Pub Crawl

Ezra and Dan consider the concept (dream?) of bestseller-dom and what it might take to get there. Links: Links: Brook Warner’s essay on best sellers List of best-selling books - Wikipedia   New York Times: This Year’s Surprise Hit Novels Novelr: The New York Times Beatseller Lists Explained About those 12 copies… Ezra and Dan both got it wrong, at least a bit. That data comes from Kristen McLean,...

Dan and Ezra tackle the topic of reviews, and in particular, bad reviews. In the second half, they welcome novelist Peter Blauner, the author of "Picture in the Sand" and many other works. Should you write your first draft in longhand? Peter says yes! Random references to "The Great Gatsby" abound. Links: Peter Blauner's Website

Screenwriter and novelist Allison Burnett joins Pub Crawl to talk about his experiences in traditional publishing, self-publishing, and the movie business, not to mention long-ago stand-up routines as part of the Burnett-Greenberger comedy duo. Links: https://www.allisonburnett.com

Dan and Ezra discuss the relative merits of electronic books and the challenges in creating clean files that render well on different readers. Plus, Dan drops an F-bomb. E-book creation software links: Atticus - www. atticus.io Vellum - www.vellum.pub

Why bother to write a novel when the world seems to be shattering all around you? In the latest episode of Pub Crawl, Dan and Ezra consider the consolations of writing.

Sitting? Standing? Lying down? What's your preferred position for writing? As usual, Dan and Ezra see things a little differently, with plenty of literary trivia thrown in.

In this week's episode, Ezra and Dan discuss their books' Amazon landing pages and ways to make them more effective.

Hosts Dan Greenberger and Ezra Palmer wrestle with the question of whether, and how, to use AI when writing fiction.

Dan and Ezra dig into the question of how to get started with a book... and as usual don't see entirely eye to eye. Today's discussion includes topics as varied as the three-act structure, Saul Bellow, and psychedelic drugs.

Dan and Ezra debate the pros and cons of a frequently maligned medium. Dan likes audiobooks. Ezra, not so much. Plus: Werner Herzog imitations. Links:  Edison Research: How Many People Listen to Audiobooks? https://www.edisonresearch.com/how-many-americans-listen-to-audiobooks/ AAP Data for Digital Audiobook Sales in 2024 https://goodereader.com/blog/business-news/us-ebook-revenue-increased-by-1-6...

Dan and Ezra share notes on their early advertising efforts on Facebook, Amazon and Reddit. The results? Meh. Links: Barbara Jane Probst: What Makes Readers Give an Unknown Author a Chance? https://janefriedman.com/give-unknown-author-chance/ Reddit Ad Statistics 2025 from Marketing LTB https://marketingltb.com/blog/statistics/reddit-ads-statistics/ Jannee' Butterfield: The Silent Bestseller: How...

On today’s episode, Dan and Ezra discuss the challenges of finding the all-important first readers for your book — getting help from friends and relatives, investing in a fee-based review, tapping into ARC services like NetGalley to distribute free copies to influential readers, and engaging with the reading community on Goodreads. Links Gary Kroeger’s essay on attending the 40th SNL Anniversary h...

For Thanksgiving, Dan and Ezra give thanks for the help they got -- and really needed -- to get their books out into the world.

Dan and Ezra dig into the process of creating eye-catching covers, and argue over whether covers make any difference. 2:34 A surprisingly generous gesture nets Dan the cover image of his dreams. 11:26 Why Amazon declined to allow Ezra to advertise his book. 15:21 What is the secret to making an iconic book cover? 30:05 Thinking about colors and fonts.

A look at the state of the self-publishing industry and book publishing at large, and the enormous challenges micropublishers face when seeking to build audiences. Dan offers some inspiration and Ezra shares a cautionary tale of a phantom fan.