First Draft with Sarah Enni (general)

Track Changes: After the Book Deal

Listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify

Read the transcript

đź’» âžž đź“š What happens between signing the book contract and seeing a book on shelves? Industry experts walk us through edit letters, production schedules, cover designs, first pass pages, sales meetings and more.

We catch up with Jennifer de Leon as she prepares for the release of her debut young adult novel, Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From, on August 18. (Hear her First Draft interview here.)

Then Katherine Tegen, publisher and editor at Katherine Tegen Books, at HarperCollins; Alvina Ling, Vice President and Editor-in-Chief at Little Brown Books for Young Readers (and co-host of the Book Friends Forever podcast); and Stacey Barney, Executive Editor at G. P. Putnam's Sons, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers Group talk us through

Catch up on the series so far:

Episode 1: Publishing 101

Episode 2: Agents: Who Are They, What Do They Do, And How Do You Get One?

Bonus Episode: Publishing in the time of COVID

Episode 3: Selling Your Book (Part 1)

Episode 4: Selling Your Book (Part 2)

Episode 5: Advances (Part 1)

Episode 6: Contracts


Discussed in this episode:

  • Publishing seasons

  • Edit letters

  • Deadlines

  • Copy Editing

  • Sample Pages

  • Covers

  • Advance Reader Copies, or Galleys

  • Sales Meeting or Sales Conference

  • Acknowledgments

More Information:

Want more information? Sign up for a free 30-day trial of the Track Changes newsletter, which goes a step (or two) further behind the scenes into the publishing world.

Support First Draft by subscribing to the podcast wherever you listen (on Apple Podcasts, Spotfiy, Stitcher, or elsewhere), and leave a rating or review on Apple Podcasts. You can donate to the podcast, on a one time or monthly basis.

Track Changes is produced by Hayley Hershman. Zan Romanoff is the story editor. The music was composed by Dan Bailey, and the logo was designed by Collin Keith.

Direct download: TC_E7_MIX.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

First Draft Episode #243: Opening the Mailbag with Tochi Onyebuchi

Tochi Onyebuchi is the author of Beasts Made of Night, its sequel Crown of Thunder, War Girls and its forthcoming sequel, Rebel Sisters (out in October), and his adult fiction debut Riot Baby, published by Tor.com in January 2020.

Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode

 

I want to hear from you!

Have a question about writing or creativity for Sarah Enni or her guests to answer? To leave a voicemail, call (818) 533-1998.

Subscribe To First Draft with Sarah Enni

Every Tuesday, I speak to storytellers like Veronica Roth, author of Divergent; Linda Holmes, author and host of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast; Jonny Sun, internet superstar, illustrator of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Gmorning, Gnight! and author and illustrator of Everyone’s an Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too;  Michael Dante  DiMartino, co-creator of Avatar: The Last Airbender; John August, screenwriter of Big Fish, Charlie’s Angels, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; or Rhett Miller, musician and frontman for The Old 97s. Together, we take deep dives on their careers and creative works.

Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. It’s free!

Rate, Review, and Recommend

How do you like the show?

Please take a moment to rate and review First Draft with Sarah Enni in Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Your honest and positive review helps others discover the show -- so thank you!

Is there someone you think would love this podcast as much as you do? Please share this episode on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or via carrier pigeon (maybe try a text or e-mail, come to think of it). Just click the Share button at the bottom of this post!

Thanks again!

Direct download: Mailbag_-_Onyebuchi_FINAL.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00am PDT

First Draft Episode #231: Marie Lu and Sarah Enni open the mailbag!

Marie Lu is is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Legend trilogy, The Young Elites trilogy, the Warcross duology, and more. Her newest book, a historical YA fantasy, The Kingdom of Back, comes out March 3, and Skyhunter will be out in fall 2020!

The presenting sponsor for this episode is The Slow Novel Lab, a six-week online writing and creativity course developed and taught by bestselling and award-winning novelist Nina LaCour (listen to her First Draft episodes here and here). The next six-week session of The Slow Novel Lab begins on February 16th, and you can enroll today by going to NinaLaCour.com.

 

Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode

I want to hear from you!

Have a question about writing or creativity for Sarah Enni or her guests to answer? To leave a voicemail, call (818) 533-1998.

 

Subscribe To First Draft with Sarah Enni

Every Tuesday, I speak to storytellers like Veronica Roth, author of Divergent; Linda Holmes, author and host of NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast; Jonny Sun, internet superstar, illustrator of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Gmorning, Gnight! and author and illustrator of Everyone’s an Aliebn When Ur a Aliebn Too;  Michael Dante  DiMartino, co-creator of Avatar: The Last Airbender; John August, screenwriter of Big Fish, Charlie’s Angels, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory; or Rhett Miller, musician and frontman for The Old 97s. Together, we take deep dives on their careers and creative works.

Don’t miss an episode! Subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts. It’s free!

 

Rate, Review, and Recommend

How do you like the show?

Please take a moment to rate and review First Draft with Sarah Enni in Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Your honest and positive review helps others discover the show -- so thank you!

Direct download: Mailbag_-_Lu_FINAL.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 9:47am PDT

Tomi Adeyemi, debut author of Children of Blood and Bone, on thinking she hated reading and writing, spite creativity, and how fantasy helped protect her from the raw pain in her book.

Tomi Adeyemi Show Notes

The Hunger Games (movie)

 Tomi’s blog post, "Why I Write: Telling a Story That Matters."

Black Panther

Avatar: The Last Airbender (TV show)

Ryan Coogler (director)

Launch (podcast)

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Miles Morales by Jason Reynolds

Sign up for Tomi’s newsletter

Direct download: 3.13_Tomi_Adeyemi_FINAL.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:10am PDT

A lovely conversation with Jennifer E. Smith, author of The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight, The Geography of You and Me, and Hello, Goodbye, and Everything In Between, and her most recent novel, Windfall. She talks about the teacher who made all the difference, and some key questions, like: are we all always writing the same story? And can you be an optimist and believe in fate?

 

Jennifer E Smith Show Notes

Lauren Graham

Mary Higgins Clark

John Grisham

The Babysitters’ Club by Ann M. Martin

Saddle Club by Bonnie Bryant

Black Stallion by Walter Farley

Where the Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls

Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt

Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson

Frederick Busch 

Elizabeth Strout

Justin Cronin

Ha Jin

Amanda "Blinky" Urban at ICM (agent)

Toni Morrison

Haruki Murakami

Donna Tartt

E. L. Doctorow

Cormac McCarthy

Jennifer Egan

Kazuo Ishiguro

Richard Ford 

Anna Quindlen

The Keep by Jennifer Eagan

The Lay of the Land by Richard Ford

Jennifer Joel (Jenn’s agent)

Looking for Alaska by John Green

Sarah Dessen

Emily Meehan (editor)

What Alice Forgot by Liane Moriarty

The Privileges by Jonathan Dee

The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

Maurene Goo (listen to her First Draft interviews here and here)

Sliding Doors (movie)

Julie Buxbaum (listen to her First Draft interview here)

Direct download: Jennifer_E._Smith_2.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 10:12am PDT

Imagine you’re watching a sherbet-colored sunset in the Hollywood hills while enjoying avocado toast with Anna Carey, author of the EVE trilogy and DEADFALL, the sequel to BLACKBIRD, out now!

Anna Carey Show Notes

Lorrie Moore

Aimee Bender

Nicole Krauss

Amanda Davis

Lisa Papademetriou

The Sackett Street Writer's Workshops

Julia Fierro

826NYC & the Brooklyn Superhero Supply Store

Michael Cunningham

Etsy print of It Doesn’t Have to be Perfect, it Just Has to Exist, by Gemma Flack

THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING by Jonathan Safran Foer

Ira Glass quote

Alison Cherry FOR REAL (her First Draft interview)

Stephen King ON WRITING

YALLWest

Ransom Riggs, Gretchen McNeilKatie Alender

Anna Solomon

Dr. Brene Brown

NIGHT CIRCUS by Erin Morgenstern

 

 

Direct download: Anna_Carey.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 10:50am PDT

Take a siesta with Kiersten White, New York Times best-selling author of the PARANORMALCY series, MIND GAMES, THE CHAOS OF STARS and more, as she talks about the challenge of balancing writing with kids, the fresh new challenge that every book brings, and hear her read some amazing(ly hilarious) high school poetry!

 

Kiersten White Show Notes

 

Natalie WhippleStephanie Perkins

Kiersten’s blog

Erica Sussman

Jim Di Bartolo

Laini Taylor

 

LIPS TOUCH: THREE TIMES by Laini Taylor with illustrations by Jim Di Bartolo

Direct download: Kiersten_White_2.m4a
Category:general -- posted at: 11:28am PDT

1