Writing Excuses

In our second episode on Dan Wells’ audio-only book, “Dark One: Forgotten,” we provide you with tools and advice to consider when deciding whether or not to have a narrator. We also talk about location-aware dialogue, or how you can have your characters info dump without it being an info dump.

Homework:

Take something that you’ve already written, and adapt it for audio. 

Thing of the Week:

Earbuds Podcast Collective, a curated list of podcasts 

Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.

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The team grills Dan on his audio-only book “Dark One: Forgotten,” which he co-wrote with Brandon Sanderson. We find out how he wrote a book that became a six-part audio series, and why exactly that form is important. *Please listen to “Dark One: Forgotten” before listening to this episode!*. 

Homework:

What's a thing you know, but everyone else has forgotten? Come up with a supernatural reason why this is.

Thing of the Week:

Zombies, Run! 

Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.

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“Show don’t tell” is probably the most famous advice given to writers. But. . . we don’t necessarily agree. In our final episode of our deep dive into publishing, we tackle advice: How do you give it? When do you not? Our hosts tell us about the advice they wish they followed and the things they don’t tell their students. Also: Mary Robinette teaches us a trick about puppet fingers. 

Homework:

1. Write a letter to yourself a year ago describing what kind of skills are they going to need in order to confront the challenges that are coming.
2. We've finished our 8 episode deep dive into Publishing Is Hard! Next week, we'll be diving into Dan's audiobook "Dark One: Forgotten." Please find this and listen to it! (It's only 6 hours long)

Thing of the Week:

Stone Soup - Newsletter by Sarah Gailey

Mentioned Links:

https://www.publishingishard.com/this-is-not-advice/

https://www.publishingishard.com/get-jigae-with-it/

Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.

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How can we make publishing more inclusive? What role does mentorship play? And how can you reframe competition as collaboration? All this and more in this episode.

Homework:

What's one thing that you can do to make someone else's path easier? Can you take a step towards doing this this week?

Thing of the Week:

After Five - newsletters from Suyi Davies Okungbowa

Mentioned Links:

On Sending the Elevator Back Down by DongWon Song

Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.

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The relationship between a writer and a publisher is… one that isn’t talked about enough. So we made an episode about rejection letters, email etiquette, and empathy. 

As a writer, how do you talk with a publisher? Well, luckily we have someone who knows all about the publishing world because they’re an agent at a large publishing house. DongWon offers advice on how to interact with publishers from the perspective of someone on the industry side. (If you’re new here: DongWon Song is an agent at Howard Morhaim Literary Agency.) Then, we hear about our hosts’ experiences with rejection (spoiler alert: there’s been a lot.) 

Homework:

Write a professional and kind rejection letter for a piece you like.

Thing of the Week:

Lavender House by Lev AC Rosen

Mentioned Links:

“The Empathy Gap” by DongWon Song

Munchkin Starfinder 

Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.

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* Check out Talkiatry and use my code talkiatry.com/WX for a great deal: https://www.talkiatry.com
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Have you ever thought of being a publisher, but don't know if it's the right choice for you? In this episode, DongWon (an agent at Howard Morhaim Literary Agency) walks you through this world and gives you some tips for how to decide if publishing is the right career for you.

Homework:

Come up with a list of 3 things you've read. Think of things that can act as comp titles for your professional career and/or personal brand.

Thing of the Week:

Letters to a Writer of Color Edited by Deepa Anappara and Taymour Soomro

Mentioned Links:

So You Want to Work in Publishing by DongWon Song

Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.

Our Sponsors:
* Check out MasterClass and use my code masterclass.com/excuses for a great deal: https://MasterClass.com
* Check out Talkiatry and use my code talkiatry.com/WX for a great deal: https://www.talkiatry.com
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In this episode, we unpack what the publishing industry is, what exactly it does, and why it does it. We also outline the first steps for preparing to talk to an agent or publisher.

Homework:

If you had to sit down with a publisher today and convince them that there's a market for you book, how would you start doing it? Make a list of 3-5 titles that your book is similar to, and describe your target audience.

Thing of the Week:

Kate McKean’s Agents and Books on Substack

Mentioned Links:

"The Publishing Question" by DongWon Song

Credits: Your hosts for this episode were Mary Robinette Kowal, DongWon Song, Erin Roberts, Dan Wells, and Howard Tayler. It was produced by Emma Reynolds, recorded by Marshall Carr, Jr., and mastered by Alex Jackson.

Our Sponsors:
* Check out MasterClass and use my code masterclass.com/excuses for a great deal: https://MasterClass.com
* Check out Talkiatry and use my code talkiatry.com/WX for a great deal: https://www.talkiatry.com
* Check out Tin Can and use my code tincan.com/WX for a great deal: https://tincan.kids


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It's 2023 and people still use email newsletters. For some reason they're more important than ever, so let's talk about building one.

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An exploration of author branding and the social media tools we use. "Figure out who you are, and then do it on purpose" - Dolly Parton.

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Publishing is hard. Also, Publishing is Hard is a newsletter from DongWon Song. In this episode we grill them about it.

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* Check out MasterClass and use my code masterclass.com/excuses for a great deal: https://MasterClass.com
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