The Bleeders: about book writing & publishing

Today's episode is a great interview about book writing and publishing from another show. The Book I Had to Write is hosted by book coach Paul Zakrzewski. He interviews memoir writers, journalists, and other coaches about writing their most compelling books. In this episode, he interviews Lilly Dancyger, author of the memoir Negative Space and the editor of the anthology Burn It Down: Women Writing About Anger. Follow Lilly on Twitter @lillydancyger and follow @bookihadtowrite to stay up-to-date on the show.
Check out The Book I Had to Write website: https://www.thebookihadtowrite.com/
Listen to more of The Book I Had to Write podcast: https://pod.link/1619822354

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 Bridgette Bianca is a fantastic spoken word poet with a Grammy nomination on her bucket list, and it was so interesting to hear her describe the interplay between performance and her writing process. She also shared a valuable lesson she learned in grad school. Plus, she took us to Howard for an education on the legacy of Black poetry, explained how essential community was to her publishing experience, and more. Follow Bridgette on Instagram @bridgettebianca.

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 Hannah Howard, author of two food memoirs, Feast: True Love in and Out of the Kitchen and Plenty: A Memoir of Food and Family, that transcend the genre and are also about relationships, motherhood, and finding your tribe. We discuss how an MFA application process helped her crystallize her vision for what became her first book, the difference between first and second books, her experience in a low-residency MFA program, reactions she’s gotten to writing about ED, how her niche is expanding into parenting, and more. Follow Hannah on Twitter @hannahhoward.

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.

Amanda McNeil wrote a draft of an essay collection during the first year of the pandemic.... and then sat on it. Now she’s gearing up to write another draft and wondering if maybe it’s a memoir, or at least she’s wondering if that will help sell the book. We talk about all this and the necessary evil of querying in the first edition of Work in Progress featuring Amanda McNeil and her essay collection-turned-maybe-memoir “Thank You, I Still Hate Myself.” Plus, at the end, you’ll hear Amanda read an excerpt from her essay aptly titled “Butt Stuff” (with some pretty fantastic sound design if I do say so myself). Follow Amanda on Twitter @GingerMidwest.

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.

Chloe Caldwell has forged her own unique path in the literary scene, and it’s one that I really admire. She gives us the play by play for how she became the author of four books — Legs Get Led Astray, Women, I’ll Tell You in Person, and The Red Zone — in today’s episode. We cover everything from cold queries to agents to small presses to trusting your vision. Follow Chloe on Instagram @chloeeeecaldwell.

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 feminist noir crime writer Halley Sutton. She wrote the first draft of her debut novel, The Lady Upstairs, while getting her MFA at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles. So we got into the pros and cons of MFAs for writers. And we also talk book #2 since Halley’s currently in the home stretch with her second novel. Halley shared how Pitch Wars helped her first book find its footing, how she turned a rejection letter into an agent, the importance of a midpoint, and other sage advice for fledgling writers. Follow Halley on Twitter @halley_sutton.

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.

Samantha Allen is the author of Real Queer America: LGBT Stories From Red States and the upcoming novel Patricia Wants to Cuddle (pub date June 28th). Samantha shared so many nuggets of wisdom for writers. We talked shop about writing and publishing start to finish, book advances, audiobooks and her Audible Original, her foray from nonfiction to fiction, and more. Follow Samantha on Twitter @SLAwrites. And preorder her damn book!

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.

Introducing... The Bleeders!

Welcome, writers and book lovers. Thanks for tuning in to the trailer for my new podcast about book writing and publishing. Make sure you subscribe to the companion Substack: https://thebleeders.substack.com/welcome

About the host:

Courtney Kocak is a Los Angeles-based writer, podcaster, and comedian. She graduated from UCLA's Professional Program in Screenwriting and wrote for Amazon's Emmy-winning animated series Danger & Eggs. Courtney's been an Executive Producer on several top podcasts and won an LA Press Club award for the story she reported about Maebe A. Girl for KCRW. She's also a freelance writer with bylines including The Washington Post, LA Times, and InsideHook. Check out her other podcast, Private Parts Unknown, about love and sexuality around the world.