I was on TJ Brearton’s Stories We Tell Podcast to talk about why I have a newsletter and why I think networking is critical in getting an agent and getting published at a traditional publisher.
But writers also use newsletters to promote their books and other projects. Is that still working? What’s up with platforms like Substack? How does it work?
Part two of the conversation: Ever wonder how some books get published? While we tend to hold ourselves accountable for our careers, acting like it’s a meritocracy, things beyond our control —such as nepotism and circumstance — play undeniable roles.
Join Tim and Dave for a deep dive into newsletters and networking on Stories We Tell.
This is my friend Tim a year ago this past week in front of his garden.
This was the last time I was in the Adirondack Mountains. Who knows when I’ll make it back there.
He started a podcast this summer and wanted me to be a part of it. It’s called the Stories We Tell, and it’s about the stories writers tell themselves, others, about all the things in the writing life. But really it’s about counteracting the toxic narratives told about writers that romanticize substance abuse, mental illness; that there’s only one way to become a writer, one process, one entry point, one way of getting published, and making a living.
All of the above is bullshit rolling down a hill.
The podcast is about stories of good writers who make it work—through substance abuse, neurodiversity, day jobs, and parenting. It’s about the reality of being a working writer in today’s diverse publishing marketplace and not just someone who showed up on the New York Times Bestseller List and has a cushy teaching job somewhere.
And to write good stories, you have to first acknowledge that being a writer is not to accept the label of an introvert but realize that it takes two to be a writer. A reader and a writer.
Second, that to write good stories, you have to try to be a good person.
You won’t find any Charles Bukowskis, Hunter S. Thompsons, or Ernest Hemingways here.
David Press 