One-Drink Book Club

The One-Drink Book Club is an informal, (almost) weekly series in which fellow author Emma Lee Jayne joins me and our other creative friends to talk about the life, business, and art of writing and making books … for the duration of one Friday-afternoon drink.

Here’s what we talked about in this episode:

* We opened by talking about my thinking about the “college” portion of my current Kickstarter campaign for The Artisan Author. The short version is that college is cool and we should all watch more 80s movies about it. (Or, rather, the short version is that you should check it out here before it ends, if you happen to be a writer.)

* Do kids still read? If yes, how and how much do they read? And do they (as well as adults, really) take IDENTITY from their reading?

* Bill took us down a weird rabbit hole wherein he’s reading only parts of his favorite book out of order … and how the dissection ruined it, but not for the reasons that sound obvious as you read this sentence.

* Which led to a fascinating chat about how all kinds of art are collaborative, meaning that the creator can’t control at least half of the experience … which depends on what the reader/observer/listener/consumer brings to that art. This one was such a cool thread that it will be our topic for next time!

The One-Drink Book Club is an informal, (almost) weekly series in which fellow author Emma Lee Jayne joins me and our other creative friends to talk about the life, business, and art of writing and making books … for the duration of one Friday-afternoon drink.

Here’s what we talked about in this episode:

* Mike, who just finished a poetry book he’s been working on, said he didn’t feel excitement or happiness on finishing … just sort of done. We talked about the “finishing the project” vibes and the oddity of it, seeing as I feel the same.

* Reliving the writing and editing of my very first book (The Bialy Pimps), I regaled the others with stories of how self-indulgent the first draft was, and how I fixed it.

* When is it true that theres’s “too much of the author in a book,” and how can you tell?

* I then dropped a BIG OL’ BTS EXCLUSIVE: A story about The Bialy Pimps’s early draft and exactly what I removed because it was so personal, it made for terrible reading. You’ll hear a scoop I’ve literally never shared before, about those early drafts, what I cut from them, and the true of this particular writer’s earliest working days.

The One-Drink Book Club is an informal, (almost) weekly series in which fellow author Emma Lee Jayne joins me and our other creative friends to talk about the life, business, and art of writing and making books … for the duration of one Friday-afternoon drink.

Here’s what we talked about in this episode:

* We have our first guest, despite the fact that we don’t have guests on the show. Actually, we just expanded outward from the four of us who usually host ODBC from the local wine night group and this time included Bill’s wife Paula. (My wife will never come on. Sorry. She’s the opposite of into it.)

* We talked about how there are sometimes “seasons” for writers, and how it can be best to accept sometimes that you’ll be able to write and sometimes your attention should go elsewhere. (Teaser: Paula actually had a whole line of questions on this one that we talked about afterward and will definitely be discussing the next time she’s on.

* Then we talked bout the local book club and how terrified I am to have my book read by it. Also: What’s the function of book clubs? Is it really mostly about the wine?

* What’s this phenomenon of “reading the same book over and over” about? Bill and I equated it to the no-bullshit way we watch some TV shows.

* Everyone shared how they read differently as writers … or as regular listeners of the ODBC. What do you notice? What gets spoiled?

* Finally, we talked about a favorite geek-out topic of mine: the fine balance as a writer between sharing just enough information so that you’re being honest with a reader, while still subtly misdirecting them so they’ll be surprised by a twist or shock ending.

The One-Drink Book Club is an informal, (almost) weekly series in which fellow author Emma Lee Jayne joins me and our other creative friends to talk about the life, business, and art of writing and making books … for the duration of one Friday-afternoon drink.

Here’s what we talked about in this episode:

* We began with a rousing discussion of writing techniques that annoy Bill, several of which I’ve definitely done. We then espoused our own annoyances, which made us all look like judgmental fuckers. Like: Excessive cliffhangers, too many short chapters, shocking openings, dialogue that would never make sense in the real world, too many adverbs, and the ever-popular practice of head-hopping.

* We then pivoted to what sounds like a super geeky discussion but was actually sort of fascinating: the strengths and value of various point-of-view/tense styles. Which style do you like best, and why?

* I told my famous “em dash” story. Which wasn’t actually famous at all.

* Emma then asked everyone a question about selling content that she’s also using for a lead magnet to get people onto her email list. Is a bonus story worth 99 cents? (HINT: I said yes. It’s 99 fucking cents, people.)

* We then spent the final three of the show with a rousing and sort of profound and existential discussion about whether or not genre writing is noble - whether we’ll be remembered after we’re gone as having made a difference. What do you think — is only Literature-with-a-capital-L helping to change the world? Or is it instead pretentious bullshit and we, the genre writers, are this world’s real heroes?

The One-Drink Book Club is an informal, (almost) weekly series in which fellow author Emma Lee Jayne joins me and our other creative friends to talk about the life, business, and art of writing and making books … for the duration of one Friday-afternoon drink.

Here’s what we talked about in this episode:

* Why am I bothering to make bullet points? The entire episode was about the Artisan Author philosophy, and how that avenue might be the best (or only) option left for quality-and-art-minded authors to truly stand out. But it was a good chat. Really one for the ages.

The One-Drink Book Club is an informal, (almost) weekly series in which fellow author Emma Lee Jayne joins me and our other creative friends to talk about the life, business, and art of writing and making books … for the duration of one Friday-afternoon drink.

Here’s what we talked about in this episode:

* I selfishly announced my new project — The Artisan Author book — which you can sign up to be notified about at JohnnyBTruant.com/Artisan

* What does success mean to different writers? It’s more than a Tony Robbins exercise. The difference actually matters.

* Fighting subconscious ego demands … which might actually serve to take you AWAY from whatever real “success” you actually want.

* The mindset shift for live selling: “I’m pathetic standing here alone” versus “This is/isn’t what I expected in advance.”

* Mike asked how to get started on the Artisan path, for his eldest kid.

* My response in a nutshell: Be yourself. That’s trite but the real differentiator, because “normal” is an illusion … and if you’re yourself, you are exactly what a group of disenfranchised weirdoes has been looking for (and I say “weirdoes” affectionately).

The One-Drink Book Club is an informal, (almost) weekly series in which fellow author Emma Lee Jayne joins me and our other creative friends to talk about the life, business, and art of writing and making books … for the duration of one Friday-afternoon drink.

Here’s what we talked about in this episode:

* As it was just me and Bill this time, we went deep on a geeky discussion prompted by Bill reading an afterword to one of Alistair Reynolds’s books. Bill was super prepared this time with tons of questions, kids!

* We talked about how writers (or at least I) deal with complicated worlds — making sure to keep all the facts straight over time.

* Why Emma’s concept of “Schrödinger’s Parents” applies to worldbuilding and timelines, too.

* Now that I’m about to start a BRAND SPANKIN NEW project with Sean, Bill also asked about worldbuilding and beats (Sean’s part of the equation) and how it meshes with my part (the writing itself).

* We ended with a long and multi-faceted chat about whether or not it’s important to follow your own internal story rules (yes, absolutely essential) and how I handle it … especially when those restrictions create difficult situations that I then need to write my way through (hint: This is where the real magic is).

The One-Drink Book Club is an informal, (almost) weekly series in which fellow author Emma Lee Jayne joins me and our other creative friends to talk about the life, business, and art of writing and making books … for the duration of one Friday-afternoon drink.

Here’s what we talked about in this episode:

* We each gave updates to last month’s writer’s block quagmire, talking about how each of us has chosen to address our individual issues — Emma by stepping back to organize the pieces and me by “getting the band back together” with Sean Platt.

* After Emma talked about all the paperbacks she used to have of her books in a zillion different translated languages, we discussed how myopic the indie author community tends to be, focusing only on a tiny slice from the big pie of all readers … and how if we just expand our thinking, we see abundance rather than the usual “the sky is falling” sentiments so common in our profession.

* After describing how hard I tried to get scammed by a fake comic con organizer, I talked a bit about finding real comic cons and stepping into those waters as an author instead.

The One-Drink Book Club is an informal, (almost) weekly series in which fellow author Emma Lee Jayne joins me and our other creative friends to talk about the life, business, and art of writing and making books … for the duration of one Friday-afternoon drink.

Here’s what we talked about in this episode:

* We started off by giving updates on the last writer’s block episode, which a lot of people seemed to enjoy and take value from. Specifically, I shared a realization about my process that I’m hoping will break me through a current slow point.

* I’ve just finished re-reading my own Gore Point series and shared how unabashedly pleased I was with it, particularly since I’d forgotten the story since writing it. We talked about the discovery process and what it’s like to re-experience your own stuff as a reader.

* The conversation then shifted to “ALL ABOUT AUDIOBOOKS.” Topic covered were changing narrators in the middle of a series, “doing voices” for characters vs. neutral narration voice, taking artistic liberties, and more.

* I shared some recent realizations: that there are big groups of readers out there that few authors are reaching because they don’t overlap with the audiences they focus on, like Kindle-only readers.

* We finished by talking a bit about the idea of concept art to go with what’s in a book … and the fact that I, as the writer of my own books, couldn’t tell you what most of the things in those books look like to make art in the first place.

The One-Drink Book Club is an informal, (almost) weekly series in which fellow author Emma Lee Jayne joins me and our other creative friends to talk about the life, business, and art of writing and making books … for the duration of one Friday-afternoon drink.

Here’s what we talked about in this episode:

We really just hit one topic today, but we hit it well, thoroughly, and from a hundred angles: What happens when writing doesn’t come in the way it should, or that you want it to? What happens when you’re blocked, and you don’t know what to do about it?

Emma and I are both going through our own version of the shit, and we unpack it all in this big, juicy episode.

Let us know what you think in the comments!