Pub Crawl

Hosts Dan Greenberger and Ezra Palmer wrestle with the question of whether, and how, to use AI when writing fiction.

Dan and Ezra dig into the question of how to get started with a book... and as usual don't see entirely eye to eye. Today's discussion includes topics as varied as the three-act structure, Saul Bellow, and psychedelic drugs.

Dan and Ezra debate the pros and cons of a frequently maligned medium. Dan likes audiobooks. Ezra, not so much. Plus: Werner Herzog imitations.

Links: 

Edison Research: How Many People Listen to Audiobooks?

https://www.edisonresearch.com/how-many-americans-listen-to-audiobooks/

AAP Data for Digital Audiobook Sales in 2024

https://goodereader.com/blog/business-news/us-ebook-revenue-increased-by-1-6-in-2024

Dan and Ezra share notes on their early advertising efforts on Facebook, Amazon and Reddit. The results? Meh.

Links:

Barbara Jane Probst: What Makes Readers Give an Unknown Author a Chance?

https://janefriedman.com/give-unknown-author-chance/

Reddit Ad Statistics 2025 from Marketing LTB

https://marketingltb.com/blog/statistics/reddit-ads-statistics/

Jannee' Butterfield: The Silent Bestseller: How Some Self-Publisherd Books Thrive Without Viral Marketing

https://janefriedman.com/the-silent-bestseller-how-some-self-published-books-thrive-without-viral-marketing/

On today’s episode, Dan and Ezra discuss the challenges of finding the all-important first readers for your book — getting help from friends and relatives, investing in a fee-based review, tapping into ARC services like NetGalley to distribute free copies to influential readers, and engaging with the reading community on Goodreads.

Links

Gary Kroeger’s essay on attending the 40th SNL Anniversary

https://www.garyhasissues.com/2015/02/backstage-at-snls-40th/

NetGalley’s reader profile

https://insights.netgalley.com/2025-netgalley-com-community-update/

Advanced Reader Copy (ARC) Services

BookSirens

https://booksirens.com/

BookSprout

https://booksprout.co/

NetGalley

https://www.netgalley.com/

NetGalley’s reader community profile

https://insights.netgalley.com/2025-netgalley-com-community-update/

For Thanksgiving, Dan and Ezra give thanks for the help they got -- and really needed -- to get their books out into the world.

Dan and Ezra dig into the process of creating eye-catching covers, and argue over whether covers make any difference. 2:34 A surprisingly generous gesture nets Dan the cover image of his dreams. 11:26 Why Amazon declined to allow Ezra to advertise his book. 15:21 What is the secret to making an iconic book cover? 30:05 Thinking about colors and fonts.

A look at the state of the self-publishing industry and book publishing at large, and the enormous challenges micropublishers face when seeking to build audiences. Dan offers some inspiration and Ezra shares a cautionary tale of a phantom fan.