160: #10MonthsfromStarttoDeadline

Parkland author Dave Cullen on everything you ever wanted to know about pitching and writing a topical nonfiction book at top speed (and going broke doing it). We talked to Dave Cullen, (https://www.davecullen.com/) about writing Parkland: Birth of a Movement (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780062882943) , in ten months while he was 3 years overdue on his current book. "I'm just not gonna tell Gail," he said of his editor when he took the first assignment from Vanity Fair--but there was something going on with the Parkland students that grabbed him, and he--with the help of his agent, Betsy Lerner--grabbed it. "I just had to." He describes the process of writing the book, how the length, plan and due dates evolved--and how he almost went broke doing it. #FaveIndieBookstore Dave's #FaveIndieBookstore is Books & Books (https://booksandbooks.com/) in Miami Beach, FL. "It was the only store I specifically asked to visit on my tour." #AmReading A Manual for Cleaning Women, Lucia Berlin (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781250094735) Motherless Brooklyn, Jonathan Letham (https://www.indiebound.org/book/9780375724831) This episode was sponsored by Author Accelerator, the book coaching program that helps you get your work DONE. Visit https://www.authoraccelerator.com/amwriting for details, special offers and Jennie Nash’s 2-tier outline template. Find more about Jess here (http://www.jessicalahey.com/) , and about KJ here (https://kjdellantonia.com/) . If you enjoyed this episode, we suggest you check out Marginally, a podcast about writing, work and friendship (https://www.marginallypodcast.com/) . This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit amwriting.substack.com/subscribe