One-Drink Book Club

Johnny B. Truant
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The One-Drink Book Club is an informal, (almost) weekly series in which fellow author Emma Lee Jayne joins me and our other creative friends to talk about the life, business, and art of writing and making books … for the duration of one Friday-afternoon drink. johnnybtruant.substack.com

  1. ODBC 048 - We Have Answered All of the World's Writing Questions

    Apr 26

    ODBC 048 - We Have Answered All of the World's Writing Questions

    The One-Drink Book Club is an informal, (almost) weekly series in which fellow author Emma Lee Jayne joins me and our other creative friends to talk about the life, business, and art of writing and making books … for the duration of one Friday-afternoon drink. Here’s what we talked about in this episode: * Breaking the flow in writing and how it’s an annoying downward spiral * Reading Dungeon Crawler Carl and being totally jealous of Matt Dinniman * Borrowing the mood and vibe of existing scenes from other stories * Bill spoils The Count of Monte Cristo, then performs a story that’s just as brilliant * I drop a pair of philosophical bombs that will be forever debated by scholars for the ages: * Is the best motivation for writing a book “Just because you want to”? * Are we actually writing to express ourselves, or are we writing to connect with others and therefore share an experience with other humans? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit johnnybtruant.substack.com

    49 min
  2. ODBC 047 - The Big Obnoxious AI Episode

    Apr 5

    ODBC 047 - The Big Obnoxious AI Episode

    The One-Drink Book Club is an informal, (almost) weekly series in which fellow author Emma Lee Jayne joins me and our other creative friends to talk about the life, business, and art of writing and making books … for the duration of one Friday-afternoon drink. Disclaimer: Please don’t respond to this episode to argue with me about AI. I have zero interest in arguing it and will ignore that sort of thing. We are neither pro nor con on AI in this episode, though my natural need to see the glass as half full does try very hard to see possibilities of good. Instead of making arguments for or against emerging technologies, we are instead mainly exploring the issue on a philosophical basis, and everyone knows that philosophical discussions are infuriatingly devoid of actual conclusions and instead end with the philosophers saying, “Nothing can be known!” and then going out and getting drunk. Here’s what we talked about in this episode: * What kinds of readers are there in the world? I think it’s more than most authors usually consider. Which readers are there for connection with the author’s intent, versus who simply wants the story? * Do we write for commerce, or because we want to? (Can’t it be both?) * Is AI a creative tool or a lurking threat? We explore some options on both sides. * Is it possible that AI will — after some sure-to-be turbulence in the meantime — actually purify the intent of art … meaning something we create simply because we want to create it? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit johnnybtruant.substack.com

    1h 3m
  3. ODBC 046 - Art is Collaborative

    Feb 28

    ODBC 046 - Art is Collaborative

    The One-Drink Book Club is an informal, (almost) weekly series in which fellow author Emma Lee Jayne joins me and our other creative friends to talk about the life, business, and art of writing and making books … for the duration of one Friday-afternoon drink. Here’s what we talked about in this episode: * Art isn’t something made by one person. Art, including books, is a collaborative medium, and depends on the reader almost as much as the author. * We attack our frequent whipping boy: literary vs genre writing * Inserting pop culture and personal references to our hearts’ content * Here’s a theory: Writers should be amused by their own work. Makes it better for readers, right? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit johnnybtruant.substack.com

    45 min
  4. ODBC 045 - Writing for Yourself Instead of Others, Different Revision Styles, and Publishing As You Go

    Feb 22

    ODBC 045 - Writing for Yourself Instead of Others, Different Revision Styles, and Publishing As You Go

    The One-Drink Book Club is an informal, (almost) weekly series in which fellow author Emma Lee Jayne joins me and our other creative friends to talk about the life, business, and art of writing and making books … for the duration of one Friday-afternoon drink. Here’s what we talked about in this episode: * Emma and I are finally back in the groove of writing after a long time away … and what the transition back into flow feels like. * Working with editors and soliciting feedback … and ultimately, who are you writing for? * Revising a completed draft and rearranging/adding scenes after the fact … and why the idea of ever doing that gives me (Johnny) chills. * Plotting intuitively vs. overtly * Writing and publishing as you go … sort of like what Sean and I did with Fiction Unboxed back in 2014 (on Kickstarter, before author Kickstarters were cool). This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit johnnybtruant.substack.com

    49 min
  5. ODBC 044 - Writers' Inertia, Worldbuilding, and the Non-Douchey Alternative to Focus Groups

    Jan 11

    ODBC 044 - Writers' Inertia, Worldbuilding, and the Non-Douchey Alternative to Focus Groups

    The One-Drink Book Club is an informal, (almost) weekly series in which fellow author Emma Lee Jayne joins me and our other creative friends to talk about the life, business, and art of writing and making books … for the duration of one Friday-afternoon drink. Here’s what we talked about in this episode: * WE RETURN! AGAIN! Remember how on the last episode, we said, “WE RETURN!” and apologized for being gone for two months and then I said, “We’d promise not to do it again, but we absolutely will?” Well, turns out I know us well. So we started the episode by giving updates and talking about how the end of last year was weird. THIS TIME WE’RE ACTUALLY BACK. Maybe. * Bill’s been writing and talked about the elusive “writer’s high,” which Emma and I both said we were working hard to get back, then talked about how hard it is to find that flow state again. Damn you, Bill. * I’m impatient with worldbuilding. I didn’t realize until Emma talked about how long it takes to build worlds. * Why live events are the best kind of book research and business work you can do as an author … kind of like less-s****y focus groups. * We closed with the idea of being stubborn and writing what you want, as opposed to scoping the market and deciding in advance to write something that will sell. It’s all artists up in this m**********r, so guess which way we leaned on that one? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit johnnybtruant.substack.com

    41 min
  6. ODBC 043 - Mike and Bill Get Writing, Linear vs. Non-Linear Writing, and the Surprising Lessons of Songwriting

    10/11/2025

    ODBC 043 - Mike and Bill Get Writing, Linear vs. Non-Linear Writing, and the Surprising Lessons of Songwriting

    The One-Drink Book Club is an informal, (almost) weekly series in which fellow author Emma Lee Jayne joins me and our other creative friends to talk about the life, business, and art of writing and making books … for the duration of one Friday-afternoon drink. Here’s what we talked about in this episode: * WE RETURN! Sorry it’s been like 2 months since we recorded last. Life got in the way. We’d promise not to do it again but we absolutely will. * Big creative leaps across the board since our last recording! Mike published his “memoir in verse,” Second Half. Bill’s still writing the story that’s been in his head forever. Emma was absent this week, but … yeah, I’m sure she did stuff, too. * After hearing the all-over-the-place way Bill’s been writing, I couldn’t help but compare it to the COMPLETELY OPPOSITE way that I work, and am currently working with Sean Platt’s and my forthcoming Unicorn Heathens. I have to go from A to Z. Nothing changes orders. Ever. We talked a bit about process linearity, but then dove into … * I’ve gotten into songwriting, in addition to book-writing. The story of why and how is here. But it’s interesting how the two are similar, and how I’m finding myself completely comfortable with writing song lyrics at the same time as I’m brand new and uncomfortable. It’s interesting. * The clip of Bob Schneider talking about the song camp and how awesome I am is on this episode of his podcast with Clint Wells. The interesting part begins at time index 18:15. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit johnnybtruant.substack.com

    50 min
  7. ODBC 042 - Refilling the Creative Well, Raking Story Threads, and the Return of Unicorn Western

    08/10/2025

    ODBC 042 - Refilling the Creative Well, Raking Story Threads, and the Return of Unicorn Western

    The One-Drink Book Club is an informal, (almost) weekly series in which fellow author Emma Lee Jayne joins me and our other creative friends to talk about the life, business, and art of writing and making books … for the duration of one Friday-afternoon drink. Here’s what we talked about in this episode: * I’m currently recording the audiobook of The Artisan Author (check it out here before it ends, if you’re a writer) — stories of recording foibles abound. * Mike and I talked about the nebulous ideas of “the need to express oneself” and “refilling the creative well.” Both sound pretentious … and both are very real. * I shared a “keeping track of the story” metaphor I haven’t talked much about before … that of “raking everything constantly back to the center.” (Stephen King doesn’t rake. He sets off bombs. * And finally, I buried the lede with Mike by casually mentioning my return to the Unicorn Western story world — something I thought he knew, but that was instead an underwhelming announcement. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit johnnybtruant.substack.com

    39 min

  8. 08/02/2025

    BONUS EPISODE - The Self Publishing Podcast reunion episode

    This week’s episode isn’t actually an episode of the ODBC! I thought I’d share it here, though, because I think faithful One Drink Book Club listeners would enjoy it. Back in the long-long ago, I used to be on one of the first major self-publishing podcasts … early enough, in fact, that we simply called ourselves “The Self Publishing Podcast.” It was me and two fun, irreverent partners: Sean Platt and David Wright. And guys, we had SO MUCH FUN on that show. It wasn’t just us, either; it was the audience that made it fun as well. We had a great community … and doing the Kickstarter for The Artisan Author (which is still going for just a bit longer, by the way) got me thinking about that old show and community. So I pitched Sean and Dave on doing a single “reunion episode of SPP” … and this is it. OH! And if you’d prefer the video version of this show, it’s here. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit johnnybtruant.substack.com

    1h 20m
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About

The One-Drink Book Club is an informal, (almost) weekly series in which fellow author Emma Lee Jayne joins me and our other creative friends to talk about the life, business, and art of writing and making books … for the duration of one Friday-afternoon drink. johnnybtruant.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    Johnny B. Truant
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    49
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Johnny B. Truant
  • Show Website
    One-Drink Book Club