The First Draft Club

Mary takes on the recent buzz around "Big 5" publishing being a waste of time for authors by sharing her own story and how she views authorial success.

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Mary's Blog: https://maryadkinswriter.com/blog/in-defense-of-big-publishing

The Elysian Article: https://www.elysian.press/p/no-one-buys-books

How do you find the right literary agents or publishers to query? There's one resource that's worth every penny (and this isn't sponsored content): Publisher's Marketplace. Here's why, and how to use it.

How do you get feedback without letting it derail you? The risk is real. Mary shares the single criterion she uses in deciding whether or not to take a piece of feedback.

In this short and sweet episode, Mary shares the secret to writing a book that's smarter than you (with some helpful words from George Saunders and Rufi Thorpe).

In this sneak peek into the private podcast inside The Book Incubator, Mary and Rufi discuss what they label "Newtonian Narratology" (you think we're kidding!), a.k.a. why it's better for your characters to try not to cry than to cry, and why you might not need to learn how to write that one emotion you struggle to write, after all.

Author of Thursday is the New Friday, Joe Sanok speaks with Mary about the neuroscience findings that can help aspiring authors finally finish their drafts.

There are people online selling solutions you don't need to problems that don't exist. As a writer aspiring to be published, it pays to be savvy. Mary unpacks 3 of these myths so you can avoid traps.

In this episode, Mary shares the origin story of her newest tool "A Novel in 52 Prompts" and shares the first 3 prompts so you can knock out your first 5,000 words.

Mary shares two stories about what Tom Stoppard the playwright taught her about life and creativity.

We're back for Season 7! In this first episode of the season, Mary walks us through her current daily writing routine as she balances a new novel, work, and parenting.