The Five-Year Gamble to Become a Writer

In this episode Simon and Rachel speak to the novelist Dean Koontz. The author of over 120 books, Dean is published in 38 countries and has sold 500m copies to date. His suspense thrillers blend science fiction, horror, crime and comedy. Fourteen of Dean's novels - including "One Door Away From Heaven", "The Bad Place" and "77 Shadow Street" - have reached #1 on the New York Times bestseller list. His titles have also been major bestsellers in countries as diverse as Japan and Sweden. Many of his books, including "Whispers," "Demon Seed" and "Odd Thomas", have been made into films too. We spoke to Dean about the role of books as an escape during a difficult childhood, the challenges of navigating agents and editors, especially early in his career, and his latest novel, "Going Home in the Dark". 
Alongside listening to us in audio as usual, the podcast is now available on video. You can check us out, and get a glimpse of Dean's adorable golden retriever, on YouTube under Always Take Notes. 
 
We’ve made another update for those ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠who support the podcast on the crowdfunding site Patreon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. We’ve added 40 pages of new material to the package of successful article pitches that goes to anyone who supports the show with $5 per month or more, including new pitches to the New York Times, the Washington Post and the BBC. The whole compendium now runs to a whopping 160 pages. For Patreons who contribute $10/month we’re now also releasing bonus mini-episodes. Thanks to our sponsor, Scrivener, the first ten new signs-ups at $10/month will receive a lifelong license to Scrivener worth £55/$59.99 (seven are left). This specialist word-processing software helps you organise long writing projects such as novels, academic papers and even scripts. Other Patreon rewards include signed copies of the podcast book and the opportunity to take part in a monthly call with Simon and Rachel.

A new edition of “Always Take Notes: Advice From Some Of The World’s Greatest Writers” - a book drawing on our podcast interviews - is available now. The updated version now includes insights from over 100 past guests on the podcast, with new contributions from Harlan Coben, Victoria Hislop, Lee Child, Megan Nolan, Jhumpa Lahiri, Philippa Gregory, Jo Nesbø, Paul Theroux, Hisham Matar and Bettany Hughes. You can order it via ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Amazon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Waterstones⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. 

This episode is sponsored by Reedsy⁩.

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