Publishing Rodeo: The Good, The Bad, and the Bloody Ugly

This audio file is a compilation of 11 clips across various episodes, and is part of our submission to the Hugo Awards "Voter Pack." Everyone who pays for Hugo membership is given a "voter pack" with electronic copies of the books, short fiction, novellas, essays, and--in our case--audio files for fancasts. Rather than subject voters to hours of episodes, we've chosen to create a short(ish) compilation, spanning the whole of our show! Runtime is only 31 minutes, and we hope it will give you a sense of the kind of humor, content, and discussion that we cover on Pub Rodeo. Transcripts + show notes are on our website, and on RSS.com.

After submitting his debut self-pub novel to the annual SPFBO (self published fantasy blog-off) competition and reaching the semi-finals, Alex Darwin landed himself with a "trad deal" and agent. In the months leading up to his trad re-launch, Alex applied his self-pub experience to his upcoming book launch, trying a number of different angles. Reflecting back, he shares what kind of tactics worked best to give his book the best possible chance. Topics covered:

Just an outtakes edit from Alex Darwin's episode 38, in which Scott shares a hunting misadventure. Absolutely no industry content whatsoever, simply a short bit of chat. Also featuring: Alex Darwin and Sunyi Dean. CONTENT WARNING: Animal hunting (elk) is discussed in detail, which may be upsetting to some listeners.

After solid sales for his first duology, David Wragg's next book series got caught in the infamous post-covid "midlist death spiral". After this current trilogy finishes, his future in trad is uncertain at best.But with his usual good-natured humor, Wragg cheerfully dissects the past six years of his career, including advances, royalties (or negative royalties in this case), the reality of post-debut book deals, and the differences in production quality between tiers of books. Finally, he and Scott discuss the pressing question of how and why authors keep writing, despite it all. (Though this episode description may seem bleak, we promise it has a few laughs along the way.)

What's the deal with author book events? Are they useful, do they shift books, and why do they all follow the same format? This week, we speak with Sam Missingham, who spent many years working with the Bookseller, and later with Harper as an author events creator. We talk about what works and what doesn't, whether hiring publicists as a trad author is worth the time, the influence of class and connections in publishing, and the real reason so many publisher-run book events fall a little flat. If authors want a successful career, Sam stresses that this requires a long-term perspective and a focus on writing multiple books, as well as a creative and individual approach to self-marketing. 00:00 01:00 04:11 07:05 09:00 10:26 15:00 18:39 20:24 25:26 27:22 31:33 41:57

Steve Lead is a freelance cover artist and industry podcaster, with many years' experience working on book cover designs in the publishing industry. Today, he sits down to help demystify the complicated process that goes into creating a book cover. We discuss briefs, trends, industry pay (or lack of it), the impact of thumbnail images on print books--and finally, the elephant in the room: the burgeoning technology that is generative AI, and what it might mean for us all. 00:00 Introduction and Background 03:08 Interactions with Authors and the Design Process 07:03 The Design Brief and Constraints 09:02 Pay and Salaries in the Design Industry 12:04 The Impact of Thumbnails on Book Covers 32:31 The Role of AI in Writing and Design 34:00 Concerns and Fears about AI in the Creative Industry 35:06 Legal Ramifications of AI in Publishing 36:27 The Need for Accountability and Fair Compensation 37:21 Controversies and Criticisms of OpenAI 39:16 The Impact of AI on Artists and Creators 41:14 The Dark Side of AI and Social Media 44:34 The Use of AI in Social Media Platforms 46:18 The Potential Benefits and Limitations of AI 48:08 The Controversy of Cover Quotes on Book Jackets 53:43 The Frustration with Front Cover Quotes

In addition to writing bestselling novels and cofounding a viral podcast (THE BESTSELLER EXPERIMENT), Mark Stay also spent many years working with bookstores and publishers, gaining great insight to all sides of the industry. We chat to Mark about his varied experiences, and reflect back on the seven years he spent recording his groundbreaking podcast. This one is fun and quite eye-opening for behind-the-scenes stuff. 00:00 01:09 02:45 03:10 04:05 05:17 06:12 07:31 08:12 09:25 10:34 11:49 13:35 15:49 19:00 20:33 22:44 28:29 32:42 35:16 37:06 38:04 39:03 40:00 42:21 43:18 44:09 45:37 46:31 47:02 48:31 49:28 53:41 55:05 56:02 01:03:1901:09:06

As our one and only return guest, JT Greathouse joins us for the launch of Season 2, this time in his capacity as a true-hybrid author (with a bookseller's eye). JT sold his debut, HAND OF THE SUN KING, to a UK publisher, but didn't get a USA deal. With the support and help of his literary agency, he opted to self-publish the American version in the States. This week, we talk about the process of getting your books into stores, the nitty gritty of distribution in relation to small presses, indie authors, and hybrid folks like JT, how to make smart choices, the ways in which books can build towards success, and the (psychologically) damaging myth of the "instant best seller" launch. ###

Our final show of the season! This week, we talk frankly about author leverage--what it means, and how to use it. We also discuss when and how to pitch new books on proposal, the impact of past sales on that process, and why Scott is (probably) walking away from writing trad fantasy as a result. Other topics: we reflect on regrets and highlights across the past year, do a quick summary of where we are, why we've slowed down, and what's going on, AND our plans for Season 2 (there will be one!) and how it will be different from Season 1. Finally, Scott introduces a new shiny thing we've been working on: the Author Data Project, an adult-fiction version of the YA research that Dr. Kerry Pray conducted and discussed in an earlier episode. Links to the other 2 podcasts we mentioned and recommended: https://www.failingwriterspodcast.com/https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cover-meeting/id1706806306

After being orphaned by multiple agents, and a COVID book launch that hamstrung her sales, Holly Race started again--querying with a fresh manuscript, in a different age category--before finally landing on her feet... for now! Today, we talk about the instability of trad; relaunching a career that stumbled; what Holly learned from reading tv scripts; moving from YA to adult; writing with the market in mind; the pitfalls of manuscript assessment services; and much more.

Does Twitter sell books? Do book tours improve sales? How do readers actually find authors in the first place? Across a fifteen-year-career, NYT best-selling author Gail Carriger talks about hitting list, collecting data on her readers, and walking away from bad book/film deals. Check the show notes to gain access to a wealth of info and author assistance, via her incredibly detailed blog. ###Show Notes And Links (written by Gail herself!)Website = gailcarriger.comResources tab for authors on Gail's websitehttps://gailcarriger.com/resources/#writersA book option does not a movie make:https://gailcarriger.com/2015/09/28/on-the-unlikelihood-of-options-becoming-films/The discoverability data blog post (psw = backdoor) https://gailcarriger.com/2023/05/11/new-reader-discoverability-data/Gail uses data and experience to predict Amazon's behavior around books for the next 3 years (psw = backdoor)https://gailcarriger.com/2023/02/27/amazonchanges/How to use Wordpress plugin Redirection to track your activities online so you know if your promo efforts are effectivehttps://gailcarriger.com/2016/12/09/redirection/##See website for full notes!

Against the odds, Wesley Chu's small-press debut novel became a break-out success. In the ten years since, he has published a dozen other titles, written for large IPs, signed deals with the Big 5, and even dabbled in self publishing. Today, he sits down to chat about unexpected wins, getting blacklisted by publicists, learning to write sex scenes with Diana Galbadon, industry trends for SFF, and many other things. #### SHOW NOTES ####

This week, we chat with Anika Scott, an international bestselling author of historical fiction. After years of writing, querying, and revising, Anika's debut novel was snapped up amidst a whirlwind of interest and buzz--only to then launch a week before COVID shut the world down. On one continent, her book flourished, while on another, it tanked. We discuss the European scene, including the Frankfurt Book Fair and what it means to be a Frankfurt book, as well as being editorially orphaned, different genre readerships, recovering from a devastating COVID launch, and more.

After years of rejections, Kameron's early book deals ran into problems when her publishers either folded or went bankrupt, Instead of quitting, she kept going. And going. In the decade since, Hurley has signed new deals, built a fanbase, and even won a Hugo. We sit down with her today to ask hard-hitting questions: Why don't we just quit? Why keep doing it? Why not 'just' self publish? And finally, was it all worth it? Nota bene: SPECIAL THANKS to Casmer Maliszewski for helping us clean up the audio on this episode! We experienced a lot of distortion and he kindly stepped in to help make it a more comfortable listen. ### SHOW NOTES:· I felt like I'd failed at everything. Life was a ruin. I found myself living in a spare bedroom at a friend's house, unemployed, deep in medical debt, staring at yet another novel three-quarters of the way finished. When I opened my laptop, the sticky note still stared back at me. Persistence, in all things, in writing, in life. I finished the book. I'd reached a point in my life where I didn't know how to do anything else but finish the fucking book."

If you've ever been curious about alternate or adjacent writing careers, this episode is for you! David "D.V." Bishop got his start 30 years ago writing for comics and IP franchises, before later moving to tv/film scriptwriting. These days, he's back to books and is now an award-winning historical crime novelist. Bringing to bear years of varied experience, he walks us through the trenches and pitfalls of an industry that makes trad pub look like child's play--including the kind of working conditions you can expect, and the kind of money you might be able to earn. Oh, and Scott gets to ask his burning question at the end: why do some big-budget tv franchises turn out so crappy?! ### Full notes:·

Because it's NOT bad, not all the time ;-) After Dr. Kerry's brilliant but hard-hitting previous episode, we wanted to return after summer with something gentler, funnier, and possibly even wholesome. This week, please join us as we talk to award-winning fantasy author RJ Barker. Despite dropping out of high school, suffering a chronic illness, losing one agent, and dying on sub , RJ has found his feet on the shaky ship of trad publishing. These days, he has 9 published books under his belt and many more on the way. We talk about about the clash of art versus business, the ever-present spectre of self-doubt, and how to keep your sanity and perspective in an industry that very easily strips both away. And above all, the 'pervasive and remaining joy' that is writing--the real reason we all got into this business.

In 2008, Dr. Kerry Spencer Pray watched her book die on submission after the financial crash halted publishing acquisitions. She then decided to do a PhD, focusing her research on what makes books sell. After studying hundreds of factors, Dr. Kerry Pray zeroed in on a handful that seemed correlated with book sales in some way. All of them were marketing related, and often linked to a book’s advance (which is itself often representative of the support a novel gets). Let's dig in!

This week, the wise and witty Ella McLeod sits down to talk with us about the hard-hitting, ever-prevalent topic of whiteness in publishing, including in our own podcast (!) and dissecting the dreaded Diversity Tick-Box. (And if you're curious about that title, we do explain it in-episode!) But first, we also chat about some of the differences between YA and adult publishing, and her experiences as an actress, poet, podcaster, and now a debut author. Also, Ella turns the tables at the end to ask what our editors/publishers think of us running this podcast.

After 25 years, 47 books, and at least 4 different genres, Miles Cameron (aka Christian Cameron) has seen and survived a lot in publishing. In addition to being an author, he is also a US Navy officer, trained historian, and martial artist. But when the thriller market changed and sky-high advances evaporated, Miles moved on to historical, fantasy, and even science fiction. Today, we talk about surviving the end of your writing career, and starting from scratch (but this time, on midlist hard-mode)--including specific, pragmatic advice from Miles for building brand, timing your marketing, and a few other things that under-supported authors can attempt on their own steam. And above all, the importance of loving what you do, however you do it. SHOW NOTES

In 2015, Daphne Tonge started a small "book crate" subscription service out of her London living room, with a tiny pool of subscribers. Today, Illumicrate is a well-known specialist retailer, with a thriving fanbase and strong industry presence, which has laid the groundwork for Daphne's next co-current venture: Daphne Press, an independent publishing imprint run on the same values and with the same marketing savvy. In this detailed, question-loaded interview, Daphne kindly joins us to talk the nitty-gritty of building not just one, but two industry-shaping small businesses, and how it might impact genre fiction in future.