Write the Damn Book Already

Ep 62: Writing Through Grief with Emma Grey

Elizabeth Lyons

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When The Last Love Note by Emma Grey showed up on my doorstep, I knew we had a problem. A book with a cover that good had to have a story even better within its pages. And I wasn't wrong!

I could've talked to Emma for hours (if not days), and in the latest episode of the Write the Damn Book Already podcast, we discussed:

⭐️ The backstory behind the book and how it came to be, a bit unexpectedly.

⭐️ How long it took Emma to write while “wrangling grief.”

⭐️ Where Emma started writing her book and how that moment it came full circle when Zibby Books offered to be her US publisher

⭐️ Emma's writing process, including how long it took to get her skeleton draft (65K words) and how many drafts she went through before sending it to first publisher in Australia.

⭐️ Knowing when chapters don’t propel the story forward (and how to handle it when you're advised to cut 30K words)

⭐️ Her agent's advice on how quickly to write the first draft

⭐️ Emma's perspective on alpha readers, beta readers, prologues, and chasing 100 rejections


**WARNING: The revelation at the 41:40 mark about what happened with the acquisition of her book will shock you!


ABOUT EMMA

Emma Grey is a novelist, feature writer, photographer, professional s

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Write the Damn Book Already is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with authors as well as updates and insights on writing craft and the publishing industry.

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