Today's ep is another awkward convo - one we've been looking forward to for awhile! We talk about endorsements - aka praise, puffs and blurbs. How do you ask for an endorsement, what do authors think about the 'endorsement machine', how many are too many and can we do without them? We chat about 'Fool's Gold' - a Sydney Review of Books article by Catriona Menzies Pike and Kate has sought comment from a number of past guests - early and established career writers - about all their endorsement feels. We also chat about reviews and recommendations on social media, what we pay attention to and what we ignore, and what this all means for the industry.

Our Featured Book segment is brought to you by Allen and Unwin and Kate chats to Amy Taylor about her debut novel Search History.

Amy Taylor is based in Naarm/ Melbourne (Naarm). An adapted chapter of her debut novel was selected as one of the winners in the 2021 Ultimo Prize for best emerging writers in Australia under 30 years of age. Search History is her first novel.

Check out show notes for this episode on our website www.thefirsttimepodcast.com or get in touch via Twitter (@thefirsttimepod) or Instagram (@thefirsttimepod).

You can support us and the making of Season Six via our Patreon page. Thanks for joining us!