Jess is going gangbusters on her summer writing, and KJ may be struggling, but they’re both plowing through some serious recs for  your summer reading list from them and from members of the #AmWriting Facebook group.
#AmReading
KJ:
Rules for Visiting: A Novel (https://www.indiebound.org/search/book?keys=rules+for+visiting) , Jessica Francis Kane
Honestly We Meant Well: A Novel (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781250143150) , Grant Ginder
What You Don't Know About Charlie Outlaw (https://www.indiebound.org/search/book?keys=what+you+don%27t+know+about+charlie+outlaw) , Leah Stewart
The Gifted School: A Novel (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780525534969) , Bruce Holsinger
City of Girls: A Novel (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781594634734) , Elizabeth Gilbert
Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780735214484) , David Epstein
The Sentence is Death: A Novel (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780062676832) , Anthony Horowitz
Bowling Avenue (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780985210007) , Ann Shayne
The Library of Lost and Found (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780778369356) , Phaedra Patrick
Jeeves and the King of Clubs: A Novel in Homage to P.G. Wodehouse (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781549170935) , Ben Schott
There's a Word for That (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780316437165) , Sloane Tanen
Mostly Dead Things (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781947793309) , Kristen Arnett
The Bride Test (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780451490827) , Helen Hoang
Everything Is Just Fine (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781538745649) , Brett Paesel
The Late Bloomers' Club: A Novel (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781101981238) , Louise Miller
After the End (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780451490568) , Clare Mackintosh
I Miss You When I Blink: Essays (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781982102807) , Mary Laura Philpott
Happy Campers: 9 Summer Camp Secrets for Raising Kids Who Become Thriving Adults (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781546081791) , Audrey Monke
Jess:
Top Secret (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781942444800) , Sarina Bowen
Raising a Screen Smart Kid: Embrace the Good and Avoid the Bad in the Digital Age (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780143132073) , Julianna Miner
Basketball Junkie: A Memoir (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781250006899) , Chris Herren
Rough Magic: Riding the World's Loneliest Horse Race (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781948226196) , Lara Prior-Palmer
The Thank-You Project: Cultivating Happiness One Letter of Gratitude at a Time (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780762468454) , Nancy Davis Kho
Stoney the Pony's Most Inspiring Year: Teaching Children About Addiction Through Metaphor (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781462403110) , Linda Myers
Everything Is Just Fine (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781538745649) , Brett Paesel 
How to Change Your Mind: What the New Science of Psychedelics Teaches Us About Consciousness, Dying, Addiction, Depression, and Transcendence (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780735224155) , Michael Pollan
#FaveIndieBookstore
Brookline Booksmith (https://www.brooklinebooksmith.com/) , Brookline, MA
This episode was sponsored by Author Accelerator, the book coaching program that helps you get your work DONE. Visit https://www.authoraccelerator.com/amwriting for details, special offers and Jennie Nash’s 2-tier outline template.
Find more about Jess here (http://www.jessicalahey.com/) , and about KJ here (https://kjdellantonia.com/) .
If you enjoyed this episode, we suggest you check out Marginally, a podcast about writing, work and friendship (https://www.marginallypodcast.com/) .

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amwriting.substack.com/subscribe

As the wheel of fortune spins, Jess gives us the blow by blow of this week’s celebrity endorsement - spoiler alert...it wasn’t entirely luck! When someone with 10 million followers on Instagram shares a pic of herself reading your book—things happen. And they happened for Jess. But there's a little secret history there. Sure, lightning struck, the stars aligned and everything fell together. But if Jess hadn't done the groundwork, it probably never would have happened.
#AmReading
Jess: Archaeology From Space: How the Future Shapes Our Past by Sarah Parcak, @indyfromspace www.sarahparcak.com (http://www.sarahparcak.com/)
KJ: City of Girls, Elizabeth Glibert
#FaveIndieBookstore
The Vermont Bookstore in MIddlebury Vermont (https://www.vermontbookshop.com/)

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amwriting.substack.com/subscribe

Book Coach Jennie Nash returns to tackle some effective strategies for revising; it can be a tortuous process, but it can also be where some of the fun happens!
Jennie mentioned Susan Bell's The Artful Edit: On the Practice of Editing Yourself (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780393332179) .
#AmReading
KJ: Bowling Avenue (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780985210007) , Ann Shayne
Jess: In Pain: A Bioethicist's Personal Struggle with Opioids (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780062854643) , Travis Rieder and Red, White & Royal Blue (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781250316776) Casey McQuiston
Jennie: Daisy Jones & the Six (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781524798628) , Taylor Jenkins Reid
#FaveIndieBookstore
Chaucer's Bookstore (http://www.chaucersbooks.com/) , Santa Barbara 
This episode was sponsored by Author Accelerator, the book coaching program that helps you get your work DONE. Visit https://www.authoraccelerator.com/amwriting for details, special offers and Jennie Nash’s 2-tier outline template.
Find more about Jess here (http://www.jessicalahey.com/) , and about KJ here (https://kjdellantonia.com/) .
If you enjoyed this episode, we suggest you check out Marginally, a podcast about writing, work and friendship (https://www.marginallypodcast.com/) .

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amwriting.substack.com/subscribe

Tips for getting the work done when the season shifts around you.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amwriting.substack.com/subscribe

Sometimes, the internet turns against you. What to do, what not to do, how to ride it out and remember--the loudest voices aren't necessarily the most numerous. 
Over the course of our careers, both Jess and I have endured some PR storms. We share some of the gory details, but more importantly, advice from PR pros and from our experiences on how to handle it when you go a little bit viral in the worst way.
We heard from PR experts Ophir Lehavy (https://www.ophirlehavy.com/) and Carol Blymire (http://carolblymire.com/) . Ophir pointed us to a crisis control article, and Jess called out (in the good way) a couple of books that are useful when you're at the eye of the storm: Shame Nation: The Global Epidemic of Online Hate (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781492648994) , from Sue Scheff and So You've Been Publicly Shamed (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781594634017) , Jon Ronson.
#AmReading
KJ adored Ben Schott's P. G. Wodehouse homage, Jeeves and the King of Clubs (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780316524605) .
Jess is treasuring The Truffle Underground: A Tale of Mystery, Mayhem, and Manipulation in the Shadowy Market of the World's Most Expensive Fungus (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780451495693) , Ryan Jacobs and Michelangelo and the Pope's Ceiling (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781620408407) by Ross King--which she found at the dump, possibly the most indie book source of them all.
#FaveIndieBookstore
Shout out to one in Jess's new home town, Burlington, VT: The Phoenix (https://www.phoenixbooks.biz/)
This episode was sponsored by Author Accelerator, the book coaching program that helps you get your work DONE. Visit https://www.authoraccelerator.com/amwriting for details, special offers and Jennie Nash’s 2-tier outline template.
Find more about Jess here (http://www.jessicalahey.com/) , and about KJ here (https://kjdellantonia.com/) .
If you enjoyed this episode, we suggest you check out Marginally, a podcast about writing, work and friendship (https://www.marginallypodcast.com/) .

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amwriting.substack.com/subscribe

Subscription services like Kindle Unlimited and Audible do make books—some books—cheaper for readers, but what do they do for authors—and what are readers missing? (with Sarina Bowen)
A few highlights from this episode: 
If you take something expensive—good content—and you pay people reasonably to create it, it’s tough to make this work. What we're often seeing as consumers are loss leaders for big media. Amazon doesn't have to make money from Kindle Unlimited. 
One you might not have heard of: Scribd (https://www.scribd.com) . So far, it's reasonable for authors and for readers (although their "unlimited" may really mean "unlimited unless you're a superuser, in which case maybe not"). 
The takeaway for writers: limit yourself to Kindle Unlimited with great caution.
The takeaway for readers: Unlimited is still limited--to what's there and available. Relying on suggestions and highlights from various services is probably limiting what you see, and maybe what you read. 
#AmReading
Sarina is seeking "great books with ghosts in them." Which reminds me (KJ) of one Sarina and I both enjoyed: The Keeper of Lost Things (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780062473554) , Ruth Hogan
Jess is listening to Nick Hornby's Slam (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781594484711) , and Range: Why Generalists Triumph in a Specialized World (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780735214484) from David Epstein. She added an appreciation for Stephen King's Ur.  (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ur_(novella))
KJ is slowly reading Author In Progress (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781440346712) and regretting some Kindle Unlimited downloads from an author she once enjoyed (Katie Fforde). She also read, appreciated and did not enact the advice from Newsletter Ninja! (https://newsletterninja.net/#)
This episode was sponsored by Author Accelerator, the book coaching program that helps you get your work DONE. Visit https://www.authoraccelerator.com/amwriting for details, special offers and Jennie Nash’s 2-tier outline template.
Find more about Jess here (http://www.jessicalahey.com/) , and about KJ here (https://kjdellantonia.com/) .
If you enjoyed this episode, we suggest you check out Marginally, a podcast about writing, work and friendship (https://www.marginallypodcast.com/) .
Want more Sarina Bowen? Go here (https://www.sarinabowen.com/) .

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amwriting.substack.com/subscribe

Mary Laura Philpott tells all. It's glorious. It's embarrassing. Nobody told you you'd be sitting on a barstool in front of a crowd in a short skirt.
Mary Laura Philpott (https://marylauraphilpott.com/) is the author of I Miss You When I Blink (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781982102807) , a book with the most awesome subtitle ever: Essays. That's it. Here's a little something she wrote on subtitles and why we love to hate them, (https://lithub.com/why-exactly-do-we-have-subtitles-on-books/) from LitHub. 
We've been following her book launch (check back to Episode 150, #NeverReady (http://amwritingpodcast.com/2019/03/19/episode-158-neverready-mary-laura-philpott-on-the-weeks-before-a-book-launch-regrets-and-do-overs/) ) and now, her triumphant tour. Or maybe not so much and certainly not all the time. 
Links to some of the fantastic Indies who hosted Mary Laura:
Whistlestop Bookshop (http://www.whistlestoppers.com/)
Books Are Magic (https://www.booksaremagic.net)
M. Judson Bookseller (https://www.mjudsonbooks.com)
Word Bookstore (https://www.wordbookstores.com) in Brooklyn and New Jersey
Malaprops Bookstore (https://www.malaprops.com) in Asheville, NC
The Snail on the Wall (https://www.snailonthewall.com) Huntsville, AL
Politics and Prose (https://www.politics-prose.com) Washington, DC
Books and Books, (https://booksandbooks.com) Florida
#AmReading
City of Girls (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781594634734) , Elizabeth Gilbert
#FaveIndieBookstore
And finally, no interview with Mary Laura would be complete without a shoutout to her favorite Indie--and her beloved employer--Parnassus Books in Nashville (https://www.parnassusbooks.net/) .
Find out more about our guest, Mary Laura Philpott, here (https://marylauraphilpott.com/) —and check out her latest book, I Miss You When I Blink, on IndieBound (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781982102807) or at Libro.fm. (https://libro.fm/audiobooks/9781508278757-i-miss-you-when-i-blink)
This episode was sponsored by Author Accelerator, the book coaching program that helps you get your work DONE. Visit https://www.authoraccelerator.com/amwriting for details, special offers and Jennie Nash’s 2-tier outline template.
Find more about Jess here (http://www.jessicalahey.com/) , and about KJ here (https://kjdellantonia.com/) .
If you enjoyed this episode, we suggest you check out Marginally, a podcast about writing, work and friendship (https://www.marginallypodcast.com/) .

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amwriting.substack.com/subscribe

Remember those goals you set with Jess and KJ back in January? Neither did they, but they dug them out and sort out how the year’s going so far.
In Episode 140, we set our 2019 goals. (Listen here (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/1-140-2019goals/id1099630313?i=1000426983096) ). Now, at 2019's halfway mark, it's time to check in on those--and we'd love to hear how you're doing on your goals in the #AmWriting Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/485904005120809/) . Halfway here? More? En route? Revising the endgame? We get it all. 
Jess, in particular, gets moving the goal posts--and in fact, the whole point of a check in is to consider doing just that. Goals aren't there to help you fail, they're there to help you move towards them--and if a goal is unreachable this year, it's time to set a goal you can achieve that moves you in the right direction. For Jess, that's a new, revised book deadline.
I'm reporting a big fat checkmark on one goal--finding a publisher for my novel (hello, Episode 147 (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/147-goodnewsandhowigotthere/id1099630313?i=1000430374335) ). The Chicken Sisters will be out in the summer of 2020, and the new goal I'm slotting in there is to finish my revisions on time.
One bonus to the mid-year review is realizing that while you probably haven't checked something off yet, you really have been moving the dial. We did some math in January and realized that we've spent $10,000 producing #AmWriting between us (that was a bit of a shock). With one fantastic sponsor, we're on our way to, if not getting paid for our time, at least not paying to podcast, but we're still working on this one. We've asked, and you all have resoundingly said you'd like to sponsor us yourselves (no mattress ads for us!). We're more than halfway to offering a way to do just that. 
I love a good midyear goal review because revising goals and recommitting to them feels like a fresh start at the beginning of a season when I do like to slow down a bit--but not TOO much. I refined some personal goals, and made sure that my calendar allows for staying on track when it comes to the professional ones--but that I'm also not putting so much on my plate that I can't enjoy the summer when it finally gets here. 
And then--it will be time for another re-grouping in the fall.
#AmReading
Jess: The Recovering: Intoxication and Its Aftermath, Leslie Jamison (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780316259583)
KJ: The Collected Schizophrenias (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781555978273) , Esme Wang
#FaveIndieBookstore
The Norwich Bookstore in Norwich, VT (https://www.norwichbookstore.com/) --a favorite of us both, a reliable source of favorites the minute you walk through the door and a fantastic host of events. And a reminder--when you just HAVE to order that book right now before you forget, it's quite likely you can do that right on your fave Indie's website and then pick it up in the store--where you'll have the opportunity to buy more books. 
We love our sponsor! If you’re not quite where you want to be on your writing goals for the year—or suspect that after this summer, you might be a wee bit behind—join us and our sponsor, Author Accelerator for the Find Your Book, Find Your Mojo retreat in Bar Harbor, Maine from September 12-15, 2019. (http:// https://www.authoraccelerator.com/amwriting) Now is the perfect time to get this on the calendar so that the inevitable August slowdown will just be the lead-up to your big fall fresh start. 
Find more about Jess here (http://www.jessicalahey.com/) , and about KJ here (https://kjdellantonia.com/) .
If you enjoyed this episode, we suggest you check out Marginally, a podcast about writing, work and friendship (https://www.marginallypodcast.com/) , and The Secret Library (https://www.secretlibrarypodcast.com) , an interview podcast about real people who made time to write, often against the odds, because they believe that books matter. Find both on iTunes or on your podcast player of choice.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amwriting.substack.com/subscribe

We welcome Shane Burcaw. You thought writing was hard? Try doing it with no muscles.
Shane Burcaw is the author of three books: Laughing at My Nightmare (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781250080103) , the picture book Not So Different: What You Really Want to Ask About Having a Disability (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781626727717) , and his new book, Strangers Assume My Girlfriend is My Nurse. (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781626727700) Shane and his girlfriend, Hannah Aylward, host the YouTube channel, Squirmy and Grubs (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdomP1JqhnyBQGaBmfDl4KQ) , with nearly 400k subscribers. Their YouTube channel reads: “Once upon a time, a boy with no muscles fell madly in love with a beautiful girl who had plenty of muscles to spare. The townsfolk gasped with horror at the sight of their disgusting interabled relationship, but they didn’t care.”
Kirkus calls Strangers Assume My Girlfriend Is My Nurse (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781626727700) , "An accessible, smart-assed, and unexpectedly tender exploration of life, love, and disability."
We talked about the how of writing for Shane, (which included a shout out to the Remote Mouse App (https://www.remotemouse.net) ) but even more about the why--and why Jess's students in particular (along with many many others) have loved Shane's books since his first. Think "trademark acidic wit" which is also fully present here.
Shane’s nonprofit, Laughing at My Nightmare, funds adaptive technology for people with muscular dystrophy: https://www.laughingatmynightmare.com/
Squirmy and Grubs on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdomP1JqhnyBQGaBmfDl4KQ
Shane’s instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shaneburcaw/?hl=en
Shane’s Twitter: https://twitter.com/shaner528?lang=en
Hannah’s instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hannahayl/?hl=en
#AmReading
This Is Not a Love Scene (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781250190499) , S.C. Megale
A Season of Dragonflies (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780062307538) , Sarah Creech
Beeline: What Spelling Bees Reveal About Generation Z's New Path to Success (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780465094523) , Shalini Shankar
#FaveIndieBookstore
Wild Rumpus in Minneapolis (https://www.wildrumpusbooks.com/) , where they mix chickens and lizards in with books for kids and young adults. 
This episode was sponsored by Author Accelerator, the book coaching program that helps you get your work DONE. Visit https://www.authoraccelerator.com/amwriting for details, special offers and Jennie Nash’s 2-tier outline template.
Find more about Jess here (http://www.jessicalahey.com/) , and about KJ here (https://kjdellantonia.com/) .
If you enjoyed this episode, we suggest you check out Marginally, a podcast about writing, work and friendship (https://www.marginallypodcast.com/) .

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amwriting.substack.com/subscribe

Parkland author Dave Cullen on everything you ever wanted to know about pitching and writing a topical nonfiction book at top speed (and going broke doing it).
We talked to Dave Cullen, (https://www.davecullen.com/) about writing Parkland: Birth of a Movement (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780062882943) , in ten months while he was 3 years overdue on his current book. 
"I'm just not gonna tell Gail," he said of his editor when he took the first assignment from Vanity Fair--but there was something going on with the Parkland students that grabbed him, and he--with the help of his agent, Betsy Lerner--grabbed it. 
"I just had to."
He describes the process of writing the book, how the length, plan and due dates evolved--and how he almost went broke doing it. 
#FaveIndieBookstore
Dave's #FaveIndieBookstore is Books & Books (https://booksandbooks.com/) in Miami Beach, FL. "It was the only store I specifically asked to visit on my tour."
#AmReading
A Manual for Cleaning Women, Lucia Berlin  (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781250094735)
Motherless Brooklyn, Jonathan Letham (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780375724831)
This episode was sponsored by Author Accelerator, the book coaching program that helps you get your work DONE. Visit https://www.authoraccelerator.com/amwriting for details, special offers and Jennie Nash’s 2-tier outline template.
Find more about Jess here (http://www.jessicalahey.com/) , and about KJ here (https://kjdellantonia.com/) .
If you enjoyed this episode, we suggest you check out Marginally, a podcast about writing, work and friendship (https://www.marginallypodcast.com/) .

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amwriting.substack.com/subscribe