Today, I’m talking to Courtney Maum, literary citizen extraordinaire, educator, writing coach, and author most recently of Alan Ops Out. She says the book took an “obscene” number of drafts because she couldn’t distance herself from her female character, when the story needed this character to be wildly different. She needed, as Courtney calls it, to “fictionalize” her fiction.
Watch a recording here. This audio/video version is available for one month. Missed it? Check out the podcast version above or on your favorite podcast platform.
I don’t charge for subscriptions, but if you’d like, you can support my work with with a small donation here.
To find Maum’s latest book as well as many other books by our authors, visit our Bookshop page.
Along with her latest novel, ALAN OPTS OUT, Courtney Maum is the author of five previous books, including the romantic comedy TOUCH (A New York Times Editors’ Choice) and the memoir THE YEAR OF THE HORSES, chosen by the Today show as one of the best reads for mental health awareness. Creator of the groundbreaking publishing guidebook BEFORE AND AFTER THE BOOK DEAL and the bestselling Substack newsletter by the same name, Maum is an educator and writing coach hellbent on preserving the joy of art-making in a culture obsessed with turning artists into brands. In addition to her advocacy work for writers at The Author’s Guild, Courtney runs a workshop in New Mexico where she combines twenty years of experience in advertising with a deep love of craft to help writers boost their confidence and industry know-how. Learn more and sign up for her writing classes at CourtneyMaum.com
Podden och tillhörande omslagsbild på den här sidan tillhör
Michelle Hoover. Innehållet i podden är skapat av Michelle Hoover och inte av,
eller tillsammans med, Poddtoppen.
