Hungry Authors

Today we have a very special guest – our very own literary agent, Don Pape! In this episode, we talk to Don about his career in various roles in publishing, the job of an agent, and what he’s learned about supporting Hungry Authors over the years.

Take a look at recently published and forthcoming books represented by Don:

Pape Commons founder Don Pape brings more than thirty years of publishing experience from such houses as Doubleday, Tyndale House, and NavPress. Throughout his career, he has long championed the essence of the Commons: celebrating the individual and stewarding their resources in and through community. From warehouse packer to agent and publisher, Don has worked alongside countless sales and marketing experts, literary agents, and authors. He’s had the privilege of guiding fiction and non-fiction titles to bestselling status, serving such notable authors as Madeleine L’Engle, Louis Giglio, Eugene Peterson, and Liz Curtis Higgs. “My greatest pleasure is in seeing great content become reality on the page—in a physical or digital book,” he says.

If you’re going to write a book for anyone – even just your family – to read, then you need to get to know the two forces that will be guiding your efforts: Creativity and Marketability. This episode is a “deleted scene” from our book, Hungry Authors: The Indispensable Guide to Planning, Writing, and Publishing a Nonfiction Book (coming August 6!). In it, we teach you about how to balance these two forces while you’re writing.

But there’s one more force at work as well – your nemesis in your creative work: Resistance. Listen in to learn about this master deceiver and how to avoid getting caught in its snares while you’re writing.

Preorder Hungry Authors before August 6 to get access to the preorder bonuses.

Many thanks to our sponsor, Goldshlag Design! Learn more about working with Michelle on her website at https://www.goldshlagdesign.com/.

In this episode, Ariel & Liz chat with Emily P. Freeman, author of the New York Times bestselling How to Walk Into Room: The Art of Knowing When to Stay and When to Walk Away (Harper One, 2024). Emily’s entire book is framed around a metaphor – in this case, a unique way to frame a powerful idea and catch people’s attention. We chat about the metaphor, how that impacted the title, and what it’s like bringing your vulnerable stories into the world.

Emily P. Freeman is the Wall Street Journal bestselling author of five books, including The Next Right Thing: A Simple, Soulful Practice for Making Life Decisions. As a spiritual director, workshop leader, and host of The Next Right Thing podcast (more than 25 million downloads), her most important work is to help create soul space and offer spiritual companionship and discernment for anyone struggling with decision fatigue. Emily holds a master’s degree in spiritual formation and leadership from Friends University. She lives in North Carolina with her family.

Learn more about Emily and order How to Walk Into a Room at https://emilypfreeman.com/.

Thanks to our sponsor, Goldshlag Design! Learn more and work with Michelle Goldshlag at https://www.goldshlagdesign.com/.

Finally, be sure to preorder Hungry Authors: The Indispensable Guide to Planning, Writing, and Publishing a Nonfiction Book and fill out the form to get our preorder bonuses.

A good conclusion will change your reader’s life – whether you’re writing prescriptive nonfiction or memoir or narrative. In this episode, we take you through the mindset and goals of a great conclusion, as well as norms for both prescriptive and creative endings. You’ll learn how to send readers off with a powerful choice, or offer an epilogue that reassures them of the transformation in store for the hero.

Many thanks to our sponsor, Goldshlag Design!

Learn more about our July Map Your Book Cohort here.

Introductions are one of the hardest parts of a book to write! In this solo session, Liz and Ariel take you behind the scenes to share what makes a good introduction, the differences between introductions for prescriptive nonfiction and memoir/narrative nonfiction, and a template you can use to write your own. Preorder our book now!

You don’t see too many books authored by two people anymore. In the age of personal brands, coauthoring has fallen out of style, but we wanted to share with you everything we’ve learned about coauthoring, why more first-time authors should consider it, and how to make it successful. We get real about the finances, negotiating content, and managing conflict when you’re working with someone on a project you both care about deeply! Preorder our book now!

You don't see too many books authored by two people anymore. In the age of personal brands, coauthoring has fallen out of style, but we wanted to share with you everything we've learned about coauthoring, why more first-time authors should consider it, and how to make it successful. We get real about the finances, negotiating content, and managing conflict when you're working with someone on a project you both care about deeply! Preorder our book now!

Many thanks to our sponsor, Goldshlag Design!

Learn more about our July Map Your Book Cohort here.

Welcome to the Summer Sessions! As we approach the launch date for our book, Hungry Authors: The Indispensable Guide to Planning, Writing, and Publishing a Nonfiction Book, we wanted to give you ALL of our best advice for ideating, writing, planning, and publishing your book. Some of this you’ll find in our new book, and some things are just for you here on the pod. Hope you enjoy!

Preorder our book now!

Thanks to our sponsor, Goldshlag Design! Learn more about working with Michelle for all of your design needs at goldshlagdesign.com.

You’ve probably seen the ads for writing programs that promise a book in an insanely short amount of time: six weeks, one month, two weeks, one weekend – even 24 hours!! Is it really possible to write a “book” in that amount of time?

As ghostwriters, we have strong feelings on this and we’re getting into how writers get the work done. Everyone has a different way – and what matters most is how much thinking and preparation you’ve done when you sit down to do the work.

We’ll be taking next week off for Memorial Day and to give ourselves a small break, but we’ll be back in June for the Summer Season 3.5!

Learn more about our Map Your Book cohort at MapYourBook.com.

Is it the idea itself? The story being told? The author’s voice? Yes – and no. In this episode, Ariel and Liz chat with bestselling author and ghostwriter Jeff Goins about how to write more interesting books by challenging readers’ assumptions. We talk about how memoirists can craft compelling arguments, how to tell the truth (but tell it slant), and the best writing advice Jeff has ever received.

Read Jeff’s newsletter, The Ghost, on Substack: https://jeffgoins.substack.com/.

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