Johnny Truant and Sean M. Platt are the authors of the new book: The Fiction Formula: The New Rules of Self Publishing Success. Collectively they’ve written 100 books. So how do they come up with so many book ideas? That’s the subject we tackle in this episode. How to figure out what book you want to write, the value of “genre therapy”, and why the books you love to read may not be the books you should write. To subscribe to my newsletter go to writeaboutnowmedia.com/subscribe.

Guest Abigail Hing Wen has done a lot in her career: Harvard grad, lawyer, venture capitalist, and Silicon Valley A.I. expert. Now you can add novelist to her resume. Her book, Loveboat: Taipei, is a romantic comedy set on a real-life "educational" teen cruise for Asian-Americans, which is really just a hookup fest. On the pod, Abigail talks about how the book came to be, the importance of having critique partners, and the essential lessons she learned when she went back to school to get her MFA.

Taffy Brodesser-Akner is a New York Times feature writer and author of the best-selling novel Fleishman Is In Trouble. On this episode, I revisit my 2017 conversation with her (one of my first Write About Now podcasts ever). We talk about why she broke into the writing business after years of doubting herself, how she found a formula for success in personal essays and later in celebrity profiles, and her secrets for being so damn good at the craft.

Andy Buckley plays David Wallace (aka Michael Scott’s first boss) on the U.S. version of The Office. Andy was a retired actor working for Meryl Lynch when a chance encounter at a local Farmers Market planted the seed for him to get a role on the show. Playing Wallace changed his life and his career. He went on to get parts on The Lying Game, Veep, Jurassic World, Bridesmaids, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Odd Mom Out, and the upcoming HBO show Avenue 5. This is how his second act came to be.

Productivity guru Charlie Gilkey joins the show to talk about how to bring a project to fruition. Gilkey is the founder of Productive Flourishing and author of the new book Start Finishing: How to Go from Idea to Done. We talk about how to decide on which projects to start and which to let go, creating what he calls a success pack of individuals to help you shepherd it through, a schedule for getting your project done, and how to know when you’re truly finished.

Guest Anne Helen Petersen is Senior Culture Writer for BuzzFeed News. Last year, Anne wrote a story for that website called How Millennials Became The Burnout Generation. The piece immediately went viral not only for its dead-on observations about the chronic stress that plagues her generation but also for its criticism of the working-all-the-time culture that we all inhabit no matter what our age. On the pod, we talk about how we got here, and what we can do to overcome writer's burnout.

Guest Lawrence Jackson was the only African-American photographer in the Obama White House. In his new book, Yes We Did, he captures his unique perspective on the First African-American President in both captivating photos and stories. We talk about how he got the dream gig, the stories behind some of his favorite shots, and what he learned working so closely with the President and the First Lady.

As hip hop exploded in New York City in the mid-1980s, a new generation of rappers and DJs began to blow up the radio. One of the most successful was the collective known as the Juice Crew. Made up of such artists as Biz Markie, Big Daddy Kane, Mr. Magic, Marley Marl, and Roxanne Shante, the crew changed the rap game forever. Writer Ben Merlis joins this booming episode to talk about his new book Goin' Off, which chronicles the spectacular rise and fall of the Juice Crew.

Catherine Bailey joins the podcast to talk about her unforgettable new book, A Castle In Wartime. You'll hear the tale of a privileged German aristocrat living in Italy whose life is thrown into chaos after her father tries to assassinate Hitler. Her young children are taken from her and she is imprisoned in concentration camps. Bailey also talks about the grueling process of researching and writing the book, and lessons the story can teach us today.

Three minutes. That's the exact amount of time you need to make an effective and compelling pitch, according to podcast guest Brant Pinvidic. He should know. The Hollywood producer has sold more than 300 TV and movie projects, including The Biggest Loser and Bar Rescue. In his new book, The 3-Minute Rule, he reveals his bag of tricks. Whether you’re pitching yourself, your business, or a writing project, you’ll find this simple storytelling technique from the Pitch Whisperer invaluable.