Podcasts about new york times bestseller list

Grace and Alvina revisit the "bucket lists" they created in 2005, see what they've already crossed off, and create updated lists. For the Fortune Cookie segment, they talk about some recent changes at Scholastic Publishing. And then, Alvina tells Grace about the new book WHAT IF WE... by Eugenia Yoh and Vivienne Chang. And they end as they always do with what they're grateful for. See complete show notes at www.bookfriendsforever.com. Click here to become a Patreon member: https://www.patreon.com/Bookfriendsforever1. See info about Grace's new book "The Gate, the Girl, and the Dragon": https://linktr.ee/gracelinauthor. Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bookfriendsforever_podcast/

Grace and Alvina have an odds and ends episode where they give some updates on the recent firing of the Librarian of Congress, they talk about the AI-generated summer reading list, and they ponder what they're hoping to focus on this summer. Then, children's literature specialist Alison Morris joins to give some book recommendations, and they end as always with what they're grateful for. See complete show notes at www.bookfriendsforever.com.  Click here to become a Patreon member: https://www.patreon.com/Bookfriendsforever1.  See info about Grace's new book "The Gate, the Girl, and the Dragon": https://linktr.ee/gracelinauthor.  Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bookfriendsforever_podcast/  

Amy and Riley discuss Stassi Schroeder and Beau Clarke Schroeder having sex in Hartford's ball pit after her first birthday, Fyre Festival Featuring Amy and Riley from Turtle Time, Hannah Berner and Paige DeSorbo's new book on the New York Times Bestseller List, Alex Baskin on the Nick Viall podcast, and even more news than that. (00:00 - 23:23)We then discuss the latest wonderful episode of Summer House - season 9, episode 11 - "Reading Between the Tanlines". (23:23)If you enjoyed this episode and need more Turtle Time in your life, join the ⁠Turtle Time Patreon⁠ and become a Villa Rosa VIP to hear exclusive bonus content! We're recapping the Vanderpump Rules series from the beginning each week and uncovering all of its secrets.And if you need even more Turtle Time in your life, follow us on ⁠⁠TikTok⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠. And please, if you want to watch some of the fun things we do, subscribe on YouTube. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Grab Phil's book "Spellbound" https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250860156/spellbound/ Preorder now and on sale March 18th! Let's get this puppy to the top of the New York Times Best Seller List! Huge thanks for Absolute Zero Cold Plunge for making our dreams come true we got a cold plunge in the studio! The best thing around tons of electronics is a big tub full of water. Dunk like a Drunk and support the show by checking out Absolute Zero! Start your cold plunge journey at https://absolutezeroplunge.com 25% OFF ANYTHING AT ABSOLUTEZEROPLUNGE.COM PROMO CODES: MARKNORMAND SAMMORRIL WMBD Phil Hanley joins us for a great conversation, don't forget to catch him on the road and grab his new book! Subscribe to We Might Be Drunk: https://bit.ly/SubscribeToWMBD  WMBD Merch: https://wemightbedrunkpod.com/ WMBD Clips Page: https://bit.ly/WMBDClips Support the show and get 50% off your first Factor box, plus free shipping. Use code FACTORPODCAST at https://www.factormeals.com/FACTORPODCAST Support the show and check out VIIA. Use code DRUNK for 15% off your order & a free gift for new customers at https://viia.co/DRUNK Phil Hanley: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@philhanley Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philhanley Sam Morril: YouTube Channel: @sammorril Instagram: https://instagram.com/sammorril Tickets/Tour: https://punchup.live/sammorril/tickets Mark Normand: YouTube Channel: @marknormand Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/marknormand Tickets/Tour: https://punchup.live/marknormand/tickets We Might Be Drunk is produced by Gotham Production Studios https://www.gothamproductionstudios.com/ @GothamProductionStudios Producer Matt Peters: https://www.instagram.com/mrmatthewpeters #wemightbedrunk #marknormand #sammorril #podcast #drunkpodcast #comedy #comedian #funny #gothampodcastomedy Tour Dates Announcement

In this week's episode, we continue our discuss about how seeking prestige can be dangerous for writers, specifically in the form of traditional publishing and the New York Times Bestseller list. This coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Dragonskull: Shield of the Knight, Book #2 in the Dragonskull series (as excellently narrated by Brad Wills), at my Payhip store: DRAGONSHIELD50 The coupon code is valid through March 21, 2025. So if you need a new audiobook for spring, we've got you covered! TRANSCRIPT 00:00:00   Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 241 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is February 28th, 2025. Today we are continuing our discussion of how to escape the trap of prestige for writers, specifically traditional publishing and The New York Times Bestseller List. Before we get to our main topic, we will do Coupon of the Week, an update on my current writing and audiobook projects, and then Question of the Week.   This week's coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Dragonskull: Shield of the Knight, Book Two in the Dragonskull series (as excellently narrated by Brad Wills), at my Payhip store. That coupon code is DRAGONSHIELD50. As always, I'll include the coupon code and the link to the store in the show notes. This coupon code is valid through March 21st, 2025. So if you need a new audiobook as we start to head into the spring months, we have got you covered. Now an update on my current writing projects. I'm pleased to report I am done with the rough draft of Ghost in the Assembly. I came in at 106,000 words, so it'll definitely be over a hundred thousand words when it's done. I'm about 20% of the way through the first round of edits, so I am confident in saying that if all goes well and nothing unexpected happens, I am on track to have it out in March. I am also 10,000 words into Shield of Battle, which will be the fifth of six books in the Shield War series and I'm hoping to have that out in April, if all goes well.   In audiobook news, recording for both Cloak of Dragonfire and Orc-Hoard is done. I'm just waiting for them to get through the processing on the various stores so they're available. There is also an audiobook edition of Half Elven Thief Omnibus One and Cloak Mage Omnibus Three that hopefully should be coming in March. More news with that to come.   00:01:55 Question of the Week   Now let's move on to Question of the Week. Question of the Week is intended to inspire interesting discussions of enjoyable topics. This week's question: what is your favorite subgenre of fantasy, high fantasy, epic fantasy, sword and sorcery, historical fantasy, urban fantasy, LitRPG, cultivation, or something else? No wrong answers, obviously.   Cindy says: Epic fantasy or those with a good history for that world. The Ghost Series are fantastic at this.   Thanks, Cindy.   Justin says: I enjoy all those sub-genres, if they are done well. In times past I would've said comic fantasy, but that is because Terry Pratchett at his best was just that good.   Mary says: High fantasy.   Surabhi says: I'd honestly read anything fantasy that's written well and has characters I'm attached to, given that it's not too gritty. Bonus points if there's humor! Also, I love your books so much and they're the perfect blend of fantasy, adventure, and characters. Your books were what really got me into Sword and Sorcery.   Thanks, Surabhi.     Matthew says: See, that's difficult. I love my sabers, both light and metal. I would say urban fantasy crosses the boundary the most. If it's a captivating story, it will be read.   John F says: I can't choose one- Lord of the Rings or LWW, The Inheritance Cycle, The Dresden Files, Caina, Ridmark, or Nadia. I think what draws me is great characters who grow. The setting/genre is just the device. That's why I keep coming back to your books. You create great characters.   Thanks, John F.   John K says: I think I'm partial to historical fantasy. I enjoy all genres, but when I think of my favorites, they tend to be derivations of historical settings. Think Guy Gavriel Kay or Miles Cameron. That said, I was weaned on Robert E. Howard, Fritz Lieber, Michael Moorcock, Karl Edward Wagner, Jack Vance, so a strong sword and sorcery second place.   Juana says: High fantasy. Belgariad, Tolkien, dragons, et cetera.   Jonathan says: Sword and sorcery in space! Prehistoric sword and sorcery, sword and sorcery always.   Quint: says Sword and sorcery!   Michael says: Sword and sorcery.   For myself, I think I would agree with our last couple of commenters and it would be sword and sorcery. My ideal fantasy novel has a barbarian hero wandering from corrupt city state to corrupt city state messing up the business of some evil wizards. I'm also very fond of what's called generic fantasy (if a fighter, a dwarf, an elf, and a wizard are going into a dungeon and fighting some orcs, I'm happy).   00:04:18 Main Topic of the Week: Escaping the Prestige Trap, Part 2   Now onto our main topic for the week, Escaping the Prestige Trap, Part 2, and we'll focus on traditional publishing and the New York Times Bestseller List this week. As we talked about last week, much of the idea of success, especially in the United States, is based on hitting certain milestones in a specific order. In the writing world, these measures of success have until fairly recently been getting an MFA, finding an agent, getting traditionally published, and hitting The New York Times Bestseller List. Last week we talked about the risks of an MFA and an agent. This week, we are going to talk about two more of those writing markers of prestige, getting traditionally published and having a book land on The New York Times Bestseller List. Why are they no longer as important? What should you devote your energy and focus to instead?   So let's start with looking at getting traditionally published. Most writers have dreamed of seeing their book for sale and traditional publishing for a long time has been the only route to this path. Until about 15 years ago, traditional publishing was the way that a majority of authors made their living. Now that big name authors like Hugh Howie, Andy Weir, and Colleen Hoover have had success starting as self-published authors (or in the case of authors Sarah J. Maas and Ali Hazelwood, fan fiction authors) and then are getting traditional publishing deals made for them for their self-published works. It's proof that self-publishing is no longer a sign that the author isn't good enough to be published traditionally. Previous to the rise of the Kindle, that was a common belief that if you were self-published, it was because you were not good enough to get traditionally published. That was sort of this pernicious belief that traditional publishing was a meritocracy, when in fact it tended to be based on who you knew. But that was all 15 years ago and now we are well into the age of self-publishing. Why do authors still want to be traditionally published when in my frank opinion, self-publishing is the better path? Well, I think there are three main reasons for that.   One of the main reasons is that the authors say they want to be traditionally published is to have someone else handle the marketing and the advertising. They don't realize how meager marketing budgets and staffing support are, especially for unknown authors. Many traditionally published authors are handling large portions of their own marketing and hiring publicists out of their own pocket because publishers are spending much less on marketing. The new reality is that traditional publishers aren't going to do much for you as a debut author unless you are already a public figure.   Even traditionally published authors are not exempt from having to do their own marketing now. James Patterson set up an entire company himself to handle his marketing. Though, to be fair to James Patterson, his background was in advertising before he came into publishing, so he wasn't exactly a neophyte in the field, but you see more and more traditionally published authors who you think would be successful just discontented with the system and starting to dabble in self-publishing or looking at alternative publishers like Aethon Books and different arrangements of publishing because the traditional system is just so bad for writers. The second main reason authors want to be traditionally published is that they want to avoid the financial burden of publishing. This is an outdated way of thinking. The barrier to publishing these days is not so much financial as it is knowledge. In fact, I published a book entirely using free open source software in 2017 just to prove that it could be done. It was Silent Order: Eclipse Hand, the fourth book in my science fiction series. I wrote it on Ubuntu using Libre Office and I edited it in Libre Office and I did the formatting on Ubuntu and I did the cover in the GIMP, which is a free and open source image editing program. This was all using free software and I didn't have to pay for the program. Obviously I had to pay for the computer I was using and the Internet connection, but in the modern era, having an internet connection is in many ways almost a requirement, so that's the cost you would be paying anyway.   The idea that you must spend tens of thousands of dollars in formatting, editing, cover, and marketing comes from scammy self-publishing services. Self-publishing, much like traditional publishing, has more than its fair share of scams or from people who aren't willing to take the time to learn these skills and just want to cut someone a check to solve the problem. There are many low cost and effective ways to learn these skills and resources designed specifically for authors. People like Joanna Penn have free videos online explaining how to do this, and as I've said, a lot of the software you can use to self-publish is either free or low cost, and you can get some very good programs like Atticus or Vellum or Jutoh for formatting eBooks for very low cost.   The third reason that writers want to be traditionally published is that many believe they will get paid more this way, which is, unless you are in the top 1% of traditionally published authors, very wrong. Every so often, there's a study bemoaning the fact that most publishers will only sell about $600 worth of any individual book, and that is true of a large percentage of traditionally published books. Traditional publishers typically pay a lump sum called advance, and then royalties based on sales. An average advance is about the same as two or three months of salary from an office job and so not a reflection of the amount of time it typically takes most authors to finish a book. Most books do not earn out their advance, which means the advance is likely to be the only money the author receives for the book. Even well-known traditionally published authors are not earning enough to support themselves as full-time authors. So as you can see, all three of these reasons are putting a lot of faith in traditional publishers, faith that seems increasingly unnecessary or downright misplaced. I think it is very healthy to get rid of the idea that good writing comes from traditional publishers and that the prestige of being traditionally published is the only way you'll be accepted as a writer or be able to earn a living as a full-time writer. I strongly recommend that people stop thinking that marketing is beneath you as an author or too difficult to learn. Whether you are indie or tradpub, you are producing a product that you want to sell, thus you are a businessperson. The idea that only indie authors have to sell their work is outdated. The sooner you accept this reality, the more options you will have. Self-publishing and indie publishing are admittedly more work. However, the benefits are significant. Here are five benefits of self-publishing versus traditional publishing.   The first advantage of self-publishing is you have complete creative control. You decide what the content of your book will be; you decide what the cover will be. If you don't want to make the covers yourself or you don't want to learn how to do that, you can very affordably hire someone to do it for you and they will make the cover exactly to your specifications. You also have more freedom to experiment with cross-genre books. As I've mentioned before, publishers really aren't a fan of cross genre books until they make a ton of money, like the new romantasy trend.   Traditional publishing is very trend driven and cautious. Back in the 2000s before I gave up on traditional publishing and discovered self-publishing, I would submit to agents a lot. Agents all had these guidelines for fantasy saying that they didn't want to see stories with elves and orcs and dwarves and other traditional fantasy creatures because they thought that was passe. Well, when I started self-publishing, I thought I'm going to write a traditional fantasy series with elves and orcs and dwarves and other traditional fantasy creatures just because I can and Frostborn has been my bestselling series of all time in the time I've been self-publishing, so you can see the advantages of having creative control.   The second advantage is you can control the marketing. Tradpub authors often sign a contract that they'll get their social media and website content approved by the publisher before posting. They may even be given boilerplate or pre-written things to post. In self-publishing, you have real time data to help you make decisions and adjust ads and overall strategy on the fly to maximize revenue. For example, if one of your books is selling strangely well on Google Play, it's time to adjust BookBub ads to focus on that platform instead of Amazon.   You can also easily change your cover, your blurb, and so forth after release. I've changed covers of some of my books many times trying to optimize them for increased sales and that is nearly impossible to do with traditional publishing. And in fact, Brandon Sanderson gave a recent interview where he talked about how the original cover of his Mistborn book was so unrelated to the content of the book that it almost sunk the book and hence his career.   You also have the ability to run ad campaigns as you see fit, not just an initial launch like tradpub does. For example, in February 2025, I've been heavily advertising my Demonsouled series even though I finished writing that series back in 2013, but I've been able to increase sales and derive a significant profit from those ads.   A third big advantage is that you get a far greater share of the profits. Most of the stores, if you price an ebook between $2.99 (prices are USD) and $9.99, you will get 70% of the sale price, which means if you sell an ebook for $4.99, you're probably going to get about $3.50 per sale (depending on currency fluctuations and so forth). That is vastly more than you would get from any publishing contract.   You also don't have to worry about the publisher trying to cheat you out of royalties. We talked about an agency stealing money last episode. Every platform you publish your book on, whether Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Google Play, Smashwords and Apple will give you a monthly spreadsheet of your sales and then you can look at it for yourself, see exactly how many books you sold and exactly how much money you're going to get. I have only very rarely seen traditional publishing royalty statements that are as clear and have as much data in them as a spreadsheet from Google Play or Amazon. A fourth advantage is you don't have to worry about publishers abandoning you mid-series. In traditional publishing, there is what's called the Publishing Death Spiral where let's say an author is contracted to write a series of five books. The author writes the first book and it sells well. Then the author publishes the second book and it doesn't sell quite as well, but the publisher is annoyed enough by the decrease in sales that they drop the writer entirely and don't finish the series. This happens quite a bit in the traditional publishing world, and you don't have to worry about that in indie publishing because you can just publish as often as you want. If you're not happy with the sales of the first few books in the series, you can change the covers, try ad campaigns, and other strategies.   Finally, you can publish as often as you want and when you want. In traditional publishing, there is often a rule of thumb that an author should only publish one book a year under their name. Considering that last year I published 10 books under my name, that seems somewhat ridiculous, but that's a function of the fact that traditional publishing has only so much capacity and the pieces of the machine involved there are slow and not very responsive. Whereas with self-publishing, you have much more freedom and everything involved with it is much more responsive. There's no artificial deadlines, so you can take as long as you want to prepare it and if the book is ready, you don't have to wait a year to put it out because it would mess up the publisher's schedule.   So what to do instead of chasing traditional publishing? Learn about self-publishing, especially about scams and bad deals related to it. Publish your own works by a platform such as KDP, Barnes and Noble Press, Kobo Writing Life, Apple Books, Google Play, Smashwords, and possibly your own Payhip and/or Shopify store.   Conquer your fear of marketing and advertising. Even traditionally published authors are shouldering more of this work and paying out of their own pocket to hire someone to do it, and if you are paying your own marketing costs, you might as well self-publish and keep a greater share of the profits. The second half of our main topic, another potential risk of prestige, is getting on The New York Times Bestseller List. I should note that I suppose someone could accuse me of sour grapes here saying, oh, Jonathan Moeller, you've never been on The New York Times Bestseller List. You must just be bitter about it. That is not true. I do not want to be on The New York Times Bestseller List. What I would like to be is a number one Amazon bestseller. Admittedly though, that's unlikely, but a number one Amazon bestseller would make a lot more money than a number one New York Times Bestseller List, though because of the way it works, if you are a number one Amazon bestseller, you might be a New York Times Bestseller, but you might not. Let's get into that now.   Many writers have the dream of seeing their name on the New York Times Bestseller List. One self-help guru wrote about “manifesting” this milestone for herself by writing out the words “My book is number one on The New York Times Bestseller List” every day until it happened. Such is the mystique of this milestone that many authors crave it as a necessity. However, this list has seen challenges to its prestige in recent years. The one thing that shocks most people when they dig into the topic is that the list is not an objective list based on the raw number of books sold. The list is “editorial content” and The New York Times can exclude, include, or rank the books on the list however they choose.   What it does not capture is perennial sellers or classics. For example, the Bible and the Quran are obviously some of the bestselling books of all time, but you won't see editions of the Bible or the Quran on the New York Times Bestseller List. Textbooks and classroom materials, I guarantee there are some textbooks that are standards in their field that would be on the bestseller list every year, but they're not because The New York Times doesn't track them. Ebooks available only from a single vendor such as Kindle Unlimited books, ebook sales from not reporting vendors such as Shopify or Payhip. Reference Works including test prep guides (because I guarantee when test season comes around the ACT and SAT prep guides or the GRE prep guides sell a lot of copies) and coloring books or puzzle books.  It would be quite a blow to the authors on the list to realize that if these excluded works were included on the list, they would in all likelihood be consistently below To Kill a Mockingbird, SAT prep books, citation manuals, Bibles/other religious works, and coloring books about The Eras Tour.   Publishers, political figures, religious groups, and anyone with enough money can buy their way into the rank by purchasing their books in enormous quantities. In fact, it's widely acknowledged in the United States that this is essentially a legal form of bribery and a bit of money laundering too, where a publisher will give a truly enormous advance to a public figure or politician that they like, and that advance will essentially be a payment to that public figure in the totally legal form of an enormous book advance that isn't going to pay out. Because this is happening with such frequency, The New York Times gave into the pressure to acknowledge titles suspected of this strategy with a special mark next to it on the list. However, these books remain on the list and can still be called a New York Times Bestseller.   Since the list is not an objective marker of sales and certainly not some guarantee of quality, why focus on making it there? I think trying to get your book on The New York Times Bestseller List would be an enormous waste of time, since the list is fundamentally an artificial construction that doesn't reflect sales reality very well.   So what can you do instead? Focus on raw sales numbers and revenue, not lists. Even Amazon's bestseller category lists have a certain amount of non-quantitative factors. In the indie author community, there's a saying called Bank not Rank, which means you should focus on how much revenue your books are actually generating instead of whatever sales rank they are on whatever platform. I think that's a wiser approach to focus your efforts.   You can use lists like those from Publishers Weekly instead if you're interested in what's selling or trends in the industry, although that too can be manipulated and these use only a fairly small subset of data that favors retail booksellers, but it's still more objective in measuring than The New York Times.   I suppose in the end, you should try and focus on ebook and writing activities that'll bring you actual revenue or satisfaction rather than chasing the hollow prestige of things like traditional publishing, agents, MFAs, and The New York Times Bestseller List.   So that is it for this week. Thank you for listening to The Pulp Writer Show. I hope you found the show useful. A reminder that you can listen to all back episodes at https://thepulpwritershow.com. If you enjoyed the podcast, please leave a review on your podcasting platform of choice. Stay safe and stay healthy and see you all next week.

Every year, the Multnomah County Library chooses one book they hope the whole city of Portland will read. Between January and April, the Library, and their partner organizations, host events based around the themes of the book, and they distribute thousands of free copies—thanks to the Library Foundation—to readers of all ages from across the county. Here at Literary Arts, our role is to bring the author to town for a talk in the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall.   This year, the 2025 Everybody Reads selection is the memoir Solito by Javier Zamora. For information about how to engage with the program, visit the Multnomah County Library's web site. I am thrilled to say Javier Zamora will be in Portland on Tuesday, March 11 at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall for the culminating event of the 2025 Everybody Reads Program.   For now, let's return to the 2024 Everybody Reads event, featuring Gabrielle Zevin and her novel Tomorrow, and Tomorrow and Tomorrow.   Gabrielle Zevin has been steadily publishing fiction for almost two decades and has also written occasional criticism as well as award-winning screenplays. But it was Tomorrow, and Tomorrow and Tomorrow that catapulted her to the stratosphere of literary stardom. It was a #1 New York Times bestseller and spent over 50 weeks on the fiction bestseller list.    To be sure, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow and Tomorrow is about video games, and makes a convincing argument for the power and potential of narrative storytelling in video games. But really, it is about making art, and questions about originality, appropriation, and ambition that come with that pursuit. And perhaps more so, it is a love story, about friends and creative partners, and the excitement, joy, tragedy, and betrayal that come with any long relationship. It's about something, I'd wager, we've all been thinking about the past few years: connection.    Tickets for Everybody Reads 2025 with Javier Zamora are on sale now! Find your tickets here.  Gabrielle Zevin is a New York Times best-selling novelist whose books have been translated into forty languages.   Her tenth novel, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, was a New York Times Best Seller, a Sunday Times Best Seller, and a selection of the Tonight Show's Fallon Book Club. Tomorrow was Amazon.com's #1 Book of the Year, Time Magazine's #1 Book of the Year, a New York Times Notable Book, and the winner of both the Goodreads Choice Award for Fiction and the Book of the Month Club's Book of the Year. Following a twenty-five-bidder auction, the feature film rights to Tomorrow were acquired by Temple Hill and Paramount Studios.  The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry also spent many months on the New York Times Best Seller List. A.J. Fikry was honored with the Southern California Independent Booksellers Award for Fiction, the Japan Booksellers' Prize, among other honors. A.J. Fikry is now a feature film with a screenplay by Zevin. She has also written children's books, including the award-winning Elsewhere.   She is the screenwriter of Conversations with Other Women (Helena Bonham Carter) for which she received an Independent Spirit Award Nomination for Best First Screenplay. She has occasionally written criticism for the New York Times Book Review and NPR's All Things Considered, and she began her writing career, at age fourteen, as a music critic for the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel. Zevin is a graduate of Harvard University. She lives in Los Angeles. 

In this week's behavior, we discuss how seeking prestige can be dangerous for writers, specifically in the form of MFA degrees and literary agents. This week's coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Dragonskull: Sword of the Squire, Book #1 in the Dragonskull series (as excellently narrated by Brad Wills), at my Payhip store: SQUIRE50 The coupon code is valid through March 14, 2025. So if you need a new audiobook for spring, we've got you covered! 00:00:00 Introduction and Writing Updates   Hello, everyone. Welcome to Episode 240 of The Pulp Writer Show. My name is Jonathan Moeller. Today is February the 20th, 2025, and today we are discussing how to escape the trap of prestige that can sometimes catch writers, specifically in the form of MFA degrees and literary agents. Before we get into greater detail with that, we will start with Coupon of the Week and then an update on my current writing projects and then also a Question of the Week before we get to the main topic.   But first, let's start with Coupon of the Week. This week's coupon code will get you 50% off the audiobook of Dragonskull: Sword of the Squire, Book One of the Dragonskull series (as excellently narrated by Brad Wills), at my Payhip store. And that coupon code is SQUIRE50. The coupon code is valid through March 14th, 2025. So if you need a new audiobook as we head into spring, we have got you covered.   Now let's have an update on current writing projects. I am 94,000 words into Ghost in the Assembly. I had two 10,000 word days this week, which really moved the needle forward. We'll talk about those a little bit more later. I'm on Chapter 18 of 21, I believe, and if all goes well, I should hopefully finish the rough draft before the end of the month because I would like to get editing on that as soon as possible. For my next book, that will be Shield of Battle and I am 8,000 words into that and I'm hoping that'll come out in April. Ghost in the Assembly will be in March, if all goes well.   In audiobook news, recording for Cloak of Dragonfire (as excellently narrated by Hollis McCarthy) is finished and also recording on Orc-Hoard, the fourth book of the Half-Elven Thief series (as excellently narrated by Leanne Woodward). Both of those should be coming out sometime in March, if all goes well. So that's where I'm at with my current writing projects.   00:01:45 Question of the Week   And now let's move on to Question of the Week. Question of the Week is intended to inspire interesting discussions of enjoyable topics. This week's question, if you have off work or school because of a snow day or extreme cold or other intense weather, what do you do with the day? No wrong answers. We had a number of responses to this.   Surabhi says: Ha, jokes on you! It never snows where I live. We do sometimes bunk school on rainy days, though. What I mostly do then is catching up on homework or listening to the rain.   Justin says: We're having a snow day here; schools and many businesses are closed. So Lord of the Rings Extended Edition movie marathon! Popcorn popped, hot cocoa and cold soda prepped. I have to admit, that seems like a very good idea.   Mary says: Read, write, watch the snow fall, try to exercise inside.   Michael says: That hasn't happened to me since about 1985, but I seem to recall it was on my birthday and boy was I happy to miss school on my birthday! I think I read fantasy books, drank tea, and played video games.   Juana says: curl up with a book and hot chocolate or tea.   John says: Haven't had a snow day since I was a child, but I did either play in the snow or read a book (at that age, Andre Norton, Lester del Rey, or Ben Bova). I'm relocating later this year back to colder climes, but since I now only work remotely and have for the past six years, sadly my days change very little.   Jenny says: Usually shovel snow, make a pot of warm food, more snow removal, watch movies or shows. Bob says: I'm retired now, so probably not much different than any other day, but when I was working, I'd probably be out shoveling snow so I can get to work whenever the roads were clear. Of course, that necessitated more shoveling when the snowplow dumped its load across the end of my driveway and that's why I moved south, where I rarely see snow.   Yes, if you live in a colder climes and you have a driveway, you know that you'll shovel the driveway and then immediately when you're done, these snowplow will come and block up the end of the driveway.   Finally, Dan says: For myself, I enjoy a free day. However, soon the home duties encroach on this free time.   For myself, the answer is clearly that I write 10,000 words on the first snow day and then again on the second day because I just had two days in a row where it was too cold to leave the house. So what I did was stay home and wrote 20,000 words of Ghost in the Assembly.   00:03:54 Main Topic: Escaping the Trap of Prestige, Part I   Now onto our main topic of the week, Escaping the Trap of Prestige, Part I-as it pertains to MFA (Master of Fine Arts) degrees and agents. I'd like to preface this by saying that I'm not looking to knock anyone who has a MFA or who has a literary agent, especially if it's working out for you and you're happy with it. What I'm trying to do here is warn younger writers who are just starting out about the potential consequences of these things, which can be very severe if you choose wrongly. So that is my goal with this episode, to help writers escape the potentially bad consequences of the prestige trap because newer writers in particular want validation. I mean, we all want validation, but writers especially want validation and new writers are very vulnerable to wanting validation to the point where it's been well known for years that there's a large scam industry of various things that take advantage of newer writers looking for validation such as vanity publishers, scammy agents, and a wide variety of other online publishing scams. This isn't to say that MFAs and literary agents are scams, though some literary agents have committed serious crimes (as we'll discuss later), but again, to warn against the danger of wanting prestige too badly and the bad decisions that can lead you to make. And some of this comes from the idea of success in life, especially in the United States and large parts of the Western world, is hitting certain milestones in a specific order. Like you graduate from college, you get a good job, you get married, you buy a house, you have your first kid, and if you don't do these things in the right order, there's something wrong with you and you have made mistakes in life, which isn't necessarily true, but is something that people can fall fall prey to and use to make destructive decisions. In the writing world, some of those measures of success have until fairly recently been getting a Master of Fine Arts degree, finding an agent, getting traditionally published, and hitting the New York Times list. As of this recording, I have sold well over 2 million books without following that normal route to writing success. In fact, I think it's closer to 2.25 million now, and I mention that not to toot my own horn, but to say that there are routes outside of the potentially dangerous prestige paths I'm talking about. And despite that, many aspiring writers feel they must follow that specific route to writer success, otherwise they aren't real writers. They've got to get the MFA, the agent, traditionally published, and then the New York Times list. The quest for prestige can keep writers from succeeding in two ways that are more significant, getting their work in front of readers who want to read it and deriving income from writing. So today in the first part of this two part episode series, we're going to talk about two of those writing markers of prestige, MFAs and literary agents. Why are they no longer as important? What should you devote your energy and focus to instead?   So number one, the Master of Fine Arts trap. The Master of Fine Arts in writing has often been seen as a marker of writing ability, especially in the world of literary fiction. And I think the big problem, one of the big problems with MFA, first of all is cost. Getting a Master of Fine Arts degree is expensive, especially if you are not fortunate enough to receive scholarships or assistantships and so have to rely on student loans. The average cost of an MFA program is in the mid five figures when all is said and done, not even counting living expenses and textbooks and so forth. If you have to take out student loans to pay for that, that is a considerable loan burden, especially if you already have loans from your undergraduate degree.   Even the people who get their MFA paid for (usually in exchange for teaching introductory writing classes to first year university students), the opportunity cost of taking two to three years to get this degree means you're sacrificing other things in your personal and professional life in order to get this MFA. It's a huge outlay of time and energy, especially if you're moving across the country for a residential program. And what are you getting in exchange for this massive outlay of time, money, and effort?   You probably aren't going to learn the practical non-writing skills that you need in the modern writing world like marketing, data collection and analysis, and publication strategies (all of which I do on a fairly regular basis in addition to writing). All of these skills are important for writers now, even if they are traditionally published. The problem with many MFA programs is that they rarely, if ever teach these skills. It seems that what MFAs train their students to do is to become adjunct faculty professors with semester to semester contracts, which can pay around $2,000 to $4,000 USD per writing or literature course at most small to mid-size colleges and universities in the United States. Being an adjunct professor does not confer any benefits like health insurance or retirement funds.   I was talking about this episode with my podcast transcriptionist and she mentioned once she was at a faculty meeting where an adjunct professor in English with an MFA did the math and realized based on her hourly wage (based on all the actual hours she put into a semester), if she worked at the local gas station chain, she would be making $7 per hour more at the local gas chain and she would be only working 40 hours a week. That can be a very dismaying realization, especially after all the work you have put into getting an MFA and teaching. Many defenders of the MFA degree will say that the real value of the degree is learning how to take criticism and learning to edit. But if you're writing in a genre outside of literary fiction, poetry, and memoirs, you are not likely to find a lot of useful advice. To return to my transcriptionist's tales from her time inside academia, she once told me of meeting a faculty member who confessed that he never read a fantasy book and had no idea how to critique or help these students, and he was a writing professor. He meant well, but he's not even remotely an outlier in terms of MFA instructors and their familiarity with mysteries, romance, and science fiction works and fantasy, which is what most genre fiction is nowadays. Also, the quality of advice and help you receive varies wildly based on the quality of your cohort and instructors and their willingness to help others. It's a steep investment with very, very uncertain returns.   So in short, an MFA takes a huge outlay of time and money with very few tangible benefits, especially with genre writers. In all frankness I would say an MFA is the kind of degree you should not go into debt to get and you should only get if you can have it paid for through scholarships or assistantships or so forth. So what should you do, in my opinion, other than an MFA degree? I think you should write as much as possible. You get better by practicing. You should read extensively. You will learn about writing by reading extensively, ideally in more than one genre. If you read enough and write enough, eventually you get to the moment where you read something and think, hey, I could do a better job than this. This is a major boost in confidence for any writer.   It might be a good idea to join a local or online writing group if you'd like critique from other writers. A warning that writing groups can vary wildly in quality and some of them have a bad case of crab bucket syndrome, so you may have to try more than one group to find one that works for you.   Another thing to do would be to listen to advice from successful writers. I saw a brief video from an author who recently pointed out that many people online giving writing advice aren't current or successful writers. One of the downsides of the Internet is that anyone can brand themselves an expert, whip together a course, and sell it online for a ridiculous fee. And people like this, their successes in creating methods or courses that turn writing into something more complicated to make aspiring writers reliant upon that process. Aspiring writers may end up spinning their wheels following all of these steps instead of getting to the actual work of churning out drafts. They may be spending money they can't afford in order to learn ineffective or even damaging strategies.   Many successful writers offer sensible advice for free, such as Brandon Sanderson posting his writing lectures for free on his YouTube channel. If you're looking for writing advice, you could do a lot worse than watching those lectures. And if you're going to take advice from anyone you read on the internet, it's probably better to take advice from successful writers who have demonstrated that they know what they are doing.   And finally, this may be more general advice, but it's a good idea to be open to learning and observing new experiences. It's probably a good idea to go to museums and cultural events, read about the latest developments in science and history, go on a hike in a new place, and observe the world around you. New writers often ask where writers get their ideas come from, and they very often come from just serendipitous things you can observe in the world around you. And that is also a good way to get out of your own head. If you're worried too much about writing, it's probably time to go for a long walk.   So why are agents potentially dangerous to writers? For a long time (for a couple decades, in fact), from I'd say from maybe the ‘80s and the ‘90s to the rise of the Kindle in the 2010s, the only realistic way to get published for most writers in terms of fiction was to get a literary agent. Publishers did not take unsolicited submissions (most of them did not), and you had to go through an agent to send your manuscript to a publisher. The agents were very selective for a variety of reasons. Because of that, a lot of newer writers still idealize the process of getting agents. You'll see this on Twitter and other social media platforms where new writers will talk constantly about getting agents and what they have to do. And the ones who do get a request from an agent to send in the full manuscript after sending a few query chapters are just besides themselves with joy. And those who do get agents can sometimes sound like they're showing off their new boyfriend or girlfriend, like my agent says they like my book, or my agent says this or that. And as you can probably imagine from my description, this is an arrangement that has a lot of potential danger for the writer.   The traditional first step in this time period I was mentioning after finishing a book has been to get as prestigious of an agent as possible to contact publishers and negotiate deals on their behalf. The agent takes 10 to 20% of what a publisher pays a writer, but in theory can get a writer a better deal and are acting in their best business interests. And as I mentioned before, most significantly, most publishers are not willing to read submissions that are not submitted by an agent. If getting traditionally published is the goal, an agent is the crucial first step. I mean, that's the ideal that we've been talking about. In reality, traditional publishing is as cautious and risk averse as it has ever been. Agents have followed suit. It takes industry connections and/or a significant social media presence to even get an agent to look at your book.   Writing query letters and trying to get an agent also takes away from writing and is a completely separate skillset, as is the networking and social media work that is part of this process. Some people have spent months or even years working on query letters and getting an agent when they could have finished another book or more in the same time. Alright, so that is the practical and logistical reasons it's a bad idea for a writer to seek out an agent, and I frankly think you'd be better off. And now we get to the potentially criminal ones.   The thing about literary agents is there's no licensing or requirement or anything of that nature. You can set up a website and call yourself a literary agent. If you consider something like a lawyer, by contrast, I'm sure those of you who are lawyers in the United States will have many complaints and stories about your state bar, which is in charge of licensing lawyers. But the point is that the state bar exists, and if a lawyer is behaving in an unethical or unscrupulous matter, that can be brought as complaint to the state bar. Nothing like that exists for literary agents at all. And because of that, scammy agents are everywhere. Some try to get writers to pay a fee upfront or other made up fees, or they get cuts from scammy book publishers or book packaging services. Or in general, they just try to squeeze every penny possible from aspiring writers. And this is often sadly very easy to do because as we've mentioned, many newer writers still think getting an agent is a major mark of prestige and humans crave prestige. And even if you get a prestigious and seemingly legitimate agent, that can potentially lead to life ruining problems because many of the legitimate agents are very sticky fingered.   Several years ago, the firm of Donadio and Olson, which represented Fight Club author Chuck Palahniuk, Godfather author Mario Puzo, and Catch 22 author Joseph Heller found out that one of their accountants had been stealing millions from their authors for many years. Although the accountant was sentenced to two years of prison, it's unlikely those authors will receive the money back fully. As Palahniuk put it in a blog post, “the legal process will be long and offers an iffy reward.” Mr. Palahniuk also lost out on money from touring to promote his books because of this crisis and said he was unable to support himself financially as a result of these stolen royalties.   By not filtering your royalties and earning statements through a literary agency that can falsify reports about these documents (as the accountant in question did), you have a full sense of what you are earning and what amounts you should be receiving. Amazon is open to many criticisms because of its decisions, but they pay monthly and they send a very detailed spreadsheet monthly to any Kindle authors of what books sold and what they expect to earn. It's sometimes almost too much data to process. The traditional publishing world would never even consider showing that to writers and agents often keep that from their writers. Palahniuk trusted his agency and accepted the explanations that rampant piracy and financial difficulties in the publishing world were keeping over a million dollars in royalties from him. He even later found out that this accountant was keeping non-financial correspondence from him. Returning to the topic of Brandon Sanderson, I recently saw an interview between him and a podcaster Tim Ferris. He made the interesting point that the power centers in publishing have shifted from traditional publishing agents to the platform holders and the writers, the platform holders being people like Amazon, Apple, and Google who have the platforms that sell the books and the writers who bring the books to those platforms. The power is shifted away from agents and publishers to the platforms and writers. And because of that, in my frank opinion, literary agents are obsolete for those wishing to publish independently.   And my frank opinion is also that you should be independently publishing and not trying to get an agent or go with a traditional publisher. There's no reason to give someone 15% when you can upload the files to a service like KDP yourself. An agent will not be able to get you a better royalty from KDP. Amazon does not negotiate royalty rates at the agent level, and you have to be a writer on the scale of J.K. Rowling or maybe Dean Koontz to get any kind of special deal from Amazon.   So what should you do instead of seeking out an agent? Publish independently or self-publish. Be wary of excuses and explanations that prey upon emotional responses or a sense of loyalty to individuals, such as the case of Chuck Palahniuk, where they preyed on his fears of piracy and the instability of the publishing industry, as well as sympathy for someone who claimed to be taking care of a family member with a terminal disease. That was one of the excuses they used for why the records weren't right. Ask for facts and verify everything regularly. Publishers and agents are not your friends and not your family, and do not accept that approach in your business relationship with them. Learn how to read and interpret any financial statements you receive. Don't trust a third party to do this for you, or if you must do that, make sure they're being audited regularly by a third party, not from just someone else at their firm.   So the conclusion is that in my opinion, the prestige of getting an MFA and an agent are currently not worth the trade-off and there are considerable risks that you take if your main goals are to build a following and sell books. Prestige is not going to put food on the table. And in fact, if you have five figures of student loan debt from an MFA, it may be keeping you from putting food on the table. So if you want to be a writer, I think both seeking out an MFA and seeking out an agent would be a waste of your time and possibly counterproductive.   Next week in Part Two, we'll discuss two more prestige traps in writing: getting traditionally published and hitting the New York Times Bestseller List.   That is it for this week. Thank you for listening to The Pulp Writer Show. I hope you found the show useful. A reminder that you can listen to all the backup episodes on https://thepulpwritershow.com. If you enjoyed the podcast, please leave a review on your podcasting platform of choice. Stay safe and stay healthy and see you all next week.

A new Craftwork episode featuring a conversation with Joshua Mohr, author of a new trilogy of novels, the first of which is called Saint the Terrifying, available from Unnamed Press. Mohr is the author of eight books, including Model Citizen and Damascus, which the New York Times called "Beat-poet cool." He's also written Some Things that Meant the World to Me, one of O Magazine's 10 Terrific reads, and All This Life, winner of the Northern California Book Award. Termite Parade was an editors' choice on the New York Times Best Seller List. In his Hollywood life, he's sold projects to AMC, ITV, and Amblin Entertainment. He lives in Seattle. *** Otherppl with Brad Listi is a weekly literary podcast featuring in-depth interviews with today's leading writers. Available where podcasts are available: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube, etc. Subscribe to Brad Listi's email newsletter. Support the show on Patreon Merch Instagram  TikTok Bluesky Email the show: letters [at] otherppl [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There comes a time in a woman's life where she has to venture into the spiritual underworld. As she descends down into the darkness, with her spirit guide alongside her, she is shown the truth of her life and the meaning of her choices. It's a death of sorts. But she gets a second chance to choose again. In this episode, Jess reads from the book Women Who Run With The Wolves by Clarissa Pinkola Estes, a book that was on the New York Times Bestseller List for 148 weeks, while giving her own insights. This time she understands the value she holds as a feminine being, she is aware of who the predators are, and she understands the consequences of her choices. This time her eyes are wide open. The journey is arduous as it's a journey of endurance and a journey that a woman has to take on her own with only her spirit guide for comfort. This is where she will gain the courage to transform. Without this deep transformation, a woman will pay the price. Without transformation into her true feminine power and her true feminine value, once again she will see that the poor bargaining in her life, where she didn't understand what she was choosing, leads her to be the sacrifice again. Only this time the suffering will be more painful as she'll know that she is the sacrifice. As she awakens to realise that she was the sacrifice, this produces a river of never-ending tears and, with that, she descends even deeper into the spiritual underworld to receive the nourishment and healing for all the psychic rips and tears. This episode is for those women (and men) who have an innocent heart, a heart that is fully open and giving, and who possibly made agreements not fully realising what they were signing up to. In this dark and haunting episode, you'll realise that you are not alone on this journey and that this is the archetypal journey of the feminine. For those who are brave enough (or are pushed unwillingly) into descending into the spiritual underworld, this is a feast and brings true power to the vision you want to create for your life. Takeaways The predator and the naive woman archetype is prevalent in many women's lives. Endurance is not just about survival; it's about growth and strength. Women often make poor bargains that lead to loss of self. The loss of innocence is a necessary rite of passage for women. The flowering apple tree symbolizes the nurturing aspect of the feminine. Understanding one's value is crucial in relationships and life. The journey into the underworld is essential for self-discovery. Women must reclaim their sovereignty to thrive. The psyche's mill must be active for nourishment and creativity. The devil represents the dark forces that prey on the unaware. The desire for an easier life often leads to personal sacrifice. Awakening to the bargains made in life can be painful but necessary. Numbness often follows the realization of sacrifices made. Dismemberment symbolizes the loss of innocence and the beginning of transformation. The incubation period is crucial for self-discovery and healing. Rituals of protection can guide us through difficult times. Tears serve as a powerful healing mechanism for the psyche. The loss of psychic hands represents a disconnection from self-care and comfort. The silver axe symbolizes the necessity of cutting away the old to make way for the new. The journey into the underworld is essential for reclaiming one's power and femininity. Chapters 00:00 Introduction to the Spiritual Journey 21:13 Understanding the Poor Bargain 35:21 The Loss of Innocence 49:49 The Symbolism of the Apple Tree 56:45 The Bargain of Hard Work vs. Ease 01:02:32 The Numbness of Realization 01:10:17 The Incubation Period of Self-Discovery 01:17:51 The Ancestral Guidance in the Underworld 01:25:24 The Loss of Psychic Hands 01:35:14 The Descent into the Underworld 01:40:34 The Power of the Wild Woman 01:45:55 The Journey of Transformation Connect with Jess www.goinward.co.uk www.instagam.com/goinward

This episode of Getting Curious, we've got one of the HBICs of Betches Media - Sami Sage! As we anxiously countdown to the U.S. Presidential Election this November, we know we're going to need to laugh a little along the way…enter Betches: Betches Media has been giving us the intel we need with an extra few dashes of humor for years, and as online momentum grows for the Harris/Walz campaign we wanted to know from Sami - an original meme queen - can memes pave the road to Presidential victory? Sami Sage is the Co-Founder and Chief Brand Officer of Betches Media, one of the earliest digitally native media and entertainment companies founded and led by women, and the most influential female-focused humor brand in the market today. Since 2011, the Betches founders have earned spots on The New York Times Bestseller List and Forbes 30 Under 30, and today, Betches offers entertainment, information, and a sense of community to millions of passionate millennial and Gen Z fans. In 2015, Sami helmed the creation of the company's award-winning news and activism vertical Betches News, and in 2021 she debuted her award-winning daily news podcast the Morning Announcements. Recently, Sami co-authored the New York Times Bestseller Democracy in Retrograde ahead of a historic US presidential election. Alongside her co-founders, Sami also co-hosts the weekly pop culture podcast @Betches. You can follow Sami Sage on Instagram @sami and Betches on Instagram @betches. You can follow Betches News on Instagram @betches_news Follow us on Instagram @CuriousWithJVN to join the conversation. Jonathan is on Instagram @JVN. Our senior producer is Chris McClure. Our editor & engineer is Nathanael McClure. Production support from Julie Carrillo, Anne Currie, and Chad Hall. Our theme music is “Freak” by QUIÑ; for more, head to TheQuinCat.com. Curious about bringing your brand to life on the show? Email podcastadsales@sonymusic.com. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NOTE: This Lit Chat will only be available to listen to through Monday, October 7th 2024. Gabrielle Zevin is a #1 New York Times bestselling novelist whose books have been translated into forty languages! Her tenth novel, Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, was a New York Times bestseller, a Sunday Times bestseller, and a selection of the Tonight Show's Fallon Book Club. Tomorrow was Amazon.com's #1 Book of the Year, Time Magazine's #1 Book of the Year, a New York Times Notable Book, and the winner of both the Goodreads Choice Award for Fiction and the Book of the Month Club's Book of the Year. Following a twenty-five-bidder auction, the feature film rights to Tomorrow were acquired by Temple Hill and Paramount Studios. Zevin's thoughtful, funny events bring audiences into her writing process as she shares her techniques for writing unforgettable characters, how games are integrally linked to story, and the irreplaceable relationships forged in local literary communities. Zevin's novel The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry also spent many months on the New York Times Best Seller List. A.J. Fikry was honored with the Southern California Independent Booksellers Award for Fiction, the Japan Booksellers' Prize, among other honors. A.J. Fikry is now a feature film with a screenplay by Zevin. She has also written children's books, including the award-winning Elsewhere. Zevin is a graduate of Harvard University. She lives in Los Angeles. --- Never miss an event! Sign up for email newsletters at https://bit.ly/JaxLibraryUpdates  Jacksonville Public LibraryWebsite: https://jaxpubliclibrary.org/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/jaxlibrary Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JaxLibrary/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jaxlibrary/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/jaxpubliclibraryfl Contact Us: jplpromotions@coj.net 

MPF Discussion with BB AlstonTwitter Contest Changed Everything with BB Alston   About BB Alston B. B. Alston lives in Lexington, SC. His debut middle grade novel, Amari and the Night Brothers, has been published in 27 countries and is an international bestseller, including a Sunday Times bestseller. In the United States, the book has spent more than 30 weeks on the New York Times Bestseller List. In 2021, the book was named the Overall Winner of the Barnes & Noble Children's and YA Book Awards. A major motion picture is currently being developed by Universal, starring Marsai Martin. Amari and the Great Game is his second novel. When not writing, he can be found eating too many sweets and exploring country roads to see where they lead.  In this episode of My Perfect Failure, I sit down with the incredible BB Alston, a storyteller whose journey from rejection to recognition is nothing short of inspiring. BB shares his childhood love for reading and how writing stories for fun blossomed into a lifelong passion. Despite years of rejection, he never gave up on his dream. In a twist of fate, a Twitter contest changed everything for BB—leading to a book deal, movie rights, and international recognition for his Amari series. BB opens up about how his characters, especially Amari, reflect his own life experiences and struggles with resilience, fantasy, and self-belief. He discusses how the magic of storytelling helped him overcome self-doubt and how it can inspire others to keep chasing their dreams. Whether you're an aspiring writer, a lover of fantasy, or someone in need of motivation, this episode has something for everyone!  Tune in to hear BB's journey of perseverance, how he turned rejection into triumph, and the advice he offers for anyone who's ever felt like giving up.  Key Takeaways:Don't give up after rejection—success can be just around the corner.Fantasy allows us to escape but also reflect on our own realities.Persistence in creative work can lead to life-changing moments.The story of Amari mirrors BB's real-life struggles and triumphs.Keep swinging, no matter how tough life gets; you never know when things will change.BB's surreal experiences, from signing with an agent to discussing his book with Don Cheadle BB also reveals his 3 dream dinner guests! Don't miss this inspiring episode packed with actionable advice and a powerful message of perseverance.  Social Links To BB AlstonBB's Website: https://www.bbalston.com/ Order BB Alston's books. The Amari series: https://www.bbalston.com/ Connect on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bb_alston/  Please Leave A Review Like this show? Please leave us a review here, even one sentence helps! Consider including your Twitter handle so we can thank you personally!   Paul: Contact DetailsWork with me: paul@myperfectfailure.comMPF Website: https://www.myperfectfailure.com/Subscribe to MPF YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@paulpadmore8275

On today's 195th & Final episode of Season Six of The Thriller Zone, host David Temple interviews New York Times Bestselling Author TJ Newman about her latest book, Worst Case Scenario. They discuss the inspiration behind the book, the research process, and the challenges of writing a plot-heavy thriller. Ms. Newman shares her gratitude for the success of her previous books and the joy of connecting with readers. The conversation also touches on the importance of creating emotional connections with characters and the impact of storytelling on readers. TJ discusses the importance of keeping readers engaged and immersed in the story, comparing books to movies and highlighting the active participation of readers in books. She also talks about the challenges of getting attention in a world filled with distractions and the importance of writing the best story possible. TJ shares her experience of adapting her book into a screenplay and the art of compression in screenwriting. She emphasizes the need for authenticity and pursuing what interests you in writing and life. TJ also reflects on her journey as an author and the support she has received from her family and alma mater.To learn more visit: TJNewmanAuthor.com and Pre-Order Your Copy of Worst Case Scenario Today! (00:00) - Introduction and Welcome (02:56) - The Success of Falling and Drowning (04:27) - The Inspiration for Worst Case Scenario (06:21) - Researching the Vulnerabilities of Nuclear Facilities (08:44) - The Process of Writing and Outlining (13:37) - Creating Emotional Connections with Characters (15:34) - The Enormity of the Situation in Worst Case Scenario (17:31) - Ethical Dilemmas and Gray Areas in Thrillers (19:53) - Gratitude for Success and Connecting with Readers (24:50) - The Power of Thrillers to Evoke Emotions (29:27) - The Writing Process and Character Development (31:54) - The Importance of Reader Experience (36:38) - Creating an Enjoyable Reading Experience (37:57) - Books vs Movies: Active Participation vs Passive Watching (45:22) - Making the New York Times Best Seller List as a Debut Author (47:09) - Cutting Through the Noise: Grabbing Readers' Attention (51:47) - Adapting Books into Screenplays: Compression and Economy of Words (59:28) - Authenticity in Writing and Life (01:05:21) - The Importance of Support on the Writing Journey Award-winning Green Beret, Steve Stratton, is the author of the Shadow Tier Series and the novella, A Warrior's Path: the Lance Bear Wolf Story. Learn more at stevestrattonusa.com

This we are playing one of our favorite episodes, our interview with Dr. Temple Grandin. We discussed sensory input, the frustration around communication, giving limited choices, transitions to adulthood, and how when you are looking for nothing, you might see everything.  Dr. Temple Grandin is a Professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University.  Facilities she has designed for handling livestock are used by many companies around the world.  She has also been instrumental in implementing animal welfare auditing programs used by Mcdonalds', Wendy's, Whole Foods, and other corporations. Temple has appeared on numerous TV shows, such as 20/20 and Prime Time.  Her books include Thinking in Pictures, Livestock Handling and Transport, and The Autistic Brain. Her books Animals in Translation and Visual Thinking have been on the New York Times Bestseller List. Temple was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in September 2017 and, in 2022, was named a Colorado State University Distinguished Professor. "Single most important picture that the Hubble took, and I learned about the story behind, and I wrote about the story behind that and wrote about it in my Visual Thinking Book. The scientist who did that wanted to take 10 days of precious observing time and point the Hubble at nothing, at nothing, and reviewers went you can't waste time doing that. When he pointed it nothing, he saw everything." Temple Grandin Her most recent book discussed in the episode: ⁠Visual Thinking: 9781846046872: Amazon.com: Books⁠ Other books: ⁠Amazon.com: The Autistic Brain: Thinking Across the Spectrum eBook : Grandin, Temple, Panek, Richard: Kindle Store⁠ ⁠Amazon.com: Thinking in Pictures, Expanded Edition: My Life with Autism eBook : Grandin, Temple, Oliver Sacks: Kindle Store⁠ ⁠Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals First, Grandin, Temple, Johnson, Catherine - Amazon.com⁠ ⁠Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior (Scribner Classics): Grandin Ph.D., Temple, Johnson Ph.D., Catherine: 9781439187104: Amazon.com: Books⁠ ⁠The Outdoor Scientist: The Wonder of Observing the Natural World: Grandin PhD, Temple: 9780593115565: Amazon.com: Books⁠ Find Temple Grandin on Facebook: ⁠(2) Dr. Temple Grandin | Facebook⁠ and her website ⁠Welcome to Temple Grandin's Official Autism Website To support us: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a subscriber here.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Check out our merch!⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ We would love to hear your feedback on the podcast. Feel free to leave us a message or send us an e-mail at talklikeamotherpodcast@gmail.com or, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Send us a voice Message⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠! You can find us: On Facebook - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Talk Like a Mother: Parenting Autism Podcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram - ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@talklikeamotherpodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ You can also find our personal pages where we write about our parenting at: Rachel Flanagan as Flanaville on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Jaime Ramos as Jaime Ramos Writes on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Jaimeramoswrites.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Jenn Dunn as Keeping up with Kya on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Keepingupwithkya.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Kim McIsaac as Autism Adventures with Alyssa on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Autismadventureswithalyssa.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/talklikeamotherpodcast/message

Nancy French was not a household name in American politics because she mostly operated behind the scenes, but she was well known in the highest levels of Republican circles. She was the ghost writer for politicians and conservative celebrities, with five books she wrote making it to the New York Times Bestseller List. But she found the Republican Party to be going down a path she could not travel, and eventually her political clients abandoned her. She continued to write, however, and she did some major investigate work on the sexual and spiritual abuse at Kanakuk, America's largest Christian camp. She has a new book now under her own name. It's called Ghosted: An American Story. It's a fascinating look at her early life of poverty and the long road to success – and some of the challenges she has had along the way. Her new book is Ghosted: An American Story. MinistryWatch did its own investigation of Kanakuk, and you can find our stories by going to MinistryWatch.com and hitting the “Investigations” tab at the top of the page. Just a quick note for regular listeners: We had one of our best weeks ever on the podcast, with nearly 4,000 podcast downloads in a single week, and nearly 15,000 for the month of April. If you are a regular listener, thanks for your support. If you have never rated us or left a comment on your podcast app, I'd like to encourage you to do so. Your ratings are an encouragement to me personally, and they make difference to the algorithms that help others discover us. It's a small, non-financial way you can be a big help to the podcast. Thanks. The producer for today's program is Jeff McIntosh. We get database and editorial support from Stephen duBarry, Christina Darnell, Kim Roberts, and Rod Pitzer. Until next time, may God bless you.

Today on The Neil Haley Show, Neil "The Media Giant" Haley interviews Don Winslow. City on Fire was the most acclaimed crime novel of 2021. The book was named to more best books of the year lists than any other novel and was named Best Book of the Year by Amazon. City of Dreams, which won widespread acclaim and was also named a Best Book of the Year by Amazon. After publishing fifteen acclaimed crime novels, not one of which made the New York Times Bestseller List, Winslow had seven consecutive New York Times bestsellers –Savages, The Kings of Cool, The Cartel, The Force, The Border, City on Fire and City of Dreams – and three New York Times Best Books of the Year. Winslow's short storyCrime 101 ignited a recent $100m bidding war that Amazon recently won. Winslow has also won major writing awards in almost every major country in the world and become a major bestselling author with multiple #1 internationally bestselling novels all over the world. Winslow's novels have attracted the attention of filmmakers and actors. The film rights to the City on Fire trilogy were purchased by Sony for more than $5 million and Austin Butler is set to star. Crime 101 has Chris Hemsworth and Pedro Pascal attached.    / donwinslow  

Award winning, best-selling author Kristin Hannah recounts her outdoorsy childhood living in farmhouses and campsites built by her adventurous dad. We get a glimpse into what inspired Hannah to venture into historical fiction and what her mom managed to cook for her and her siblings with a wood fire stove. Plus we hear how to make her mama's buttermilk cornbread.Kristin Hannah is an American historical fiction author. She's written over twenty novels, many of them securing spots in the New York Times Best Seller List including The Four Winds and The Nightingale, which sold over 4.5 million copies. Her novel Firefly Lane was made into a Netflix Original Series in 2021. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dare To Dream with Debbi Dachinger Guest, Neale Donald Walsch, American Writer, NealeDonaldWalsch.com Neale Donald Walsch is a modern day spiritual messenger whose words continue to touch the world in profound ways. With an early interest in religion and a deeply felt connection to spirituality, Neale spent the majority of his life thriving professionally, yet searching for spiritual meaning before experiencing his now famous conversation with God. The Conversations with God series of books that emerged from those encounters has been translated into 37 languages, touching millions and inspiring important changes in their day-to-day lives. Neale has written 39 books on spirituality and its practical application in everyday life. Titles in the With God series include: Conversations with God, Books 1-3; Friendship with God; Communion with God; The New Revelations; Tomorrow's God; What God Wants; and Home with God. Seven of the books in that series reached the New York Times Bestseller List, CWG-Book 1 occupying that list for over two-and-a-half years. His most recent books are When Everything Changes Change Everything (2010), The Storm Before the Calm (2011), The Only Thing That Matters (2012), What God Said (2013), GOD'S MESSAGE TO THE WORLD: You've Got Me All Wrong (2014), and Conversations with God: Awaken the Species (Book 4) (2017). His newest book is The God Solution, was published in December, 2020 by Phoenix Books.

Shaka Senghor spent 19 years in prison, 7 of them in solitary confinement. This is how he found true freedom. The way Shaka Senghor tells his story, he found himself incarcerated long before he officially went to prison for second-degree murder, and he experienced freedom long before completing his sentence at the age of 38. Senghor ran away from home and got drawn into the crack cocaine trade at the age of 14. After a series of traumatic events, he felt trapped in a narrative that dictated his life could only lead to limited outcomes: an early grave or a prison cell. In our intimate interview, Senghor shares the three "keys" that transformed his perspective on life and have enabled him to live as a genuinely free man today. Go Deeper with Big Think: ►Become a Big Think Member Get exclusive access to full interviews, early access to new releases, Big Think merch and more. ►Get Big Think+ for Business Guide, inspire and accelerate leaders at all levels of your company with the biggest minds in business. About Shaka Senghor: In 1991, Shaka Senghor pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and spent the next 19 years behind bars, seven of them in solitary confinement. Today, Senghor has become a vocal advocate for prison reform, and tackling the problem of mass incarceration, in all its complex ugliness, head on. Senghor's memoir, Writing My Wrongs: Life, Death, and Redemption in an American Prison, was released in March 2016 and debuted on The New York Times Best Seller List as well as The Washington Post Best Seller List. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the host of this podcast, I have the privilege of talking to lots of extraordinary writers, business leaders, and creative minds. Today I'm honored to bring you this conversation with a truly legendary writer, for one of best episodes ever! Let me tell you a bit about him. Dave Pelzer is a man who represents overcoming adversity, and he has dedicated his life to helping others so they can help themselves. As a former Air Force Combat Air Crew Member, Dave's job entailed midair refueling of the once highly secretive SR-71 Blackbird and the F-117 Stealth Fighter. While on active duty, Dave was selected as California Volunteer of the Year. Dave has received personal commendations from four U. S. Presidents. He was honored as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Americans, and later, was the only American to be honored as The Outstanding Young Person of the World. Dave is also the recipient of the National Jefferson Award which is considered the Pulitzer Prize for public service. Other recipients include Sandra Day O'Connor and Colin Powell. Dave is the author of nine inspirational books. His books have been on bestseller lists for well over thirteen years combined. His most famous book, A Child Called “It”: One Child's Courage to Survive has been on the New York Times bestseller list for well over six years. In fact, Dave is the first author to have four #1 International bestsellers and to have four books simultaneously on the New York Times Bestseller List. For nearly the last ten years, Dave has served as a California Fire Captain in two separate districts. During that time, he's been deployed to the state's most horrendous fires. You can find out more about Dave at https://davepelzer.com. In this conversation, Dave shares how he came to write A Child Called “It” and how that led to an extraordinary writing career. We discuss: How he first got into writing. What it's like being on the NYT bestseller list for so long. His marketing strategies. His thoughts on building a long-term successful writing career. His new book, Return to the River: Reflections on Life Choices During a Pandemic. The most important things an author can do to build their business. I've never interviewed anyone quite like Dave! I know you'll enjoy this conversation just as much as I did. * * * Today's episode is sponsored by Karen Hunsanger, an incredible editor known as “The Word Wizard.” I've worked with Karen many times, and she is your secret weapon for crafting the highest-quality book possible. Visit the link above for a free sample edit.

Today I'm joined by the one and only Daven Michaels. I've known him for over a decade and his journey starts way before that. Daven started his entrepreneurial journey at 15 designing clothes for music groups, and since then built and sold multiple companies, been on the New York Times Bestseller List and travelled the globe many times over. He's an entrepreneur, educator and author - A real advocate for people focussed on personal and business growth. Many people know him from his work as founder of 123Employee. Learn about Daven at https://DavenMichaels.com and the San Juan Social Cruise at http://sanjuansocialcruise.com  (Let them know you heard about it from the show) This host and creator of this podcast is Simon Hedley. Building on his strong background in banking, business & strategy he's passionate about learning, sharing, and making the difference to people and projects. As “Strategic Alchemist” he's been the secret weapon of many well-known leaders, founders and thought leaders for over two decades. You can learn more about Simon at www.SimonHedley.com ,  connect and follow him on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/mrsimonhedley ,  Twitter.com/simonhedley or www.Instagram.com/thesimonhedley, and you can book a consulting call with him at book.simonhedley.com Remember at www.PauseStopReset.com you can find out more about Pause Stop Reset, how to access The Podcast Portal and get more resources to help you on your journey including the Journal and Book. Simon's new book is called Chaos To Clarity .. learn more at www.ChaosToClarity.com  Pause Stop Reset is published by www.TheSimpleIdea.com and for any queries, questions, opportunities or suggestions get in with the team via help@thesimpleidea.com.

On December 10th, 2003 Kent Whitaker's life was struck with tragedy in a way that would change it forever. After an evening out with his family, Kent, his wife, and two sons returned to their home to find an intruder waiting inside. On today's show Kent shares with us how his entire family was shot that night, killing two family members, and how Romans 8:28 became real to him in a new way. Kent describes how he did what most of us would think as impossible, forgive the people responsible for such crime. Kent's story of loss, forgiveness and redemption has been featured on Oprah, 20/20, 48 Hours Mystery, People Magazine, and dozens of other shows. His book, Murder By Family, made the New York Times Bestseller List and has inspired and encouraged thousands of people.Forgiveness isn't easy and often feels like the most unnatural thing to do. But because of Jesus' death on the cross, we can forgive because we have been forgiven.Thanks for listening and be sure to share with a friend!SHOW LINKS:Romans 8:28 The Parable of the Prodigal SonKairos Prison MinistryCONNECT WITH JAMIESign Up for Jamie's Newsletter

#428 Jack Canfield's Masterclass on Visualization and Law of Attraction for Breakthrough Success ----- Action Plan: https://jimharshawjr.com/ACTION Free Clarity Call: https://jimharshawjr.com/APPLY  Back by popular demand, we're revisiting our timeless chat with Jack Canfield. If you missed it before, now's your chance! We're dusting off one of our all-time favorite #STFpod episodes, a conversation that left a lasting impact on many. An episode that's been downloaded more times than we can count. Why? Because it's the kind of conversation that leaves you wondering, “How did I not know this before?” I'm talking about my sit-down with none other than Jack Canfield— a Guinness World Record holder for having seven books simultaneously on the New York Times Bestseller List for the worldwide sensation, "Chicken Soup for the Soul" series.  He's also one of the most well known and respected motivational speakers on the planet and a practitioner of the Law of Attraction. In this special republish episode, we look back to my conversation with Jack where we deep-dived into the power of visualization, the secret sauce behind his remarkable journey to success. We also uncovered why he sees failure as feedback rather than a roadblock, and showed us how the Law of Attraction can transform our lives. So if you've ever had a dream, a goal, or just a desire to live your best life, this one's a must-listen... or re-listen! If you don't have time to listen to the entire episode or if you hear something that you like but don't have time to write it down, be sure to grab your free copy of the Action Plan from this episode— as well as get access to action plans from EVERY episode— at http://www.JimHarshawJr.com/Action.    

Last week I had the incredible opportunity to have a conversation with Dr. Robin DiAngelo who is the person who actually coined the phrase, white fragility. In this highlight episode, I drill down into the nuances of growing up in a country, where our racialized identities form a completely unconscious bias mechanism, that seeps unnoticed into our language, thoughts, and action.More about Dr DiAngelo:Dr. DiAngelo is an Affiliate Associate Professor of Education at the University of Washington. In addition, she holds two Honorary Doctorates. She is a two-time winner of the Student's Choice Award for Educator of the Year at the University of Washington's School of Social Work. She is the co-author of the award-winning textbook Is Everyone Really Equal?: Key concepts in Critical Social Justice Education. In 2011 she coined the term White Fragility in an academic article which has influenced the international dialogue on race. Her book, White Fragility: Why It's So Hard For White People To Talk About Racism was released in June of 2018 and debuted on the New York Times Bestseller List, where it remained for over three years and has been translated into 12 languages. It has now been adapted for young adults. Her follow-up book, released in June of 2021, is: Nice Racism: How Progressive White People Perpetuate Racial Harm. Her work or interviews have been featured in the New York Times, The Guardian, CNN, MSNBC, CBS, NPR, PBS, and The BBC, among many other forums. In addition to her academic work, Dr. DiAngelo has been a consultant, educator and facilitator for over 20 years on issues of racial and social justice

Liverpool born, Manhattan based broadcaster, podcaster, and filmmaker Roger Bennett hosts multiple podcasts and TV shows focussing on soccer/football through his Men in Blazers Media Network. He's also a published author releasing his memoir 'Reborn in the USA: An Englishman's Love Letter to his Chosen Home' in 2021; which debuted at #1 on The New York Times Bestseller List.

In this week's episode, the guy's are joined by acclaimed journalist Jeff Pearlman. Jeff has been a sportswriter for over 30 years and has authored nine books that appeared on the New York Times Best Seller List. His 2014 book on the Showtime Lakers serves as the basis for the series “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty,” which is currently airing its second season on HBO. Jeff gives us insight into the show and the many athletes and teams he's written about, including Magic, Shaq, Kobe, Barry Bonds and the 1990s Dallas Cowboys. Enjoy.

Do you have a recommendation for a guest on the show? Want more of a particular direction of guests? Drop me a line at hank.garner@dabblewriter.com and let me know! Join us at our YouTube channel to join in LIVE for upcoming author interviews!  https://tinyurl.com/dabbleyoutube Gillian McAllister is the Sunday Times and New York Times bestselling author of the following novels:  Everything But The Truth (2017) Anything You Do Say (2018) called The Choice in America   No Further Questions (2018) called The Good Sister in America  The Evidence Against You (2019)  How To Disappear (2020)  That Night (2021)  Wrong Place Wrong Time (2022)  All are standalone and can be read in any order.  Her latest release is Wrong Place Wrong Time, available now and selected for the Radio 2 book club and was the Reese's Book Club August '22 pick. It debuted at number 4 on the Sunday Times Bestseller List and number 2 on the New York Times Bestseller List. She has been selected for the Richard & Judy Book Club, the Radio 2 Book Club and is published in over 25 languages. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram @gillianmauthor and at http://www.gillianmcallister.com.

Holly McNamara is a registered Professional Civil Engineer with a Bachelor's degree from Cornell University and a Master's degree from UC San Diego in Structural Engineering. She has more than two decades of experience in project management, engineering design, and due diligence.In addition to her career, she has experience forming and working with 501c3 non-profits, as well as event planning and fundraising for many different groups. In 2010, Holly had the opportunity to work alongside the late CEO of Zappos.com, Tony Hsieh, to launch his best-selling book, Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose. The book launch consisted of a two-month media push that required traveling and coordinating approximately 150 interviews and speaking engagements across the country. The book remained on the New York Times Best Seller List for 27 weeks.In my chat with Holly, we spoke about her decades-long friendship with Tony Hsieh, her time as his colleague at Zappos, and his tragic death in November of 2021. We discussed, at length, the recently published book, Wonder Boy: Tony Hsieh, Zappos, and the Myth of Happiness in Silicon Valley, by Angel Au-Yeung and David Jeans. Holly was interviewed by the authors for over 40 hours for this publication.I hope you enjoy this very special episode.Watch Episode: This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit truethirty.substack.com/subscribe

Two brothers. One Good. One Evil. In exchange for power and immortality, they watch over the Endless Woods and rule the School for Good and Evil. Yet all School Masters must face a test. Theirs is loyalty. But what happens when loyalty is corrupted? When the bonds of blood are broken?Who will survive? Who will die? And what will become of the school and its students?The journey that started a hundred years ago throttles toward its end. This final chapter in the duology that began with the Rise of the School for Good and Evilbrings the tale of the twin School Masters to the brink of war and a shocking conclusion that will change the course of the school forever.- HIGH-STAKES CONCLUSION TO AN EPIC DUOLOGY: Rise of the School for Good and Evil introduced us to School Masters Rhian and Rafal as their rule over the School for Good and Evil was tested, and left readers on a shocking cliff-hanger. In Fall of the School for Good and Evil, we come to the Great War, when brother battles brother, students' loyalties and courage are tested, and the school is changed forever, just in time for the arrival of two best friends named Sophie and Agatha and the new future they bring.- PERFECT BRIDGE FROM NETFLIX MOVIE TO BELOVED SERIES: Rise of the School for Good and Evil and Fall of the School for Good and Evil cast a wide net to draw in movie fans as well as devotees of the series and bring a new generation of readers to the world of the School for Good and Evil. Speak with Soman about his experience having his book made into a movie starring Charlize Theron and Kerry Washington.- SUMMER READING: Every year, Soman visits schools around the world to speak to kids and share his secret: that reading is the path to a better life. Soman can give summer reading tips and recommendations to kids and parents!Soman Chainani's debut series, THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL, has sold more than 3.5 million copies, been translated into 32 languages across six continents, and has been adapted into a major motion picture from Netflix that debuted at #1 in over 80 countries. His book of retold fairytales, BEASTS & BEAUTY, also debuted on the New York Times Bestseller List, his seventh book in a row to do so, and is slated to be a limited television series from Sony 3000, with Soman writing and executive producing. Together, his books have been on the New York Times Bestseller List for 44 weeks.

Martha Wells joins to podcast to chat about how to write characters your readers will love. Martha has been an SF/F writer since her first fantasy novel was published in 1993, and her work includes The Books of the Raksura series, The Death of the Necromancer, the Fall of Ile-Rien trilogy, The Murderbot Diaries series, media tie-in fiction for Star Wars, Stargate: Atlantis, and Magic: the Gathering, as well as short fiction, YA novels, and non-fiction. She has won Nebula Awards, Hugo Awards, and Locus Awards, and her work has appeared on the Philip K. Dick Award ballot, the BSFA Award ballot, the USA Today Bestseller List, and the New York Times Bestseller List. She is a member of the Texas Literary Hall of Fame, and her books have been published in twenty-five languages. Her newest book, Witch King is out now (find it here!).

In this episode about Chris Wimmer's book, “The Summer of 1876,” he reveals plans for a (mini) book tour and tells a story about the secrets behind The New York Times Bestseller List. (Mini) Book Tour: June 7, 2023 – Deadwood, South Dakota – The Adams Museum June 15, 2023 – Durango, Colorado – Maria's Bookshop Pre-order until May 29, 2023: The Summer of 1876 Esquire Magazine: The Murky Path to Becoming a New York Times Bestseller Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this episode about Chris Wimmer's book, “The Summer of 1876,” he reveals plans for a (mini) book tour and tells a story about the secrets behind The New York Times Bestseller List. (Mini) Book Tour: June 7, 2023 – Deadwood, South Dakota – The Adams Museum June 15, 2023 – Durango, Colorado – Maria's Bookshop Pre-order until May 29, 2023: The Summer of 1876 Esquire Magazine: The Murky Path to Becoming a New York Times Bestseller Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to the Fake Ass Book Club!! This week Kat drags Moni reluctantly into the world of author Tucker Max, and highlights one story from his best selling book "Hilarity Ensues' '. (One of Kat's "most favorite pieces of literature") Kat focuses on one story from the book, called "The (almost banned, now complete) Miss Vermont story", which is just one of a series of short stories in the book about Tucker Max's "drunken debauchery and ridiculous antics." While Kat enjoyed the book, Moni did not share the same enthusiasm. Listen in as hilarity ensues while they agree to disagree !! Cheers!

World-famous author James Patterson goes off on the New York Times Bestseller List. Romance author EL James joins a panel of romance authors to chat with other authors. Streetlib offers conceirge services for newbie authors. And, AppSumo is bringing back the popular DepositPhotos deal for a limited time. All that and more in the self-publishing news! Sources:  Live author chat with E L James as we re-read The Mister - https://bingebooks.com/pages/live-author-chat-with-el-james23 The Hot Sheet - https://hotsheetpub.com James Patterson on Twitter - https://twitter.com/JP_Books/status/1641161267476873223  Audiobooks Without Audible: The Hard Lessons I've Learned Routing Around Amazon - https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/industry-news/audio-books/article/91897-audiobooks-without-audible-the-hard-lessons-i-ve-learned-routing-around-amazon.html  Findaway Voices - https://findawayvoices.com Streetlib Concierge Book Services - https://concierge.streetlib.com/ KWL Live Q&A – Kobo Plus US & UK Expansion: an AMA with the KWL Team - https://www.youtube.com/live/LKizumuyPoA?feature=share DepositPhotos AppSumo Deal - https://selfpublishingwithdale.com/dp (affiliate link) Rights vs. Copyright: Untangling the Confusion - https://writerbeware.blog/2023/04/14/rights-vs-copyright-untangling-the-confusion/ KDP Select Global Fund for March 2023 - https://kdp.amazon.com  eBookFairs - https://dalelinks.com/ebookfairs (affiliate link) The Self-Publishing Hub - https://theselfpublishinghub.com/ Where noted, some outbound links financially benefit the channel through affiliate programs. I only endorse programs, products, or services I use and can stand confidently behind. These links do not affect your purchase price and greatly helps to building and growing this channel. Thanks in advance for understanding! - Dale L. Roberts

His 1995 memoir of childhood abuse, A Child Called "It": One Child's Courage to Survive, was listed on The New York Times Bestseller List for several years, and in 5 years had sold at least 1.6 million copies. Several best selling books later he has released his brand new book just this month entitled "Return to the River" which chronicles the next chapter of his life.Dave Pelzer has achieved worldwide acclaim since that first book hit the shelves and has appeared on shows such as the Oprah Winfrey show, The Monte Williams Show and many others.In this episode of Unspeakable:A True Crime Podcast by Kelly Jennings, Kelly asked Dave the questions sent directly to her from listeners, gets to know the man behind the book and what is left is an amazing interview you just have to hear!#DavePelzer #AChildCalledIt #ChildAbuse #KellyJennings #Unspeakablepodcast #truecrime #podcast #applepodcast #spotify

Welcome to an episode with the Editor-in-Chief of the Harvard Business Review Group, Adi Ignatius. In this episode with Adi Ignatius, we discussed timeless pieces from the Harvard Business Review, deep-dived into the business ideas and concepts within, and discussed how its perspective on business ideas helps us prepare for the future. Adi shared how HBR's mission changed from the time it was founded and how it is improving for readers. Adi Ignatius oversees the editorial activities of Harvard Business Review, hbr.org, and HBR's book-publishing unit. Prior to joining HBR in 2009, Mr. Ignatius was the No. 2 editor at TIME. He is the editor of two books: President Obama: The Path to the White House and Prisoner of the State: The Secret Diaries of Premier Zhao Ziyang. Both made the New York Times Bestseller List. Adi lived and worked overseas for nearly 20 years. He was Editor of Time's Asian edition and served as Beijing Bureau Chief and Moscow Bureau Chief for the Wall Street Journal. He is also host of the HBR Channel. Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

Adi Ignatius: Harvard Business Review Adi Ignatius is Editor in Chief of the Harvard Business Review Group, where he oversees the editorial activities of Harvard Business Review, hbr.org, and HBR's book-publishing unit. Prior to joining Harvard Business Review in 2009, he was the No. 2 editor at TIME. He is the editor of two books: President Obama: The Path to the White House and Prisoner of the State: The Secret Diaries of Premier Zhao Ziyang. Both made The New York Times Bestseller List. Adi lived and worked for nearly 20 years overseas. He was Editor of Time's Asian edition and earlier served as Beijing Bureau Chief and Moscow Bureau Chief for The Wall Street Journal. He is also host of the HBR Channel. It is the 100th anniversary of Harvard Business Review. Should leaders and organizations take a stand on current events, politics, or causes? Adi and I discuss this tough question in detail. While the answer will be different for every leader, we invite you to begin thinking about how you might approach this in your work. Key Points The traditional advice of “Don't talk about politics and religion” is still the norm in some places, but increasingly leaders and being more vocal. Silence used to be the default. Silence now many send a message that leaders and organizations don't intend to convey. While every leader needs to decide how they will navigate this, beware your feelings of certainty. Resources Mentioned Harvard Business Review Related Episodes Start With Why, with Simon Sinek (episode 223) Handling a Difficult Stakeholder, with Nick Timiraos (episode 581) How to Begin Difficult Conversations About Race, with Kwame Christian (episode 594) Discover More Activate your free membership for full access to the entire library of interviews since 2011, searchable by topic. To accelerate your learning, uncover more inside Coaching for Leaders Plus.

We had the fantastic opportunity to speak with Dr. Temple Grandin. We are in awe of her wisdom and learned so much not only about her path in this world but the path our children take. A life-changing experience for the five of us at the Table. We discussed sensory input, the frustration around communication, giving limited choices, transitions to adulthood, and how when you are looking for nothing, you might see everything. Dr. Temple Grandin is a Professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University. Facilities she has designed for handling livestock are used by many companies around the world. She has also been instrumental in implementing animal welfare auditing programs used by Mcdonalds', Wendy's, Whole Foods, and other corporations. Temple has appeared on numerous TV shows, such as 20/20 and Prime Time. Her books include Thinking in Pictures, Livestock Handling and Transport, and The Autistic Brain. Her books Animals in Translation and Visual Thinking have been on the New York Times Bestseller List. Temple was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame in September 2017 and, in 2022, was named a Colorado State University Distinguished Professor. "Single most important picture that the Hubble took, and I learned about the story behind, and I wrote about the story behind that and wrote about it in my Visual Thinking Book. The scientist who did that wanted to take 10 days of precious observing time and point the Hubble at nothing, at nothing, and reviewers went you can't waste time doing that. When he pointed it nothing, he saw everything." Temple Grandin Her most recent book discussed in the episode: Visual Thinking: 9781846046872: Amazon.com: Books Other books: Amazon.com: The Autistic Brain: Thinking Across the Spectrum eBook : Grandin, Temple, Panek, Richard: Kindle Store Amazon.com: Thinking in Pictures, Expanded Edition: My Life with Autism eBook : Grandin, Temple, Oliver Sacks: Kindle Store Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals First, Grandin, Temple, Johnson, Catherine - Amazon.com Animals in Translation: Using the Mysteries of Autism to Decode Animal Behavior (Scribner Classics): Grandin Ph.D., Temple, Johnson Ph.D., Catherine: 9781439187104: Amazon.com: Books The Outdoor Scientist: The Wonder of Observing the Natural World: Grandin PhD, Temple: 9780593115565: Amazon.com: Books Find Temple Grandin on Facebook: (2) Dr. Temple Grandin | Facebook and her website Welcome to Temple Grandin's Official Autism Website --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/tableforfive/support

I share a few things in common with today's esteemed guest on Uncorking a Story. Glenn Kaplan and I both worked at Foote, Cone, and Belding and we both live in Connecticut, but only one of us has made the New York Times Bestseller List (hint, it's not me). He recently joined me to discuss his latest book Angel of Ambition. Meet Glenn Kaplan Glenn is the NY Times bestselling author of Evil Inc. and Poison Pill. He's worked in the international art world and as creative director in global advertising agencies and a Fortune 500 company.  Key Topics: How a lunch at a prestigious club in the early 1980s led to a deal for his first book, The Big Time: How Success Really Works in 14 Top Business Careers. Glenn's experience being orphaned at a large publishing house. Why his ability to write believable female characters is a key ingredient to the recipe of his success. The story behind Angel of Ambition, Glenn's most recent release. Why he'd tell his younger self to not strive for perfection during the writing process. Buy Angel of Ambition: Amazon: https://amzn.to/3IYKuSg Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/a/54587/9781954907348 Connect with Glenn Kaplan Website: https://www.glennkaplan.com/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/glennkaplan/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/glenn.kaplan.75 YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@angelofambition9351/featured Connect with Mike Website: https://uncorkingastory.com/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSvS4fuG3L1JMZeOyHvfk_g Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/uncorkingastory/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@uncorkingastory Twitter: https://twitter.com/uncorkingastory Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/uncorkingastory LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/uncorking-a-story/ If you like this episode, please share it with a friend. If you have not done so already, please rate and review Uncorking a Story on Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

John Calvin Maxwell is an author and speaker who has written many books, primarily focusing on leadership. Titles include The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader. His books have sold millions of copies, with some on the New York Times Best Seller List.Take action and strengthen your mind with The Resilient Mind Journal. Get your free digital copy today: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Download Now⁠⁠ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

John Calvin Maxwell is an author and speaker who has written many books, primarily focusing on leadership. Titles include The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader. His books have sold millions of copies, with some on the New York Times Best Seller List.

Dr. Peterson's extensive catalog is available now on DailyWire+: https://utm.io/ueSXh Dr Jordan B Peterson and Temple Grandin discuss the pros and cons of visual and verbal thinking, as well as categorization, animal welfare, targeted activism, and the importance of hands-on learning opportunities. Temple Grandin is a Professor of Animal Science at Colorado State University. Facilities she has designed for handling livestock are used by companies all around the world. Her work has also been instrumental in implementing animal welfare auditing programs, now used by McDonalds, Wendy's, Whole Foods, and many other major corporations. Temple has appeared on numerous shows across platforms, such as 20/20, Larry King Live, and Prime Time. Grandin is an accomplished author, with books such as Thinking in Pictures, Livestock Handling and Transport, and The Autistic Brain. A few of her other publications, Animals in Translation, as well as Visual Thinking, have even made it to the New York Times Bestseller List. In 2017, Grandin was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame, and in 2022 she was honored once again as a Colorado State Distinguished Professor.  - Sponsors - Black Rifle Coffee: Get 10% off your first order or Coffee Club subscription with code JORDAN: https://www.blackriflecoffee.com/ Exodus90: Is it time for your Exodus? Find resources to prepare at https://exodus90.com/jordan.  - Links - For Temple Grandin Visual Thinking (Book): https://www.amazon.com/Visual-Thinking-Pictures-Patterns-Abstractions/dp/0593418360 Grandin on Twitter: https://twitter.com/drtemplegrandin Grandin's website: https://www.templegrandin.com/  - Chapters - (0:00) Coming up(1:00) Intro(3:00) Visual thinking and categorization(6:32) Thinking in words, comparative invention(8:50) Associative thinking, dreams(12:00) Thought process(13:00) Autism, things out of place(16:40) Skill loss, screened out(20:00) Two types of visual thinking(24:50) Skillsets geared toward visual thinkers(26:00) Grandin demonstrates associative thinking(28:15) Dreams and association webs(30:50) Cohen, shop taken out of schools(33:45) Virtualization, exposure learning(36:30) Removed from the practical(38:00) Citations, proof(41:30) Recommendations for visual thinkers(46:23) Working in tandem(47:50) Broad and pointed design(55:40) Gap between the practical and abstract(59:30) Competition, neuro diversity(1:02:00) Privileging of the semantic(1:04:00) Vintage textbooks, object visualization(1:07:00) Mechanics are not being replenished(1:08:30) Fragility of our power grid(1:10:40) Behavior of cows, follow the leader(1:16:45) Stopping cattle, novel attractors(1:18:50) Voluntary exposure(1:23:55) Humane slaughter, distress(1:27:00) How the plants work(1:28:20) Grandin on her early career(1:33:35) Animal welfare, targeted activism(1:36:40) Why cattle?(1:38:34) Facing fear and backdoors  // SUPPORT THIS CHANNEL //Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/jordanbpeterson.com/youtubesignupDonations: https://jordanbpeterson.com/donate // COURSES //Discovering Personality: https://jordanbpeterson.com/personalitySelf Authoring Suite: https://selfauthoring.comUnderstand Myself (personality test): https://understandmyself.com // BOOKS //Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life: https://jordanbpeterson.com/Beyond-Order12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos: https://jordanbpeterson.com/12-rules-for-lifeMaps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief: https://jordanbpeterson.com/maps-of-meaning // LINKS //Website: https://jordanbpeterson.comEvents: https://jordanbpeterson.com/eventsBlog: https://jordanbpeterson.com/blogPodcast: https://jordanbpeterson.com/podcast // SOCIAL //Twitter: https://twitter.com/jordanbpetersonInstagram: https://instagram.com/jordan.b.petersonFacebook: https://facebook.com/drjordanpetersonTelegram: https://t.me/DrJordanPetersonAll socials: https://linktr.ee/drjordanbpeterson #JordanPeterson #JordanBPeterson #DrJordanPeterson #DrJordanBPeterson #DailyWirePlus #csu #coloradostateuniversity #autism #livestock #animalcruelty #motivation #visuallearning #dreams #education

Welcome to Strategy Skills episode 307, an episode with the Editor-in-Chief of the Harvard Business Review Group, Adi Ignatius. In this episode with Adi Ignatius, we discussed timeless pieces from the Harvard Business Review, deep-dived into the business ideas and concepts within, and discussed how its perspective on business ideas helps us prepare for the future. Adi shared how HBR's mission changed from the time it was founded and how it is improving for readers. Adi Ignatius oversees the editorial activities of Harvard Business Review, hbr.org, and HBR's book-publishing unit. Prior to joining HBR in 2009, Mr. Ignatius was the No. 2 editor at TIME. He is the editor of two books: President Obama: The Path to the White House and Prisoner of the State: The Secret Diaries of Premier Zhao Ziyang. Both made the New York Times Bestseller List. Adi lived and worked overseas for nearly 20 years. He was Editor of Time's Asian edition and served as Beijing Bureau Chief and Moscow Bureau Chief for the Wall Street Journal. He is also host of the HBR Channel. Enjoying this episode? Get access to sample advanced training episodes here: www.firmsconsulting.com/promo

Over here at Hello Seven, we're always talking about that genius business idea that's going to make you a whole lot more money. But what does it mean to be a "lazy genius"? Tune in this week to discover Kendra Adachi's Lazy Genius way to becoming a successful entrepreneur. Kendra shares the values she lives by as she's growing her business, why “lazy” doesn't mean effortless, as well as the truth about how to get on the New York Times Bestseller List.   Get full show notes and more information here: https://helloseven.co/102

Meet two incredible, mega-bestselling author guests on this show—Veronica Roth and Gabrielle Zevin. Veronica is the New York Times bestselling author of the phenomenally popular series of books and movies, Divergent, who has also penned The End and Other Beginnings, Chosen Ones, and the Carve the Mark duology. She joins us to discuss her brand-new dystopian mystery novel POSTER GIRL, pushing her boundaries as a writer, and exploring big themes through science fiction. Gabrielle Zevin is the internationally bestselling and critically acclaimed author of several novels, including Margarettown, Young Jane Young, and book-cub favorite The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry which spent several months on the New York Times Best Seller List and was just released as a major motion picture. She joins us to discuss her super buzzworthy tenth novel, TOMORROW AND TOMORROW AND TOMORROW, which was published earlier this year and was a NYT bestseller and named a Book of the Month finalist for Book of the Year. We hear from Gabrielle about the role of gaming in her life and in this novel, seeing her work come alive on the big screen, and the friendship/love story at the heart of her new book.

“I think we all have these stories, you know, whether they come through bereavements or betrayals or, or whatever, we, we all have these losses…There's something about having been immersed in this bittersweet tradition and understanding the pain of separation and understanding the desire for a union and understanding that the loves that we lose, that we might lose particular loves, but that we never lose love itself. I think that's like the real thing that's really made me come to a place of peace,” so says Susan Cain, former lawyer and bestselling author of Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole. In her first book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking, which spent eight years on the New York Times Best Seller List, Cain urged us to hold space for the introverts among us. In Bittersweet, she implores us to hold space for our sorrow and longing. Through research, storytelling, and memoir, her book explores the value of a melancholic outlook on life and what it stands to teach us about creativity, connection, and love.  Our conversation moves through many facets of what Cain calls “the bittersweet tradition,” exploring all the ways in which allowing ourselves to experience the cosmic sadness simultaneously opens us up to transcendant ecstasy. We are creatures who simultaneously lose and love, who separate and long for home, who experience the bitter along with the sweet, she tells us, and it is in these extremes that our sorrow and joy have the opportunity to meet, unexpectedly bringing us closer to the sublime beauty of life. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: The ecstasy of engaging with sorrow…14:15 The most fundamental part of our emotional DNA…25:00 Writing your experience…43:00 Opening to a different frequency…54:43 MORE FROM SUSAN CAIN: Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole and Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking Listen to the Bittersweet playlist on Spotify or Apple Music Watch Susan's TEDTalk: The hidden power of sad songs and rainy days Follow Susan on Twitter and Instagram  Check out The Next Big Idea Book Club—a nonfiction subscription book club curated by Susan Cain, Macolm Gladwell, Adam Grant, and Daniel Pink To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Pat Hiban left his position as the #1 RE/MAX Agent in the world to pursue a life of freedom on his terms. He is also the cofounder of GOBUNDANCE.Today we talk about actionable steps you can take to leave that job you hate to pursue a life that you love! Get your copy of "The Quitter's Manifesto" Below! Pat's JourneyPat has not always been a semi-retired, New York Times International Best Selling Author, podcast host, entrepreneur, and billion dollar real estate agent. After throwing his graduation cap at Frostburg State University in the summer of 1987 (A long time ago), Pat set out to find that necessary three letter word…..JOB. While trying to get his Real Estate license Pat substitute taught in Maryland, where he has lived his entire life.His first year in Real Estate was…. decent. Selling 10 homes, and taking home $13,700 in commissions Pat knew that he needed more. At the beginning of his third year in the industry, attending a Floyd Wickman Sweathog Course changed his life, and allowed him to realize that being a listing agent was the way to go. He made a commitment, and switched to prospecting regularly for listings by calling up and down every street in town looking for future sellers. BOOM business for him tripled. From there, the sky was the limit. After spending a few years at Long and Foster Realty, he made a switch to RE/MAX where he spent the next 15 years. In 2004, Pat Hiban became the #1 RE/MAX agent in the world. After earning the #1 agent in the world ranking from two different major companies, Pat decided to write his book, which was published in 2011- 6 Steps to 7 Figures: A Real Estate Professionals Guide to Building Wealth and Creating Your Destiny. During launch week, Pat's book became #6 on the New York Times Best Seller List, #2 on the USA Today Best Seller List, #1 on Barnes and Noble and #2 on the Amazon Best Seller List. Crazy hey?For Frameworks, Freedom Tips, and Millionaire Financial Breakdowns -Subscribe to our 5 Minute Weekly Newsletter (Thursday 10 AM EST)https://brianluebben.com/newsletter@brianluebben@actionacademypodcasthttps://brianluebben.comhttps://hibandigital.comThe Quitter's Manifesto: Quit a Job You Hate for the Work You Lovehttps://www.amazon.com/Quitters-Manifesto-Quit-Hate-Work/dp/B0B9CHR46D/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=the+quitters+manifesto&qid=1661154257&sr=8-1Resources:GoBundanceAre you an accredited investor and want to learn more about GoBundance?www.gobundance.comBook a call to learn more: https://calendly.com/brianluebben/gobundance

Susan Cain She is the New York Times bestselling author of Quiet, which changed how the world views introverts forever, and a her latest book, Bittersweet: How Sorrow and Longing Make Us Whole, which reached #1 on the New York Times Bestseller List. Susan is also an award-winning keynote speaker who has delivered two TED Talks with millions of views and the founder of Quiet Revolution. Susan joined host Robert Glazer on the Elevate Podcast to discuss how she began her writing career, her writing process, the value of bittersweet feelings and thinking, and how to fight toxic positivity in work and life.  The Elevate Club If you enjoy the Elevate Podcast, don't miss the Elevate Club, a new membership community led by Robert Glazer. Members get access to course licenses, private keynotes, monthly office hours and a private Slack community. Sign up at elevate-club.com.

Late last year Hillary Rodham Clinton and best-selling Canadian mystery writer, Louise Penny, came out with a ripping geo-political thriller called State of Terror that quickly hit the New York Times Best Seller List. At about that same time, Secretary Clinton's former close aide, Deputy Chief of Staff, and the vice chair of her 2016 presidential campaign, Huma Abedin, came out with her memoir, Both/And: A Life in Many Worlds, a story of her roots and the path that led her to work with the First Lady and the triumphs and controversies of her life. The two were crisscrossing the country separately on book tours at the same time. One night they both found themselves in San Francisco and were asked to be onstage together to talk about their new books. Davia Nelson was asked to be in conversation with them that evening and plugged in to the sound board. Here's an edited version of the night with a few surprises added in. State of Terror comes out in paperback in June, and Huma's book comes out in paperback in September. The wonderful actress Joan Allen reads the audio book version of Hillary and Louise Penny's bestseller and Huma reads her own beautiful audiobook. The Kitchen Sisters Present is proud member of Radiotopia, a network of independent, story driven, truth seeking, heart cracking podcasts from PRX.