Bad On Paper

We're BACK and continuing our series about how a book gets made! This week we're chatting with Amanda Bergeron, an executive editor at Berkley, an imprint of Penguin Random House, and Carley Fortune, the author of Every Summer After .    Amanda breaks down the acquisition & publication process from the editor's end, how many submissions she receives, and what leads her to choose a book to work on....

We're so excited to start our summer series about how a book gets made! This week we're talking all about book agents, from what they do to how authors find an agent in the first place. We brought on Taylor Haggerty, an agent at Root Literary representing commercial fiction for teens and adults, and Iman Hariri-Kia, writer and editor born and based in New York City whose debut novel A Hundred Othe...

It's FINALLY time to talk about Cover Story by Susan Rigetti! Also, we recommend reading this book spoiler-free, so if you haven't read it yet, read it then listen to this ep! This book was fun, juicy, and compulsively readable. We discuss our overall thoughts on the book, what we thought of the format, and of course, we have a much-needed discussion about the ending!    Obsessions  Becca: Fresh f...

We're already halfway through the year and it's time for a 2022 goals check-in! Both Olivia and Becca share the personal and professional goals they set for this year, give an update on their progress, and discuss what they've learned along the way!    Related to our convo:  Check out the journal Olivia has been using here!  Check out Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burk...

This week we're discussing a topic we always get requests to cover, imposter syndrome! To help break things down, we brought on Dr. Lisa Orbé-Austin, a licensed psychologist, executive coach, organizational consultant, and speaker. She recently gave a Ted X Talk about The Imposter Syndrome Parado , and is the co-author of Own Your Greatness: Overcome Impostor Syndrome, Beat Self-Doubt, and Succeed...

This week we're (figuratively) ripping our skin off and talking about the books we're writing! This is an appetizer to a series we're planning to do this summer all about how a book gets made. We give a mini preview about what our books are about, and break down what our book writing process was like, from what made us finally start writing to what we wish we knew before we wrote our books. We als...

This week we're helping you build your summer reading list with recommendations from some of our favorite bookstagrammers! They each share two books they recommend we read this summer and answer a pressing question: If you could have a meal with any book character at any chain restaurant, which character and restaurant would you choose?   Sarah's Picks:  Unlikely Animals by Annie Hartnett (esp for...

It's finally time to talk about Funny You Should Ask by Elissa Sussman ! We loved this book and we're so excited to talk about it. We share our feelings and respond to listener calls about the book, its characters, its two timelines, and if we think the book accurately reflects how Hollywood operates today.  We also talk about the celebs we pictured as Gabe Parker, Olivia shares her celebrity inte...

This week we're chatting with New York Times bestselling author and owner of Books are Magic , Emma Straub! She's the author of five novels, including This Time Tomorrow , which came out on May 17. We ask her about her path to becoming an author, and chat about the process of writing This Time Tomorrow. And as the first bookseller on the podcast, we ask Emma about how Books are Magic came into her...

This week, we're together in person to talk about TRAVEL! Specifically, travel planning. We have travel on the brain, and thought you might, too. We discuss how we choose our destinations, how far in advance we plan our trips, if we like to plan ourselves or let someone else take over, the trips we have coming up, and MORE!    Our Travel Must-Haves Olivia - AQUIS Rapid Dry Lisse Hair Wrap Towel Be...

This week we welcome Phylicia Jones, Senior Director of Global People Development at PagerDuty, to answer all your work questions. She shares an overview of her career, what drew her to working in HR, and answers listener questions about cover letters, learning to be a great manager, navigating ambiguity at work, quitting when you feel a personal obligation to your boss, and more.   Connect with P...

Hi space nuts! It's time to discuss our April book club pick: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. This book is Olivia's most-recommended read, and Becca (to her surprise) loved the book, too! In this week's ep we discuss how we picture Rocky, if we'd ever go to space, and listen to your voicemails about your thoughts on the book. We also have a space food taste test live on the pod to fully get oursel...

Today, we're continuing to get to know Olivia as she's answering your questions!    She answers questions including how she met her husband (and dog!), what she was like as a kid, her typical workday, her go-to airport snacks, her niche interests, her childhood celeb crush, and her favorite way to eat a potato.    She also shares her book hot takes, her favorite past BOP book club pick, and a book...

This week we're re-visiting a highly requested topic: our morning routines! We discuss the goals behind our morning routine, when we wake up (and when we have to be asleep to make that happen) what we do first thing in the morning, our at-home coffee order, breakfast, exercise, getting into work mode, and how our weekends look different.   Obsessions  Becca - Balance Bound Undated Daily Notepad Ol...

Reporting live from our first one-on-one hangout ever, Olivia and Becca are together in person to kick off this new era of Bad On Paper! To start off this month of getting to know Olivia, we'll be answering some of The 36 Questions that Lead to Love from the New York Times Modern Love column, in hopes that we fall a little in love and so does our audience!   These questions have us discussing our...

It's time to talk about our March book club pick: Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerso n. We absolutely LOVED this book. We discuss what grabbed us about this book, the themes of not understanding your parents as individuals vs. parents and identity, all the food in this book (including black cake!), our feelings on the ending, and more!     We also say our podcast goodbyes to Grace! (IRL, we're plann...

It's the last 'Just Us' episode with Grace, and we're reflecting on our podcast memories throughout the years! We talk about Grace's highs and lows of doing the podcast, what she's learned about herself through the pod, and her advice for Olivia for taking over the pod!    We also look back on our first few episodes, talk about the book we wish we recorded a book club about, and the obsessions she...

This week, we're getting to know Becca's new cohost (starting April 6) Olivia Muenter !    We talk to Olivia about her background, her initial thoughts when Becca approached her to be a co-host, what she's most excited and nervous about joining the podcast, and topics she wants to discuss on the pod.   We also discuss more book-ish things like Olivia's novel-writing process, her reading tastes, he...

This week, we're doing a Q&A! We answer your questions about our favorite (and least favorite) Book Club Picks, future projects we're excited about, getting motivated, how to get through a bad mood, what we're watching right now, and more!   Our favorite podcasts hosted by two best friends A Thing or Two Happier in Hollywood Girls Gotta Eat   What we're watching right now  The Dropout Oscar Best P...

This week, we got the chance to chat with Kate Spencer, co-host of Forever35 and author of the memoir The Dead Moms Club . We talk about her first novel In a New York Minute (which is a Grace approved romance BTW!) discuss her writing process, and she shares her advice for aspiring writers.   We discuss how she got to where she is today, her desert island beauty picks, the books she's loving right...

This week, it's finally time to talk about Greenwich Park by Katherine Faulkner ! Grace loved this book, but Becca was… just meh! We discuss our differing opinions on the book, our mid-book theories, what we thought about the ending, and what kinds of thrillers we reach for.    We also talk about Bone, Marry, Bury finally being out, Grace's upcoming trips, and more!   Obsessions:  Grace: Tory Burc...

We can't believe we haven't done this episode before, but today we're sharing our favorite Amazon finds! To get a full list of our favorites, check out the show notes below or click this link !  We also talk about our IRL reunion in NYC, Becca's bad mail day, and Grace breaking her Wordle streak. Our home finds Becca: Lazy susans ( for spices , for fridge ), Metal reusable straws , Chateau Spill w...

So today we have some bittersweet news. In this episode, we talk about this big news, the future of the podcast, and our podcast highs from the last 4 years.     'Just Us' Episodes we loved Always Ask For More Money – Negotiating Your Salary, Getting A Promotion, and Setting Freelance Rates How We Read So Much + Hidden Gem Books (With Listener Recs!) FMK: Quarantine Edition Favorite Snacks, Chores...

It's time for our first guest of 2022! This week we're speaking with Lindsay Silberman, blogger, and founder of Hotel Lobby Candle .    We talk about her career path, when she got into blogging, how she started Hotel Lobby Candle, what it takes to even create a scent, her favorite travel destinations, and more!    We also talk about reading nonfiction in the morning and dealing with injuries.   Yo...

This week our Book Club is BACK and we're discussing Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult . This book deals with Covid-19, which you may or may not have the emotional capacity to read about right now. We totally understand if you could not join us for this book club.   Wish You Were Here follows Diana, a type-a art specialist who has her entire life planned out. She has been planning her dream trip...