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Write the Damn Book Already
Want to write, publish, and market your book, but feel overwhelmed by where to start?
Write the Damn Book Already breaks down the writing process, self-publishing, and traditional publishing so you can move from idea to finished book with clarity and confidence.
Hosted by Elizabeth Lyons—author, book writing coach, book editor, and self-publishing expert—this show untangles the often-confusing world of writing and publishing. From first draft to finished manuscript, indie publishing to traditional publishing, Amazon strategy to long-term book visibility, you’ll get practical guidance and honest conversations about what it really takes to get a book into the world.
Through solo episodes and interviews with both traditionally published and indie authors—across fiction and nonfiction—Elizabeth brings a well-rounded, no-hype perspective to the publishing industry. Whether you’re working on memoir, nonfiction, or a novel, you’ll walk away with clearer next steps and fewer mental roadblocks.
Write the Damn Book Already
Ep 179: Meg Mitchell Moore on Messy First Drafts and Why Nobody Has Publishing Figured Out
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Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions!
Ten books in, Meg Mitchell Moore still doesn't know what her plot is going to be when she starts writing.
Meg Mitchell Moore has published ten novels. And she still starts most of them with no idea what's going to happen. No outline, no plot, sometimes not even a reason her characters are in the room together. She figures it out as she goes, often with her agent's or editor's help.
If that sounds like it shouldn't work, that's kind of the point of this conversation. It does work. It's worked ten times! And I love how honest Meg is about the fact that her first drafts are a mess and revisions are where it all comes together.
We also get into the parts of book publishing that show up in very few highlight reels. Meg talks about learning, book by book, how much of a "big author moment" (the 10-city tour, the massive publisher push) is actually the author funding it themselves. She talks about the fear of writing a book with no contract attached to it, and how that fear doesn't necessarily go away with experience.
We talk about the business-versus-art tension every working writer eventually has to make peace with, and why the current pace of the industry has authors feeling more frantic than they perhaps did fifteen years ago, even as the community itself has gotten more supportive.
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Get back cover templates for nonfiction, memoir, and fiction; real-world examples; a polishing checklist; and a guide for turning it into an optimized online description that attracts the right readers.
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Looking for hidden gems, date night spots, and staycations you didn't know you needed? Find your next adventure at TheBestoftheSouthwest.com and follow along on Instagram at @thebestofthesouthwest.
*episode sponsor
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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.
Available wherever podcasts are available:
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Email the show: elizabeth [at] elizabethlyons [dot] com
The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores.
To see all the ways we can work together to get your book written and published, visit publishaprofitablebook.com/work-with-elizabeth
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