First Draft Episode #260: Hank Green

Hank Green talks about A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor, the sequel to his #1 New York Times bestselling debut, An Absolutely Remarkable Thing. Hank is, along with his brother John Green, the CEO of Complexly, co-host of the Vlogbrothers YouTube channel and the Dear Hank and John podcast, and is also co-founder of VidCon, DFTBA Records, and Crash Course.

Be sure to check out A Mighty Blaze’s YA Weekend July 25-26, 2020! All events streamed live at Facebook.com/AMightyBlaze!

Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode

• Lord of the Flies by William Golding

• Jurassic Park by Michael Crichton

• Sideways Stories From Wayside School by Louis Sachar

• The Mars Trilogy, which starts with Red Mars, by Kim Stanley Robinson

• John Green, Printz-winning author of Looking for Alaska and The Fault in Our Stars

• There There by Tommy Orange

• Recursion by Blake Crouch

• Zurg Enterprises in The Fifth Element (movie)

• The Solitaire Mystery by Jostein Gaarder

• House of Leaves by Mark Z. Danielewski

   

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

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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.

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Track Changes: After the Book Deal

Listen to the podcast on Apple Podcasts and Spotify

Read the transcript

💻 ➞ 📚 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:

• “Edit Letters in Traditional Publishing” by Susan Dennard

• “Editorial Letters and Line Edits in Traditional Publishing” by Susan Dennard

• “Understanding Copy Edits as an Author” by Susan Dennard

• “How a Cover is Born” by Susan Dennard

• “Understanding First Pass Pages” by Susan Dennard

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.

First Draft Episode #259: Ann Friedman and Aminatou Sow

Ann Friedman and Aminatou Sow are media mavens, co-hosts of the phenomenal CALL YOUR GIRLFRIEND podcast, and debut co-authors of friendship memoir BIG FRIENDSHIP.

Today’s episode is brought to you by KEEP MY HEART IN SAN FRANCISCO, by Amelia Diane Coombs, out today from Simon & Schuster.

Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode

• Voice of America and RFI (Radio France Internationale)

• Ann and Aminatou were set up by their mutual friend, Dayo Olopade. They talked to Dayo about their friendship origin story on a recent episode of Call Your Girlfriend

• Shine Theory (and the original article that popularized the term, published in The Cut)

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

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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!

First Draft Episode #258: Ally Carter

Ally Carter, New York Times bestselling author of the Gallagher Girls series, the Heist Society series, the Embassy Row series, Not If I Save You First, Dear Ally: How Do You Write a Book?, and a new middle grade series that kicks off with Winterborne Home for Vengeance and Valor.

Today’s episode is brought to you by Hank Green’s A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor, out July 7, the sequel and conclusion to Green’s debut novel, the New York Times bestselling An Absolutely Remarkable Thing.

Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode

• Screenplay by Syd Field

• The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton

• The Romance Writers of America (RWA)

• Ally’s agent is Kristin Nelson of the Nelson Literary Agency (who appeared on the Bonus Episode of Track Changes about Publishing During the Time of COVID)

• The Earth, My Butt, and Other Round Things by Carolyn Mackler

• Sarah Rees Brennan, author of Unspoken, The Demon’s Lexicon, and more

• Gordon Korman, author of Schooled, Ungifted, Swindle, and more

• Meg Cabot, author of The Princess Diaries, Size 12 is Not Fat, Shadowland, and more

• Leigh Bardugo, author of Shadow and Bone, Six of Crows, and Ninth House (listen to her First Draft interviews here, here, and here)

• Holly Black, author of The Cruel Prince, Tithe: A Modern Fairytale, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, The Spiderwick Chronicles, and more (listen to her First Draft interview here)

• Janet Evanovich, author of the One For the Money series

• Rick Riordan, author of Percy Jackson and The Heroes of Olympus series, The Kane Chronicles, and more

• Karen McManus, author of One of Us Is Lying

• Sarah MacLean, author of A Rogue by Any Other Name, Nine Rules to Break When Romancing a Rake, and more (also host of the podcast Fated Mates)

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!

Lennon Parham and Jessica St. Clair are comedians and actors, who created, wrote, and starred in Best Friends Forever and Playing House,

This episode is brought to you by Highland 2, the writing software made by writers, for writers.

Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode

• Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery

• Lois Duncan, author of I Know What You Did Last Summer, Stranger With My Face, and Who Killed My Daughter? The True Story of a Mother’s Search For Her Daughter’s Murderer

• Encyclopedia Brown, Boy Detective by Donald J. Sobol

• Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George

• Emma and Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

• “The Ladies Who Lunch” and Elaine Stritch

• Actor, comedian, and screenwriter Jason Mantzoukas

• Poet and playwright Dan O’Brien

• Comedy writer Rodney Rothman

• The Upright Citizens Brigade

• Who’s Line is it Anyway (TV show)

• The Wild and Crazy Guys, starring Steve Martin and Dan Akroyd

• Coneheads (SNL skit and movie)

• Howard the Duck (movie)

• Odyssey of the Mind

• Actor and comedian Seth Morris

• Actor and comedian Jack McBrayer

• Screenwriter Scot Armstrong

• Ravi Nandan, writing partner with Scott Armstrong

• Actor and comedian Adam Pally (who was on Happy Endings)

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!

📑🔍 Contracts! We get into the basic structure of your contract, and all the rights, clauses, provisions, and negotiated terms you need to know to make sure your contracts is right right for this book and beyond.

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 Sarah Burnes, literary agent with The Gernert Company, and Jo Volpe, literary agent and President of New Leaf Literary & Media, break down what authors should know to look for in their contracts. And Kate Sullivan, senior content development manager at New Leaf Literary & Media and former senior editor at many Big 5 publishing houses, breaks it down from an editor’s point of view.

First Draft Episode #256: Elizabeth Acevedo

Elizabeth Acevedo, New York Times bestselling author of The Poet X, winner of the 2018 National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, the Printz Award for Excellence in Young Adult Fiction, the CILIP Carnegie Medal, and the Boston Globe-Hornbook Award. She is also the author of With the Fire on High and Clap When You Land, out now!

This episode is brought to you by Highland 2, the writing software made by writers, for writers.

Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode

• The Nuyorican Poets Cafe

• A handful of Elizabeth’s viral poems

• Anna Deavere Smith and Sarah Jones are both poets who had one woman shows, which inspired Elizabeth in college

• Nikki Giovanni, Tupac, Lucille Clifton were some poets who shaped Elizabeth

• Jacqueline Woodson, author of Brown Girl Dreaming, I Hadn’t Meant to Tell You This, and Red At the Bone

• Walter Dean Myers, author of Monster, Scorpions, and dozens more books

• Julia Alvarez, author of Before We Were Free, Return to Sender, and more

• Sandra Cisneros, author of The House on Mango Street, Woman Hollering Creek and many more

• Phil Bildner, author of High Five For Glenn Burke, and Marvelous Cornelius: Hurricane Katrina and the Spirit of New Orleans

• Angela Johnson’s Coretta Scott King-winning The First Part Last was dedicated to Elizabeth Acevedo

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!

First Draft Episode #255: Robyn Schneider

Robyn Schneider is the New York Times bestselling author of The Beginning of Everything, Extraordinary Means, Invisible Ghosts, and more. Her newest book, You Don’t Live Here, is out now!

This episode is brought to you by Highland 2, the writing software made by writers, for writers.

Links and Topics Mentioned In This Episode

• Amelia Atwater-Rhodes, author of Hawksong and In the Forests of Night, was first published at age 13

• Jennifer Ung, now a Senior Editor at Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, was one of the first people to read The Beginning of Everything

• Robyn knew John Green, author of The Fault in Our Stars and Looking for Alaska, from David Levithan’s YA author meet-ups in New York City

• Vlogbrothers, the YouTube channel that John Green started with his brother, Hank, in 2007

• Hamilton (musical)

• The Great (TV series)

• A Knight’s Tale (movie)

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!

This episode featuring Julian Winters, author of Running with Lions, first aired on July 31, 2018. Since then, Julian has released How to Be Remy Cameron, and his latest book, The Summer of Everything, is coming out September 8.

Julian Winters Show Notes

One Direction

Felicity (TV show)

Scandal (TV show)

Scott Foley

Kirsten Hubbard (listen to her First Draft podcast here)

Sara Farizan (author of IF YOU COULD BE MINE and TELL ME AGAIN HOW A CRUSH SHOULD FEEL and the forthcoming HERE TO STAY - listen to her First Draft interview here)

BOY MEETS BOY by David Levithan

Robbie Rogers (out soccer player)

Nic Stone (author of DEAR MARTIN and the forthcoming ODD ONE OUT - listen to her First Draft interview here)

INTO THE BLUE by Pene Henson

LUCHADOR by Erin Finnegan

Becky Albertalli, author of SIMON VERSUS THE HOMO SAPIENS AGENDA (listen to her First Draft podcast here)

Patrice Caldwell

Simon James Green, author of NOAH CAN’T EVEN

Adam Silvera (listen to his First Draft interview here)

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!

Let’s talk about money: how do authors get paid, how much do authors get paid, and what do they need to keep in mind when the checks roll in?

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 4. (Hear her First Draft interview here.)

Courtney Maum, author of Before and After the Book Deal: A Writer’s Guide to Finishing, Publishing, Promoting, and Surviving Your First Book lays out the basics of book advances.

Holly Root, founder of Root Literary and Seth Fishman, literary agent with The Gernert Company give a helpful overview of how much authors are paid across a variety of age categories and genres. And Sarah Burnes, literary agent with The Gernert Company, walks through what earning out means.

Then, we get into #PublishingPaidMe with Tochi Onyebuchi, who, along with L.L. MicKinney, started the viral publishing industry pay transparency movement.