In this episode, Kate welcomes back episode 1 guest Dr. Megan Kate Nelson as the very first return guest on Drafting the Past! Megan is a historian and the author of five books, and a Pulitzer Prize finalist. In our first conversation, we talked about Megan's writing process, favorite writing advice, and more. But in this episode, we're going deeper! While we talk about Megan's new book, The Westerners: Mythmaking and Belonging on the American Frontier, she's sharing a look behind the scenes at the timeline of a trade press book, how she balances promoting one book and researching the next one, and even some of the behind-the-scenes drama. Plus, she let me take a look at the book's original proposal, and share FIVE failed proposals before she landed on a winner for her next book. This episode is a rare glimpse into the nitty gritty of publishing as a trade press historian, and you're going to get a ton out of it. Plus, stick around to the end—we have a little (okay, BIG) announcement to share!

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Mentioned in this episode:

• Megan Kate Nelson, The Westerners: Mythmaking and Belonging on the American Frontier

• Megan Kate Nelson, Saving Yellowstone: Exploration and Preservation in Reconstruction America

• Megan Kate Nelson, The Three Cornered-War: The Union, the Confederacy, and Native Peoples in the Fight for the West

• Megan Kate Nelson, Ruin Nation: Destruction and the American Civil War

• Megan Kate Nelson, Trembling Earth: A Cultural History of the Okefenokee Swamp

• Drafting the Past Episode 1: Megan Kate Nelson Experiments with Structure

• Isabel Wilkerson, The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of America's Great Migration