Claim OwnershipWrite the Damn Book Already
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© 2026 Elizabeth Lyons LLC
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Want to write, publish, and market your book, but feel overwhelmed by where to start?
Write the Damn Book Already breaks down the writing process, self-publishing, and traditional publishing so you can move from idea to finished book with clarity and confidence.
Hosted by Elizabeth Lyons—author, book writing coach, book editor, and self-publishing expert—this show untangles the often-confusing world of writing and publishing. From first draft to finished manuscript, indie publishing to traditional publishing, Amazon strategy to long-term book visibility, you’ll get practical guidance and honest conversations about what it really takes to get a book into the world.
Through solo episodes and interviews with both traditionally published and indie authors—across fiction and nonfiction—Elizabeth brings a well-rounded, no-hype perspective to the publishing industry. Whether you’re working on memoir, nonfiction, or a novel, you’ll walk away with clearer next steps and fewer mental roadblocks.
158 Episodes
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Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! Can you write a memoir without putting your name on it? In this episode, I tackle two of the most common questions I hear from aspiring memoirists: Can I stay anonymous? and What makes a book successful? I break down why selling a memoir without a personal identity attached is tough. Readers connect to people, not just stories. And when the story is personal, anonymity adds a level of friction you can’t ignore. I also share w...
Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! It's critical to understand the dynamics of book distribution, the advantages of ebooks, and strategies for increasing sales, especially as an indie author. So in this conversation, I discuss recent updates in the self-publishing world, focusing on distribution platforms for authors, particularly the new option for ebook distribution through Bookshop.org. The conversation also touches on the challenges indie authors face in g...
Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! Sarah Vacchiano’s journey from querying 100 agents to publishing with one of the industry’s top houses is a story of patience, "luck," and the power of building genuine relationships. In this episode, Sarah shares the behind-the-scenes details of her publishing journey, including how a chance reconnection with an editor led to her debut novel’s acquisition and publication. You'll discover how her strategic persistence, timing, and ...
Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! An elementary school librarian by day. A writer by night (and other spare moments). Somewhere in between, a whole book got written. In episode 154, I’m joined by Cassie Miller, author of the upcoming young adult contemporary sports romance Meet Me Under the Lights (Viking, March 2026). We talk about how she balanced teaching, writing, and real life long enough to finish a novel—and then had the courage to send it into the tradition...
Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! Fear of failure shows up early for most authors. And despite what you may think, it doesn’t magically disappear once you’re published. In this episode, I get honest about how fear, rejection, and unmet expectations quietly shape the writing process, especially in nonfiction and memoir. Drawing from years of editing experience (and my own hard-earned lessons), I break down why failure so often feels personal—and why that belief keep...
Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! In this episode, I discuss the significance of context in the author space, emphasizing the need for transparency in marketing. I also talk about that dreaded task: building an author email list. EPISODE CHAPTERS 01:37 - The Power of Quiet Reflection 04:09 - When Navigating the Author Space: Context Matters 10:02 - Building Your Email List: A Key to Success 15:04 - Commitment to Growth: Choosing Your Platform 🎉 NOW OPEN - AMA...
Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! This episode starts with a question that’s been tapping me on the shoulder all year: What would it look like to choose ease without giving up momentum? I’m reflecting on the past year in book writing and publishing, and sharing what I’m carrying forward into 2026. Less hustle-for-hustle’s-sake. More sustainable progress that feels livable. I talk about why consistency in book sales matters more than viral spikes, and why realistic ...
Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! Episode 150 provides the reset many authors quietly crave as Jenn Hanson-dePaula returns to help us modify (if not outright rebuild) our expectations, systems, and perspectives when it comes to book sales. EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS: • How to implement a "2 sales a day" strategy. • Becoming "profitable, not popular." (Hint: Clicks matter. Likes and views don’t.) • The simple link path that outperform complicated funnels every time. • The e...
Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! In this episode, I share 8 books that reshaped how I parent, relax, and think about storytelling in 2025. Books: Just Do Nothing (for Parents) by Joanna Hardis The Summer We Ran by Audrey Ingram What Happened to Lucy Vale by Lauren Oliver Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy Small Victories by Anne Lamott Moms Like Us by Jordan Roter *** 📚 Author Visibility Bundle (200+ customizable email and social med...
Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! In this episode, we walk through 5 mistakes that quietly undermine first-time self-publishers and show how to fix each one with practical, doable steps. We start by tightening your audience with a one-sentence framework that keeps every chapter aligned to a clear promise. From there, we map a real editing workflow: self-edit, gather targeted beta feedback on structure and flow, then bring in a professional editor who can stre...
Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! If you’re writing a nonfiction book or memoir and your draft feels messy, scattered, or “not quite ready,” this episode will help you clean it up fast. I’m sharing 5 editing rules that instantly improve any nonfiction manuscript — the same rules I use to help guide the authors whose manuscripts I edit. These are the patterns I’ve seen again and again after coaching hundreds of authors, editing countless drafts, and publishing...
Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! Wanting life to be wonderful and wanting to be wonderful aren’t the same thing, and that gap is where today’s conversation lives. Israeli journalist and author Lihi Lapid joins me to talk about motherhood’s messy truths, the pressure to be “more” than "good enough," and the writing choices that make a story feel honest. From bestselling novels to a children’s book that calms homes during chaotic times, Lihi's path as an author refr...
Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! Today I'm sharing 5 quick wins that make self-publishing feel simple, not scary, and show how small moves can build sustainable momentum. By the end of these 5 steps, you will have: • locked in a clear (and easy to pronounce over and over again) working title • chosen a credible publishing company name • and understanding of ISBNs and taken the first step toward purchasing yours • selected a trim size that best fits your word coun...
Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! Ever felt like everyone else has the secret playbook for publishing while you’re just winging it? Same. In this episode, I spill everything I'd tell you as the author of six books (and having published 50+ for others) if I wasn't afraid you'd unfollow or outright block me. I'll get real about the financial side of authorship—the thin margins, the myth of “making it” with one viral post, and the practical ways nonfiction auth...
Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! A single question on a cold Hudson Valley walk: What if there’s a body in that hunter’s tent? sparked the debut thriller The Gallagher Place by Julie Doar. In this episode, we chat about how she wrote the first draft by instinct, then shifted gears into precision: charting dates, timelines, and cause-and-effect until every twist landed in a way that made sense. When the manuscript worked its way to 100K+ words, cutting ...
Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! What happens when a traditionally published debut novel suddenly appears on Kindle Unlimited while still showing wide? That unexpected twist opens into a bigger conversation about publishing decisions (and what’s actually within an author’s control). In this episode, Turner Gable Kahn, author of The Dirty Version (Harper Perennial), shares how she honored her grandmothers with a pen name, threaded #MeToo-era questions into a contem...
Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! Maid meets Under the Tuscan Sun! Betsy Cornwell built her career writing young adult fantasy, but her newest book tells an entirely different story. In this episode, Betsy opens up about her memoir, Ring of Salt, which chronicles her escape from an abusive marriage and her creation of a sanctuary for single-parent artists. At the center is the Old Knitting Factory in western Ireland, a historic building she transformed into a child...
Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! Most authors have as big a stack (if not bigger) of abandoned drafts as they do books that actually make it into the world. Jane Hamilton—bestselling author of The Book of Ruth and A Map of the World and two-time Oprah Book Club pick—is refreshingly open about that reality. Her newest novel, The Phoebe Variations, took nearly a decade to finish. Not because she was “blocked,” but because finding the center of a story often means wr...
Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! Copyright. Piracy. LibGen. AI scraping. If just reading that list makes you want to hide under your desk with a bottle of...something...you’re not alone. Indie authors are being forced to navigate a landscape that feels murkier by the day, and most of us didn’t exactly sign up to become copyright attorneys. Unfortunately, the “poor man’s copyright” trick (mailing yourself a sealed copy of your manuscript) I used to suggest won’t do...
Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! There are more than 42 million books on Amazon right now. So how in the world do you help your book stand out? One word: keywords. Think of keywords as Amazon’s GPS. They tell the algorithm exactly where your book belongs and who should see it. However, Amazon only gives you seven keyword boxes to work with. Seven! Which means every slot has to pull its weight. In this episode, I walk you through how to make those keywords work har...
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If a famous author ever criticized my work to the point it went viral my entire reaction would be: "You noticed MEEE?!" bc srsly only a weirdo would give a shit what I think. If their rabid followers attacked me I'd reply to every comment with a copy/paste: "Thank goodness I'm a nobody so you can go on with your life! And since you're a nobody too, hmu if you're in the Dayton area so we can get coffee together sometime. I'm always on the prowl for new friends who like to read books! DEUCES!"