The Bleeders: about book writing & publishing

Summer school is officially in session, Bleeders! Today's instructor is Samantha Mann, author of Putting Out: Essays on Otherness and editor of the anthology I Feel Love: Notes on Queer Joy. Follow Samantha on Instagram @samantha.mann05 and Twitter @Sdmann0502.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEW BLEEDERS YOUTUBE CHANNEL FOR FULL-LENGTH INTERVIEWS. https://www.youtube.com/@bleederspodcast

Welcome, writers and book lovers. The Bleeders is a new podcast about book writing and publishing. Make sure you subscribe to the companion Substack: https://thebleeders.substack.com/welcome

The Bleeders is hosted by Courtney Kocak. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @courtneykocak. For more, check out her website courtneykocak.com.

Check out Courtney's new podcast, Podcast Bestie, based on her popular Substack: https://pod.link/1670457783
Subscribe to the newsletter: https://podcastbestie.substack.com/welcome

Sign up for Courtney's July 22nd workshop with Chill Subs and Write of Die Magazine, How to Build a “Platform” for Writers Who Shudder at the Thought: https://www.chillsubs.com/writeordie/workshops/how-to-build-platform-for

Summer school is officially in session, Bleeders! Today's instructor is Zachary Zane, author of Boyslut: A Memoir and Manifesto. Follow Zachary on Instagram @zacharyzane_ and Twitter @ZacharyZane_.

SUBSCRIBE TO THE NEW BLEEDERS YOUTUBE CHANNEL FOR FULL-LENGTH INTERVIEWS. https://www.youtube.com/@bleederspodcast

Welcome, writers and book lovers. The Bleeders is a new podcast about book writing and publishing. Make sure you subscribe to the companion Substack: https://thebleeders.substack.com/welcome

The Bleeders is hosted by Courtney Kocak. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @courtneykocak. For more, check out her website courtneykocak.com.

Check out Courtney's new podcast, Podcast Bestie, based on her popular Substack: https://pod.link/1670457783
Subscribe to the newsletter: https://podcastbestie.substack.com/welcome

Sign up for Courtney's July 22nd workshop with Chill Subs and Write of Die Magazine, How to Build a “Platform” for Writers Who Shudder at the Thought: https://www.chillsubs.com/writeordie/workshops/how-to-build-platform-for

Opportunities of the Week is the brilliant brainchild of our guest today, Sonia Weiser. It’s the type of newsletter that I’ve seen gets recommended a lot in the writing scene because it’s a compilation of all the current pitch calls available on social media. If you are trying to build up your bylines or find a home for some writing work on the internet, I highly recommend you subscribe. In today’s episode, Sonia shares why she started the newsletter and her big takeaways from running it. We also talk about her writing journey and Sonia offers some tips for freelance writers on how to successfully pitch editors. Follow Sonia on Twitter @weischoice and subscribe to Opportunities of the Week: https://mailchi.mp/49973de8091c/opportunities-of-the-week

Welcome, writers and book lovers. The Bleeders is a new podcast about book writing and publishing. Make sure you subscribe to the companion Substack: https://thebleeders.substack.com/welcome

The Bleeders is hosted by Courtney Kocak. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @courtneykocak. For more, check out her website courtneykocak.com.

Check out Courtney's new podcast, Podcast Bestie, based on her popular Substack: https://pod.link/1670457783
Subscribe to the newsletter: https://podcastbestie.substack.com/welcome

Sign up for Courtney's July 22nd workshop with Chill Subs and Write of Die Magazine, How to Build a “Platform” for Writers Who Shudder at the Thought: https://www.chillsubs.com/writeordie/workshops/how-to-build-platform-for

Today’s guest is Carmen Rita Wong, and she has a doozy of a story — it’s memoir meets family mystery, and it’s so freaking good! In this episode, Carmen shares how her magnum opus finally came together after decades in the making, plus writing and publishing wisdom she's gleaned through publishing FIVE books. She also introduces us to the concept of flashbulb memories... There are so many gems in this episode, so grab a pen and some paper because you’re gonna want to take notes! Follow Carmen on Twitter @CarmenSense and Instagram @carmenritawong.

Welcome, writers and book lovers. The Bleeders is a new podcast about book writing and publishing. Make sure you subscribe to the companion Substack: https://thebleeders.substack.com/welcome

The Bleeders is hosted by Courtney Kocak. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @courtneykocak. For more, check out her website courtneykocak.com.

Check out Courtney's new podcast, Podcast Bestie, based on her popular Substack: https://pod.link/1670457783
Subscribe to the newsletter: https://podcastbestie.substack.com/welcome

Sign up for Courtney's July 22nd workshop with Chill Subs and Write of Die Magazine, How to Build a “Platform” for Writers Who Shudder at the Thought: https://www.chillsubs.com/writeordie/workshops/how-to-build-platform-for

I found Marina through a Twitter thread she wrote about querying, so today, I’m bringing you the first Work in Progress, with an emphasis on publishing. Marina shares how she landed her agent, her top querying tips, how her fantasy novel Beheaded is doing out on submission, the importance of protecting your mental health, and more in today’s episode. This episode is very apropos for me at the moment because I’m about to start querying my book proposal—I hope you get as much out of this as I did! Follow Marina on Twitter and Instagram @mstevensonbooks.

Welcome, writers and book lovers. The Bleeders is a new podcast about book writing and publishing. Make sure you subscribe to the companion Substack: https://thebleeders.substack.com/welcome

The Bleeders is hosted by Courtney Kocak. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @courtneykocak. For more, check out her website courtneykocak.com.

I’m so excited to have Allie Rowbottom on the show today! Allie is the author of the memoir/family history/cultural commentary Jello Girls, which I love, and the new novel Aesthetica, which is incredibly zeitgeisty in its subject matter and has been getting rave reviews. Not only is Allie Rowbottom a super hot lit queen who can string together a hell of a sentence, but she’s also really nice and generous with information in this interview. She shares a top-secret tip for writing good fiction, how she handled writing about her family, THE most thoughtful and honest takes on publishing, and more in today’s episode. Follow Allie on Instagram and Twitter @allierowbottom.

RSVP for the LA Writer Meetup on Monday 1/30: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/la-writer-meetup-a-party-for-writers-thrown-by-the-bleeders-podcast-registration-495544726617

Find the transcript here: www.bleeders.co/episodes/21-allierowbottom

Welcome, writers and book lovers. The Bleeders is a new podcast about book writing and publishing. Make sure you subscribe to the companion Substack: https://thebleeders.substack.com/welcome

The Bleeders is hosted by Courtney Kocak. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @courtneykocak. For more, check out her website courtneykocak.com.

The new year is upon us, which has got me thinking about my writing-related resolutions, and how to accomplish them. So today’s episode is all about writing practice — the daily grind of it, the unsexy truth about how we manifest our writing goals by showing up and allowing ourselves to get words on the page, however messy they might be at first. And we’re diving into this topic with the perfect guest: Kellianne Benson, community manager and director of 750words.com. Follow Kellianne on Twitter @kellianne.

In this episode, you’ll learn all about 750words.com — what it is, how it came to be, and how it’s helping writers — plus, Kellianne and I share our 2023 writing and publishing goals (and a recap of my 2022 resolutions and what I was able to actualize). I encourage you to share YOUR 2023 writing goals in the Substack later this week!

Welcome, writers and book lovers. The Bleeders is a new podcast about book writing and publishing. Make sure you subscribe to the companion Substack: https://thebleeders.substack.com/welcome

The Bleeders is hosted by Courtney Kocak. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @courtneykocak. For more, check out her website courtneykocak.com.

Alissa Wilkinson wrote her book Salty during the first year of the pandemic, which left its mark on both the process and the content. Alissa tells us about how "Salty: Lessons on Eating, Drinking, and Living from Revolutionary Women" and her first book came to be and a little bit about her current Joan Didion-related project. We also talked about how book writing fits in amid her daily journalism grind, her unique publishing path from academic to more traditional, and more in today’s episode. Follow Alissa on Twitter @alissamarie.

Welcome, writers and book lovers. The Bleeders is a new podcast about book writing and publishing. Make sure you subscribe to the companion Substack: https://thebleeders.substack.com/welcome

The Bleeders is hosted by Courtney Kocak. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @courtneykocak. For more, check out her website courtneykocak.com.

Today's guest is Matt Bell, who wrote his novel-writing craft book Refuse to Be Done between drafts of his latest novel Appleseed, and perhaps both books were the better for it. Matt has an exhausting yet enviably productive novel-writing process, and he's taking us to church today with this sermon and many others. He's a writer's writer and knows all about creating the best writing and publishing life for him, as we all should! Matt's process is truly inspiring—we'll get into that, his tips for NaNoWriMo, his favorite craft books, and more in today's episode. Follow Matt on Instagram at @mdbell79.

Welcome, writers and book lovers. The Bleeders is a podcast about book writing and publishing. Make sure you subscribe to the companion Substack: https://thebleeders.substack.com/welcome


The Bleeders is hosted by Courtney Kocak. Follow her on X/Twitter and Instagram @courtneykocak. For more, check out her website courtneykocak.com.

Elle Griffin set out to query her gothic novel and, in the process, made some disappointing discoveries about the publishing industry that led her to serialize it on Substack. Today she's going to share her journey down this unconventional path that definitely has some upsides, like making $19K her first year on Substack and retaining the rights to her work. Elle also shares why Anne Lamott's shitty first draft advice does not work for her, what it's been like writing her second serialized novel as she's publishing it, and more. Elle is the author of the gothic novel Obscurity, and she's currently writing a utopian novel called Oblivion. Subscribe to The Novelleist, Elle's newsletter imagining a more beautiful future, on Substack.

*If you're an aspiring or indie podcaster, subscribe to Podcast Bestie newsletter for jobs, industry info, craft and marketing tips, and more: https://podcastbestie.substack.com/welcome

Welcome, writers and book lovers. The Bleeders is a new podcast about book writing and publishing. Make sure you subscribe to the companion Substack: https://thebleeders.substack.com/welcome

The Bleeders is hosted by Courtney Kocak. Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @courtneykocak. For more, check out her website courtneykocak.com.