Welcome to Episode 2 of Write the Book, Play the Game, a podcast about the business of being an author! We’re once again getting candid (some might say: too candid) about the business savvy we’ve picked up in our cumulative decades as professional authors.

This week, we’re diving headfirst into (what sometimes feels like) this dumpster-fire of an industry. We’ll discuss…

* What publishers really think when your book “fails”

* The data Amazon and Goodreads don’t share with publishers

* Why, how, and when to request key metrics from your editor and agent

* The disconnect between author expectations and publisher priorities

* The litmus test we use before investing in marketing efforts

* Why your publisher’s being dodgy about bad news

…and more. You can listen to or watch the convo in a browser or the Substack app, or listen via your favorite podcast player (instructions here). Hit subscribe and you’ll never miss an episode!

Next week, we’ll leap from this admittedly overwhelming (and potentially demoralizing) info dump to: WTF you can do about it. We’ll get specific and actionable about the data you can (and should!) obtain about your book and career, plus how to parse and leverage it.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit writethebookplaythegame.substack.com