The First Draft Club

Let’s talk about what all of us face as writers, all the time: disappointing reactions to our work. I'm talking about more than just rejections from agents or publishers. I mean ALL of it—the negative feedback from people who read our work as we’re writing it. The negative reviews that come in after it’s published. And yes, the rejections that come as we’re pitching it. All over the internet, you'...

This is the season finale of The First Draft Club—and we have huge news. The Book Incubator has a new in-house literary agent! Her name is Hannah Brattesani. She's worked at the Friedrich Agency and Folio Literary Management and is now at Simon & Schuster. She's represented some of the best writers writing today. And now she's on our team to help you turn your manuscript into a sellable pitch....

Stephanie Webb, our marketing director at The Book Incubator, just got a dream book deal with Simon & Schuster. But it didn't come easily—or quickly. In this episode, we talk about: • Why rejection is completely baked into publishing • The psychology of almost quitting (and why it happens right before the breakthrough) • The one editor's insight that changed everything • How book auctions actu...

Of all the writing adages I tend to whine about, "show, don't tell" is probably at the top of the list—because it just isn't true. Good writing involves plenty of telling. The actual craft question is: When is it best to tell, and when is it best to show? My colleague Rufi Thorpe—author of Margo's Got Money Troubles and the best writing teacher I've ever had—came up with an amazing answer. And tha...

Book ideas have their own timeline. They can be persistent, demanding, and impatient—like a kid begging to go to Dave & Buster's. If you sit on an idea too long, it might just leave and find another writer to collaborate with (as Elizabeth Gilbert says).  So what if you decided to grab your idea by the tail this summer and actually write the draft? In this episode, I'm sharing five features of...

A new outlining tool for writers who hate outlining. Outlining a novel feels to me like writing a novel by spreadsheet. I'm not an outliner. But I also learned early on that pure pantsing doesn't work for me, either. I need some structure—some scaffolding for my story. So recently, while revising my novel, I invented something I'm calling The Real-Time Outline. It's simple. It's blowing my mind ho...

If you've Googled "how to market my book," you've probably come across the same advice: show up on Instagram, film yourself, build a following, cultivate your author brand. Here's the thing: most of that advice is not going to work. I've sensed this for a long time, but I didn't have a better alternative—until I realized something based on my experience as a reader, an author, and someone who watc...

There's a kind of feedback that fills you with relief and gratitude, and there's a kind that leaves you with low-grade anxiety—even when the feedback is good and you want to use it. The difference is just one simple thing most readers don't do by default. I've had dozens of readers and editors over the years. And I've realized that even among professionals—agents, editors, trusted writer friends—t...

Coming in with a hot take today: You're allowed to write what's fun. You're allowed to have a good time, to be silly, to write oddball, funny, quirky stuff that brings you pleasure—even if it isn't what would have earned you an A in your creative writing class or warrants an author photo with an "I'm a suffering artist" expression on your face. Love the show? Share it with a fellow writer or leave...

You're allowed to bribe yourself to finish your book. In fact, you should. In this episode, I'm sharing the story of the Goal Reward—a surprisingly powerful tool I've used to finish three published novels and now teach inside The Book Incubator, my MFA-alternative program for novelists and memoirists. The Goal Reward is simple: Pick something you want (as small as an ice cream cone or as big as a...

You're in the middle of writing a scene. Everything's flowing. Then suddenly—you stop. You don't know how your character is going to react to what someone just said. Or you're about to write what you planned to write next, but suddenly it doesn't feel right. So you stare at the blank page. Then you spot your dirty cereal bowl. Might as well rinse that. Next thing you know, you're doing yard work a...

You know those scenes you're dreading? The ones that feel like a slog, where you're just "filling in the blanks" between the parts you're actually excited about? Here's what you need to know: just because something has to happen in your story doesn't mean it has to be a scene. In this episode, I'm answering a question from Cynthia, a fantasy writer in The Book Incubator:  "Should I write scenes in...

Sometimes the simplest solution to a revision problem is something you've forgotten you're allowed to change. This is the forest-for-the-trees phenomenon. It's normal. It's human. But it can suck a bunch of energy when you're trying to fix problems that require way less effort than you think. In this episode, I'm sharing 14 fixes you might not be thinking about as possibilities—from cutting entire...

If you're writing a memoir, you've probably realized: covering 20, 30, even 40 years of your life in one book feels impossible. Where do you start? Where do you end? How do you fit everything in without writing a 500-page autobiography that no one asked for?  Here's what I want you to know: a memoir isn't what happened to you. It's how you changed because of what happened to you. A memoir is a sto...

Don't solve a minor problem by making your draft "mid." This comes up when writers are quick to assume something "isn't working" because an early reader expressed confusion or skepticism (which is often confusion by another name).  Here's the thing: before a bold and original idea is seen as bold and original, it's often just seen as confusing. Why? Because we haven't seen something quite like it...

This week's episode is a little different. Less practical craft advice, more mindset. Because something's been on my mind lately: earnestness. A few weeks ago, my friend sent me a meme where women were sharing the most basic things they love—the "least bougie" everyday things they'd be judged for. Things like drip coffee, McDonald's fries, cheap bath towels, spiral notebooks. And when she asked me...

"How do I give my characters distinct voices, especially when one of them is male and I'm not?" This question came from Barbara in a recent Wordshop call, and I have opinions on this based on years of trial and error. I've tried things that flopped and things that actually worked when it comes to creating distinct character voices. In this episode, I'm sharing what I learned—starting with what NOT...

"I'm handwriting my novel and finding that I'm not putting in much dialogue. This didn't feel like a struggle when I was typing. Is this common?" This question came from Miranda in a recent Wordshop call, and I'd never heard anyone articulate this problem (which I experienced myself!) before.  If you handwrite your drafts and notice you're avoiding dialogue (or writing less of it than you think yo...

Here's my hot take: more research while drafting isn't always better.  Not just because research is a procrastination rabbit hole (though it definitely is), but because too much research can actually squash your creativity and weaken your draft.  In this episode, I'm breaking down the creativity-squashing effect of research, when to research lightly vs. thoroughly, and why fiction isn't constraine...

Writing from multiple points of view? Here's the secret to making it work. A writer in The Book Incubator asked: "How do I tell three different but related stories in one novel where they all come together in the end?" In this episode, I'm sharing my approach to braiding multiple storylines into one cohesive novel. The key isn't the technical craft—it's how your POV characters relate to each other...

Ever wonder how to end a chapter in a way that makes readers want to keep going—without using the same trick every single time? In this episode, I'm answering a question from Shannon, a writer in The Book Incubator, who asked: "Can you give me some pointers on how to end a chapter in a way that incites the reader to keep reading without being repetitive? I can only think of one way to do it." I'm...

Welcome to episode 100 of The First Draft Club! 🎉 We're celebrating by talking about something every author needs to know: book marketing. It's the thing every author dreads—and honestly, I'm not a book marketing expert. But I do have a hot take about something you should never, ever do when promoting your book (because it doesn't work and it's not a good look). In this milestone episode, I'm sha...

You've heard me say it before: feedback too early in your writing process is useless at best and derailing at worst. But at some point, feedback from readers you trust becomes absolutely critical. In this episode, I'm sharing two concrete examples from my memoir You Might Feel a Little Pressure—one story I was resistant to cutting and one I almost cut but didn't. Both taught me something important...

Ever get feedback that makes your stomach drop? Like when someone says "I don't know what your book is about" or "I didn't relate to this character"—and suddenly you're convinced you need three months to fix it? Here's the truth: most "big" feedback requires WAY less work than it sounds like. Sometimes it's one paragraph. Sometimes it's literally one sentence. In this episode, I share a story abou...

In this Season 10 premiere of The First Draft Club, I'm sharing about times when I've encountered "expert" advice that sounded smart but felt wrong—and why I now think trusting that feeling is one of the most important skills you can develop as a writer.   You'll learn: • Why impressive credentials don't always mean good advice • The problem with "show don't tell" and other condescending writing r...