Episodes
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Episode 92: So you want to write nonfiction...
I want to believe that most people do have a book in them. But, since anyone can now simply use prompts to generate a nonfiction book in hours, I'm forced to draw some boundaries. Everyone might have a book in them, but it takes a little something extra to actually make that book worth reading....
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Episode 91: How Books Are Destroyed
Yes, everyone is mad about Anthropic chopping up millions of books, but here's the, well, million dollar question. Are you mad on more than just aesthetic grounds? Are you mad about what's happening to the world's knowledge and access to it…or is this just about paper and ink? Em talks about how...
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Episode 90: Stand All the Way Back
A rant on how a reader behavior survey taken over the space of one month was conflated into an indictment on readers and—bafflingly—libraries. Emily discusses why fingers are being pointed in these particular directions and where they maybe should be pointed instead. Photo by Joshua Hoehne on...
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Episode 89: Whose book is it, anyway?
When you buy a digital book, what exactly are you buying? The answer might blow your mind: nothing. You’re not buying a book at all. You’re licensing it, and with that license comes stipulations. In this episode, I talk about digital rights management (DRM), and what Amazon, and other digital…
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Episode 88: What's the Point?
I won't bore you by telling you a story you've heard before. This isn't hand-wringing about an individual author's ethical issues—this is an examination of what brought us here. In this episode, I talk about: The breakdown in the rules about AI between trad and self publishing. How acquisition...
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Episode 87: A Return to Reading
I’m just going to be honest with y’all—I’m overwhelmed. This podcast is about exploring the world of publishing and providing a resource for authors, but everything is moving so quickly that it’s easy to feel left behind even when my goal is to stay on top of things. So I feel that, in this...
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Episode 86 - Creative Director and Radical Marketer Sarah Giffrow
In this episode, I talked with Sarah Giffrow, an expert in helping small businesses with their online presences. If you weren't aware, I worked for Sarah's business, Upswept Creative, for a couple of years, and witnessed the similar workflows and software used for publishing, website design, and...
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Episode 85 - Forming Strong Writing Support Networks with Jessie Kwak
Writing is often a solitary activity. Writers spend their days living, and talking with imaginary people, inside our own heads. Existing in that wind tunnel and never coming out of it is not the healthiest way to move through the world (or around the outskirts of it). But, it can be difficult for…
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Episode 84 - Unconventional Publishing Models with David Morris
This episode’s guest is David Morris of Lake Drive Books. In today’s interview, David tells us more about Lake Drive’s mission, publishing practices, and unconventional financial model. David also offers his takes on how to determine what works for you when it comes to choosing a publishing path...
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Episode 83: Plottr, Story Snap, and Letting Writers Choose
Recent surveys verify what you probably have already guessed, that there are profound divides between writers who use AI and writers who downright refuse. But interestingly, these surveys have also shown that around 60% of writers do use AI tools of some kind. So, when you’re creating a software...
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Episode 82: NaNoNowWhat?
A not-so-brief history of National Novel Writing Month from its beginnings in 1999, its growth as a nonprofit, its scandals, and where November Novel-writers can go from here, -- It's that time of year again. You may love it, hate it, fear it, or be totally uninterested. I'm talking about...well,...
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Episode 81: Ellipsus—an AI-Free Tool for Collaborative Writing
We’re building Ellipsus as a platform that prioritizes transparency, trust, independence, and creative freedom. Writers shouldn’t have to trade their privacy or their ownership for good tools. The rise of AI scraping and big tech overreach only made that more urgent for us. —Rex at Ellipsus...
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Episode 80: Clarify Your Message through Storytelling with Karl Becker
Karl Becker, founder of Improving Sales Performance and author of Iceberg Selling, talks about his books, how they've made a difference in his business and life, and the necessity of being open to surprises during the writing process.
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Episode 79: Why Your Story Needs To Be Told with Dr. Amanda Nell Edgar
Dr. Amanda Nell Edgar, founder of Page & Podium Press, joins Emily to talk about overcoming impostor syndrome and taking the courageous step to share your story.
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Episode 78: What Copywriting Can Teach You About Writing Books with Kelley Gardiner
Website copywriter Kelley Gardiner joins Emily to talk about the overlaps between writing clear, attention-getting copy and writing a good nonfiction book.
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Episode 77 - Ali Shaw, Founder of Indigo Editing, Design, and More
Emily speaks with Ali about her definition of self-publishing versus independent publishing, how Indigo is working to improve the book world, and the exciting process of learning how to produce audiobooks. This episode's transcript:...
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Episode 76: Joan Conte Of Trans Book Box
Joan Conte joins Emily to talk about their subscription book box for trans people by trans people. Today's transcript: https://hybridpubscout.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/76-Joan-Conte-of-Trans-Book-Box-transcript.docx.pdf Find us on... Our website: hybridpubscout.com Twitter:...
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Episode 75: The Library Of Alexandria
Chris, Corinne, and Emily discuss the Library of Alexandria and all the things we don't know about it. The Transcript for Episode 75: https://hybridpubscout.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/75-library-of-alexandria_otter_ai.docx.pdf Find us on... Our website: hybridpubscout.com Facebook:...
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Episode 74: Troy Lambert, Education Lead at Plottr
Emily interviews Troy Lambert, education lead at Plottr, about how the software helps writers plot everything from their novels to their nonfiction books (and even their marketing plans)! Try Plottr for yourself here: https://plottr.com/ Read the transcript here:...
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Episode 73: Disability in Publishing
Founding members of the new 501C3 Disability in Publishing join Emily and Corinne to discuss their mission and their plans for supporting and collaborating with disabled people in publishing. Read the episode transcript:...
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Episode 72: Grimoires!
This Halloween episode of Hybrid Pub Scout brings you an exploration of Western grimoires: what they were, who used them, and how they were passed from one person to another. Also, we do slightly deeper dives into the Picatrix, The Lesser Key of Solomon, The Petite Albert, and The Grand Grimoire....
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Episode 71: Joe Vallese, Editor of It Came from the Closet
Joe Vallese joins us to talk about the queer horror anthology It Came from the Closet, which he conceived of and edited with The Feminist Press. Read the episode transcript: https://hybridpubscout.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/71-Joe.Vallese-transcript.pdf Find us on... Our website:...
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Episode 70: YA Author Sierra Elmore
Debut author Sierra Elmore talks about self-publishing her Mean Girls remix, Death by Society. Read the episode transcript: https://hybridpubscout.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/70-SierraElmore-final-transcript.docx.pdf Find us on... Our website: hybridpubscout.com Facebook:...
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Episode 69 - Ruthie Hanson
Emily talks to Ruthie Hanson about her experience running a successful Kickstarter for her upcoming TV project, Ladies of Fortune, as well as writing books, screenplays, and fanfiction. Read the episode transcript:...
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Episode 68: Edtech Innovation with Stephanie Argy of ISTE
Stephanie Argy, editor for the International Society for Technology in Education, reminds us that strides in learning and technology is cause for optimism. Read the episode transcript: https://hybridpubscout.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Transcript.Episode68-StephanieArgy-ISTE.docx.pdf Find us...
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Episode 67: Sustainable Publishing Distribution with Rachel Done
The difficult truth is this: book publishing has a heavy carbon footprint and produces lots (LOTS) of waste. Rachel Done joins us to discuss a recent study done in partnership with Portland State University, Independent Book Publishers Association, and Pub West about how we can change the status...
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Episode 66: The Hitler Diaries Forgery Scam
Content Warning: Discussion of Nazis and neo-Nazis Shady and unethical journalistic practices In 1983, the Stern news magazine in Western Germany, after selling serial rights to publication across the Western world, announced that Hitler's lost diaries had been discovered in the German…
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Episode 65—Katie Fairchild of Radish Fiction
In the final installment of our fanfiction series, we talk with a publishing professional and fan fiction expert who works in the business of serialized fiction. Katie Fairchild is a marketing associate who uses her expertise in the way fandom audiences read and interact to promote stories on the...
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Episode 64: Claudia Rebaza from the Organization for Transformative Works
Claudia Rebaza from the Organization for Transformative Works (OTW) joins Emily to talk about their projects—Archive of Our Own, Fanlore, Legal Advocacy, Open Doors, and the Transformative Works and Culture journal—and how such a huge operation stays online. More notes on this page:...
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Episode 62 — Fanfiction Part 1: An Introduction
Read the transcript here: https://hybridpubscout.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/62.-Intro-to-Fanfic.docx.pdf Find us on... Our website: hybridpubscout.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/hybridpubscout/ Twitter: twitter.com/hybridpubscout Instagram: www.instagram.com/hybridpubscoutpod/ Our newsletter:...
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Episode 61: Anthropodermic Bibliopegy Part 2
In part two of our discussion of Anthropodermic Bibliopegy, Emily and Chris explore the reasons for building myths around books made from human skin, and find it could often be simplified to one or a combination of three motivators: prestige, politics, propaganda Content warnings: - Corpse...
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Episode 60: Anthropodermic Bibliopegy Part 1
In part one of this two part episode, Chris Curran joins Emily to explore the practice of binding books in human skin (aka., anthropodermic bibliopegy). Sounds interesting, you say? Famous last words, we say. Get ready for a whole lot of "yikes." Content Warnings for: Corpse violation Medical...
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Episode 59: From Chaos to Creativity with Jessie Kwak
There are productivity gurus aplenty online promoting their books, but their advice often leaves the more creative-minded person in the lurch. How can writers, artists, and other creators (cough *podcasters* cough) develop their own systems to make sure they get done what they need to get done?...
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Episode 58: Ari Mathae and Denise Morales Soto with A Kids Company About
What do you do when you need to talk to a kid in your life about a difficult subject but aren’t sure where to start? Enter A Kid’s Company About, a media company built on the belief that kids are ready to have challenging, important and empowering conversations with the grown-ups in their lives....
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Episode 57: Halloween - The Return
We are overjoyed to return from our extended hiatus just in time for our fourth annual Halloween episode! We revisit some subjects including a murderous writer story from 2018, the Twitter exploits of one Joyce Carol Oates, and spooky dramatic readings of online horror (comedy) stories. We also...
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Episode 56: Nicole J. Georges on Her New Podcast "Relative Fiction"
Imagine that you have spent years believing your father was dead, then a $15 palm reader asserts that your real father is very much alive. Now imagine discovering that this wild statement ends up being true. In her Lambda Award-winning graphic memoir and newly launched podcast, Nicole examines…
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Episode 55: Immersive Media & Books with Dr. Rachel Noorda and Dr. Kathi Berens
If you're trying to do research as a book industry professional, you're going to hit paywalls—sometimes paywalls so large that your business is better off replacing NPD with a tarot deck and a crystal pendulum. Enter Dr. Kathi Berens and Dr. Rachel Noorda, who spoke with Emily about their 2020...
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Episode 54: Author Nicole Wolverton Celebrates Women in Horror Month
Emily talks with horror author Nicole Wolverton about women in horror, her book The Trajectory of Dreams, and the upcoming menopause-themed horror short story anthology that she is editing with Sliced-Up Press. Our website: hybridpubscout.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/hybridpubscout/ Twitter:...
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Episode 53: Interview with Nadia Odunayo — Founder of The StoryGraph
The StoryGraph is a safer, quieter place on the internet where you can find your next favorite book. Founder and CEO Nadia Odunayo joins Emily to discuss developing this cozy online experience and how input from enthusiastic readers makes everything better. Our website:...
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Episode 52: The Malleus Maleficarum with Chris Curran
Sometimes readers forget that these cherished bound objects aren't always beacons of goodness and enlightenment in a mad world. Sometimes, in fact, they can be a medium for a 15th century incel to rain down misery and death on thousands of people for hundreds of years! Chris Curran from episode…
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Episode 51: Talking Grady Hendrix with Fuckbois of Literature
Happy almost Halloween, scouts! On this episode, we’re joined by the wonderful Emily Edwards, host of the Fuckbois of Literature podcast, a podcast about the toxic characters you encounter in all your favorite books! (Apparently, Amy March is not a fuckboi (?!)) We also chat about the delightful...
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Episode 50: Liz Gorinsky and Nellie McKesson
In this power-packed episode, we welcome back Nellie McKesson, founder of book design software Hederis, and meet Liz Gorinsky, president and publisher of Erewhon Books, a small indie press dedicated to publishing speculative fiction with a literary bent. We chatted with them about the challenges…
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Episode 49: Historian and Romance Author Katrina Jackson
What do you do when you can’t find anything you want to read? You write it yourself. After plumbing the depths of Amazon for erotic romance featuring queer POC and coming up empty, Katrina Jackson took matters into her own hands and started writing her own. More than seventeen books later, we...
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Episode 48: Kimberly Escobar — Owner of Thursday Media Inc.
In this episode, we chatted with freelance food and lifestyle book publicist and Thursday Media founder Kimberly Escobar about the adorable perils of working from home (specifically, Zoom-bombing kittens), how both traditionally and self-published authors can make their publicists’ jobs easier…
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Episode 47: Geekdom Publishing Pro and Scifi Author Michael R. Underwood
Our guest this week is Michael R. Underwood, publishing professional, fellow podcaster, and author of the found family space opera Annihilation Aria, out now from Parvus Press. In addition to his years of writing scifi, he's also a former bookseller, sales representative who sold to bookstores...
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Episode 46: Margot Atwell — Head of Publishing at Kickstarter
In this episode, we talk to Head of Publishing at Kickstarter Margot Atwell about why the community crowdfunding platform is tailor-made for authors and why more publishers should be embracing it, why the publishing industry model is broken and suggestions on how to fix it, and why decentralizing...
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Episode 45: Finding New Audiences with Elaina Jadin and Marie Robinson
You’ve self-published a book. Congrats! Now how do you find your readers? On this episode, Emily sat down with prolific romance authors Elaina Jadin and Marie Robinson to discuss just that, along with the best marketing tools you can use to to find--and keep--an enthusiastic army of fans. They…
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Episode 44: Book Marketer and Publisher Robyn Crummer-Olson
In this episode, Emily chats with book marketing coach and newly installed publisher at Ooligan Press, Robyn Crummer-Olson, who works with both self-published and traditionally published authors on project management and book marketing and publicity. We talk about why it’s important for marketers...
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Episode 43: Brian and Josie Parker Discuss the Challenges of Creating Books for Black and POC Kids
Brian and Josie Parker of @believeinwonder_pub speak with Emily about creating and publishing books where all kids—particularly BIPOC kids—can see themselves as heroes and adventurers. We also talk about the difficult feelings and frustrating conversations that they've had in the wake of George...
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Episode 42: Literary Agent DongWon Song on #PublishingPaidMe and Decolonization
This week, literary agent DongWon Song provides insights on the #PublishingPaidMe discussion and why decolonizing—rather than "diversifying"—publishing, really makes a lot of sense if you think about it. He also talks about how to find an agent that is right for your communication style and a...
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[Theme song by Amy Hakanson | Logo design and artwork by Leigh Kaisen]
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Hybrid Pub Scout Podcast
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