Chelsea Hodson on Tumblr Fame, Cold Emails, and Writing at 2:30 AM

Krisserin's broadcasting from Scottsdale, Arizona (after getting two speeding tickets in the same spot) while Kelton's racing to finish her memoir proposal. But the real star of this episode is their first Season 2 guest interview: Chelsea Hodson, author of Tonight I'm Someone Else, founder of Rose Books, creator of the Morning Writing Club, and now a musician releasing her debut single.Chelsea shares her unconventional path to publication—from studying journalism when professors warned "this career is dead," to cold-emailing Sarah Manguso to become her personal assistant in exchange for editing help. Her breakthrough came through daily discipline: a Tumblr project called "Inventory" where she photographed herself with every object she owned and wrote one paragraph. Posting every day for two years, she went from 10 followers to 20,000—and caught the attention of a literary agent.The conversation digs deep into the hard parts of being a writer: the editor who dismissed her essay with "girls always write about camp," the MFA instructor who told her to throw away a piece and start over, the agent who quit publishing the week her manuscript was due. Chelsea reveals how these crushing moments actually strengthened her work—teaching her to double down on what makes her writing different instead of conforming to others' expectations.Practical wisdom abounds: Why Chelsea wakes up at 2:30 AM to write before her toddler wakes up. How she used exposure therapy (posting on Tumblr daily) to overcome her fear of publishing. Why she spent her book advance touring instead of waiting for her publisher. The importance of reading work aloud to know when it's truly done. And why publishing a book won't solve your inner perfectionism—it might actually magnify it.Plus: Krisserin finishes revising both books and sends them to her agent, Kelton gets marketing advice from author Emily Halnon about bolstering her memoir proposal, and they both reflect on the importance of engaging with writers you admire as peers, not pedestals.Learn more about Chelsea Hodson, sign up for the Morning Writing Club and listen to her single here: https://chelseahodson.com/Write to us: [email protected] us:Instagram: @penpalspodTikTok: @penpalspodYouTube: @PenPalsPodSubStack: penpalspod.substack.comFollow Krisserin and Kelton:TikTok: @krisserin, @keltonwrites Instagram: @keltonkin, @keltonwritesKelton's Substack: ShangrilogsKrisserin's Substack: krisserin.substack.comMusic by Golden Hour Oasis Studios