This Creative Life

In this episode of The Launch Box, Andrew and I discuss the mysteries of professional gift-giving, how to balance big-picture career thinking with getting the writing done, the possibilities of being a weekend novelist, and EVENTS. Also, Sara gets a review and Andrew answers the TCL two questions. Plus so much more.

Andrew DeYoung

Sara Zarr

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Sara helps cast her audiobook, Andrew gets a movie option, Sara learns more about Ingram Spark for self-publishing, and we both write letters to booksellers hoping to endear them to us. Also, everyone is burned out, including Andrew's cat.

Andrew DeYoung

Sara Zarr

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Theme music: Creative Commons Deep Friendship by Lobo Loco is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Why does everything about having a book published embarrass us? What is man's proper relationship to the 'Zon? And what happened with that Realms of Ruin thing? We try to break it all down. Also: Andrew gets his first trade review and Sara reports some pre-order numbers.

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Andrew DeYoung

Sara Zarr

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Writer, podcaster, radio host, and VJ emeritus Dave Holmes joins me to talk about his long and winding road to writing his wonderful 2016 memoir, Party of One, his writing at Esquire, and how it all connects to his current podcast project, Waiting for Impact. We talk ADHD, burnout, the longing to be understood, and the obsessions that drive us. And a whole lot more.

Waiting for Impact

Party of One: A Memoir in 21 Songs

Dave at Esquire

Homophilia

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Introducing a This Creative Life special season: The Launch Box, in which Andrew DeYoung and I take you through the six-month period leading up to publication of our new books as we each publish for the first time in new categories. This series will cover a Big Five middle grade launch, a midsize-publisher adult literary launch, and a self-published nonfiction launch.

We'll talk covers, ARCs, blurbs, reviews, events, social media, sales, and, of course, shame, envy, and ego. We'd also love your questions!

In this episode, we introduce themselves and our work, from Andrew's slushpile sale to my pivot from YA, and why authors care so much about pre-orders.

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Andrew DeYoung

Sara Zarr

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Author Mike Jung joins me for the first of a new batch of fall episodes. We talk about the events of his early life that put him on the path to being a writer, his publishing stories and writing process, a later-life autism diagnosis, and BTS.

Thanks so much for being back with us for a new season!

Mike Jung

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In March 2020, I spoke with Daniel Bowman, Jr., about writing, teaching, and being #ActuallyAutistic. This week, his new book On the Spectrum: Autism, Faith, and the Gifts of Neurodiversity is out. The book:

"... rings with poetry, compassion, and wisdom, and it reveals so much about autistic experience." (Katherine May)

"...lights the path toward greater understanding, better advocacy, and a compelling vision for inclusion that moves beyond stereotypes and tokenism." (Nish Weiseth)

"...shows us now to respect one's personhood, to listen, to default to humility and kindness." (Nick Ripatrazone)

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In March, 2020, I spoke with author Brandy Colbert about her work and writing process. Her nonfiction book, Black Birds in the Sky: The Story and Legacy of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre, is now available for pre-order.

Brandy Colbert

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Sarah Enni is the host and producer of First Draft and an author in her own right. This was a great conversation to wrap the TCL-Pandemic season, as Sarah and I got into therapy talk, making big life changes, the upsides of being "optimistically nihilistic" about publishing, the pros and cons of life hacking, and of course Burning Man.

Thanks so much for being with me on this reboot ride, and for your support along the way.

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Sarah Enni

First Draft Podcast

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Documentary Now!

Life Itself

Tracey Baptiste is the author of numerous books for young readers, including the beloved Jumbies series and the New York Times Bestselling Minecraft: the Crash. This episode is not only brimming with the delicious process stuff we love here at TCL, it also gave me several potentially life-changing revelations when Tracey shared with me about recreating a sense of freedom in the writing process, and how a mental health crisis helped her learn "how not to grind." There's something for everyone in this ep; I hope you enjoy!

Selected show notes:

Tracey's site

Creativity Under Pressure and more of Tracey's videos

Rocketbook

The This Creative Life Bookshop shop

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