New Author Podcast

Jerry Evanoff
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First time authors Jerry Evanoff and Rich Kacy take you through their writing, publishing and marketing strategies. You'll get to hear every success and every mistake along the way.

  1. 42 mins ago

    Writing a Bunch of Words, Buying/Renewing Domains and Letting AI Hire Magnum P.I.

    This week, Jerry finally has the kind of update that makes a writer breathe like a human again: real progress. Book 3 is moving. He adds 13,970 words over the last two weeks, pushes the manuscript past 21,000 words, gets about a third of the way through the rewrite, and starts sounding like somebody who can actually see the road instead of just the potholes. Which is nice, because for a while there this book sounded like it was trying to kill him in the woods and hide the body under developmental edits. A big chunk of the episode is Jerry walking through what that progress actually looked like. He talks about writing Chapters 8 through 11, building out the mountain-top data center setting, working through the locked-room mystery mechanics, and trying to hit his July 31 first-draft target. There’s also some fun process talk about his custom writing app, which he keeps improving while actively using it, because apparently rewriting a novel was not enough of a side quest on its own. Then there’s the AI stuff, which is honestly some of the funniest material in the episode. Jerry explains how Claude is now spinning up little helper agents for coding tasks, and instead of giving them boring technical names, he has it naming them after 80s TV characters. So now Higgins, Magnum P.I., Sonny Crockett, and MacGyver are apparently doing software support inside his writing workflow, which feels both deeply ridiculous and weirdly perfect. Rich has a quieter update, but not an empty one. He’s still fighting brutal heat, library understaffing, and the general life problem of never quite getting left alone long enough to write. But he does finally start again, putting some words down longhand on Thirteen Days of Madness, a Scotland-set project he describes as a more comedic cousin to Lost in Translation. So while Jerry is sprinting, Rich is at least back on the track, which counts. There’s also a lot of classic New Author Podcast life clutter in here: golf, library millage drama, Dairy Queen writing sessions, an ice cream cake victory lap, book club talk, Facebook ads for the next Kindle Countdown, driveway replacement plans, garden suffering, and the eternal mystery of what Substack is actually supposed to do for authors. In other words, a very normal week for two guys who are absolutely not making any of this look calm. Contact Us Jerry Evanoff Email: ⁠jerry@jerryevanoff.com⁠ Website: ⁠https://jerryevanoff.com⁠ ⁠https://jerryevanoffauthor.substack.com/⁠ Rich Kacy Email: ⁠rich@richkacy.com⁠ BlueSky: @RichKacy ⁠https://richkacy.substack.com/⁠ Tags writing podcast self-publishing indie author mystery writing book rewriting writing process AI for writers Claude AI writing app Kindle Countdown Facebook ads Substack golf author life The New Author Podcast

    1hr 19min

  2. 26 June ·  Bonus

    Paul Simon, Plot Progress, and Rich’s Full-On Writing Doldrums | Ep 359

    This week, Jerry actually has real writing progress to report, which is nice, because lately Book 3 has felt like one long hostage situation involving outlines, rewrites, and editor notes. He adds 5,643 new words to Networking Murder, pushes his yearly total to 15,240, gets the green light from Super Editor Cee, and starts moving through the early chapters for real. So yes, the rewrite is still a monster, but at least now it is a monster with momentum. A lot of the episode lives in that weird middle space writers know too well, where progress is happening, but none of it feels clean. Jerry talks about drafting Chapter 3 and Chapter 4, figuring out how to open the story, balancing plotting with actual words on the page, and using his custom writing app to keep everything moving. He also gets into how AI tools inside VS Code are helping him improve the app on the fly, which is either a brilliant productivity move or the kind of side quest that programmers tell themselves is productivity. Probably both. Rich, meanwhile, is stuck in the creative mud. He talks about being in the doldrums, not writing, not editing, cleaning fountain pens, getting notebooks ready, and basically circling the runway while waiting for his brain to commit to takeoff. He has some new story ideas, and it sounds like he is close to jumping into something just to get moving again, but right now he is still in that familiar writer state where the work has not stopped existing, it has simply wandered into the fog and refused to answer questions. There is also plenty of regular-life chaos in this one. Jerry is running on fumes after a Paul Simon concert, a barking dog, almost no sleep, and three straight days of golf. He talks through the concert in a way that feels exactly right for an 84-year-old legend: a strange first set, a stronger second half, a fantastic encore, and the kind of traffic leaving the venue that makes you question every decision that brought you there. Rich has the opposite problem at the library, where the heat, the crowds, and a brutal solo day at the desk leave him feeling like he got worked over behind a woodshed. They also get into NFL nostalgia, World Cup fan clips, Substack confusion, vacation-property temptation in Myrtle Beach, and the ongoing truth that writer life never stays politely inside the writing lane. This episode feels like one of those honest midseason check-ins where nobody is pretending they have cracked the code, but both guys are still showing up, still thinking, and still trying to build something worth finishing. Contact UsJerry EvanoffEmail: ⁠jerry@jerryevanoff.com⁠Website: ⁠https://jerryevanoff.com⁠⁠https://jerryevanoffauthor.substack.com/⁠ Rich KacyEmail: ⁠rich@richkacy.com⁠BlueSky: @RichKacy⁠https://richkacy.substack.com/⁠ Tagswriting podcastself-publishingindie authormystery writingbook rewritingwriting processAI for writersVS Codeauthor lifePaul SimongolfSubstackfootball nostalgiaThe New Author Podcast

    46 min

  3. 19 June

    World Cup Reels, Writer Doubt, and a Whole Lot of Plotting | Ep 358

    This week, Jerry and Rich start out where all serious writing podcasts should: with World Cup fans losing their minds in America, Buc-ee’s getting the kind of free advertising money can’t buy, and the growing realization that half the internet is now just Europeans discovering that the United States is not, in fact, one long action-movie chase scene. So yes, before we get to books, there is a lot of joy, chaos, and international confusion. On the writing front, Jerry finally has some real progress to report. After what felt like endless plotting purgatory, he adds 1,744 new words to Book 3, Networking Murder, bringing his yearly total to 10,435. He talks about skipping Chapter 1 for the moment, writing Chapter 2 instead, and slowly getting this full rewrite to feel like an actual book instead of a giant outline glaring at him from across the room. There is still a mountain left to climb, but for the first time in a while, it sounds like forward motion instead of controlled panic. A big part of the episode is Jerry walking through the weird middle ground of rewriting Book 3 almost from scratch while also building tools to help himself do it faster. He talks about using AI inside VS Code to improve his writing app in real time, adding plotting features, fixing bugs, and generally trying to make the software match the mess in his head. So if you enjoy hearing an author say, “I’m under deadline, rewriting a novel, and naturally I decided this was also the time to improve my custom writing software,” this one is very on brand. Rich brings a very different kind of writing update, and honestly it is one of the more interesting conversations in the episode. He talks about hitting a wall with The Dark We Hide after a conversation with an old girlfriend who asked the most dangerous writer question possible: “Why are you writing this story?” That sends him into a spiral about theme, purpose, AI, literary fiction, and whether he is even working on the right kind of book. Throw in a papal document about artificial intelligence, and suddenly this episode becomes part writing update, part existential ambush. There is also plenty of regular-life chaos mixed in: Jerry dealing with dizziness, birthday celebrations, a golf schedule that finally looks normal again, a mystery plant gift called a red hot poker, football replay therapy for old Browns trauma, and Rich battling garden thieves that may or may not be possums eating his cantaloupes. In other words, the usual calm, dignified routine of two writers staying completely focused on their craft. Contact UsJerry EvanoffEmail: ⁠jerry@jerryevanoff.com⁠Website: ⁠https://jerryevanoff.com⁠⁠https://jerryevanoffauthor.substack.com/⁠ Rich KacyEmail: ⁠rich@richkacy.com⁠BlueSky: @RichKacy⁠https://richkacy.substack.com/⁠ Tagswriting podcastself-publishingindie authormystery writingbook rewritingAI for writersVS Codewriting appliterary fictionWorld Cup fansauthor lifegolfstory structureThe New Author Podcast

    1hr 5min

  4. 4 June

    Summer Library Chaos, Full Rewrites, and Author Panic | Ep 357

    This week, Jerry and Rich both show up looking like they’ve been dragged behind their own projects for a few miles. Rich is getting swarmed at the library now that school’s out and kids are pouring in for summer programs and free lunches, while Jerry is staring down the reality that Book 3 is no longer a revision job. It’s a full rebuild. So yes, this one has that fun “everything is under control if you don’t look too closely” energy from the jump. Jerry talks through where he is with the Sam Norris series, including the fact that Book 3 has basically been blown up and rebuilt from the foundation. The core murder setup, victim, and some character pieces are still there, but the structure, location, and a lot of the moving parts are changing. Which means he has about five months and change to write, revise, edit, and publish a brand-new version of the book. No pressure. Just the kind of light, relaxing summer challenge every writer dreams about when they make a preorder live too early. Rich, meanwhile, is deep in the weeds building AI writing agents to help him keep track of continuity, clue placement, character logic, and all the little details that try to sneak out the back door when you’re writing a mystery. He talks about the “co-author core,” the “continuity guardian,” the “puzzle keeper,” and how these tools are helping him revise The Dark We Hide one chapter at a time without turning the whole thing into bland machine mush. It’s actually one of the more interesting AI-for-writing conversations we’ve had, because this isn’t about having AI write the book. It’s about having AI act like the world’s most obsessive assistant editor. There’s also a lot of real-life author stuff packed in here: Jerry juggling a big weekend work install, golf finally returning after a wet spring, plotting at Buffalo Wild Wings, and playing old sports games whenever his brain needs a break; Rich trying to edit while the library turns into a summer zoo and while he keeps tinkering with 3D-printed train storage like a man who absolutely does not need another hobby. So this episode lands in a very honest place: writing is messy, revising is harder than drafting, and sometimes progress looks a lot like tearing the whole thing apart and trusting yourself to build it better the second time. Contact UsJerry EvanoffEmail: ⁠jerry@jerryevanoff.com⁠Website: ⁠https://jerryevanoff.com⁠⁠https://jerryevanoffauthor.substack.com/⁠ Rich KacyEmail: ⁠rich@richkacy.com⁠BlueSky: @RichKacy⁠https://richkacy.substack.com/⁠ Tagswriting podcastself-publishingindie authormystery writingbook rewritingdevelopmental editingAI for writerswriting toolsauthor lifelibrary lifeplotting novelssports simsgolfThe New Author Podcast

    52 min

  5. 29 May

    Promo Stats, AI Agents, and a Microphone That Needed Viagra | Ep 356

    This week, Jerry and Rich show up for what Jerry calls “real podcasting,” which means no editing, a sagging microphone, and two writers trying to sound calm while both of them are standing in the middle of some very specific chaos. Jerry opens with the results of his recent promo run for Book 1: 98 total orders for the month, including 92 discounted copies of Book 1, 6 copies of Book 2, 1,037 page reads across the two books, and 4 preorders for Book 3. Not a moon landing, not a disaster, and very much the kind of real-world author math that can leave a person both encouraged and slightly annoyed at the same time. A big chunk of the episode is Jerry walking through what those marketing numbers actually mean. He talks about Facebook ads bringing in 286 clicks at about 33 cents each, a small number of direct sales from the ad, one sale from his email list, and the uncomfortable reality that Amazon rankings fall off a cliff the second the promo momentum slows down. There’s also a good conversation about cold email lists, pruning inactive subscribers, and the weirdness of trying to build real readers on Substack when the notes feed often looks like a convention of writers waving at other writers. Then the episode shifts into writing mode, and this is where things get spicy. Jerry is not gently revising Book 3. He is staring down what sounds an awful lot like a near-total rewrite. He talks about keeping the murderer, victim, and core backstory, but likely changing the setting and reshaping the whole thing into something more futuristic and AI-heavy, possibly involving a data-center-style environment and a trapped-in-place setup. So if you enjoy hearing an author describe the exact moment a book stops being “a draft that needs help” and becomes “a full summer project,” this episode absolutely has that energy. Rich brings his own form of chaos, which is much nerdier and honestly pretty great. He has gone deep into building custom AI writing agents, including a co-author core, a deep drafter, a continuity guardian, and a puzzle keeper. He explains how he’s feeding them system instructions, voice samples, genre guidance, and dynamic context so they can help challenge his writing, catch continuity problems, and track mystery clues instead of just smiling and telling him he’s brilliant. It is a very Rich Kacy update: part writing craft, part experiment, part beautiful descent into the weeds. There’s also some fun side-road stuff in here too: Jerry golfing between plot crises, buying unnecessary-but-clearly-necessary gear at Micro Center, playing old football board games, updating Etsy after a surprise multi-book order, and getting ready to appear on Dave Gardner’s gaming podcast. So this one lands in a nice honest place: part publishing recap, part writing reckoning, part AI lab experiment, and part two guys trying to keep all the plates spinning without dropping one on their own foot. Contact Us Jerry Evanoff Email: ⁠⁠⁠jerry@jerryevanoff.com⁠⁠⁠ Website: ⁠⁠https://jerryevanoff.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠https://jerryevanoffauthor.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠ Rich Kacy Email: ⁠⁠⁠rich@richkacy.com⁠⁠ ⁠BlueSky: @RichKacy⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠https://richkacy.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠ Tags writing podcast self-publishing indie author Facebook ads Amazon attribution book marketing Substack AI writing tools Claude AI OpenRouter mystery writing book rewrite author life Etsy for authors The New Author Podcast

    1hr 6min

  6. 22 May

    Kindle Countdown Chaos and the Michigan Hawk Migration | Ep 355

    This week, Jerry is knee-deep in promo-stack numbers, Facebook ad stats, Amazon rankings, and the slow, humbling reality that book marketing rarely arrives like a fireworks show. Book 1 is in a Kindle Countdown deal, the promo sites are rolling, the emails are out, and the results are... fine. Not awful, not magical, and very much the kind of real-world author experience nobody puts on a motivational poster. Jerry breaks down what sold, what got clicked, what did not get opened, and why the long game still matters more than one big spike. Rich talks about his trip to the far north of Michigan, where he and his family watched hawk migration, saw thousands of blue jays, added a pile of lifers, and froze in weather that sounded more like late November than late May. So if you’ve ever wanted a writing podcast that can pivot from Amazon attribution links to birding in the Upper Peninsula, this episode has you covered. The writing side gets interesting too. Rich talks about building a Claude-based AI co-writer with system instructions, writing samples, and enough setup to make a normal person walk directly into the woods. He also experiments with Google Labs Flow to animate his book cover art for The Dark We Hide, which leads into a fun conversation about how weirdly good these tools are getting and how fast that shift is happening. It’s equal parts useful, exciting, and a little unsettling, which feels about right for AI in 2026. Jerry also gets into Book 3 plotting, feedback from Super Editor Cee, a possible paranormal edge to Chapter 1, and the ongoing process of trying to turn a decent mystery draft into something sharper and stronger before the real writing begins again. There’s also talk about Etsy orders, Amazon ads, an old babysitter buying books, and the possibility of going to Killer Nashville because apparently neither of these men knows how to have one hobby at a time. Contact Us Jerry Evanoff Email: ⁠⁠jerry@jerryevanoff.com⁠⁠ Website: ⁠https://jerryevanoff.com ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://jerryevanoffauthor.substack.com/⁠⁠ Rich Kacy Email: ⁠⁠rich@richkacy.com⁠ ⁠BlueSky: @RichKacy⁠⁠ https://richkacy.substack.com/⁠⁠ Tags writing podcast self-publishing indie author Kindle Countdown Deal Facebook ads Amazon attribution book marketing Claude AI Google Labs Flow Substack bird watching mystery writing author life Killer Nashville The New Author Podcast

    1hr 13min

  7. 11 May

    Plot Surgery, Promo Stacks, and a Very Productive Short Week

    This week’s episode is a shorter one, which in New Author Podcast terms means Jerry only reorganized half a novel instead of the whole publishing industry. He talks about taking a knife to Book 3, cutting scenes, moving key beats around, redefining the midpoint and pinch points, and finally starting to feel like the first half of the story has some real momentum instead of just politely standing there waiting to become a plot. If you’ve ever stared at a draft and realized the fix is not a tweak but a controlled demolition, this one will feel familiar. There’s also a lot of useful indie author talk packed into this shorter episode. Jerry gets into his call with his marketing consultant, the plan for his Kindle Countdown deal, how he’s handling the Facebook ad for it, and why wording like “limited time” still matters when you’re trying to get readers to actually click instead of thoughtfully doing nothing. He also talks through A+ content ideas, setting up comparison-style content across the series, getting his Book 2 paperbacks in hand, and finally being able to start thinking about Etsy because now there are actual physical books sitting on the floor instead of just dreams and browser tabs. Rich had a writing-light week, but not exactly a lazy one. He talks about spending more time on Substack, making connections with other writers, building a small community around his serialized novel, and realizing there’s something pretty fun about having actual people read your work and talk back. He also went on a full 3D-printing tear at work, cranking out buildings, tanks, silos, and assorted tiny railroad-world objects like a man who absolutely did not need another side quest but took one anyway. The episode also wanders, in the best way, through canceled golf, hawk migration trips, Browns heartbreak in a football replay game, Perry Mason recap planning, and the ongoing challenge of turning a solid mystery draft into one with sharper characters, cleaner escalation, and fewer vanilla stretches in the middle. So yes, it’s a short week. It just doesn’t sound like one. David Gaughran Video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYacxyQJPxMContact UsJerry EvanoffEmail: ⁠jerry@jerryevanoff.com⁠Website: ⁠https://jerryevanoff.com⁠⁠https://jerryevanoffauthor.substack.com/⁠ Rich KacyEmail: ⁠rich@richkacy.com⁠BlueSky: @RichKacyhttps://richkacy.substack.com/⁠ Tagswriting podcastself-publishingindie authorbook plottingmystery writingcharacter developmentKindle Countdown DealFacebook ads for authorsA+ contentSubstackPerry Masonauthor marketingEtsy for authors3D printingwriter life

    37 min

  8. 5 May

    Ep 353 | May the Fourth, Murder Mysteries, and an Encyclopedia Brown Midlife Crisis

    This week, Jerry shows up in a Star Wars shirt on May the Fourth, Rich brings the energy of a man enjoying spring fever a little too much, and the episode turns into a mix of writing therapy, publishing strategy, and the sort of side quests that somehow become the whole job. Jerry recaps the release aftermath for Book 2, the preorder setup for Book 3, the endless website and promo work, and the deeply glamorous reality of spending more time on blurbs, ads, links, and metadata than on actual new words. Because apparently “author” now means writer, marketer, web guy, ad tester, and part-time emotional support staff for one’s own career. A big chunk of the episode digs into Book 3, where Jerry realizes the story itself is not the real problem. The plot exists. The chapters exist. The murders exist. The issue is that the whole thing feels too vanilla, which is a rough realization when you are 50,000-plus words into a draft. So now the mission is to stop writing polite mystery people and start building characters with sharper motives, messier secrets, and more of that old-school Dallas, Dynasty, Falcon Crest energy. In other words, less “a murder happened” and more “everyone in this building is hiding something and at least two of them deserve a slap.” There is also a fun stretch about Substack and Perry Mason, where Jerry talks about writing his recap posts ahead of schedule and then gets completely distracted by a fan-fiction idea about an older, washed-up Encyclopedia Brown. Not a parody. Not a joke. A real noir-ish, broken-down, adult Encyclopedia Brown story that he very much wants to write even though it lives in that dangerous “this is probably copyright trouble if I get too serious” zone. So naturally, this means he now wants to toss chapters onto Substack for fun and see what happens. Which is exactly how writers end up with twelve active projects and no free evenings. Rich, meanwhile, has a quieter week on paper and a very Rich week in practice. He finally gets his Substack moving, posting chapters from his work in progress. He also admits he’s been a slug thanks to the weather shift, which feels honest and relatable and a lot healthier than pretending every week is some blazing productivity triumph. They also talk about Amazon ads, promo stacks, A+ content, football games, golf getting rained out yet again, Dutch chocolate ice cream, and the weirdly exhausting process of trying to help an AI understand how readers might discover a mystery series. So this one is a good episode for writers who want the real version of author life, where half the battle is craft, the other half is marketing, and somewhere in the middle you start wondering whether your best idea this week is a noir remake of Encyclopedia Brown. David Gaughrin Link ⁠https://davidgaughran.com/best-promo-sites-books/⁠ Jerry Talks to AI about AI Searching ⁠https://jerryevanoff.com/aisearch⁠ Contact UsJerry EvanoffEmail: ⁠⁠jerry@jerryevanoff.com⁠⁠Website: ⁠⁠https://jerryevanoff.com⁠⁠⁠⁠https://jerryevanoffauthor.substack.com/⁠⁠ Rich Kacy Email: ⁠⁠rich@richkacy.com⁠⁠ BlueSky: @RichKacy⁠⁠ https://richkacy.substack.com/⁠⁠ Tags writing podcast self-publishing indie author book marketing Substack Perry Mason mystery writing plotting novels character development Amazon ads BookBub author life book promotion fan fiction

    1hr 9min
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About

First time authors Jerry Evanoff and Rich Kacy take you through their writing, publishing and marketing strategies. You'll get to hear every success and every mistake along the way.

Information

  • Creator
    Jerry Evanoff
  • Years Active
    2018 - 2026
  • Episodes
    333
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Jerry Evanoff
  • Show Website
    New Author Podcast

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