PubCrawl Podcast

90. Author Career: Public Persona

31 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

JJ and Kelly start a new series on Author Career, talking today about Author Persona--how do you craft one, and why should you craft one in the first ...

89. How to Craft a Pitch (For Twitter Pitch Contests)

17 May 2019

Contributed by Lukas

Kelly and JJ share all their tips and tricks for crafting pitches for Twitter Pitch Contests. How can you distill your book into 280 characters? We've...

88. Deep Dive into Children's Publishing II: MG vs. YA

30 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

JJ and Kelly continue to break down children's publishing by taking a closer look at MG and YA. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss...

87. Deep Dive into Children's Publishing I: Overview

01 Apr 2019

Contributed by Lukas

JJ and Kelly start a new multi-episode series about children's publishing! From Picture Books all the way through New Adult and YA/Adult crossover tit...

86. Catching Up on Q&A

21 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

It's Q&A time! Should published authors review on Goodreads? Are you ever too old to launch a publishing career? How do you deal with rejection? JJ an...

85. We're Back!

06 Feb 2019

Contributed by Lukas

The PubCrawl podcast is officially back! JJ and Kelly reunite with a sprawling discussion about organization and goal setting as it applies to writing...

Announcement: Upcoming First Pages Live Show!

02 Dec 2018

Contributed by Lukas

Popping back in to announce that we're kicking off the quarterly First Pages Live Critique for Patreon supporters on December 8th. You can submit your...

Updates & Announcements!

04 Oct 2018

Contributed by Lukas

After seven months long unintended absence, JJ and Kelly are BACK! (Well, we will be shortly, at any rate). Tune in for some exciting announcements ab...

84. Reviews

08 Mar 2018

Contributed by Lukas

This week JJ and Kelly talk reviews, publishing's necessary evil. Bottom line? Reviews are not for authors. Repeat: REVIEWS ARE NOT FOR AUTHORS. This ...

83. Publishing Relationships

15 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

This week Kelly and JJ discuss Publishing Relationships, or how connections help the industry move forward. Also what happens if you get orphaned by y...

82. Crafting Characters: Arcs

01 Feb 2018

Contributed by Lukas

This week JJ and Kelly conclude their Crafting Characters series with NARRATIVE ARCS. Apologies for sounding scatterbrained; JJ was up until the wee h...

81. Crafting Characters: Relationships

25 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

This week Kelly and JJ continue with their Crafting Characters series with RELATIONSHIPS. If a tree falls in the middle of a wood and no one hears it,...

80. Crafting Characters: Strengths & Weaknesses

18 Jan 2018

Contributed by Lukas

After another unplanned hiatus, JJ and Kelly are back once again! (We'll never be gone forever, don't worry.) This week they continue their series on ...

79. Crafting Characters

15 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

This week Kelly and JJ discuss HOW to write compelling characters. Once again, we talk way too much about Dragon Age and Life is Strange. 😂 This is...

78. So You've Published a Book—Now What?

07 Dec 2017

Contributed by Lukas

So what is life like after your first book comes out, or as Kelly would say, when you're no longer the baby of the family? This week JJ and Kelly talk...

77. Conferences & Festivals

30 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

The Thanksgiving holidays are over so we are back to a regular posting schedule! This week Kelly and JJ are discussing Conferences and Festivals: what...

76. We're Back!

16 Nov 2017

Contributed by Lukas

WE'RE BACK! JJ and Kelly have at long last found a way to be together...on the metaphorical airwaves, so to speak. Some catching and answering of ques...

Not Dead, Just Sleeping

28 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Whoops. We kinda vanished on you. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, ...

75. Q&A!

08 Sep 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Kelly and JJ answer questions this week! What does it mean when an agent or editor follows you on twitter? How can you be an effective moderator for a...

74. Archetypes: The Coming of Age Narrative

31 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

JJ and Kelly wrap up their Summer of Archetypes with Coming of Age narratives! Did you read and love The Pigman in middle school? We did. Also, we can...

73. Archetypes - Cataclysms and Survival Stories

24 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Kelly and JJ are still chatting about Archetypes with a discussion of Cataclysm and Survival Stories. These narratives highlight humankind...

72. Archetypes: Redemption and Revenge

22 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Hey guys! Our apologies for the late episode; while JJ is working on revising SHADOWSONG Kelly is taking over editing duties, and her technical inepti...

71. Archetypes: Heist Narratives

10 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

This week Kelly and JJ continue their Summer of Archetypes with HEIST NARRATIVES. We're cheating a bit as Heist Narratives are really more of a plot c...

70. Archetypes: Oppressed vs. Oppressor

03 Aug 2017

Contributed by Lukas

This week JJ and Kelly discuss Robin Hood-type narratives, or The Oppressed vs. the Oppressor. As per usual, it is tangent heavy on other things we li...

69. Archetypes: Romance Narratives

27 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

This week Kelly and JJ (with surprise guest Beth Revis, New York Times bestselling author of the Across the Universe trilogy and Star Wars: Rebel...

68. Archetypes: The Fatal Flaw

20 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

This week JJ and Kelly continue their Summer of Archetypes series with The Fatal Flaw! Some museum recommendations! Hamilton also makes a reappearance...

67. Archetypes: The Chosen One

13 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

This week Kelly and JJ kick off their Summer of Archetypes with The Chosen One. What constitutes a Chosen One narrative? What are some examples? What ...

66. Query Critique III

06 Jul 2017

Contributed by Lukas

This week JJ and Kelly run another query critique podcast! The quality of the submissions were pretty high all around, so barring a few nitpicks, we e...

65. Archetypes, Stereotypes, & Tropes

29 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Kelly and JJ give a little overview about archetypes, stereotypes, and cliches to kick off their Summer of Archetypes. What is the differen...

64. Query Refresher

22 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

JJ and Kelly are back with an evergreen topic: queries! We revisit query letters and what makes them successful. There's also a long tangent about tro...

Half-Pint #3

15 Jun 2017

Contributed by Lukas

WE ARE BACK! FOR REALSIES, Y'ALL. Kelly and JJ go through a backlog of questions, give answers, and catch up a bit on life. Also: their call for submi...

Half Pint Happy Hour #2

04 May 2017

Contributed by Lukas

JJ and Kelly are back with another Half Pint Happy Hour (that's more like a full size pint this time around. We're chatty). We answer questions about ...

Half-Pint Happy Hour #1

20 Apr 2017

Contributed by Lukas

We're BACK! Despite deadlines and life chaos in general, Kelly and JJ just couldn't stay away. Welcome to Half-Pint Happy Hour! These are short episod...

63. Promotion

02 Mar 2017

Contributed by Lukas

This week Kelly and JJ talk about promotion and getting the word out about your book, including whether or not to put money into your own promotion, h...

62. Author Life: Public vs. Private

23 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

A bit of a contentious topic this week, but JJ and Kelly discuss the boundaries between your public self and your private self and how that can affect...

61. Wintersong

16 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

This week Kelly and JJ discuss Wintersong because JJ didn't have the brain space or the bandwidth to participate in a cogent discussion about writing ...

60. Point of View

12 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

This week JJ and Kelly tackle another writing topic: POV, or Point of View. APOLOGIES FOR THE DELAY, everyone! The week this episode was supposed to g...

59. Publishing 101: Sales & Success

02 Feb 2017

Contributed by Lukas

This week Kelly and JJ talk about SALES & SUCCESS, or Keep Your Eyes on Your Own Paper. We're kind of a downer in this episode, but we want to keep th...

58. Publishing 101 REDUX: Being on Submission

26 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

This week JJ and Kelly continue with their Publishing 101 REDUX series with Submissions. As per usual, JJ Keeps Things Probably a Little Too Real. Als...

57. Publishing 101 REDUX: Querying & Representation

19 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

This week Kelly and JJ revisit an old topic: Querying & Representation! It's been over a year since we last discussed this topic, so we decided to giv...

56. Happy New Year & Catch Up

12 Jan 2017

Contributed by Lukas

Happy new year! Going a bit off schedule by just playing catch-up from the holidays and looking back on 2016, as well as a look forward into 2017. SPO...

55. Fictional Tropes

15 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week Kelly and JJ start a new series about TROPES IN FICTION. What makes a trope cliche? How do you subvert a trope? Also, HAMILTON MIXTAPE. This...

54. Writing Mechanics: Sentence Craft

08 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

And we are back! After a bit of an unplanned hiatus, JJ and Kelly are back to regularly scheduled podcast episodes. Apologies for some of the audio qu...

53. Writing Mechanics: Tone & Mood

01 Dec 2016

Contributed by Lukas

AND WE'RE BACK! This week Kelly and JJ continue their Writing Mechanics series with TONE & MOOD. As we recorded this before the US election, some of t...

52. Writing Mechanics: Pacing

03 Nov 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week JJ and Kelly resurrect the Writing Mechanics series with PACING. Also Kelly does tone research and JJ recovers from an emotional book hangov...

51. Trans-Media Adaptations

27 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week Kelly and JJ conclude their series on adaptations with TRANS-MEDIA ADAPTATIONS. What does that mean? Er...anyway! Basically, we mean it as a...

50. Transformative Adaptations

20 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week JJ and Kelly continue their discussion about adaptations, moving on to TRANSFORMATIVE ADAPTATIONS. Their definition is a little...loose, but...

5. Publishing 101: Publication & Beyond

15 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Kelly and JJ explain what happens after you get published, including print formats, the life cycle of a book, and publicity and promotion. ...

49. Faithful Adaptations

13 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week Kelly and JJ discuss FAITHFUL ADAPTATIONS: what makes a good or faithful book-to-screen adaptation? Also, we answer some listener questions ...

48. Publishing 301: Warranties & Indemnities

06 Oct 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week JJ and Kelly wrap up their Publishing 301 series with WARRANTIES and INDEMNITIES, or what you are actually on the hook for when you sign a p...

47. Publishing 301: Permissions & Copyright

29 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week Kelly and JJ continue their Publishing 301 series with PERMISSIONS & FAIR USE, or Wherein They Define Copyright and How Not to Violate It. A...

46. Publishing 301: Licensing & IP

23 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week JJ and Kelly move into the higher levels of publishing with their Publishing 301 series, this time talking about LICENSING & INTELLECTUAL PR...

45. Author Career: The Business of Being an Author

15 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week JJ and Kelly tackle the BUSINESS of being an Author, how being an Author (business person) differs from being a Writer (the artist). Creativ...

44. Author Career: Qualifications

08 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week JJ and Kelly continue their series on Author Career, this time tackling the question of QUALIFICATIONS. Do you need them to be a writer? (SP...

43. Author Career: What Is It?

01 Sep 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week Kelly and JJ start a new series about AUTHOR CAREER. What is it? How do you manage it? What do you mean we have to think about it???? They s...

42. Query Critique II

25 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week JJ and Kelly do their second ever QUERY CRITIQUE! Thank you to everyone who sent us their queries! We would love nothing more than to be abl...

41. Troubleshooting Craft: Earning Emotional Payoff

18 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week Kelly and JJ try to analyze what makes a book give them the Feels. What makes a book emotionally satisfying? Can a book be universally satis...

40. Troubleshooting Craft: Expanding & Elaborating

11 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week JJ and Kelly continue their series on Troubleshooting Craft, this time focusing on expanding and elaborating, or What To Do If You Need to F...

39. Troubleshooting Craft: Kill Your Darlings

04 Aug 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week Kelly and JJ embark on their series on troubleshooting writing craft issues. In this episode, they discuss the adage "Kill your darlings": w...

38. Publishing 201: Submissions

28 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week JJ and Kelly revisit an old topic: SUBMISSIONS. They also reiterate the old publishing motto: NO DECISION IS MADE IN A VACUUM. Plus, feminis...

37. Publishing 201: Rejections

14 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week Kelly and JJ tackle REJECTION: what it means, why people might get rejected, what to do when you get one, etc. Also, the difference between ...

36. Publishing 201: A Day In The Life

07 Jul 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week JJ and Kelly give you a behind-the-scenes peek at a Day in the Life of a publishing person. SPOILER: The tagline "I get paid to read books" ...

35. Dissecting Return Of The Jedi

30 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week Kelly and JJ discuss the final installment of the original Star Wars trilogy: RETURN OF THE JEDI. Is it successful? Is it not? It's better t...

34. Dissecting The Empire Strikes Back

23 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week JJ and Kelly continue their series on dissecting fictional properties, this time with the second installment of the original Star Wars trilo...

33. Dissecting Star Wars

16 Jun 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week Kelly and JJ are back from a two-week hiatus, yay! Also they begin a new series, where they take a fictional property and examine it from a ...

32. Genre: Romance

26 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week JJ and Kelly conclude their series on genres in publishing with ROMANCES. Also, we reveal the depth of our Harry Potter nerdery and our deep...

31. Genre: Mysteries & Thrillers

19 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week Kelly and JJ continue with their series on genres in publishing, this time Mystery & Thriller. JJ has also apparently passed her reading rut...

30. Genre: Science-Fiction & Fantasy

12 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week JJ and Kelly continue with their series on genre in publishing, this week focusing on Science-Fiction and Fantasy. It was a close shave as J...

29. Introduction To Genre

05 May 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week Kelly and JJ begin their series on GENRE. This episode will serve as a general overview of "genre" as the publishing industry defines it. Th...

28. Interview With Roshani Chokshi

28 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week JJ interviews Roshani Chokshi, author of The Star-Touched Queen, a Hades and Persephone-inspired romance infused with Indian mythology and i...

27. Characterization: Ancillary Characters

21 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week JJ and Kelly continue with their characterization series by discussing ANCILLARY CHARACTERS. We love ancillary characters, they're often our...

26. Characterization: Villains

14 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week Kelly and JJ continue with their characterization series with VILLAINS. Apologies for the audio quality this week, folks; this topic is appa...

25. Characterization: Protagonists

07 Apr 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week JJ and Kelly talk about the characterization of protagonists, how to get a vivid, realistic character, and whether or not "unlikeable" means...

24. Author Brand & Platform

31 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week Kelly and JJ (and JJ's dog) discuss author platform and brand. JJ is also tackling spring allergies, but it's fighting back and winning. Als...

23. Publishing 201: Sales Conference

25 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week JJ and Kelly talk sales conference and deliver some publishing real-ness. Also, yet more other podcast recommendations. This is a public epi...

22. Query Critique I

17 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week Kelly and JJ live-critique five queries submitted for review. Thank you to everyone who sent us their queries! We would love nothing more th...

21. Writing Mechanics: Voice

10 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week JJ and Kelly discuss Voice in another installment of their Writing Mechanics series. Voice: What is it? How can you develop it? How many tim...

20. Writing Mechanics: Structure

03 Mar 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week Kelly and JJ get into WRITING MECHANICS, or How to Write a Book. Starting with Structure, they discuss what makes a good story: beginnings, ...

19. Publishing 201: Subrights

25 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week JJ and Kelly talk subrights, or the pocket change of the publishing world! Also, our call for query submissions to be critiqued on our futur...

18. Publishing 201: The Anatomy Of A Query Letter

18 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week Kelly and JJ go into a little more detail about how to write a query: what works, what doesn't work, the who, the what, the where, and the w...

17. Love Interests And Romance

11 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week JJ and Kelly are not above capitalizing on a fake holiday to talk about LOVE INTERESTS and ROMANCE. They have lots of Opinions. This is a pu...

16. Critique Groups

04 Feb 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week Kelly and JJ discuss critique groups: how they found theirs (each other!), how to find one in general, whether or not you need critique grou...

15. X Meets Y Or The High Concept Pitch

28 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week JJ and Kelly are back to their regular format and discuss X Meets Y, or The High Concept Pitch: what it is, what it entails, and whether or ...

14. Interview With Beth Revis

21 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week JJ talks with New York Times bestselling author Beth Revis about her publishing journey, revision, how she learned to revise and critique, a...

13. Publishing 201: Advances, Royalties, And Other Publishing Money

14 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

This week Kelly and JJ talk about advances, royalties, and publishing money. We get cold, hard, and mercenary this week, folks. This episode is very l...

12. Revisions

07 Jan 2016

Contributed by Lukas

Happy new year! This week JJ and Kelly are back after a holiday hiatus, traveling through time with an episode recorded in 2015 about REVISION! Once a...

11. Recommended Reads Of 2015

10 Dec 2015

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Kelly and JJ recommend ALL THE BOOKS. This is our year-end reading round-up, so be prepared for A LOT OF BOOKS to be thrown your way. (Also...

10. NaNoWriMo 2015: The Finish Line

26 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

This is apparently the Korean drama recommendation episode! This week JJ and Kelly tackle the end of NaNoWriMo. Sort of. We hope. Oh, and Happy Thanks...

9. NaNoWriMo 2015: Digging Deep

19 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

This week Kelly and JJ discuss digging deep and finding the will to continue with NaNoWriMo. Also, real talk: we talk about bipolar disorder and depre...

8. NaNoWriMo 2015: How To Keep Going

12 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

This week JJ and Kelly give you tips and tricks on how to KEEP GOING in NaNoWriMo. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with ot...

7. NaNoWriMo 2015: Ideas

05 Nov 2015

Contributed by Lukas

Kelly and JJ kick off NaNoWriMo month! This week they talk about how to find an idea to write into a novel, and some tips about how to START writing. ...

6. Ask A Book Publicist! With Mallory Hayes

22 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

This week, JJ and Kelly talk to Mallory Hayes, a book publicist! She answers a few questions about publicity and gives some advice. Also, once again, ...

4. Publishing 101: From Brain To Bookstore

08 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

This week JJ and Kelly go on for WAY too long about the publishing process. What happens after you turn in your manuscript? How does your novel go fro...

3. Publishing 101: Contracts & Clauses

02 Oct 2015

Contributed by Lukas

This week Kelly and JJ talk about CONTRACTS. Yes, contracts. No, it’s not boring, we promise. Also, how Ernest Hemingway can help you write middle g...

2. Publishing 101: Submission & Acquisition

24 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

JJ and Kelly talk about one of the most opaque parts of publishing: submission and acquisition. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss...

1. Publishing 101: Querying and Representation

18 Sep 2015

Contributed by Lukas

JJ and Kelly discuss all things querying and representation when it comes to the publication process. This is a public episode. If you would like to d...