The First Draft Club

Tired of being told you're either an "outliner" or a "pantser"? In this episode, Mary introduces a revolutionary new framework that recognizes writers exist on a spectrum—not just at two extremes. 

B…

Sometimes the best creative advice comes from the most unexpected teachers. In this episode, Mary shares three powerful insights about artistic confidence and creative decision-making—learned from wa…

How do you motivate yourself to work toward big, overwhelming goals when gratification feels impossibly far away? In this episode, Mary shares her summer reality check: facing an entire house to orga…

Ever started researching for your novel only to get so overwhelmed by everything you learned that you couldn't write at all? In this episode, Mary introduces the "marginalia method"—a simple but powe…

What happens when a bestselling author annotates her own 25-year-old novel? In this episode, Mary shares what she discovered reading Ann Patchett's newly annotated edition of "Bel Canto"—and why it t…

Let's settle this once and for all: Can novelists use AI ethically?

In this episode, 3x HarperCollins novelist Mary Adkins shares exactly how she's integrating AI into her writing process WITHOUT let…

Ever wondered if you could write your novel while taking a walk? In this episode, Mary shares her honest experiment with dictation writing—how she wrote nearly half of her latest manuscript (around 5…

In this episode of The First Draft Club, Mary shares the best advice she’s ever heard about balancing writing with parenting, courtesy of Nora Ephron. If you've ever felt like you're constantly dropp…

In this episode of The First Draft Club, Mary Adkins dismantles the elitist myth that plot is somehow “lowbrow” or optional in literary fiction.

Drawing from her own experience and actual Big 5 rej…

There’s one mistake I see writers make over and over again—and it’s the reason so many great books never get finished. It’s called premature optimization, and while it’s a term from computer science,…

BIG NEWS!

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Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/thirdrailpress/third-rail-press-for-the-untold-stories-of-womens-lives
Third Rail Press: https://www.thirdrailpress.org/

How much can you actually make from your book? Should you consider foreign rights or just stick to the US? What can you expect to make after your advance? In the season finale, Mary gets personal and…

Mary invited two fellow novelists and colleagues in The Book Incubator, Harrison and Autumn, to join her for a game she made up! Meet The Feedback Game: What would you do with X feedback? Revise? Mov…

In this episode, Mary breaks down her two best tips for making the revision process as fun as the writing process. 

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Watch on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@maryadkins

Have you wondered why you have trouble making revisions even when you know it's necessary? Mary explores this phenomenon and shares her own struggles with loss aversion.

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S08 E03 How to Fix an 80%…

In the first episode of 2025, Mary reveals that the best way to write a timeless book is to not try to make it timeless. 

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Watch on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@maryadkins

What are the actual sales numbers for authors who get book deals versus authors who self-publish? Mary gets into the data—yep, hardcore math—to help you weigh the pros and cons (financially) of the t…

Mary shares the novels and memoirs that came out in 2024 that left her with the memorable reading experiences from a craft and writing perspective—ones that taught her something about writing or show…

In the last episode, Mary talked about how a 90% great book will get rejections 100% of the time. How do you make up the difference? Whether it's a 40% gap you need to close or a 5% gap, Mary shares …

Mary talks about why a 90% great book will get rejected 100% of the time...and how to tell if that's what's happening from the rejections you're getting. She:

- Shares a sample (real) rejection lette…