The First Draft Club

Special Mid-Season Announcement - Mary's Memoir and a New Press!

BIG NEWS!

----------

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

S08 E10 How Much Can You Make in Foreign Rights - My Story (with Actual Dollar Amounts!)

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 answers your questions. 

----

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

S08 E09 Special Guests! Welcome, the Podcast is a Gameshow Now

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? Move on? Freak out?

----

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

S08 E08 Is Revision Sucking? Two Strategies to Make It Joyful Again

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

----

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

S08 E07 Killing Your Non-Darlings in Revision

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.

---

S08 E03 How to Fix an 80% Good Book Getting Rejections: https://www.podbean.com/eas/pb-xqce2-1750a3c

----

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

S08 E06 How to Write a Timeless Book (Whatever That Means)

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. 

----

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

S08 E05 All the Numbers in Publishing No One Talks About

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 two major publishing paths. 

-Free training on how much you can make on your book: https://www.thebookincubator.com/free-training
-Blog post summary: https://maryadkinswriter.com/blog/how-much-do-authors-make

----

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

S08 E04 My Top 5 Books of 2024 as a Writer

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 showed her something new about what literature can do. The books are (in no particular order):

- The Wedding People by Alison Espach

- Molly by Blake Butler

- Old Enough by Haley Jakobson

- Grief is for People by Sloane Crosley

- Madwoman by Chelsea Bieker

She wants you to know that Margo's Got Money Troubles by Rufi Thorpe (a Kirkus Prize finalist this year) was recused because Rufi teaches with Mary in The Book Incubator, but it's an incredibly instructional novel from a craft perspective (and just a fantastic book).

----

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

S08 E03 How to Fix an 80% Good Book Getting Rejections

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 her recommendations.

----

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

S08 E02 Why You Can Write an Amazing Book That Doesn't Get Published

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 letter

- Discusses examples of a 10% gap between good and great

- Talks about why this means you shouldn't give up, you should revise

----

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