to get your book written and published, visit publishaprofitablebook.com/work-with-elizabeth