New York Times bestselling author Jason June (Out of the Blue, Jay's Gay Agenda) returns to Writers With Wrinkles for a wide-ranging conversation covering his growing acting career, the current state of the publishing industry, and his upcoming adult rom-com Santa and Krampus' Cozy Killer Christmas, out fall 2027. Jason is refreshingly candid — about book advances, about the anxiety running through publishing right now, and about finding joy in the work when the business side gets hard.
Guest
Jason June — NYT bestselling author, actor, screenwriter, and self-described "Laura Dern stan" based in Dallas, TX. Known for YA rom-coms Out of the Blue and Jay's Gay Agenda, and publisher of The Ventorship, a newsletter on author finances and transparency.
Highlights
• Auditioning post-COVID: why self-tapes democratize acting, and what's lost without an in-person redirect from a casting director
• How years of writing fiction sharpened Jason's instincts for character and story on set
• The "greater sense of unease" in publishing right now — AI concerns, slow timelines, and authors questioning why traditional publishing can't move faster
• Self-publishing's rising role, the discovery gap it still faces, and why hybrid careers are becoming more common
• The Dungeon Crawler Carl story as a case study in trusting your own artistic vision
• Why Jason publicly shares his advances and royalties through The Ventorship — and the argument that most of that "secrecy" is self-imposed
• Publishing as a side hustle: debut culture, shrinking advances, and the myth of the "cushy" author life
• The MER Principle (Beth's term): find the niche community obsessed with your book's specific hook, not a general audience
• The premise behind Santa and Krampus' Cozy Killer Christmas — a "dark cozy" where Krampus only kills the people who'd otherwise doom humanity
• Jason's advice to aspiring authors: chase the joy, and aim to be "prolific, not perfect"
Key Takeaway
Whether you're navigating traditional publishing, weighing a hybrid career, or just trying to market your next book, the throughline is the same: get specific. Specific about your niche audience, specific about your finances, and specific about what actually brings you joy in the work.
Have a marketing tip that's worked for you? Beth and Lisa want to hear it.
• Beth: beth@writerswithwrinkles.net
• Lisa: lisa@writerswithwrinkles.net
• Join The Waiting Room, our Facebook community for writers
• Website: writerswithwrinkles.net
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