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Ditch Diggers #94: What’s Publishing Doing?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 52:28 — 35.8MB)

Matt and Mur come to you live from the social distancing movie theater within Ditch Diggers HQ where all the seats are six feet apart and cannons shoot popcorn directly into your mouth for a hands-free experience.
The Dalai Lama’s hot takes and inappropriate quarantine pop-ins are briefly discussed.
Mur and Matt talk about how they (and their work habits) are holding up in quarantine, and how it is okay to both not be able to produce creatively right now and feel bad about it.
How media producers from MasterClass to Netflix are adjusting their business models and marketing during the pandemic—and why does publishing seem absent from all of it?
What are publishers doing to address books being released now, and what aren’t they doing?
The old argument about the effectiveness of book marketing, especially the marketing of genre books, or the lack thereof, is discussed.
Matt goes on a very long and very angry rant about publisher vs. author responsibility when it comes to raising awareness for and marketing books, particularly and specifically in the time of COVID.
On the heels of Matt’s ravings, Mur says smart, productive things about authors dealing with book releases in quarantine when the weight to market their book falls on their shoulders.
Mur goes on an entirely relevant tangent about remembering you have to ask for things in life and in your career, and it’s always worth making that ask.
Dealing with despair, and remembering writers are needed and important and valuable.
The question of are we going to see more authors self-publishing due to the pandemic and widespread shutdowns and quarantines.
Twitter Q&A! Topics include whether non-writing activities such as Twitch streaming/podcasting/et all actually help sell books, and the issue of writing pandemic novels in the time of an actual pandemic.
The obligatory end of episode shilling (preorder Matt’s debut epic fantasy novel SAVAGE LEGION, available worldwide July 21st).

ISBW #496: Tuckerization Dangers

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 11:00 — 10.6MB)

There’s a lot more to naming a character after someone living than I originally thought. It goes WAY beyond things like legal fears and wondering if someone will get mad at you.

ISBW #495: Learning from Cooking Shows (and hiatus)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 8:36 — 8.8MB)

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I have learned a lot about the creative life from the Netflix show Zumbo’s Just Desserts.

Also: Perhaps the fact that I recorded this last week and didn’t get it up till this week underscores the fact that I’m overwhelmed and need a break from everything except my book. I’m not leaving you without any content: I still have one more ISBW and one DD to publish, and then things will resume in May. (Patreon subscribers will also receive the mysterious epic fail that is the Ditch Diggers Without Mur episode where I recorded only Matt’s half of the show…)