40 episodes
Publishing Rodeo: The Good, The Bad, and the Bloody Ugly Sunyi Dean
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- Arts
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5.0 • 101 Ratings
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In 2022, two authors debuted in the same genre, with the same publisher, in the same year. Yet each of their books, and subsequently each of their careers, went in very different directions. That pattern repeats itself throughout the industry, over and over. Why does this happen, and what does it mean?
In this Hugo-nominated podcast, we aim to answer those questions and many more, using collated experiences from ourselves, friends, colleagues, and a slew of industry professionals in an attempt to deconstruct what makes or breaks a book, along with how to build–and maintain!–an author career.
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S2 E32 - Our Hugo Awards "Voter Pack" Compilation
This audio file is a compilation of 11 clips across various episodes, and is part of our submission to the Hugo Awards "Voter Pack." Everyone who pays for Hugo membership is given a "voter pack" with electronic copies of the books, short fiction, novellas, essays, and--in our case--audio files for fancasts.
Rather than subject voters to hours of episodes, we've chosen to create a short(ish) compilation, spanning the whole of our show! Runtime is only 31 minutes, and we hope it will give you a sense of the kind of humor, content, and discussion that we cover on Pub Rodeo.
Transcripts + show notes are on our website, and on RSS.com. -
S2 E38: Taking Charge Of Your Book Launch, ft. Alexander Darwin
After submitting his debut self-pub novel to the annual SPFBO (self published fantasy blog-off) competition and reaching the semi-finals, Alex Darwin landed himself with a "trad deal" and agent. In the months leading up to his trad re-launch, Alex applied his self-pub experience to his upcoming book launch, trying a number of different angles. Reflecting back, he shares what kind of tactics worked best to give his book the best possible chance.
Topics covered:
Being a hybrid authorHow SPFBO works and can benefit indie authorsPaying for publicity (via Black Crow) in the UK specificallyCollaborative efforts with Orbit on marketing/publicity in the USABook Tours (an assessment and reflection)Finding an angle for pubs to useThinking about longterm goalsLitRPGs and why they remain indieTheories about the goal of OrbitWorks (digital only imprints)Chatter about jujitsu and other nonsense -
S2 - BONUS CLIP: Scott Versus The Elk
Just an outtakes edit from Alex Darwin's episode 38, in which Scott shares a hunting misadventure. Absolutely no industry content whatsoever, simply a short bit of chat. Also featuring: Alex Darwin and Sunyi Dean.
CONTENT WARNING: Animal hunting (elk) is discussed in detail, which may be upsetting to some listeners. -
S2 37 - Reasons To Keep Writing, ft. David Wragg
After solid sales for his first duology, David Wragg's next book series got caught in the infamous post-covid "midlist death spiral". After this current trilogy finishes, his future in trad is uncertain at best.But with his usual good-natured humor,
Wragg cheerfully dissects the past six years of his career, including advances, royalties (or negative royalties in this case), the reality of post-debut book deals, and the differences in production quality between tiers of books. Finally, he and Scott discuss the pressing question of how and why authors keep writing, despite it all. (Though this episode description may seem bleak, we promise it has a few laughs along the way.) -
S2 E36 - The Problem with Author Book Events, w/ Sam Missingham
What's the deal with author book events? Are they useful, do they shift books, and why do they all follow the same format? This week, we speak with Sam Missingham, who spent many years working with the Bookseller, and later with Harper as an author events creator. We talk about what works and what doesn't, whether hiring publicists as a trad author is worth the time, the influence of class and connections in publishing, and the real reason so many publisher-run book events fall a little flat. If authors want a successful career, Sam stresses that this requires a long-term perspective and a focus on writing multiple books, as well as a creative and individual approach to self-marketing.
00:00 Introduction01:00 Background and Experience in the Publishing Industry04:11 The Role of Events in Book Marketing07:05 The Challenges of Filling Book Events09:00 The Value of Events for Debut Authors10:26 The Influence of Class and Connections in Publishing15:00 The Myth of the Slush Pile18:39 The Need for Engaging and Fun Book Events20:24 The Value of Indie Author Events25:26 The Role of Marketing and Publicity for Authors27:22 Working with Traditionally Published Authors31:33 The Challenges of Hiring PR and Marketing Services41:57 The Empowered Author and Building a Strong Author Platform -
S2 E35 - AI Generation and the Future of Cover Art, w/ cover designer Steve Leard
Steve Lead is a freelance cover artist and industry podcaster, with many years' experience working on book cover designs in the publishing industry. Today, he sits down to help demystify the complicated process that goes into creating a book cover. We discuss briefs, trends, industry pay (or lack of it), the impact of thumbnail images on print books--and finally, the elephant in the room: the burgeoning technology that is generative AI, and what it might mean for us all.
00:00 Introduction and Background
03:08 Interactions with Authors and the Design Process
07:03 The Design Brief and Constraints
09:02 Pay and Salaries in the Design Industry
12:04 The Impact of Thumbnails on Book Covers
32:31 The Role of AI in Writing and Design
34:00 Concerns and Fears about AI in the Creative Industry
35:06 Legal Ramifications of AI in Publishing
36:27 The Need for Accountability and Fair Compensation
37:21 Controversies and Criticisms of OpenAI
39:16 The Impact of AI on Artists and Creators
41:14 The Dark Side of AI and Social Media
44:34 The Use of AI in Social Media Platforms
46:18 The Potential Benefits and Limitations of AI
48:08 The Controversy of Cover Quotes on Book Jackets
53:43 The Frustration with Front Cover Quotes
Customer Reviews
Saying the quiet part out loud
Love the honest talk about the joys and challenges of a writing career. Well done!
Entertaining and Educational
Happened upon this after finishing my first book, and it’s been a fascinating look inside the world of publishing. The hosts Sunyi and Scott are both published authors who share their own journeys and shine light on some of the ups and many of the downs that have come with being a published author. Very eye opening and entertaining!
More open-mindedness to other motivations for writing
This is a podcast that does what it says on the tin - provide fantastic, no-punches-held exchange of information about the publishing industry. I think that is so valuable - especially when publishers hoard information and take advantage of the hope and emotional aspect of publishing, and don’t make the path to financial sustainability (if that’s what you seek via publishing) clear.
However. I think this isn’t necessarily a great podcast to listen to you if you’re still exploring your personal motivations for distributing and selling stories. I really disliked the shared laugh in the recent episode about publishers that exist for MFA poets, for instance. I’m not saying this is inaccurate - but rather, there’s not a good line being drawn between predatory or vanity publishing on one hand and the idea that people may write and distribute and even publish for a wider spectrum of motivations than traditional book deal success. Again, none of this is necessarily within the scope of this podcast, and that’s fine! But I wish the hosts would engage that possibility more thoughtfully, as the tone of the show can sometimes perversely reinforce the idea that trad publishing is the ultimate marker that literary life has value.
I still like and respect the show, but I wanted to give that warning - this approach might not feel great if you don’t share the goals and values expressed here, however thoughtfully and critically they’re presented, and you should be aware of that as a listener.
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