#amwriting With Jess & Kj

Our goal words, as a reminder Sarina: presence Jess: growth Jennie: Teflon™ KJ: inner compass #AmReading Jess: Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid KJ: The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen Jennie: Shakespeare: The Man Who Plays the Rent by Judi Dench Sarina: Say You’ll Remember Me by Abby Jimenez

This is the how-to book you need right now, the one with “am I ready to query” and “what does my platform need to look like” and “what if no one buys my book” and “what happens if someone buys my book”. We have a great episode, talking about creating this book, writing this book and living this book—because Kate McKean is not only a very experienced agent, she has also lived the answer to all those questions and that’s part of what makes it special.  Follow:  Kate McKean Agents and Books Also find her at agentsandbooks.com  And buy this book! Write Through It: An Insider’s Guide to Publishing and the Creative Life #AmReading Kate: Madeleine Roux, A Girl Walks into the Forest (Dark, feminist and rage-y) KJ: Francesca Segal, Welcome to Glorious Tuga (not any of those above things)  Alison Espach, Notes on Your Sudden Disappearance (somewhere in between) Writers and readers! KJ, here. If you love #AmWriting—and I know you do—and especially if you love the regular segment at the end of most episodes where

Karen Dukess’s first book, The Last Book Party, was wildly successful by any measure—sold at auction, Indie Next pick, Discover New Writers pick… you probably read it. The second… Didn’t sell. Not as in, not very many people bought it but as in, no publisher published it. She spent the requisite couple years or so, her agent signed on but… no takers. She felt like she was the only person in the whole entire world that that happened to… until she started asking around. Turns out, you know how people say writing books is hard? And publishing is tough? They’re right! Never fear, Karen lived to tell the tail. Her next novel (do we call it second or third?), Welcome to Murder Week, is wonderful and available in a bookstore near you (and as you’ll hear, I loved it and it’s the perfect page-turner but not-anxiety-producing read for a swimming pool, beach, airplane ride or couch). But the real joy is that Karen is willing to dish. You’ll hear: What happens when you want to be a bullet journal sticker getting write

Hi! Jess here. As an author and host of this podcast, I hear “I have a great idea for a book!” a lot, and while I believe everyone has a story to tell, I’ve only been knocked over by these book pitches twice. The first was the idea for the book Raising Empowered Athletes: A Youth Sports Parenting Guide for Raising Happy, Brave, and Resilient Kids by Kirsten Jones (pitched to me at speaking event in 2015, published in 2023) and the second was last week, in a conversation with this week’s guest, Dr. Megan. I’m SO excited to introduce you to our new series, “From Soup to Nuts,” and its subject, Dr. Megan. She’s a therapist, speaker, and hopeful author who presented me with that aforementioned great idea for a book and a hook for a speaking career. She’s the right person to write this book, there’s a hole in the market for it, and it’s timely. So….now what? Over the next weeks and months, I will be mentoring Dr. Megan through her proposal, querying an agent, and planning ahead for a potential speaking caree

Meg Mitchell Moore is the author of Mansion Beach, a page-turner-y multi POV summer saga with everything you could ask for: a beach, a body, rich people behaving badly but also sometimes not behaving badly, parties, drama and just enough gender-swapped Gatsby to think hard about the meaning of the American Dream. I loved it (KJ here) and I also loved this conversation with Meg, who apparently thinks in multiple POVS and is always just as impatient as I am to feel like the book is done and wonderful when sadly it is… not.  #AmReading Meg: Audio: Great Big Beautiful Life, Emily Henry—Julia Whelan Also mentioned: Julia Whelan’s Thank You for Listening Print: The Road to Dalton, Shannon Bowring from The Book Shop of Beverly Farms KJ: Mansion Beach Welcome to Glorious Tuga, Francesca Segal Find Meg at @megmitchellmoore on IG, or visit her website at www.megmitchellmoore.com HEY. Did you know Sarina’s latest thriller is out NOW?  Rowan Gallagher is a devoted single mother and a talented architect with a

Greetings writers! Sarina here.  Earlier in May I was surfing social media, as one does, when I came across a story about children’s author Erica Perl and an ill-fated school visit. Her scheduled visit to a school was abruptly canceled. After asking a few questions, it was determined that a single parent had objected to…  Well, it’s hard to say. We’ll let Erica tell her story. But you should know that Ms. Perl’s twenty years of book publishing have included such salacious titles as When Cookie Met Carrot and A Whale of a Tea Party. (

Hi all, Jess here. This episode was Sarina’s idea, and when you listen you will understand why. It can be hard to focus on the work, whether it’s editing, world building, conjuring meet cutes, or translating research-based hope for the next generation. That said, it’s important that we keep creating and putting our words out into the world. We hope you are able to keep working while navigating the a balance between consuming, processing, and reacting to the news cycle and shutting the world out in self preservation.  Stuff we talked about Write Through It: An Insider’s Guide to Writing and the Creative Life by Kate McKean Kate Mckean’s website We Are All Guilty Here by Karin Slaughter (release date August 12, 2025) The OpEd Project Authors Against Book Bans Possession by A.S. Byatt and the film I adore based on the book A Complete Unknown film Hamilton, Non-Stop (“why does he write like he’s running out of time?”) On Writing by Stephen King All In by Billie Jean King Permission by Elissa Altman M

Joan Fernandez is a former senior marketing executive and general partner of the financial powerhouse Edward Jones. In 2018, she retired from a 30+ year career to be a full-time writer. Since leaving the corporate world, she’s become a member of the Historical Novel Society, the Author’s Guild, and the Women’s Fiction Writers Association (WFWA). In April 2020, she founded a Historical Fiction affinity group within WFWA that grew from a handful of people to nearly two hundred authors. Her debut novel, Saving Vincent: A Novel of Jo van Gogh, has just come out — and I had the great privilege of coaching Joan at two points in her long process of writing this book so I had a front row seat to the deep work she did to bring this story to life.  Writing about a real person has some particular challenges, and we get into that here. I’m so excited to share our conversation today. Links from the Pod: Historical Novel Society the Authors Guild Women’s Fiction Writers Association (WFWA) Top Five Regrets of the Dyi

Jess here with Sarina Bowen to help simplify and demystify author contracts. Let’s start off with a wonderful resource called The Authors Guild. They have sample contracts on their website  The Authors Guild Sample Contract ONE You’re not “selling” your book. You’re licensing it. TWO Grant of rights Term length Which territories Which formats Territories North American World English World Formats and sub rights Print and digital and audio Sub rights like “first serial” Translation MAYBE Time limits X years The life of the copyright AG says: The standard license term for traditional trade publishing deals is "the whole term of copyright" THREE Financial remuneration: advances and royalty rates. WHEN is it paid? What percentages? Advance and payment schedule On signing On acceptance of the work (after an edit) On publication A year after publication FOUR Manuscript delivery and acceptance. What happens if people are unhappy. FIVE Other clauses

When a former NYT journo who now writes novels (that would be me, hi) gets together with a current NYT journo now writing novels, they—we!—cannot stop talking about the challenges, advantages, schedules, pros and cons of book leave and what it is about fiction that lights some journalists up, and turns some off. It’s the good, the bad and the overcome-able, and a class in how people who know they can get the work done also flail, and yet still get the work done. Mentioned on the pod: Fates and Furies, Lauren Groff  Twice in a Full Moon, Christina Lauren  #AmReading Liz: Naked in the Promised Land, Lillian Faderman KJ: Didion and Babitz, Lili Anolik Follow Liz on Instagram: @lizzyaharris

Hi #AmWriting listeners, Jennie here! Today, I'm talking to Jane Friedman, who is one of the most trusted voices in the world of publishing. She has advised and served organizations such as Writers Digest, The Chicago Manual of Style, The Editorial Freelancers Association, the Alliance of Independent Authors, and the National Endowment for the Arts, among others. She writes two must-read newsletters for industry professionals. One is her personal newsletter, and the other is The Bottom Line (previously called The Hot Sheet), where she provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals. The reason I wanted to speak with Jane on the podcast today is that she has just released an updated version of her book, The Business of Being a Writer, which digs into the nuts and bolts of the writing life, including the work of getting published and choosing how to do that, and the work of making money. It is one of those must-read books for writers who are serious about making a mark

Hey listeners: This week, everyone gets a taste of what paid supporters will get more regularly—a special Booklab: First Pages episode. Each month (and sometimes more often), we’ll choose two “first pages” to review. A first page, for our purposes, is the first 350 words of your book—fiction, non-fiction or memoir. We will read the page aloud on the podcast and discuss with a single thought in mind: Would we keep reading? First pages are incredibly important in every genre. If you can’t grab a reader on that first page, you might lose your chance of grabbing them at all. On the podcast, we’ll read the page aloud and then each cast our “vote”—would we keep going? Then—and this is the most important bit— we’ll discuss why or why not. Were we dying to know what would happen next, or turned off by an info dump? Ready to learn what you have to teach us or ready to see what’s on YouTube? Totally on board with a character or uncertain why we were there in the first place? In this episode, we discuss a high-action

Social media is all aflutter over an article by Alex Reisner in The Atlantic: The Unbelievable Scale of A.I.’s Pirated Books Problem. In this episode, Jess and Sarina cover the news and its ramifications for authors. You won’t want to miss this discussion about the lawsuits against Meta and OpenAI. We discuss problems and remedies, and the formation of legal markets for A.I. training. Like the work by HarperCollins on a paid licensing deal.  We also discuss the root cause: ebook piracy, and author reactions. Including this heartfelt one from author Julia Sykes. Sarina has also written more about piracy, and how to move toward a world where it’s not as prevalent.  Join us for all the latest news!

Michael Dante DiMartino graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design with a BFA in Film and Animation. His directing credits include the primetime animated series King of the Hill, Family Guy, and Mission Hill. DiMartino is the co-creator of the award-winning animated Nickelodeon series Avatar: The Last Airbender and its sequel, The Legend of Korra. From 2002 to 2014, he served as executive producer and story editor for both series. He continued Korra’s story as the writer of the graphic novels Turf Wars and Ruins of the Empire. His other projects include authoring the fantasy novels Rebel Genius and Warrior Genius as well as creating and writing the Audible Original fiction podcast, Sundown: A Time Capsule Society Mystery. His latest novel is the YA coming-of-age story, Both Here And Gone. Currently, DiMartino serves as the co-Chief Creative Officer of Avatar Studios, developing new content for the Avatar-verse. You can find out more about Michael by visiting his website www.michaeldantedimartino.com,

Let me start with this: if you have any interest at all in literary magazines or small presses, you want this book: How to Submit: Getting Your Writing Published with Literary Magazines and Small Presses. It’s a wonderful book and a great guide, and will lead you into this world and help you feel good about your journey without your getting lost in the universe of scattered information that’s available online. We’ve included a ton of links to that scattered universe below, but I encourage you to buy the book, which will ground you in your own journey. I loved doing this interview, which felt like a return to my own roots in magazine work. As Dennis puts it in the book, there is something about doing the work of shorter pieces and pushing your own boundaries that can be remarkably helpful whether or not you’re also engaged in long form book, and there’s nothing I love more than a roadmap and a checklist. Start, please, by reading and exploring in this world, and then we hope to hear about you contributing. Se

There are many misconceptions about what a hybrid publisher does or doesn’t do, and why it may or may not be a good choice for a writer. I thought hearing from a hybrid publisher directly would be educational for our audience, so I’m pleased to be speaking in this episode to Dr. Nick Courtright, CEO of Atmosphere Press. Check out Atmosphere Press here or submit a manuscript here.

Hey ho, Jess here. This week, all four of us discuss some of the happenings out there in the publishing world.  First up: Super Bowl Sunday is apparently a great reading day. Sarina sent us a screenshot of her sales (she was tipped off by another author) and found out what many people are reading during the game: So that’s fun.  Next up, Sean Manning of Simon & Schuster announced no more blurbs (yay!)…unless you want to (boo!) in Publisher’s Weekly and everyone had a lot to say about it. The New York Times, LitHub, lots of others. We add some perspective to the conversation as both blurbees and blurbers.  Here’s that wonderful AJ Jacobs NYT piece about not blurbing.  And Rebecca Makkai’s piece on not blurbing anymore in her Substack.  PEN America The Authors Guild. Please join.  Authors Against Book Bans. Please join.  Is Sarina Bowen going to jail? We sure hope not. Here’s OK SB593, the legislation we discussed by the dude in Oklahoma. Make sure to check out the language on pages 10-11. Don’t

Hi listeners! Sarina here, with a topic that has been on my mind for years. When I began my career, everyone told me I had to develop a “thick skin” to do this job. But it turns out that a “thick skin” is one of the only things you can’t buy on Amazon.  Today I invite my friend Lauren Blakely onto the podcast for a frank discussion of all that we’ve learned about resilience, one-star ratings and feedback these past ten years or so.  Together, we offer the beginnings of a handy framework for how to think about feedback. We offer some actionable advice for what to do, where to turn and how to process unsolicited criticism.  You do not have to attend every conversation you’re invited to. - A wise stranger on the interwebs. Since avoiding negative feedback just isn’t feasible, we discuss the following coping mechanisms.  Checking in with a friend and having friends in the business How to make sure that good feedback is as available and memorable as the bad Recognizing that clinging to negatives

“If the language isn’t there, I have difficulty showing up for the idea” - Jenny Anderson Jess here. Rebecca Winthrop, Director of the Center for Universal Education at the Brookings Institution, and Jenny Anderson, award-winning journalist, paired up to write one of my favorite education and parenting books in recent memory: The Disengaged Teen.  While I adore the book and could go on for ages about it, that’s not why I invited these two to come on the podcast. I am fascinated - and strangely horrified - by the idea of co-writing. Maybe it’s my control issues, who knows. I’ve asked Sarina Bowen about her writing partnerships with Tanya Eby and Elle Kennedy (come ON now, have you read their award-winning trilogy, Him, Us and Epic?) so I thought I’d give her a bit of a break and ask Rebecca and Jenny to tell me all about how their writing collaboration went with this book.  I learned a lot during this podcast, but the thing I’m definitely taking with me is the concept of “clearing” before a collaboration or

Do you have a Doubt Monster? (Doesn’t everyone?) Amy Bernstein is an Author Accelerator certified writing coach, an #AmWriting Blueprint Challenge coach, a writer, a creative coach and many other things—but for our purposes, the author of Wrangling the Doubt Monster—a delightful book that you can open on any page for help wrangling your own doubts into something that you can live with, in the vein of Steven Pressfield’s The War of Art or Gretchen Rubin’s Outer Order, Inner Calm. In this episode we talk—what else?—doubt monsters, declaring ourselves as writers and all the ways we live with our self-doubt and write anyway. Links from the Pod Bancroft Press Amywrites.live Persephone Books The Making of a Marchioness, Frances Hodgson Burnett Beacon Street Books