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The First Draft Club — 174 episodes
S11 E11 Finding a "Narrative Perch" for Your Memoir: An Interview with Greg Marshall, Part 1
S11 E10 What is Publishers Marketplace, and Why is it a Writer’s Best Untapped Resource?
S11 E09 6 Ways to Make Writing Easier and Less Painful
S11 E08 You Like Your Outline but Now You Don't Want to Write the Book
S11 E07 How to Fix a Character’s Arc Without Rewriting Your Whole Plot: A Revision Lesson from My General Contractor
S11 E06 Beware of These Common Publishing Scams Everywhere Right Now
S11 E05 Rufi Thorpe and I Talk About How, Why, and What We Teach (Part 2)
S11 E04 Rufi Thorpe and I Talk About How, Why, and What We Teach (Part 1)
S11 E03 Redefining “Success” as a Writer and Author: Interview with Crime Novelist & Fellow Texan Mary Lowry
S11 E02 Hey Plot-Haters! This Just In: People Only Change
S11 E01 How I Deal with Rejection and Negative Feedback: Why “Thick Skin” Isn’t Realistic or Helpful
S10 E24 How to Write a Great Query Letter: Interview with Hannah Brattesani, our New In-House Literary Agent at The Book Incubator
S10 E23 Hearing “No” is Part of the Process: How 150+ Rejections Led to a "Big 5" Book Deal at Auction
S10 E22 When to Tell and When to Show: Lessons from Rufi Thorpe & Shel Silverstein
S10 E21 How to Write a Book During Summer
S10 E20 NEW TOOL: The Real-Time Outline, a.k.a. an Outline I Can Actually Stomach
S10 E19 Hot Take on Book Marketing Advice that Makes Me Want to Claw Out My Eyes
S10 E18 The Small Thing You Can Ask Beta Readers That Makes All the Difference
S10 E17 Why You're Burnt Out on Your Book (And How to Fix It)
S10 E16 The Psychology Trick that Helps Writers Finish Their Books
S10 E15 How to Keep Writing When You Don’t Know What to Write Next
S10 E14 What to Do with Scenes You Don’t Want to Write (but “Have to”)
S10 E13 14 “Out of the Box” Fixes for Your Novel
S10 E12 A New Method for Memoirists: How to Structure Your Memoir Memoir in 3 Steps
S10 E11 The Fine Line Between Brilliant and Confusing: Don’t Solve a Minor Problem by Making Your Draft “Mid”
S10 E10 On Earnestness and the Bravery of Making Stuff
S10 E09 How to Give Your Characters Distinct Voices (and What NOT to Do)
S10 E08 The Easier Way to Write Dialogue While Handwriting
S10 E07 Hot Take on Research for Fiction: More Isn’t Always Better (and Not Just Because It’s a Rabbithole)
S10 E06 Tips for Writing a Novel from 3 Braided or Parallel Points of View
S10 E05 5 Ideas for Ending a Chapter on a Cliffhanger (or a Cliffhanger-ish)
S10 E04 Book Marketing 101: What Never to Do, and What to Do Instead
S10 E03 Why and When We Actually Need Feedback: 2 Times Feedback was Critical for My Book & What to Learn From It
S10 E02 The #1 Reason Feedback is Stressful is Actually Not Even a Real Thing
S10 E01 When Smart-sounding Writing Advice Isn’t
S09 E10 What Kind of Writer Are You? A NEW TYPOLOGY!
S09 E09 Art as Conversation: 3 Writing Insights from my 7-Year-Old
S09 E08 Thoughts on Long-Term Goals, Fatigue, and Mindset
S09 E07 How to Research for Your Novel Without Getting Bogged Down
S09 E06 What I Learned from Ann Patchett about Reading Our Past Writing: A Lesson for Memoirists, Novelists, and Human Beings
S09 E05 3 Ways I’m Using AI Ethically as a Novelist (Spoiler: It’s NOT to Write)
S09 E04 How I am Using Dictation to Write My Next Novel
S09 E03 What Nora Ephron Can Teach Us About Writing, a.k.a. How to Be a Parent AND Write Books
S09 E02 A Free, Easy Way to Make Sure Your Story Works No Matter Who You Are (and Why Plot Matters)
S09 E01 How to Not Ruin Your Novel: The Phenomenon of Premature Optimization
Special Mid-Season Announcement - Mary's Memoir and a New Press!
S08 E10 How Much Can You Make in Foreign Rights - My Story (with Actual Dollar Amounts!)
S08 E09 Special Guests! Welcome, the Podcast is a Gameshow Now
S08 E08 Is Revision Sucking? Two Strategies to Make It Joyful Again
S08 E07 Killing Your Non-Darlings in Revision
S08 E06 How to Write a Timeless Book (Whatever That Means)
S08 E05 All the Numbers in Publishing No One Talks About
S08 E04 My Top 5 Books of 2024 as a Writer
S08 E03 How to Fix an 80% Good Book Getting Rejections
S08 E02 Why You Can Write an Amazing Book That Doesn't Get Published
S08 E01 The Black List: The new publishing shortcut for aspiring novelists
S07 E12 3 Things to Know about Copyright & a Scam to Avoid if You’re Self-Publishing
S07 E11 Should You Hire a Book Publicist?
S07 E10 How Much I Was Paid for My First Novel & Why I Don't Think Big Publishing is Dead
S07 E09 The #1 Resource for When You're Querying
S07 E08 The Lean-In Method for Assessing Feedback
S07 E07 The Real Secret to Writing Your Best Possible Book
S07 E06 Rufi Thorpe (with Mary) on How to Control Your Reader's Mind
S07 E05 Interview with Psychologist & Author Joe Sanok on How to Get Your Book Written
S07 E04 3 Publishing Myths that Are Making Me Mad
S07 E03 Here it is...the Novel-Writing Tool I Invented in 2023!
S07 E02 The 2 Ways Playwright Tom Stoppard Changed My Creative Life
S07 E01 My Current Daily Routine as a Novelist (While Running a Business & Parenting)
Live with Debut Novelist & Book Incubator grad Gayle Brown on her pub day!
S06 E09 3 New Tips for Writing Better Dialogue
S06 E08 What Makes a Book ”Good” Isn’t What You Think—It’s This
S06 E07 Should You Write a Memoir or a Novel Based on Your Life?
S06 E06 Why Creative Writing Classes Are So Bad
S06 E05 What IS Upmarket Fiction? How to Write a Novel that Appeals to the Widest Audience
S06 E04 My Hot Take: Why AI is Going to Make Good Writers MORE Valuable, Not Less
S06 E03 On Literary Snobbery: How to Recognize It, Understand It, and Handle it
S06 E02 Live with a Literary Agent
S06 E01 What I’ve Been Writing & Why I Abandoned My Latest Novel
WE’RE BACK!
S05 E10 Should you get an MFA in Creative Writing? The Pros & Cons
S05 E09 3 Things No One Tells You About Getting a Literary Agent
S05 E08 The 3 Most Common Unfounded Fears of Writers
S05 E07 5 Steps to Getting a Literary Agent
S05 E06 After You’re Published: 5 Surprises
S05 E05 How to Write Your Book in 45 Minutes a Day
S05 E04 How to Decide What Comes Next in Your Novel
S05 E03 How to Write a Novel (The Complete, Proven Guide)
S05 E02 How I Wrote My First Book (My Personal Journey)
S05 E01 How to Write Compelling Dialogue
Big News from Mary!
Big News from Mary!
10 Hacks for Just Getting Started
S04 E09 10 Hacks for Just Getting Started [Reissue]
Your Best Writing Goals Based on Your Enneagram Type
S04 E08 Your Best Writing Goals Based on Your Enneagram Type [Reissue]
How to Overcome Resistance
S04 E07 How to Overcome Resistance [Reissue]
The Four Notebooks Method
S04 E06 The Four Notebooks Method [Reissue]
Let me guess: the idea was better in your head?
S04 E05 Let me guess: the idea was better in your head? [Reissue]
How to Write Act 3 of the 3-Act Structure (Part 4 of 4)
S04 E04 How to Write Act 3 of the 3-Act Structure (Part 4 of 4) [Reissue]
How to Write Act 2 of the 3-Act Structure (Part 3 of 4)
S04 E03 How to Write Act 2 of the 3-Act Structure (Part 3 of 4) [Reissue]
How to Write Act 1 of the 3-Act Structure (Part 2 of 4)
S04 E02 How to Write Act 1 of the 3-Act Structure (Part 2 of 4) [Reissue]
My Least Annoying and Most Usable Breakdown of the 3-Act Structure (Part 1 of 4)
S04 E01 My Least Annoying and Most Usable Breakdown of the 3-Act Structure (Part 1 of 4) [Reissue]
How to Choose a Point of View for Your Novel
S03 E08 How to Choose a Point of View for Your Novel [Reissue]
How to Choose a Book Writing Coach
S03 E07 How to Choose a Book Writing Coach [Reissue]
4 Signs You're Ready to Hire a Book Writing Coach
S03 E06 4 Signs You’re Ready to Hire a Book Writing Coach [Reissue]
What does a book writing coach do?
S03 E05 What does a book writing coach do? [Reissue]
How to Get a Literary Agent: 5 Don't's
S03 E04 How to Get a Literary Agent: 5 Don’t’s [Reissue]
The Writing Generator for People Who Aren't in 7th Grade
S03 E03 The Writing Generator for People Who Aren’t in 7th Grade [Reissue]
How much can an author expect to make on a book?
S03 E02 How much can an author expect to make on a book? [Reissue]
Can anyone write a book?
S03 E01 Can anyone write a book? [Reissue]
Can I write a whole novel draft on my phone?
S02 E12 Can I write a whole novel draft on my phone? [Reissue]
What's a book auction?
S02 E11 What’s a book auction? [Reissue]
When—and from whom—should I solicit feedback?
S02 E10 When—and from whom—should I solicit feedback? [Reissue]
How do I write a solid first draft?
S02 E09 How do I write a solid first draft? [Reissue]
How many literary agents am I going to have to query?
S02 E08 How many literary agents am I going to have to query? [Reissue]
How do I know when my draft is done?
S02 E07 How do I know when my draft is done? [Reissue]
How do I effectively use the devices Red Herrings and Macguffins?
S02 E06 How do I effectively use the devices Red Herrings and Macguffins? [Reissue]
How do I write when I feel so insecure?
S02 E05 How do I write when I feel so insecure? [Reissue]
How accurate do the real-world places in my novel need to be?
S02 E04 How accurate do the real-world places in my novel need to be? [Reissue]
When should I hit "pause" on writing to research more?
S02 E03 When should I hit “pause” on writing to research more? [Reissue]
Is it bad to start a new book before I finish writing this one?
S02 E02 Is it bad to start a new book before I finish writing this one? [Reissue]
Help! How do I write good dialogue?
S02 E01 Help! How do I write good dialogue? [Reissue]
Let's recap our season takeaways.
S01 E12 Let’s recap our season takeaways [Reissue]
Do I need an antagonist?
S01 E11 Do I need an antagonist? [Reissue]
How do we include background without boring the reader?
S01 E10 How do we include background without boring the reader? [Reissue]
What if I don't know what it is I'm writing?
S01 E09 What if I don’t know what it is I’m writing? [Reissue]
How do I make it through the murky middle?
S01 E08 How do I make it through the murky middle? [Reissue]
When will I feel like a "real" writer?
S01 E07 When will I feel like a “real” writer? [Reissue]
To outline, or not to outline?
S01 E06 To outline, or not to outline? [Reissue]
What is an inciting incident?
S01 E05 What is an inciting incident? [Reissue]
When and how should I think about chapters?
S01 E04 When and how should I think about chapters? [Reissue]
Should I revise as I go, or write, THEN revise?
Why can't I finish a draft of my book?
How long should it take to write my book?
S01 E03 Should I revise as I go, or write, THEN revise? [Reissue]
S01 E02 Why can’t I finish a draft of my book? [Reissue]
S01 E01 How long should it take to write my book? [Reissue]
Welcome to The First Draft Club! - Trailer