Hybrid Pub Scout Podcast

This week's interview is with Rakesh Satyal, senior editor at Atria Books and author of the award-winning book Blue Boy and No One Can Pronounce My Name. Since 2001, Rakesh has been an all-in editor while still making time to write and promote his own books. We talk about how he balances his work at Atria, supporting some of our favorite authors, with producing his own creative work. PLUS Corinne...

What do you do if you’ve got 30 notebooks full of your writing and no one to publish them? If you’re University of Hell Press founder Greg Gerding, you do it yourself and create a self-publishing empire. The author of seven published books of prose and poetry, Greg’s initial spark for the press came from a weekly reading series he’d hosted at a bar in Washington, D.C., aptly called Hell. After mov...

Corinne is out sick, so JT guest hosts as we interview former Penguin Senior Designer, photographer, and cake artist/historian, Jessica Reed. Jessica started her creative journey building cardboard furniture in her room as a child, and has spent her life integrating literature and art into her life and career, leaving zillions of Etsy stores in her wake. After dropping out of beauty school (please...

Bookselling is an inherently political profession, and few people know that better than Danny Caine, owner of the Raven Bookstore in Lawrence, Kansas, and author of one of our favorite reads, How to Resist Amazon and Why. We talked politics, poetry, and bookstore cats; the Raven has two—Dashiell and Ngaio, the store’s undisputed social media stars. When Caine’s tweetstorm about how Amazon’s pricin...

What exactly does a publicist spend their days doing? Pitching the media, confirming (and re-confirming) interviews/appearances/events, managing author egos, putting out fires, etc. But if you’re someone who works with NYT bestselling authors like Jennifer Weiner and Fredrik Backman, you also get to go on tour! Ariele Fredman Stewart began her publishing career interning for Bloomsbury and mocking...

How does an author find their audience? Do the methods of finding an audience differ between traditionally and self-published authors? How can you establish an initial connection with readers, and how can you turn them into superfans of your work? All these questions and more were considered during our latest author panel, appropriately titled “Knowing Your Audience.” Featuring traditionally publi...

It’s our very first live podcast AND the very first installment of our “Business of Being an Author” series, held at the lovely Jan’s Bookstore in downtown Beaverton. Emily talks to three women who work with authors on the reg—marketing/PR professionals Mary Bisbee-Beek and Tara Lehmann, and graphic designer Courtney Clarke. They chat about the importance of keeping your branding consistent across...

Enter for a chance to win "The Untouched Crime" by Zijin Chen, translated by Michelle Deeter: https://hybridpubscout.com/giveaways/win-untouched-crime/ Chinese to English translator and interpreter Michelle Deeter joins us for an episode about the world of literature in translation, during which we learn about Amazon Crossing—an imprint that Amazon uses for good rather than for evil—as well as tra...

CW: for child abuse at 33:02. Also racist tweets and disgusting keyboards. It’s the most wonderful time of the year! We chat about literary horror queen Shirley Jackson’s infamous short story, The Lottery, which, upon publication in The New Yorker in 1948, inspired thousands of people to wring their hands and gnash their teeth and write angry letters demanding to know why a nice lady would write s...

In the midst of a more-scandalous-than-usual news cycle, Ian Doescher joins us to talk about his new political satire, MacTrump. MacTrump gives an over-the-top (or over the top-er) version of the first two years of the Trump Administration, all in 5 act format, all in iambic pentameter. If you're needing a more long-form laugh than 240 characters, this might be the pick for you. Ian's is an especi...

On this episode, we talk to agenting powerhouse Devra Jacobs, who’s worn more hats than we can count over the course of her career. After selling mind/body/spirit magazine Mystic Pop, she decided to switch gears entirely to being a literary agent, much to the benefit of her lucky clients. We chat about the quickest ways to get your manuscript rejected, red flags to watch out for when choosing an a...

On this very special episode about publishing enthusiast Benjamin Franklin’s little-known contribution to troll culture, we gab about the occult, Quakers, the Jersey Devil, and the 18th century version of flame wars--pamphlet feuds! We also cover the forthcoming installation of B&N’s new (British!) CEO and his ultimate dream to botox the company back into relevance. Emily reveals that she went...

In this episode, we talk to Portland author Jasmine Gower, who has the amazingly good fortune to play auntie to not one but three sweet cats. Jasmine has exuded authorial authority since she was FIVE YEARS OLD and decided to make her own books—we're talking covers made of cereal boxes and the whole shebang! Jasmine discusses her recent graduation with a degree in book publishing and her take on wh...

In this episode we’re joined by Nellie McKesson, founder of publishing software startup Hederis and owner of tuxedo cat Cool Runnings! (emphasis ours) Nellie started her career on a Craigslist link and a prayer at a tiny math journal publisher in Boston. From there, she moved on to production editing at O’Reilly Media, and then to Macmillan, helping usher the company into the twenty-first century...

What is a woman equally enamored of romance novels and women’s studies to become? A bookstore owner, of course! In this episode, we talk to Lori Carroll, owner of Jan’s Books in downtown Beaverton—a suburb of Portland—who wants you to know that being a feminist and loving bodice rippers are NOT mutually exclusive! She tells Emily why she thinks it’s important to make bookstores inclusive, communit...

What happens when you don't follow your dreams right away? What if you pursue an entirely different path and then remember later on what you had wanted long ago? Ardi Alspach, children's editor at Sterling Publishing, shows us that it's never too late to get back into your field of dreams (sorry...couldn't help it!). She talks to us about her experience in not one, but two different publishing pro...

Adam O’Brien is an editor at Sterling Publishing specializing in a variety of non-fiction: all manners of memoir and humorous essay collections, in particular. We chat about the differences between working for a Big 5 house as opposed to a mid-sized one, how nice it is when a celebrity rumored to be a sweetheart actually IS a sweetheart (looking at you, Drew Barrymore) and how working in other are...

Erin Klassen, editor in chief of With/out Pretend, joins Emily and Corinne to talk about collaboration, discovering new artistic voices, and the true meaning of self-care and vulnerability. She also tells us who her favorite Kid in the Hall is. With/out Pretend is an independent Toronto-based publisher focused on producing, promoting and distributing works by women and non-binary writers and artis...

Erin Pehlivan, writer and founding editor of Return Trip, joins Emily and Corinne to talk about the moments of change that travel inspires, what goes into creating a publication with a new perspective on a popular subject, and how to make the most out of being part of the publishing community.

Michelle McCann has been working in book publishing since 1991, and she's still as enthusiastic about it as ever. She chats with Corinne and Emily about her lifelong love of kid's books, her nomination for this year's Oregon Book Award, the many publishing hats she's worn over the years...and, of course, how Tinkerbell follows her own rules!

Frances Kingsley, a self-published author with a traditional secret identity, joins Emily and Corinne to compare and contrast writing for trad and self-pub writing. We also share our Great British Baking Show crushes.

Shelley Pearson joins Emily and Corinne to talk about her self-published YA book Book Smarts and Tender Hearts, which has been nominated for a 2019 Oregon Book Award. Shelley talks with Emily and Corinne about making friends with strangers the old fashioned way—through placing an ad in a magazine! Other topics include: writing mentorship, managing emotions while creating and promoting, and of cour...

Weird how when you're doing something that you love, that provides valuable information, and that's valuable to humanity, you're made to feel guilty about getting paid for it, huh? I'm sure none of our trade and self-publishing folks on here can relate (jk lol). Former biophysicist and current data scientist Jahed Momand joins us to talk about power dynamics in scientific publishing, how scientist...

If you love books as much as we do, chances are you have daydreamed about being a librarian at least once. Wonder of wonders! Today's your lucky day. You get to hear from Chris Curran, a library assistant in Sacramento, about the boots-on-the-ground life of a librarian. Not only do we talk about the purpose of providing information to the public, but also all the fun perks—meeting favorite authors...

Ever thought of opening your own publishing company? This week Emily interviews Joe Biel, founder and manager of Microcosm Publishing, who decided to do just that starting as a teenager. With 23 years of experience publishing books and zines, hustling at conferences and book fairs, and learning book business the hard way, he's now sharing his knowledge for all budding book-lovers ready to take a p...