Print Run Podcast

In light of yet another round of agent chaos over the weekend, we got together to talk about the information climate in publishing at large, the ways in which even well-intentioned agents can contribute to gatekeeping and access issues for writers. In an age when there are more agents, writers, and information about agents and writers than ever before, everyone could stand to examine whether they’re making publishing a less anxious and more transparent place that’s open to all types of people–or the opposite.

This week we get a little bit mad at the Forced Waiting that publishing imposes on all of us, and it builds to a call to arms: you–writers, agents, editors, whoever–don’t just have to wait quietly for progress to happen to you. No matter your situation in publishing, you can get out there and make something happen as a person with agency and the owner of your own career and path. We address the flipside too, of course: agents (including us!) need to adjust our habits so that there’s less silence, waiting, and wondering. The world is burning! Let’s make moves!

In our first episode of 2024, we take a look at the publishing landscape for the year ahead. We believe that there could be several culminating moments of rupture or change in the near future, in everything from AI’s implementation in the industry to how workers in publishing choose to respond to their own working conditions. We get a little rowdy and we have a good time–come join us!

This week’s theme, across multiple topics, is that workers in publishing deserve to be paid and supported in all the ways required for them to live well and do their jobs to the best of their abilities. We start with a chat about the Half Price Books Union’s contract negotiations, and finish with a look at the recent survey data from AALA. Join us!

This week we use two recent stories–the acquisition of Simon & Schuster by the investment firm KKR and the proliferation of Artificial Intelligence usage in various book-related shenanigans–as a way of talking about something big and broad: publishing looking more and more like the tech world each day. Why might the Silicon Valley approach to business not work in publishing, and why do these recent trends alarm us for reasons big and small, aesthetic and substantive? Join us and we’ll talk through it all.

In the wake of what feels like an endless round of layoffs, restructurings, consolidations, and any other corporate terms for “good people losing their jobs,” we talk about how this constant reshuffling affects the industry as a whole and specifically our jobs as agents. Spoiler alert: it’s not great! But we talk through it and let the feelings out, and do our best to express some solidarity along the way. Join us.

We’ve had a lot of Serious Content lately and it’s a summer Friday, so come take a break with us while we chat about what we’ve got going on this summer, in terms of book stuff and otherwise. One of our more vibey episodes rather than a big heavy topic, so come hang out!

This week in the wake of a LOT of agency shakeups, we asked an extremely basic question: what if the publishing world treated writers like they were professionals? This frame lets us talk about the discourse from the past few weeks, all which shares the common theme of “treating writers really poorly.” Come vent with us, come laugh with us, come imagine a better way of doing things with us.

This week we talk about everyone’s favorite publishing topic that never gives anyone anxiety: gatekeeping and access! We explore how agents can do better jobs of creating an equitable and open playing field for writers trying to break into publishing, even while inherently positioned as a “gate” between the writers and the publishers. The conversation gets to some other places too–we call conferences scams again (oops), we talk about different approaches to finding clients, and much more.

We’ve heard it so many times in so many places: editors falling in love with books, agents loving manuscripts from the first page, deal announcements centered on how much every party involved LOVES the book and working with each other. To put it lightly, “love” as a publishing concept in acquisitions can be crazy-making to try to understand, anticipate, or even manufacture. This episode we talk through, in the realm of signing projects and getting book deals, what we talk about when we talk about love.

At many different moments in the publishing process, we are asked to stay quiet about news, or keep certain developments secret, or not post the thing we’re dying to share on social media. How come? This week we talk about the different silences in publishing–everything from etiquette during the query process to not doing a cover reveal before marketing says so. Some silences are helpful for writers, some are not, and we try to sift through what all of it means.

This week we gave each other a prompt: which books have been the most transformative or influential in shaping our book careers? It’s an open-ended question and we took it that way–in this episode we talk about books we worked on, books that changed our working categories, books we loved, hated, and more. It’s a wide-ranging show that gets into all the different ways individual titles can alter how we do our jobs.

This week we were lucky enough to have HarperCollins associate editor Rachel Kambury on the show, and we talked to her all about her union’s strike, what about their working conditions led them to this historic moment, and how the industry might change in light of this watershed moment in publishing-worker solidarity. We thought it was important for folks to hear directly from the HarperCollins workers, and we’re very grateful for Rachel joining us to talk about her experience firsthand.

Folks, it is that time of year once again. As we set off on our yearly month of holiday memes and other nonsense, we’re adding in some real reflection on the truths that a strange, volatile year of publishing and (and life) has taught us. This episode we get a little personal and talk about the year that was, and set us off on a month of taking stock of where we’ve been and where we’re headed. It’ll be fun too, we promise!

This week we take a look at the HarperCollins Union’s strike for better working conditions, discuss the possible destruction of Twitter, and in general share how we navigate the strangest part of the book calendar–the holidays. It’s a lively grab-bag with a healthy dose of pro-labor sentiment to get your Thanksgiving week started right.

This week’s convo starts out as a discussion of our relationships with books as physical objects and ends up… everywhere? We talk about how we associate meaning and memory with books, our reading habits, when a book actually becomes a book and not a manuscript or a draft, and plenty else. We pick at all the seams of how people interact and place value on the concept of a book, and it ends up being one of our more personal episodes. Join us!

This week we talk about Barnes & Noble’s decision to stock fewer hardcover titles, especially in YA and MG categories. How will this affect debut writers and marginalized creators, why might they make this choice in the first place, and how will publishers respond?

This week we talk about–what else–the court case involving the DOJ vs. PRH, regarding their attempted merger with Simon & Schuster. Specifically, we analyze how the executives testifying have been talking about the industry at large, and what it reveals about corporate publishing strategy, and how it affects authors who aren’t celebrities or politicians. If you’ve been seeing chatter about this case, this is the episode that gets you caught up. Join us!

Pettiness! Jealousy! Stop lying, you’ve felt it as much as the next person, especially in an industry like publishing. So have we, and here we present a full, honest episode on how we process those feelings in a (hopefully) productive way. Folks, it’s time to let the darkness in–join us!

This… is one of our more loose episodes ever. We sit down and catch up on everything from what we’re reading to how Laura avoids death while foraging in the woods, from an analysis of what makes a good children’s board book to how we’re carrying on during a moment of intense national trauma. Also we talk about book advances for a minute. Also we talk about toucans for a minute. At one point we get distracted by Oreos on a shelf. Come join the vibe–you’ll like it here, we promise.