People Who Do Things

Laura and John discuss Laura's upcoming debut novel, The Coat Check Girl, John's new middle grade novel Ace Adler and the Pendulum of Doom, and get inspiration from a quote by John Steinbeck.

Laura and John talk about their two paths to publishing: Laura with her traditional contract, and John with his self publishing. Also, tips and tools for getting reviews for your book, whichever way it is published, from Kirkus Reviews to Net Galley.

Laura and John welcome Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Richard Drew to the podcast. Richard has been an Associated Press photographer for more than fifty years and has been front row to many historic events, from the assassination of Robert Kennedy at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles, to the fall of the towers on 9/11. He is known for his image Falling Man from 9/11.

Laura and John catch up after a busy summer and talk about progress and next steps as they are both preparing books for publishing. Laura is in revisions for her publisher, and John is about to release his eighth book independently. They also discuss their next projects and what their plans are for those.

John welcomes special guest, PWDT's own Laura Buchwald to talk with her about some big announcements in her world. They also discuss progress in their WIPS (works in progress), and more!

Laura and John contemplate self doubt in writing, how it ties to ego and confidence. They also go through a few 'best first lines' of book, according to The Guardian.

Laura and John welcome author Barbara Josselsohn into the PWDT virtual studio to talk about her book The Lilac House, being a prolific author, managing multiple points-of-view in a book, and her recipe for a great first chapter.

Laura and John talk about their WIPs (work in progress) and their processes for revising and editing. As usual, they get sidetracked talking about other things, such as Yellowstone, Marc Maron, and more.

Laura and John distract themselves from writing by talking about what it takes them to get motivated to write.

Laura and John discuss the importance of creating three-dimensional protagonists and antagonists, and how much detail to give supporting characters.