Friends,

I'm very excited to share with you the following announcement:

I know I've hinted at a forthcoming book with my Hungry Authors co-host, Liz Morrow. Now, we can finally share the official news with you!!

We are SO grateful for the encouragement and support of so many people (including many of you!!) who gave us feedback on our proposal and idea, listened & reviewed our podcast, shared our posts on social media, and gave us opportunities to share our ideas with the world. We feel humbled by your faith in us, and we hope to make you very proud with this book!

Here's a picture of me and Liz the very first time we met in person - just a little over a year ago! This was before we'd even thought about writing a book together. This was back when we were just two friends who loved writing and were figuring out how to do freelance life at the same time.

We plan to end the first season of our podcast with an in-depth episode sharing our own journey with this book, so keep a look-out for that at the end of June.

Something that doesn't get talked about enough in publishing/writing land is the benefits of coauthoring - but I can tell you that that has been by far the best part of this whole process!

LOVE YOU, LIZ!!

What no one tells you about working with a publisher

Recently, style and beauty influencer Hilary Rushford shared in a three-part podcast series that she had been working on a book—and, unfortunately, had just about the worst possible publishing experience you could ever imagine.

In her podcast, she tells a story of heartache and misunderstanding, disappointed expectations and unprofessional behavior. It’s the absolute worst case scenario of what can go wrong in a publishing partnership, and it's been traumatizing for Hilary.

As far as we know, Hilary did everything right. She hired a book coach. She signed with reputable, experienced literary agents. She interviewed the publishing team before signing the agreement. They interviewed her. And yet, despite what I can only imagine were dozens of meetings and conversations, no one gave her realistic expectations, informed her of publishing norms, or ran through the what-if scenarios with her.

As a book coach, but especially as a former acquisitions editor, I know what publishing houses can be like. And I spend a large amount of my time helping people get traditional book deals. And yet, I don’t think I’ve told my authors about some of the truths that evidently caught Hilary off guard. Am I setting them up for failure?

This feels like a weird article to share today in light of my own news above. But here's the thing. I have my eyes open. Liz & I thought long and hard about what the right publishing path was for us. We debated the benefits of self-publishing, hybrid, and traditional - and ultimately decided that traditional publishing would put us closer to our long-term goals. And we were prepared to go another route if this one didn't work out (putting our Hungry Authors mindset into action!). We're very pleased and excited about our partnership with Rowman & Littlefield, AND we have realistic expectations about it.

Reader, I want to make sure that you also have realistic expectations going into any publishing deal and that you’re not surprised by some of the norms and realities of the publishing industry.

On the Hungry Authors Podcast

As so many authors know, it's hard to build a platform. It's hard to get the word out about your book. Whatever happened to publishing books for the sheer joy of the stories they tell? These are the problems that Zibby Owens is addressing with her podcast, Moms Don't Have Time to Read Books (@momsdonthavetimetoreadbooks), her publishing company (@zibbybooks), her bookstore (@zibbysbookshop), and more. Zibby is a force for positive change in the publishing world and we were so grateful for the opportunity to chat with her about everything she's doing! You're going to love this podcast if...

• You feel like you've been in a reading slump
• You've ever wondered what it's like to own a bookstore
• You hate how hard it is to build a platform and just want to learn about a woman-owned publishing company that truly cares about the quality of the writing/stories and invests in personal relationships

More for You

My Favorite Podcasts

Several of you were excited about the newsletters I shared last week, so I thought this week I would share my favorite podcasts! The theme with all of these is that I learn something new from them nearly every time I listen (except that last one - that's just for kicks!).

• ​The Daily Stoic by Ryan Holiday - I know, shocker. This is a daily podcast, but I only listen to the interviews, which are on Wednesdays & Saturdays. He's an incredible interviewer and I know even if I've never heard of the guest (or they are famous in something I care nothing about, like sports), it's going to be a great conversation.
• ​The Daily Writer with Kent Sanders - Kent is a wonderful ghostwriter with great resources available through The Daily Writer Club. I tend to listen to the short episodes in batches, because they're often part of a series and I like to hear the whole idea, but I also love Kent's episodes with other book professionals. I learn so much!
• ​No Stupid Questions with Angela Duckworth - I've listened to this show for years, and it was originally cohosted by Angela Duckworth (author of Grit) and Stephen Dubner (of Freakonomics fame). Stephen recently left to focus on other projects, and I've enjoyed Angela's temporary co-host, Maria Konnikova (psychologist/pro poker player). In every episode, they answer an interesting question from a psychological perspective.
• ​Grammar Girl with Mignon Fogarty - This podcast scratches my nerdy, word-loving itch! If you want to know why we pronounce words certain ways or whether you're using the phrase "begs the question" correctly, you'll love this.
• ​Artists for Joy by Merideth Hite Estevez - You met Merideth last week when she was a guest on our podcast, and hopefully you hopped over to hers to listen! I love that this podcast comes out on Fridays - it's a much-needed bit of meditation and relaxation after a hectic week. Merideth has so much wisdom for creatives!
• ​I Will Teach You to Be Rich with Ramit Sethi - I love getting a glimpse into other people's lives, and part of the attraction to this show is guilty pleasure snooping. But hey, they're airing their financial laundry, so it's fair game! And also - I have learned so much from Ramit Sethi about how to manage my own finances.
• ​Enneagram and Marriage with Christa Hardin - This one is for the relationships! The Enneagram and Christa's advice specifically have been SO HELPFUL for my marriage! I view this podcast as an easy way to remind me of what's important and how to love my spouse better.
• ​Moms Don’t Have Time to Read Books with Zibby Owens - See above - Zibby interviews the coolest people about their books, like Jen Hatmaker, Alicia Keys, James Patterson, and many more.
• ​Second Date Update from Brooke and Jeffrey in the Morning - This is a total guilty pleasure and I'm pretty sure most of the calls are made up, but essentially: Someone calls the show because they've been ghosted by a love interest. So the radio hosts call the ghoster (ghost?) and find out why they ghosted, while the other person is listening. It almost always ends in some crazy unexpected drama!

If you listen to a great podcast you love, tell me about it!

Find Your Blue Ocean Book Idea

Speaking of great interviews, Ryan Holiday's interview with Renee Mauborgne about "Blue Ocean" strategy is worth listening to, as Ryan unpacks how he applied the concept to his NYT bestselling books. Listen here.

Camp Book Proposal for Memoir Writers!

My friend Lisa Cooper Ellison (guest on episode 17 of the Hungry Authors podcast) is teaching a 31-day book proposal intensive specifically for memoir writers. Lisa is a brilliant trauma-informed educator and writer, and I highly recommend her work! Find out more here.​

What's Bringing Me Joy

Liz and I are almost done prepping for the Book Map Beta course, which starts in June!! Now I can tell you that the insights we learn from this course will not only help us with future teaching plans, but will also inform Hungry Authors the book as well! We spent last Friday recording all of the videos. And since I love you, you can watch the Welcome video right here! We have 15 people signed up, which is more than we expected - but we're open to a few more if you want to join! :)

I won't be sending an email next week, because I'll be celebrating my husband's birthday glamping in Pigeon Forge and hiking the Smoky Mountains with little to no email access (I hope). Wishing you lots of reading & writing time for your Memorial week!

Ariel