The Secret Library Podcast

Ever caught yourself thinking "I could never write like that?" when reading a published book?   It's so important to remember that a lot goes on behind the scenes between writing "the end" and seeing the book out in the world. It's hard to remember that beyond the drafts the author goes through, there are also rounds of edits that follow.   This week, I chat with the founder and two editors from NY Book Editors, a company that employs editors with Big 5 publishing experience to work with authors planning to publish both traditionally and independently. Whether you're a fiction writer or working on non-fiction, we've got you covered.   Get ready to take notes PLUS listen to learn about the before and after download, we've made to show what a piece of writing looked like fresh from the writer and after the editor had reviewed it. Finally! We're taking you behind the scenes into the transformation from draft to finished manuscript. Happy listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thetattooedgoverness.com/subscribe

By Day, Sarah St. Vincent is a researcher and advocate, but by night and early morning, she is a novelist. Sarah St. Vincent studied law at the University of Michigan and now works for the US Program of Human Rights Watch, specializing in national security, surveillance and domestic law enforcement.   At the same time as working in this important area, Sarah has been working on the novel, Ways to Hide in Winter, out now from Melville House. In this episode, we talk about the importance of day job/writing life balance as well as the topics she felt were better covered in fiction than nonfiction articles. If you think your day job is a restriction on your writing life, think again, because this conversation reminded me of the many ways work out in the world can enrich what we explore as writers. I know you'll enjoy this conversation and this brilliant new book. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thetattooedgoverness.com/subscribe

With hundreds of audiobooks narrated, Rachel Fulginiti was the perfect guest to lead us through the wild world of audio. This episode will take you through the entire process, from finding potential narrators to audition, how to hire them, pricing, the timeline from booking to recording to receiving the finished product. Full of tips to get the best audiobook possible, you'll be ready to make the leap into creating an audio version of your book after listening to this jam-packed episode. Enjoy! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thetattooedgoverness.com/subscribe

Every year November 1 brings the same question to writers: to NaNo or not to NaNo? Tasha Harrison and I dive into NaNo 2.0: tips and hacks for writers looking to do more than just bang out 50,000 words of a brand new project. Already working on a book? Great. We'll walk you through ways to approach the madness of NaNoWriMo so you come out the other side with something you're proud of. Here's hoping you're ready for a major jolt of inspiration! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thetattooedgoverness.com/subscribe

When Alexandra Franzen first wrote her novel, So This is the End, she wasn't ready to publish it with the wide world.   She released it as a gift - a free download she gave to her mailing list. She was terrified it really wasn't that good.   A torrent of replies came in, sharing how much the book had moved them. She got braver and put it up for sale on her site. Then, over a year later, she thought it might be ok to think about publishing it wide.   Here is the story of how her book went from something that could have hidden in a drawer forever to a book that's been optioned for a series and is coming out in hardcover. If you ever doubt the importance of trying, this is your episode. Warning: you may write like the wind without holding back after listening to this. I know I did. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thetattooedgoverness.com/subscribe

When I found out Susan Orlean's latest was called The Library Book it took me exactly 2 minutes to invite her on the show to discuss it. Bless her, she said yes less than 5 minutes later. This book is SO GOOD. Granted, I am an easy sell with a podcast called The Secret Library. But this book has arson, crazy characters, scandal, history, and everything a book nerd could ever want. We discuss the process of researching and writing this book over 5 years and what it took to write it, even after Susan thought she'd never write another book again. She's pure gold, as always. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thetattooedgoverness.com/subscribe

When I did 100 readings a few years ago, a friend asked if I could read for her writing project instead of her life. We tried it out and were amazed at the results. After exploring a bit, I discovered that the very brilliant Jessa Crispin had been reading tarot for writers for years. Her book, The Creative Tarot has been a favorite ever since and I was thrilled she was open to coming on and discussing how tarot can support the writing process. If you’ve been wondering about bringing tarot into your writing or even if you’ve never played with tarot at all, this episode is going to be such a treat! Happy listening... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thetattooedgoverness.com/subscribe

This conversation was absolute and total heaven.   Much like Simon Van Booy's latest book, the story collection "The Sadness of beautiful Things," this episode covers a wide variety of topics. However, even as we moved from beginnings, to endings, to the thought and work it took to get various stories right, we kept coming back to one central theme" what does it take to write a good story?   Simon is a brilliant guide in this arena, and shared the circumstances of the stories he's been told while traveling that lead, over time, to the ones that made up this collection. We talk about the trickiness of happy endings, how to deal with the tough stuff, and so much more. I've been counting the days until this book came out because I'm so excited for you to read it, and to get to hear this chat. Happy listening. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thetattooedgoverness.com/subscribe

When Allie Rowbottom lost her mother to cancer, she dove headfirst into writing. Having already completed an MFA and a Ph.D. in Creative Writing, Allie was no stranger to writing but something changed after her mother died. She felt an increased urgency to tell the story her mother had invested many years of her own life writing: the story of the women and generations impacted by the money made from an icon of mid-century America: Jell-O. The story that is ultimately told in Rowbottom's book is multifaceted: it's her grandmother's story, her mother's, and her own, but it's also the story of Jell-O and how this product came to represent a particular kind of femininity that all these women felt pressured to mold themselves into, much like Jell-O itself. We dive in deep to what it felt like to write this story so soon after losing her mother and what it's like now as the book comes out and so many more people are reading and reacting to the book. This was such an inspiring interview, both because Allie was so open about her feelings and experience, but also because we haven't touched on writing and grief with this kind of depth, and it's a topic I think deserves much attention. I'm very grateful to have had this conversation and look forward to discussing this topic more in the future. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thetattooedgoverness.com/subscribe

How to Write Non-Fiction Non-fiction books are a different animal than fiction, with as many reasons to write them as there are categories. With more people than ever wanting to reach a wider audience, the appeal for writing nonfiction is clear.  Show favorite Joanna Penn of the Creative Penn was the perfect guest to speak about how to write nonfiction well, and all the steps to take to make your book a success. With more people than ever looking to read nonfiction, it's a great time to write based on the knowledge and expertise you have to share. Joanna is, as always, a delight to speak with and I was very sad when our chat came to an end. Enjoy listening- may this inspire you to get working on your nonfiction book! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thetattooedgoverness.com/subscribe