The Secret Library Podcast
The Truth about Writing Books.
- Update frequency
- every 8 days
- Average duration
- 45 minutes
- Episodes
- 278
- Years Active
- 2016 - 2025
#126:: How to Work With an Editor | NY Book Editors
#125 : Writers, Keep Your Day Job | Sarah St. Vincent
#124 :: Your Book as an Audiobook | Rachel Fulginiti
With hundreds of audiobooks narrated, Rachel Fulginiti was the perfect guest to lead us through the wild world of audio.
This episode will take you through the entire process, from finding potential …
#123 :: Hacking NaNoWriMo | Tasha Harrison
Every year November 1 brings the same question to writers: to NaNo or not to NaNo?
Tasha Harrison and I dive into NaNo 2.0: tips and hacks for writers looking to do more than just bang out 50,000 wor…
#122 :: The Importance of Trying | Alexandra Franzen
#121 :: The Library Book | Susan Orlean
When I found out Susan Orlean's latest was called The Library Book it took me exactly 2 minutes to invite her on the show to discuss it. Bless her, she said yes less than 5 minutes later.
This book i…
#120 :: Using Tarot for Writing | Jessa Crispin
When I did 100 readings a few years ago, a friend asked if I could read for her writing project instead of her life.
We tried it out and were amazed at the results. After exploring a bit, I discovere…
#119 :: How to Write a Good Story | Simon Van Booy
118 :: Writing through Grief | Allie Rowbottom
When Allie Rowbottom lost her mother to cancer, she dove headfirst into writing.
Having already completed an MFA and a Ph.D. in Creative Writing, Allie was no stranger to writing but something change…
#117 :: How to Write Nonfiction | Joanna Penn
- How to Write Non-Fiction
Non-fiction books are a different animal than fiction, with as many reasons to write them as there are categories. With more people than ever wanting to reach a wider audie…
#116 :: The Courage to Call Yourself a Writer | Amy Alkon
- I saw Amy Alkon speak at the LA Times Festival of Books and was delighted with her talk on her book, Unf*ckology, which breaks down the science of building up courage. Here, I thought, was a person …
#115 :: Power to the Poetry | Anne Waldman
Confession: I am intimidated by poetry.
If you look over the back catalog of the show, you will find a dearth of poetry represented. partly this is because I have such an abundance of novelists, essa…
#114 :: Reading and Writing History | Diana Gabaldon
Reading and Writing History
When the Life and Adventures of Joaquín Murieta was announced for a reprint from Penguin, I was so excited to see that Diana Gabaldon wrote the foreword.
In speaking with …
#113 Donal Ryan
In this conversation, we discuss how Donal Ryan stayed optimistic as his first few books were rejected nearly 50 times before he bro…
#112 :: Finding the Story of Your Novel | Lucy Tan
BONUS :: July Reads with Mary Laura Philpott
We're going steady on a podcast!
So... we've had Mary-Laura Philpott (or MLP as we like to call her around here) on recommending books seasonally for the past few seasons and we decided it was time …
#111 :: Trusting Your Process | Keith Gessen
Sometimes the line between memoir and novel is thinner than others.
Keith Gessen came on the show this week to discuss his latest novel, A Terrible Country. Drawing on his own experience caring for h…
#110 :: Difficult characters + sticky situations | Edan Lepucki + Jim Butcher
I am so excited to share this week's episode as each of these conversations was so much fun to record. Edan has been on the sh…
#109 :: Getting the Details Right | Rebecca Makkai
Rebecca Makkai didn't set out to write about the AIDS Crisis in Chicago.
This is what I love about writing. There is the saying, "Life is what happens when you're making other plans." I would say tha…
