Behind The Scenes Episodes

In this Behind the Scenes interview, Christopher and I chat about his role as Art Director at Dutton and what it entails, how his department has changed since he started at Dutton, the step-by-step process for designing a book cover, his favorite part of the design process, how visiting local indie bookstores is a large part of his job, and much more.

In this Behind the Scenes interview, Kevan and I chat about her role as a literary agent, forming her own agency, what she is looking for when is pitched by writers, how the manuscript submission process works, the importance of blurbs, the Lyonesses, and much more.

In this Behind the Scenes interview, Robin Whitten and I chat about how she created AudioFile Magazine and its role in the publishing industry, how the magazine chooses which audiobooks to review, focusing on the listening experience versus the reading experience, the two podcasts the magazine hosts, serializing Dracula on its Audiobook Break podcast, the Golden Voices and Earphones Awards, and much more.

In this Behind the Scenes interview, Anne Bogel and I chat about the space she has carved out in the book world, how she originally got started with her blog and then her podcast, creating a format for her podcast What Should I Read Next?, helping readers learn how to identify what didn't work about a book for them personally, whether she ever DNFs a book, how books get on her radar, and much more.

In this Behind the Scenes interview, Brian provides an inside look at working as a Penguin Adult Field Rep for Texas, Oklahoma, and Colorado, how he got started, the imprints he sells, the must-see independent bookstores he loves, how he decides what he will recommend in his role as a field rep, developing relationships with his assigned stores, and much more.

In this Behind the Scenes interview, Tess provides an inside look at working as a publicist at a start-up publishing company, her path to publicity, what a typical workday looks like, how her role differs at Zibby Books from her role at previous publishing companies, and much more.

In this Behind the Scenes interview, Jon provides an inside look at his job as a literary scout, how he got started and why he launched his own company, celebrity book club selection, the way the streaming industry has changed his job, the impact of Netflix on foreign markets, and much more.

In this interview, Elina provides an inside look at designing a book's interior including the fonts, spacing, title page, spine dye, formatting, endpapers, and more, what the job entails and how she got started, juggling the page count with everything that has to be included, and much more.

In this interview, Heather provides an inside look at the editorial process and how she got started, what the job entails, the Northern California Writers' Retreat, her favorite and least favorite aspects of the job, writing a good query letter, and much more.

In this interview, Fareeda provides an inside look at marketing in the publishing world and discusses how she got started in marketing, her favorite part and least favorite part of her job, finding the right audience for each book, measuring the success of her efforts, and much more.

Caroline and I discuss her role as an audiobook narrator, how she got started, the process for getting hired to narrate a particular book, the way she prepares to record, the biggest challenges she faces as a narrator, protecting her voice, AI narrators, and much more.

Kristin and I discuss her role as a literary agent, tips for how to find a literary agent, the process for pitching a book to an agent, exclusive submissions and pre-empt deals, the step-by-step process for how a book gets sold, and much more.