The First Draft Club
A podcast to help you overcome resistance and write with more joy, clarity, and confidence. If you’re working on a novel or memoir, stick around. Whether you haven‘t written a word since your 5-paragraph essay days or you have an MFA in Creative Writing, this weekly podcast is now your favorite writing companion on your journey to finish your first draft.
- Update frequency
- every 5 days
- Average duration
- 14 minutes
- Episodes
- 139
- Years Active
- 2020 - 2025
S08 E01 The Black List: The new publishing shortcut for aspiring novelists
We're back for Season 8! Mary talks about a newcomer to publishing—The Black List—and shares costs, benefits, and how it could potentially save you months (or even years) in your publishing journey. …
S07 E12 3 Things to Know about Copyright & a Scam to Avoid if You’re Self-Publishing
Don't fall for anyone offering you "global copyright" for a bunch of money. Here's what you need to know about copyright as an author and how to file.
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Alessandra Torre Ink: https://ati.mykajab…
S07 E11 Should You Hire a Book Publicist?
Authors are hiring their own publicists—but how do you know if a publicist is worth the cost? Mary shares the questions she'd ask.
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PublicityxChristina: https://www.publicityxchristina.com/
S07 E10 How Much I Was Paid for My First Novel & Why I Don't Think Big Publishing is Dead
Mary takes on the recent buzz around "Big 5" publishing being a waste of time for authors by sharing her own story and how she views authorial success.
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Mary's Blog: https://maryadkinswriter.com/b…
S07 E09 The #1 Resource for When You're Querying
How do you find the right literary agents or publishers to query? There's one resource that's worth every penny (and this isn't sponsored content): Publisher's Marketplace. Here's why, and how to use…
S07 E08 The Lean-In Method for Assessing Feedback
How do you get feedback without letting it derail you? The risk is real. Mary shares the single criterion she uses in deciding whether or not to take a piece of feedback.
S07 E07 The Real Secret to Writing Your Best Possible Book
In this short and sweet episode, Mary shares the secret to writing a book that's smarter than you (with some helpful words from George Saunders and Rufi Thorpe).
S07 E06 Rufi Thorpe (with Mary) on How to Control Your Reader's Mind
In this sneak peek into the private podcast inside The Book Incubator, Mary and Rufi discuss what they label "Newtonian Narratology" (you think we're kidding!), a.k.a. why it's better for your charac…
S07 E05 Interview with Psychologist & Author Joe Sanok on How to Get Your Book Written
Author of Thursday is the New Friday, Joe Sanok speaks with Mary about the neuroscience findings that can help aspiring authors finally finish their drafts.
S07 E04 3 Publishing Myths that Are Making Me Mad
There are people online selling solutions you don't need to problems that don't exist. As a writer aspiring to be published, it pays to be savvy. Mary unpacks 3 of these myths so you can avoid traps.
S07 E03 Here it is...the Novel-Writing Tool I Invented in 2023!
In this episode, Mary shares the origin story of her newest tool "A Novel in 52 Prompts" and shares the first 3 prompts so you can knock out your first 5,000 words.
S07 E02 The 2 Ways Playwright Tom Stoppard Changed My Creative Life
Mary shares two stories about what Tom Stoppard the playwright taught her about life and creativity.
S07 E01 My Current Daily Routine as a Novelist (While Running a Business & Parenting)
We're back for Season 7! In this first episode of the season, Mary walks us through her current daily writing routine as she balances a new novel, work, and parenting.
Live with Debut Novelist & Book Incubator grad Gayle Brown on her pub day!
We interrupt this post-season break to bring you a chat between Mary and Gayle Brown, an alum of The Book Incubator whose debut novel that she wrote in the program is out this week. Learn about her w…
S06 E09 3 New Tips for Writing Better Dialogue
In this episode, Mary builds on the 5 tips for writing stronger dialogue she shared back in the first episode of Season 5. These 3 strategies will help improve your dialogue further.
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Season 5, …
S06 E08 What Makes a Book ”Good” Isn’t What You Think—It’s This
What actually makes us call a book "good" is something Mary recently completely changed her view on. Here's how she thinks of a "good book" now, and why.
S06 E07 Should You Write a Memoir or a Novel Based on Your Life?
Mary shares the 3 questions she'd ask herself if deciding whether to write a true personal story or a fictionalized version based on real events. Also, join our 10,000-Word Challenge starting next we…
S06 E06 Why Creative Writing Classes Are So Bad
In this episode, Mary gets very real about why most creative writing classes make you feel discouraged and directionless, and how to handle such a class.
S06 E05 What IS Upmarket Fiction? How to Write a Novel that Appeals to the Widest Audience
What makes a novel count as “literary fiction?” How is it different from “upmarket” fiction? And are they both better than commercial fiction? Mary defines these categories and discusses why she beli…
S06 E04 My Hot Take: Why AI is Going to Make Good Writers MORE Valuable, Not Less
In this episode, Mary takes on the threat of AI to professional writing and discusses why she believes it will never replace human storytellers.