Most people believe that books are created in cabins all alone, where authors pound away on some manner of keyboard. Then they hand this masterpiece off to a publisher and it feels very much like it goes down a tube and comes out the other side as a book. By speaking to authors and other book lovers, I’m diving into the mystery that is the book world today.
#109 :: Getting the Details Right | Rebecca Makkai
Jun 28, 2018
Show notes
Rebecca Makkai didn't set out to write about the AIDS Crisis in Chicago.
This is what I love about writing. There is the saying, "Life is what happens when you're making other plans." I would say that it's just as true that "Books are what happen when you're busy making outlines."
In speaking with Rebecca Makkai this week about her latest novel, The Great Believers, a book I absolutely loved, I was most struck that the plot line all the press and critical acclaim is centered around is not the one Makkai started with.
She started with a story about a character and then, as she wrote, the story grew. She stayed curious and followed where the story led. And it led her somewhere big, so a big period of research followed. Makkai was devoted to doing the right thing by her book, and that's really what we all need to do in the end. Trust that the story is worth writing, and follow its lead. Here's hoping you listen in close to your own story this week... I can't wait to find out where you end up following it to. May this episode inspire you in the process of getting there.
Happy listening, and happy writing.
#108 :: Writing about Real People | Michelle Kuo
Jun 21, 2018
Show notesMichelle Kuo got a call one day, telling her that her favorite student had been arrested. After college, Michelle Kuo joined Teach for America and moved to the Arkansas Delta. She taught in a school that focused on teaching underserved youth who had been expelled from other schools. Her time there was transformative, both for Michelle and her students. But at the end of her term at Teach for America, she moved away to attend Harvard. Several years later, she got the call that Patrick, one of her most transformed students, had gotten in a fight outside his home and someone had been killed in the fray. Michelle set aside a new job to return to Arkansas and spend time with Patrick during visitation hours and continue teaching him as he awaited trial. She wrote Reading With Patrick about this experience. This book is moving, riveting, and essential all at once. It kept me up at night and I'm still thinking about it months after reading Michelle and Patrick's story. There is still so much work to be done in the American South to improve the lives of so many who live there. Writing about big issues takes courage and integrity, qualities Michelle exemplifies. But beyond these issues that need to be top of mind for everyone, there is the process of writing about issues, writing about real people, and writing about actual lives. We grapple with these topics in this conversation and, while I know there is so much more to say on these topics, anyone who is considering writing a book relating to social justice or about people in their lives will get a healthy primer on both topics in this episode. It's one I know I will return to again for inspiration and guidance from Michelle, who is a total rock star and a philosopher all wrapped up in one. You're going to love her. Happy listening!
#107 :: Writing a Large Cast of Characters | Chibundu Onuzo
Jun 14, 2018
Show notesSometimes you just want to write a lot of characters. Chibundu Onuzo wrote her first novel surrounding two characters, so when it came time to writer her second novel, she wanted a lot of people in there to play with. In addition, she shifted into third person, a process she compared to Scooby Doo or Nancy Drew trying to figure out how to open a secret bookcase in a mystery story. Ultimately, she unlocked the code and I was able to follow along as she shared where her latest book, Welcome to Lagos, came from. I adored this interview, not only because of her gorgeous voice, but because of the wisdom she has gathered through her twenties as she's collected both degrees and publication credits. I know you'll fall in love with Chibundu, her writing, and the ability she has with language. Her tips on how to make a sentence more beautiful alone make this well worth the listen. Enjoy!
#106 :: Travel and Setting | Stephanie Rosenbloom + Lauren Weisberger
Jun 07, 2018
Show notes
There is very little I love more than getting away.
For anyone who loves to escape, this is your episode. Stephanie Rosenbloom and I talk about Alone Time, her book on solo travel. Through the four seasons, she travels to four cities (including her hometown for a staycation) and shares what she finds by traveling alone. As a fan of solo travel as much as I am of exploring with others, I was enchanted. Anyone who wants to travel to write must listen. And then, Lauren Weisberger talks about the wild and crazy world of the uber wealthy in Connecticut that she explored in When Life Gives You Lululemons, the third book in the Devil Wears Prada world, where we follow the first assistant to Miranda Priestly, Emily Charlton ten years after the end of DWP. It's such a fun book, and our conversation was a total delight.
Enjoy a diverting listen this week and then have some fun writing about the world away from your doorstep.
#105 :: The Biz of Writing | Scott Carney (+ Harmon Leon + Ted Rall)
May 31, 2018
Show notesSometimes you just have to dive into an idea and get it done. A little over a year ago, many of you will remember that Scott Carney came on the show to talk about his book What Doesn't Kill Us. Toward the end of that conversation, he dropped a little bit of knowledge that made a light go on in my brain. "If you write 500 words a day 5 days a week, in a year you'll have a book." Boom. When Barry was editing the episode, he mentioned how bummed he was that we hadn't gotten to continue that part of the conversation a lot longer. This, my friends, is that moment expanded into a full episode. Scott has recently created a course called The Fine Print, that's much in the same vein. He let me have a sneak peek and we had a long chat about my favorite tips and guidance that he shares. What I loved is that we cover really practical things like how to promote your book whether or not you have a traditional publishing publicity team supporting you, the ins and outs of contracts and going from a magazine article to a book to an ongoing project that can live at the center of a writing business. There's a nice discount code in the episode for anyone who wants to check out the course. In addition, I spoke with Harmon Leon + Ted Rall about their book, Meet the Deplorables, which had Harmon Leon embedding in fringe communities leading up to the Trump election. We spoke about his interest in extremist communities and how he has built his own career around gonzo-style journalism, an interesting case study based on what Scott and I discussed in part one. Ted Rall joins as well to talk about his contribution of political cartoons and how he worked to expand and bring the material to life in his work. This week promises to be an epic listen, especially for those writing nonfiction, so enjoy!
#104 :: Facing Your Fears | Amber Rae + Madeline Miller
May 24, 2018
Show notesI LOVE this pairing. I just have to say that at the outset. Speaking with Amber Rae and Madeline Miller was an incredible privilege. I think you'll find this week's episode filled with Wonder, which is no surprise given the title of Amber Rae's book, Choose Wonder Over Worry. But this theme is woven through both conversations, from Amber's process surrendering to the way her book wanted to be written despite the outline she had carefully planned before starting. And Madeline Miller talks about the 5 year process she has learned it takes her to try everything out, hit the "trench of despair" and then let go to find the true voice. This became the book that is Circe. I doubt either of these guests would be disappointed to hear that I found them to be sorceresses like Circe in their own right, spinning gold onto paper, with Amber revealing dark parts of her life and how she came out the other side and Madeline going inside one of the most misunderstood characters in modern mythology and finding a heroine in the exiled goddess most famous for turning Odysseus's men into pigs. (Spoiler alert: they TOTALLY deserved it.) This episode is a knockout. Cannot wait for you to hear it. Happy listening!
#103 :: Fatherhood in Fiction | Catherine Isaac + Tom Rachman
May 17, 2018
Show notesIt's funny how themes emerge when guests get paired together. Most often, the date I schedule a guest appearance is based on their book pub date and so we get these funny coincidences when I sit down to write the show notes. Both Catherine Isaac and Tom Rachman have written books that have a troubled father-son relationship at the center, and both of them write novels that allowed them to explore topics that were very deep and personal. For Catherine Isaac, who had written for years in the UK as Jane Costello, the shift in topic and tone that lead to You, Me, Everything was significant enough that she had to change the name she wrote under in order to make the switch. Her book, one that deals with deeper and more challenging themes than her previous series, was one she felt she needed to write, even if she had to set aside an author brand she'd been building for years. In our chat, we talk about the desire to go further in her writing as well as the politics of pseudonyms. SO much to learn from this one! I've adored Tom Rachman ever since The Imperfectionists, so it was a special treat to get to talk to him about his latest novel, The Italian Teacher. His challenge in writing it was the desire to cover a character's full life from beginning to end. We discuss the powerful father-son relationship that lives at the center of the book, his own existential concerns about becoming a parent and how writing this book helped him open up to being a father, and finally what good fiction strives to convey about what being human is really about. We do really deep in this episode, which is something I enjoy so much. I hope you have a great time listening. As always, share your thoughts with me on twitter @carodonahue or on our FB page. I love hearing from you!
#102 :: Building a Business around Books | Chris Guillebeau + Tom Hodgkinson
May 10, 2018
Show notesHave you ever been told you can't expect to make money writing books? Me, too. Having heard the refrain that books don't make money over and over, it was my distinct pleasure to speak with two writers who have built careers with books and writing at the center: Chris Guillebeau + Tom Hodgkinson. I have been reading each of their work for years and was long inspired by books like The $100 Startup and How to Be Idle. These books found me at a particular period in my life when it hadn't occurred to me that I could make choices in life that allowed me to build a career in writing that was not one based on poverty. So when I had the chance to speak to both of them for one magical episode, I knew it was meant to be. In this essential pair of conversations, we talk about how books can create a larger body of work that you're proud of, and can help you create community, a movement, and create work your proud of. We'll also dive into mistakes both Tom and Chris made in the early parts of their careers and what skills they have found essential to living a successful creative life. Never has a practical talk been more fun. I can't wait for you to listen to two renegades who have inspired me to ask "who says?" about so many aspects of what a successful life looks like. I hope you get fired up and motivated to take your writing dream further after listening - I know I did.
#101 The Adventure of Publishing | Ezzie Spencer and Meaghan O'Connell
May 03, 2018
Show notesA writer is faced with so many dilemmas when creating a book. Two of the most common that I encounter in my coaching practice? "Do I go for traditional publishing OR publish as an indie author?" And "How can I write about the people in my life without damaging those relationships?" Writing is not for the faint of heart, not only because you have to tell the truth on the page, but also because it requires so many decisions that force you to look very closely at who you are and what values you stand for. I was delighted, therefore, to realize that this week's pairing of authors is all about staying strong through a book's dilemmas: Ezzie Spencer, who you'll remember from Episode 42, talks about how traditional publishing took her by surprise and all the choices she had to make beginning with her Australian book release all the way up to being distributed in the UK, the US and beyond. She is open and honest about how her relationship to the book has changed, both from needing to replenish after the first book launch and how she now feels the book has a life of its own, which allows her to start writing something new. I adore chatting with Ezzie, and know you'll love hearing from her again. Our second guest, Meaghan O'Connell, recently published her first book, And Now We Have Everything: On Motherhood Before I Was Ready, to wide acclaim. (Many of you will have heard Mary Laura Philpott raving about it on last week's episode and then saw me freaking out about how much I loved it all over the internet). Meaghan talked with me about the process of writing such a vulnerable story, how it impacted her marriage to write so frankly about postpartum depression, and the irony of wanting to escape your baby to write about that same baby. If you were once a baby or know anyone who's had one, this book is a must read. I'm delighted she was able to join us and share more about writing this incredible book. Happy listening everyone!
#100 :: When the Book Finally Comes Out | Sarah Selecky (+ Mary Laura Philpott Book Recs)
Apr 26, 2018
Show notes
I don't know how else to say it. This episode is long.
But it's so good that we couldn't stand to cut anything out of it. As soon as I knew that Sarah Selecky's book, Radiant Shimmering Light, was coming out in Canada this week, I knew she was episode 100. And then I had to talk about the amazing books coming out this spring with Mary Laura Philpott. And I love talking to both of them, so we didn't cut it short. We went all out talking about everything we're excited about.
I know going over an hour asks a lot of people listening, but my hope is that these conversations are worth the time. I left talking to Sarah and Mary Laura buzzing with excitement and I expect you will, too. As always, it's a joy creating this show and it's an even bigger joy showing it off in its new home!
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