Season 3 Episode 1: From Self-Publishing to Newbery & Emmy Wins: Kwame Alexander’s Inspirational Path

From aspiring biochemist to bestselling author, Kwame Alexander's literary journey is nothing short of inspiring. What if a single college poetry class could alter the course of your career? For Kwame, that moment came with Nikki Giovanni at Virginia Tech. Kwame reveals how this pivotal experience ignited his passion for writing, ultimately leading him to self-publish 13 books before his Newbery Medal win in 2015 catapulted him into the realm of traditional publishing. Join us as Kwame shares the trials and triumphs of his path, offering a roadmap of persistence and self-belief for budding authors.

Navigating the tangled web of the publishing industry is a challenge, and Kwame's quest for the perfect literary agent is a testament to resilience. We take you through his story of searching for representation, from initial disappointments to finding a business partner in Ariel, a retired agent who believed in his vision. This journey culminated in an unforgettable early morning call announcing his Newbery triumph. Kwame opens up about the power of confidence and surrounding oneself with supportive individuals, exemplifying how perseverance can turn 25 years of hard work into a seemingly overnight success.

Kwame's creativity continues to flourish with projects that engage and inspire. He shares the backstory of "Black Star" and the fulfilling process of bringing his stories into different mediums, like an animated PBS series and a Broadway musical adaptation. Listen as he reflects on balancing multiple projects and staying true to his artistic vision, while offering valuable advice for storytellers everywhere. His insights on the importance of creativity, impactful storytelling, and the joy of inspiring young readers are sure to resonate with writers and creatives seeking their own path to success.

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Transcript

Speaker 1 0:05

Welcome to Craft Chat Chronicles, the go-to podcast for tips on crafting best-selling fiction. Here at Craft Chat Chronicles, we bring you expert interviews, insights and tips on writing, publishing and marketing. Join the conversation and embark on a new chapter in your writing journey. For workshops, show notes and more information, visit jdmayalcom. That's jdmayalcom.

Speaker 2 0:41

In season three, episode one of Craft Chat Chronicles, bestselling author Kwame Alexander stops by to discuss winning the Newbery Award, winning his Emmy Award and his writing career as a whole. He offers advice for new authors and discusses so much more. It's a great chat. I'm excited that you get to hear it Again. That's season three, episode one of Craft Chat Chronicles. Let's get chatty. Hello, hello, how are you today?

Speaker 3 1:23

Can you hear me? Hey, how you doing, hey, how you doing. Sorry about that.

Speaker 2 1:27

Oh, you're fine. Can you tell me a little bit about your publishing journey?

Speaker 3 1:34

Like specifically what you mean.

Speaker 2 1:37

How'd you get started? When did you know you wanted to be a professional writer?

Speaker 3 1:46

I went to college to study pre-med, majored in biochemistry. Sophomore year I took a class called organic chemistry. I said I don't know if I'm going to do this. Nikki Giovanni became a professor at my college, virginia Tech. I said let me take a poetry class. I took advanced poetry at my college, virginia Tech. I said let me take a poetry class. I took advanced poetry.

Speaker 3 2:06

I'd written some pretty ridiculous poems over the years and I felt like they were good and that qualified me enough to take an advanced poetry class with Nikki Giovanni. And ended up taking three classes with her over the next three years and just really got to see her life as a poet, as a working writer, and thought, wow, that's interesting and she's been able to achieve a lot. Maybe that's something I can do. Both my parents were writers but again I had gone to college to get as far away from writing as possible because books were such a big part of my childhood. So after taking her classes and sort of becoming immersed in poetry, decided I think that's the career I want to have.

Speaker 3 2:52

So graduated from college and could not get my poems published, so decided years I published about 12 of my own books and wasn't really making any money, had quite a few jobs maybe about a dozen jobs, working nine to five and writing on breaks. It was my passion. It was something I knew I wanted to do. I just hadn't figured out how to make a living from it. And then 2015, 2014, a book I had started writing in 2008 got published my first book that was published that I didn't publish. It went on to win this award called the Newberry Medal, which changed my writerly life and allowed me to finally, after 25 years, to be able to make a living as a writer, make a good living as a writer. So 2015 was like the changing point. That was the moment where it all sort of came together and all this work I've been putting into my writing, into my passion, it paid off, and that was book number 15. And book number 41 came out three weeks ago.

Speaker 2 4:34

So I have a question how did you go from self-publishing to traditional? Was it a choice Like, did you query or did they see your work opening out and come for you.

Speaker 3 4:46

Yeah, I had been trying to get published traditionally, but no one was interested and so I just kept self-publishing myself and I self-published 13 of my own books. And one day back in 2008, I was at a book convention called Book Expo of America at Jacob Javits in New York City and I had sort of given up on trying to get published. And this woman who worked for a major publisher, who I knew I had met at a reception or a party that someone had taken me to an industry reception or party this woman her name was Andrea Pinckney and she worked for Scholastic and she said you know, you should really consider writing a book, a novel. And because she knew I wrote poetry and she said she was a big fan of my poems, you should consider writing a novel in poems. So she came and gave me this idea and she and I said well, will you publish it? And she was like well, if it's good, I'll consider it.

Speaker 3 6:00

So that was 2008. And over the course of the next five years she rejected it and quite a few other publishers rejected it and finally, in 2013, houghton Mifflin said that they wanted to publish the book. So it wasn't a plan at that point and I sort of backed into it. But once it seemed like it was an option, I tried everything you know I could to to to actualize it and it took five years.

Speaker 2 6:31

And how did you get your agent at the time? Did you query?

Agent Search and Newbery Triumph

Speaker 3 6:36

So no, I didn't. I had, having been in the industry, started my own company. I knew a lot of people and so, and so I met quite a few agents, and there was one agent who was a friend of my family's and so, just in sort of casual conversation, you know, I was like, well look, Scholastic is interested in this book, Would you consider representing me?

Speaker 3 7:03

And she said yes, and then a couple of years later, after several rejections, and we parted ways. And then I got another agent on a referral from a friend, and that agent didn't do anything was just terrible. In fact, that agent had told me that it was one of the biggest agencies in New York and he had told me that no one was interested in my novel, in poems, and but he never told me why. And so finally, I remember one day I went up to New York to meet with him and I said what were some of the reasons you got for the rejections? And he said actually, kwame, I never submitted the book. Yeah, that's what my mom did too. That's terrible. And so I fired him, obviously.

Speaker 3 7:59

And so that was my second agent. And so then I started querying. I queried six agents, I did some research and decided who might be a good fit for me, and met this agent who we had dinner at an Italian restaurant on West 57th Street and I never forget it. I told her I got to sell this novel. It's called the Crossover, and so if you're down, cause we really hit it off, I said, if you can do that, we'll, we'll, we'll, we'll make it happen. And within six months she had sold it and we became really good friends.

Speaker 2 8:40

Who is she?

Speaker 3 8:42

Her name was Deborah Warren, east West Literary Agency, and so we became good friends and we were tight. And then we had a disagreement About four or five years later, after I won the Newbery Medal. And it wasn't a disagreement, it was we didn't agree on on a fundamental sort of aspect of my career as it works, and and there and, and. There was no way I could see moving forward if we didn't have that fundamental agreement. And so and so we parted ways and of course in the industry they tell you don't fire your agent, don't, don't be known as like difficult. And here I was about to be on my fourth agent, and so at that point I was like, okay, I don't even know if I want an agent now, but there was someone that I knew pretty well and we got along and we liked each other and she was smart and I said, well, let me.

Speaker 3 9:50

And so I met with her and I was about to sign with her and then I was at I was speaking at a conference in Springfield, massachusetts, and this woman came up to me. She's about four feet tall and I saw her name tag and her name tag said Ariel X and I recognized it. I was like I know you, you're an agent. And she was like no, I retired like 10 years ago, like whoa, what have you been doing? And she sort of broke down what she'd been doing. She was done with the industry.

Speaker 3 10:18

And I said, oh well, you ever decide you're looking for another client, let me know. And she said, yeah, I will, but no. And then maybe the next day she emailed me and she said, wait a minute, kwame, were you talking about you? And I cause I had just given this like rousing speech and got a standing ovation to all these you know talking about my writerly journal, this journey, this thing you and I are talking about, all the rejections and how I never let the nose define who I was. And so she called, she emailed me. She's like Kwame, were you talking about you or somebody else?

Speaker 3 10:48

I said no, I was talking about me and she said, yeah, I represent you, I'll come out of retirement, and that was 2015. And we were together for 10 years and we're now business partners. That's beautiful, yeah. So so it all. You know it all worked out. This journey has been incredible and a lot of woes and a lot of wonder.

Speaker 2 11:20

How did you find out you were getting the Newberry medal?

Confidence, Talent, and Publishing Success

Speaker 3 11:24

7 16 AM, february 2nd 2015. I was asleep the phone rang. It said no caller ID. It woke me up. I answered it and the caller said my name is Randall Enos, I'm calling from the Newbery Committee. And I just freaked out. I was like what? And he said I'm calling to tell you that you've won the Newbery medal. And I could have sworn. I said did you say Newbery honor, cause the Newbery has like a medal? And then they got like second, third, fourth place an honor. I was like do you mean honor? He's like no, you won the medal. And then it was just, you know it was. It was pretty incredible. And so that moment, that day, that second, that call just changed everything. And I tell people all the time you know I'm a 25 year overnight success what do you think you did right that helped you become who you are today?

Speaker 3 12:24

I am the greatest, not because I'm better than anyone else, but because no one is better than me. I never doubted who I was. I never doubted my capacity, my capability. I never doubted my talent. I never doubted my craft. I always put in the work, I always tried to be kind and I felt whenever I was out and about and engaging, interacting, I was always on.

Speaker 3 12:53

I always knew that when I walked into a room, I needed to act like I belonged, to be in the room, and I needed to be the man in the room, like you need to know Kwame, he's here, not again, not in an arrogant way, but in a confident way. I Feel like people want to work with people. They like they that they did that they get along with, and so you know, that's always been important to me and I've always tried to surround myself with people who are kind, who are as smart or smarter than me. Um, that's, you know, the people I surround myself with has been so crucial and so important. I think those are some of the things I've gotten right.

Speaker 2 13:42

Your talent is undeniable. My kids love the crossover.

Speaker 3 13:46

Thank you, thank you.

Speaker 2 13:48

And my son. I have an autistic son. He doesn't like reading but he loves that book. He listens to it on audiobook and he likes the rhythm of the poetry and stuff and he likes it. It's about sports. That's what's up. Definitely talented. How old is he? Did you always know that? Or was that something you came to know, like during the rejections and the no's? Did you still know that I have the talent? They're just not ready for me?

Speaker 3 14:09

Oh yeah, I always knew it, even when I was my stuff was whack.

Speaker 3 14:14

Even when I was taking advanced poetry and getting back and getting C's like I thought what is wrong with her? Why is she giving me these grades like I always thought I was all that even when I wasn't, and so it just took me a minute to sort of catch up to for my sort of talent to to match my ambition. But no, I never. I never lacked confidence from an early age. I think my parents did a really great job of instilling that in me how did you get your own imprint?

Speaker 3 14:47

Well, again, those first 14 years or so, I started my own company and my father owned a publishing company, so I worked for him as a kid, so I knew publishing, and so I think I pitched the idea to my editor one day and said, look, I feel like I have some innovative and new and interesting ways to approach publishing children's books. I think I should have my own imprint. And they went for it. I think, uh, again, I'm a hard worker and I have my finger on the pulse and you know, I kind of I have a vision. I have a vision for for my career and, and I think I, I, I felt like I had something to offer to other writers so that they didn't have to go through that sort of 25 year cycle that I went through, that I could sort of speed it up for them, you know, and I felt like I could be efficient and effective at doing that, and I think my publisher believed that. So they went for it.

Black Star and Project Inspiration

Speaker 2 15:56

That's awesome. Can you tell me how Black Star came to be and what was your inspiration for it?

Speaker 3 16:02

Yeah, I was living in London during COVID and one day I got a letter in the mail from a fan. I don't know how this fan got my mail, my address, in London, but the fifth grader in Santa Monica wrote me a letter saying how much she loved my books me a letter saying how much she loved my books. And that, as much as she loved my books, there was one problem I had never featured a female main character in any of my novels and she felt like it was time for me to do that. So she just went in on me and I was like that's interesting. So I I actually flew to lax and went to visit her class in Santa Monica and I remember they were so excited, I surprised them and after all the thrill and excitement died down. She looked at me and she was like so what are you going to do about my question? And that always sort of stuck with me.

Speaker 3 16:57

And I think when I began writing the Door of no Return series, book one came out in 2022.

Speaker 3 17:10

As I thought about what book two would be about, I went back to that letter and said, well, whatever it's going to be, it's going to be a female main character, and so that became exciting for me. And then it was a matter of figuring out what's the metaphor. What's the sports metaphor? Because in a lot of my books I try to use sports as a metaphor.

Speaker 3 17:32

And so I came up with this idea that perhaps this girl, this 12 year old girl, will play baseball and has a really strong arm, and and of course that began to create some conflict and some tension, because the boys, some of the boys in the neighborhood, are probably a little jealous and a little bit upset that she can strike them out. So that's sort of some natural tension that can happen. So so that was sort of the beginnings of it. And then I began to think about my family, my grandmother, my grandfather, my aunts and uncles, and how, what life might have been like for them to grow up in the early 1900s, and so as I began to think about all those things, then it was just a matter of tying it into the story in book one and making it sort of cohesive, and then I wrote it.

Speaker 2 18:33

That's awesome. How many revisions did it take?

Speaker 3 18:37

Door no Return was 12 years and a bunch of revisions. Door no Return was 12 years and a bunch of revisions. Black Star was a year and a half and probably about four, three or four revisions. But I also you know my writing process is I revise while I'm writing. Like I'm writing, I'm telling stories in poems, and so I will work on a poem. You know I'll get a draft out in an hour, beginning to middle and end, but then I'm going back and I'm fixing stuff and I don't like that word, and so there's a lot of revisioning happening in each draft. But I revisited the book probably three times as a whole.

Speaker 2 20:30

Love that, love that. How do you balance your writing with, like Big C Entertainment and Versify and all of your other projects and your speech engagements and all that stuff?

Speaker 3 20:40

Well, I no longer run Versify.

Speaker 2 20:43

Oh, I'm sorry.

Speaker 3 20:44

Yeah, I ran it for three years and then HarperCollins bought Houghton Mifflin, which owned the imprint, and so I decided to focus on some other thing. But to your question, I don't stop to think about it because if I did I'd probably go a little crazy, because it's a lot and there are times where I get overwhelmed and I say you just got a lot going on. You got a lot of eyewear, you're traveling around the world, you're working on these books, you got a high school junior. There are times where it's overwhelming and I just have to stop and cut some stuff out. And I went through that process. This You're working on these books, you got a high school junior. Like, there are times where it's overwhelming and I just have to stop and cut some stuff out. And I went through that process this past summer where I had to cut out a significant amount of projects, because as I get older and you know, smarter, I realized that I've been doing this for 34 years.

Speaker 2 21:43

It's awesome.

Speaker 3 21:44

And the goal is not to do more. The goal is to do less and try to enjoy some of this right. So that's where I am right now. I'm at a point now where I'm really just prioritizing and trying to focus on the things that really make me passionate and really try to enjoy this life that I've created for myself. So that's the goal now.

Speaker 2 22:12

Love that. Can you tell me about Big C Entertainment?

Speaker 3 22:17

Yeah, yeah. So that started. You know, Big C Entertainment started with the crossover TV show on Disney plus and that was an opportunity, to you know, produce an adaptation of the book. And I remember Disney not thinking that I could be the head writer on the show because I'd never written for television, and I was really adamant no, I need to be the head writer on the show because I'd never written for television and I was really adamant no, I need to be the head writer and I knew I did, because I it wasn't a money grab, it was, it was really.

Speaker 3 22:51

I'm a control freak and I also don't want my stuff changed in a way that I'm not going to be proud of. So they finally agreed to pair me with a writer who had written for TV, and so I was. I was a co-head writer with a gentleman by the name of Damani Johnson, and we wrote the show and we shot it in new Orleans and it was an incredible experience and we we won an Emmy award and so that sort of let me know and showed me that I want to have my, I want to dip my feet in the waters of Hollywood. I don't need to be ensconced out there, but I want to do some different projects, and so Big C Entertainment is the umbrella under which I sort of you know write and produce digital television, film and theater. The next project that we're working on is an animated series based on one of my children's books for PBS, which launches May 1st, called Acoustic Roosters Barnyard Band, and then a musical, a Broadway musical based on the Crossover.

Speaker 2 24:06

Awesome.

Speaker 3 24:08

Yeah, and you're doing a reality show too right Anerica's yeah yeah, we've been developing that for about two or three years, yeah, so yeah, that's a part of it as well.

Speaker 2 24:25

Do you know when that will be done, or are you still figuring things?

Speaker 3 24:28

out.

Speaker 2 24:30

We're sort of in the final negotiations and so, and so I think I think probably some point in the first or second quarter of next year we'll know whether it's going to be a thing and where it's going to live. That's exciting. Yeah, it is. What do you like better the production and being in the background of entertainment and creativity, or being in the foreground, writing yourself?

Speaker 3 25:07

well, after having spent 20 minutes or so with me, can you tell whether I'm like being in the back or the foreground? Yeah, I, I exist very well in both places. Again, I love doing the work, putting in the work and I love engaging. I love being my mom. When I was little, the way she would punish me would be to send me to my room. That was my punishment, because she knew how much I wanted to be around people. That was the worst punishment ever. So, yeah, I, I do like the producing and the organizing and also like the creating and the writing and the performance. Love that, love that.

Speaker 2 25:56

How do you hook readers on the first page of a novel?

Speaker 3 26:01

Aside from the fact that I'm a genius.

Speaker 2 26:04

Yes.

Speaker 3 26:06

I mean, how do you do it? I mean, here's the thing when I write, first and foremost, I got to love it, I got to be hooked on it. If I'm not like, oh snap, oh yeah, If I'm not laughing and feeling it or crying, if I'm not emotionally involved, then the chances of y'all the reader being you know are lessened. So that's how I do it, what I try to write stuff that I'm going to love and that I would have loved when I was younger. Simple as that.

Speaker 2 26:45

What advice would you give to aspiring authors?

Speaker 3 26:50

You know, read as much as possible, write something every day. I think the biggest thing is, you know you got to have the stomach for this thing. You got to be. You're going to be punched, you're going to be knocked down. Can you get up? Can you? Can you keep getting up? Because the no's are coming and so I know I've had them and they still come. I know I've had them and they still come, but can you remind yourself that the yes is waiting to get through?

Speaker 2 27:29

You've just got to wait and work what?

Speaker 3 27:37

advice would you give poets Write a children's picture book. A children's picture book is one poem.

Speaker 3 27:43

And you'll make more money than you make on any poetry books that you publish for adults. Write a children's picture book. I tell poets that all the time. Yep, I don't believe in being a starving artist. I know a lot of poets feel like that. Robert Frost quote there is no poetry in money and there's no money in poetry. I disagree. I think it's just the way you approach it and you don't have to be a starving artist. You can make a living from your art.

Speaker 2 28:16

Is there anything you think you would have done differently if you could?

Speaker 3 28:25

What would I have done differently? That's a good question. There are little things, you know interactions with people, or a poem that I wish I would have written differently, or a different decision I may have made in a story that I would have loved to have done differently. Yeah, but I don't regret any of it. It all got me to this point, so I'm pretty grateful and blessed.

Speaker 2 28:57

You do writing retreats and stuff too. What do you cover in your writing retreats? What are some of the things that go into those? What do you cover in your writing retreats? What are?

Speaker 3 29:06

some of the things that go into those. When I was trying to figure out how to be inspired and trying to get myself excited and pumped up, I loved surrounding myself with other writers and breaking bread and laughing and sharing work and it's it, it it propelled me forward. And so whenever I do writing retreats, it's it's to to to try to do that not only for other writers but still for me. Like just you know, I still need that and want that. So imagine it's like. It's like it's like a family reunion or a cookout or a Sunday dinner. You want to have that feeling of being informed, engaged, inspired, empowered and just feel good about yourself and what you're doing and who you are about yourself and what you're doing and who you are Best piece of writing advice you've ever gotten.

Speaker 3 30:16

Oh, when I was taking Nikki Giovanni's class in Virginia Tech and she had given me another C on a grade and I went to talk to her about it because I didn't understand. I thought I was an amazing writer and I remember she said to me she said, kwame, I can teach you how to write, but I can't teach you how to be interesting. I was like whoa, and so that has always stuck with me. I didn't like it at the time I was real mad.

Speaker 3 30:44

But it's always stuck with me that this notion't like it. At the time I was real mad. It's always stuck with me this notion that if we want you to be interested in what we're saying, then we've got to be interesting in how we're saying it and what we're talking about. I find that it's important. If you want to be interesting, you have to be interested. I try to walk through life being interested and so I try to walk through life being interested.

Speaker 2 31:11

Love that, Love that. What's something harder writing for children or for young adults?

Speaker 3 31:18

Oh, they're the same. I mean they're all difficult and easy and fun and harrowing. Yeah, that's all to say it. Just, it depends on the mood. Like today I was working on a children's picture book and it's maybe 150 words. It's a board book. I've been working on it for four days, for like 15 hours. It's just 150 words, but like every word matters and it's so and you got to get the rhythm right and so it just it's, it's. It's all got its challenges, but it's, it's, it's. I love it. You know, I love it.

Speaker 2 31:54

What's the formula for a good picture book?

Speaker 3 31:59

The formula, the formula. You know I don't know what the formula is, but I do know. Here's what I think about when I'm writing children's picture books. I may be writing a book about kid friendly stuff, but I'm writing for everybody, so you got to be able to enjoy it as much as your six-year-old kid does. Like that's important to me. And so that goes back to what I was saying before. When I'm writing a book, I got to love it. I can't write a book that I'm not going to enjoy reading over and over, and so for me it's about that sort of intergenerational In TV. We call it co-viewing. Like, everybody has to be able to enjoy it. That's how I approach every picture book I write.

Speaker 2 32:54

That's challenging.

Speaker 3 32:59

It is, but again, it's like writing for me now and writing for the kid in me, so it's challenging, but it's also fun.

Speaker 2 33:06

It's like writing for me now and writing for the kid in me, so it's challenging but it's also fun to tap into that Very true, very true Hardest page to write the first or the last.

Speaker 3 33:15

The first, oh my gosh, the first. Staring at that blank page is hell. The last page is the saddest because it's over, but definitely the first page of the hardest how do you avoid the soggy middle I?

Speaker 2 33:35

don't even know what that is. What's that? A lot of writers say that when they get in the middle of the book that you know sometimes it's bloated or sometimes they get lost and they have to try to refine it. And you know, I don't know, it's just a term they throw out there, I don't know if it really even has a meaning, or if they get lost and they have to try to refine it. And you know, I don't know, it's just a term they throw out there, I don't know if it really even has a meaning or if they just say it yeah, for me the beginning is just so hard, but once I'm in it, yeah, I'm good.

Speaker 3 33:58

I'm just. It's downhill. Once I'm in it, it's like I'm uphill for days, for weeks, for sometimes years, but once I reach the top, I'm good.

Speaker 2 34:11

That's what's up. Writing a novel in verse is hard, though that's a beautiful skill set to have.

Speaker 3 34:17

I've tried, I can't oh you can't, I can teach you how to do it. You can do it you should. Yeah, you can do it should. Yeah, you could do it it's it's. It's hard as anything else, but once you sort of figure out like the first time I tried to write it the crossover, it took me five years to figure it out, but I just read a lot of novels in verse. That was the first thing I did. I read a lot and I okay, again, I was familiar with poetry because I had written that. So.

Speaker 2 34:44

But yeah, I started with poetry. So I've written poetry, but just long form with poetry. I struggle. What's up next for you? What are you working on now?

Speaker 3 35:05

I'm writing book three of the trilogy and so so. So I've got. I've been thinking through that, so that that's going to. I'm going to start working on that in December, but before then I'm writing a screenplay. So I've got a movie to write about an all-girls basketball team that's awesome.

Speaker 2 35:29

Yeah, what do you like better? The screenplays or long form or children's books or, like you know what I mean like the picture books?

Speaker 3 35:38

I think probably the screenplays are harder for me because I haven't done it as much. So I like it, but it's definitely more challenging.

Speaker 2 35:51

Awesome. You said that your agent is now your business partner. How's that been so far? It's been great.

Speaker 3 35:59

Yeah, it's been 10 years that we didn't know each other intimately and we trust each other, you know, and she's way smarter in a lot of areas than I am, so it just works the words it's beautiful.

Speaker 2 36:19

Any advice for debut novelists like myself who don't know what they're doing? When is your novel coming?

Speaker 3 36:26

out 2026. What's the name of it?

Speaker 2 36:30

Hearts Gambit, it's fantasy black time traveling.

Speaker 3 36:38

Love it. Who's publishing it?

Speaker 2 36:41

It's going to be a Wednesday Books.

Speaker 3 36:43

Wednesday Books Word. My advice Don't expect your publisher to do any marketing.

Speaker 2 36:50

Have a plan.

Speaker 3 36:51

Have a plan and implement it yourself. Do not wait on them, because publishers genuinely and generally do not have the capacity to implement marketing strategies for all the authors that they publish. When there's only one or two people in the marketing department, it doesn't matter. So do not rely and expect them. Have a plan and make it happen yourself.

Speaker 4 37:22

That wraps up today's Craft Chat Chronicles with JD Mayer. Thanks for joining us. If you liked the episode, please comment, subscribe and share. For show notes, writing workshops and tips, head to jdmayercom. That's jdmayercom. While you're there, join JD''s mailing list for updates, giveaways and more. Thank you.