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Writers all dream of that day when their book goes out into the world. Your first one is special, but it never gets old, either.  This week on the show, we’re celebrating Jody’s latest book release, Bombshell (published with Cosmo Red-Hot Reads from Harlequin), and we talk about being nervous about sharing your work, targeting specific publishers as you write, the way book formats affect how we write and read, and drinking champagne through a doughnut hole.

Hey, if you wanna support Fiction School and Jody’s writing, pick up a copy of her new book!  It’s a digital-only release, available at all these joints and more:

Amazon  |  Barnes and Noble  |  iTunes  |  Harlequin

SHOW NOTES FOR EPISODE 37

• Tommy begins the show singing “I wanna sex you up.”  We apologize forever.
• We start off the show with Jody telling us about her new book, Bombshell.  Great story, working with a new press, Cosmo Red-Hot Reads from Harlequin. Those are some big names, and it’s a press that’s doing interesting stuff.
  

  Celebrating Jody’s new book, Tommy recommends doughnuts…

• Jody wrote the book with that specific publisher in mind, targeting them the whole time, and they took it.  Sometimes that focus and those parameters help writers.
• It’s also Jody’s first book that’s being released as a digital-only version first.  We talk about the differences between that and a print release.
• Publishers are also pushing writers to be more explicit in their writing–and the ebook reader revolution is part of that because people can’t see the cover of the book you’re reading.
• Jody talks about writing sexier scenes and how editors are asking for that more and more in New Adult and Romance books.
• We talk about book lengths and differences between novels and novellas, and the way that digital works don’t have the same kind of length restrictions as print books.
• Jody mentions that novellas and screenplays are very compatible, as they’re usually around the same length.
  

  …and champagne.

• Then we all get honest about the nerves we have as writers when we release our work out into the world.  Jody feels awkward releasing this book because of what people she knows in real life might think.
• And the waiting game when you’re waiting to hear back from others or to get reviews or what your friends will think–we all still get nervous about that.
• Jody mentions one less pressure with digital-only publishing: there’s not as much pressure to sell a lot of books in the first six weeks, because the book is always available and there’s no warehouse space needed, so writers can have a continuous book launch no matter how old a book is.
• Tommy worries that kids won’t have a relationship with a book in the same way if it’s not a physical object, ink on paper.  We talk and talk about it but we don’t come up with an answer.  It’s a long problem.
• Tommy also talks about his book coming out soon, and some of the differences when publishing with an indie publisher (like Atticus Books!)
• And Jody talks about her NEXT book, which is also a hybrid, cutting-edge publishing house, Crush.  Jody’s always pushing that envelope, y’all.
• We end talking about Publication Day rituals, a way to celebrate on the day your book goes public.  Jody doesn’t have one yet, but we hope she’s adopted Tommy’s Pub Day ritual, doughnuts and champagne.  (Tommy drinks champagne through the doughnut hole, y’all.)

OK, folks, that’ll do it for the show.  GO BUY JODY’S NEW BOOK!