First Draft Monthly Newsletter: March 2021
Latest episodes, upcoming events, a special deal for the weekly newsletter and more
👋 Hey friends! Welcome to the First Draft Monthly Newsletter for March 2021.
It’s been a strange few weeks. I feel like I can see the light at the end of the tunnel (vaccinations and a re-opened world in the U.S.), but there’s miles of tunnel left to go. I got notes back from my agent, which is wonderful and exciting. But I printed out my book and the weight of fixing up all those words is really real.
I’ve been so grateful to have First Draft. Through the podcast, I’m still connecting with creative people, even if it’s over Zoom. I hope it’s made you feel like a part of an ongoing conversation as all of us look around and wonder, “Does it feel like this for you, too?”
You’re not alone. Be gentle with all that you’re carrying. I’m going to try reminding myself of that, too.
Be well, be safe, and happy listening. ❤️
Sarah
Read on for…
🏅Sharing gratitude for our sponsors!
📬 Sign up for the weekly newsletter for $5/mo & gets lots of bonus goodies
👩💻 Events: Where you can (virtually) find me talking to authors
🎧 Recent can't-miss First Draft episodes
📚 Check out a collection of books from this month's guests!
🏅 Sponsors
Sponsors this month included Plotting With Revelations, the three-unit online character arc workshop created by critically-acclaimed, Edgar Award-nominated author Erin Bowman (hear her First Draft interview here). Registration for the current round has passed, but watch for upcoming rounds of this and her Design for Authors workshop at embowman.com/workshops !
And Freedom, the easy-to-use app that blocks distracting apps and websites, letting you get into deep work flow. Use offer code FIRSTDRAFT for 40% off a yearly or forever plan.
📬 Subscribe to the Weekly Newsletter
Every Friday, subscribers get exclusive interviews, publishing industry analysis, writing tips and more in their inbox—information that’s useful writers at any stage of the journey.
This month, that included: an interview with Matthew Salesses, author of Craft in the Real World; a breakdown of what’s in the publicity emails the pros write to hype your book; and “How do We Measure Success?”, an essay from me on how we can reframe what it means to succeed as authors in the attention economy.
The newsletter is just $5 a month, and it’s the very best way to support the podcast while getting tons of extra stuff. Try it for 30 days for free:
👩💻 Events
This weekend is the North Texas Teen Book Festival, one of my favorite book events every year! It’s happening virtually on Saturday, March 6 and I am moderating the “Crazy Stupid Love” panel at 2 p.m. CT with: Maria E. Andreu, Elise Bryant, Sharon G. Flake, Diana Ma, Jennifer Niven, and Renée Watson!
See more of the festival’s panels here!
🎧 Recent First Draft Episodes
#292: Mary H. K. Choi
Mary H. K. Choi, New York Times bestselling author of Emergency Contact and Permanent Record and her newest YA, Yolk, answers listener questions on revealing personal details in writing, finding your writing intuition, and naps!
Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify
#291: Anna Carey
Anna Carey is the author of This is Not The Jess Show. She’s also the author of The Eve Trilogy (Eve, Once, Rise) and the Blackbird series (Blackbird, Deadfall). We talked about the long publishing break wherein Anna quit on a book that wasn’t working and decided to leave her agent. Tons of great info & perspective on making that change.
Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify
#290: Loan Le
Loan Le, editor at Simon & Schuster’s Atria Books and debut author of A Phở Love Story. I loved hearing Loan’s perspective as an editor and a recent MFA grad!
Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify
#289: Catie Disabato
Catie Disabato, author of The Ghost Network and the new adult contemporary novel U Up? Catie has an unusual publishing journey with a smaller press, and she has tons to say about the value of writing fast, fun books.
Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify
#288: Matt de la Peña
Matt de la Peña, author of seven critically acclaimed young adult novels including Mexican Whiteboy and Newbery Medal–winning author of Last Stop on Market Street talks about his newest collaboration with illustrator Christian Robinson, Milo Imagines the World. I loved hearing about his work with Christian, and how they are working to center kids of color and from disadvantaged circumstances to broaden empathy for all young readers.
Listen on Apple Podcasts | Spotify
📚 Add To Your Stacks!
Check out a collection of books from this month's guests at Bookshop.org
Every purchase helps support the podcast, and indie bookstores!
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💻 Websites: FirstDraftPod | SarahEnni