#105 :: The Biz of Writing | Scott Carney (+ Harmon Leon + Ted Rall)

The Secret Library Podcast

Sometimes you just have to dive into an idea and get it done. A little over a year ago, many of you will remember that Scott Carney came on the show to talk about his book What Doesn't Kill Us. Toward the end of that conversation, he dropped a little bit of knowledge that made a light go on in my brain. "If you write 500 words a day 5 days a week, in a year you'll have a book." Boom. When Barry was editing the episode, he mentioned how bummed he was that we hadn't gotten to continue that part of the conversation a lot longer. This, my friends, is that moment expanded into a full episode. Scott has recently created a course called The Fine Print, that's much in the same vein. He let me have a sneak peek and we had a long chat about my favorite tips and guidance that he shares. What I loved is that we cover really practical things like how to promote your book whether or not you have a traditional publishing publicity team supporting you, the ins and outs of contracts and going from a magazine article to a book to an ongoing project that can live at the center of a writing business. There's a nice discount code in the episode for anyone who wants to check out the course. In addition, I spoke with Harmon Leon + Ted Rall about their book, Meet the Deplorables, which had Harmon Leon embedding in fringe communities leading up to the Trump election. We spoke about his interest in extremist communities and how he has built his own career around gonzo-style journalism, an interesting case study based on what Scott and I discussed in part one. Ted Rall joins as well to talk about his contribution of political cartoons and how he worked to expand and bring the material to life in his work. This week promises to be an epic listen, especially for those writing nonfiction, so enjoy!

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