We fawn over the new kittens, and kitten nuts, then discuss the launching of the Substack experiment, and our usual wander through the frustration and mystery of publishing, including genre, and the things.

You can read more from Jenn Zuko at https://jennzuko.wordpress.com and on her Substack

You can follow Jason Quinn Malott at https://www.jquinnmalott.com and read my Substack, too.

In this episode we talk about the so-called MFA conspiracy and how it’s not a conspiracy at all. As usual, Jason talks too much because he’s alone most of the time.

Much Ado About MFAs by Lincoln Michel https://countercraft.substack.com/p/much-ado-about-mfas-1eb?r=1fslzq&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true

You can read more from Jenn Zuko at https://jennzuko.wordpress.com and on her Substack

You can follow Jason Quinn Malott at https://www.jquinnmalott.com

This show’s audio is cleaned up and trimmed by Heather Eden.

In this episode we discuss the dopamine hit of going slightly viral on social media for stating the obvious, the speed of the internet, commodifying ourselves, indie authors, age, expiration dates, and the discipline of not posting everything we think.

Team Human Breaking with the Speed of the Internet https://www.teamhuman.fm/episodes/292-rushkoff-the-speed-of-the-internet

and Artificial Creativity https://www.teamhuman.fm/episodes/294-artificial-creativity

You can read more from Jenn Zuko at https://jennzuko.wordpress.com and on her Substack

You can follow Jason Quinn Malott at https://www.jquinnmalott.com

This show’s audio is cleaned up and trimmed by Heather Eden.

In this episode, we discuss the publishing world and what is and isn’t wrong with it. Do we read or not read? What is a book? What isn’t a book? How many times can we repeat what we’ve repeated again.

The piece that started it all: No One Buys Books

https://www.elysian.press/p/no-one-buys-books?r=1fslzq&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true

The spot on reply: No, Most Books Don’t Sell Only a Dozen Copies

https://countercraft.substack.com/p/no-most-books-dont-sell-only-a-dozen

A reference piece: Please Stop Bashing Book Publishing by Kathleen Schmidt

https://kathleenschmidt.substack.com/p/please-stop-bashing-book-publishing?r=1fslzq&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true

A reference piece: Does publishing online ruin your chances of finding a traditional publisher?

https://simonkjones.substack.com/p/does-publishing-online-ruin-your?r=1fslzq&utm_medium=ios&triedRedirect=true

A reference piece: This Conversation Made Me a Sharper Editor - The Ezra Klein Show

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/this-conversation-made-me-a-sharper-editor/id1548604447?i=1000653308543

And a snark-tastic reply we didn’t see before we recorded: The REAL Truth About Publishing by Gabino Iglesias

https://gabinoiglesias.substack.com/p/the-real-truth-about-publishing

You can read more from Jenn Zuko at https://jennzuko.wordpress.com and on her Substack

You can follow Jason Quinn Malott at https://www.jquinnmalott.com

This show’s audio is cleaned up and trimmed by Heather Eden.

AWP summary from Jason, and lots of books, books, books. Not keeping secrets, reviving our passions, and lots and lots of man-babies.

Instead of individual books, check out these small presses.

Astrophil Books

7:13 Books

Stalking Horse Press

Graywolf Press

Black Lawrence Press

You can read more from Jenn Zuko at https://jennzuko.wordpress.com and on her Substack

You can follow Jason Quinn Malott at https://www.jquinnmalott.com

This show’s audio is cleaned up and trimmed by Heather Eden.

In this episode we talk a little bit about mental health and writing, and a tiny bit about joy.

Catch up on Jenn’s adventures with her memoir

The Career Adjunct podcast

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-career-adjunct/id1712918978?i=1000634210726

Her interview on Create Me Free:

https://open.substack.com/pub/createmefree/p/art-and-mental-health-interview-with-293?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

And her guest post on The Recovering Academic

https://open.substack.com/pub/joshuadolezal/p/guest-post-jenn-zuko?utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

You can read more from Jenn Zuko at https://jennzuko.wordpress.com and on her Substack

You can follow Jason Quinn Malott at https://www.jquinnmalott.com

This show’s audio is cleaned up and trimmed by Heather Eden.

In this episode we talk about the usual stuff like our readings and writings, catching Covid for the first time, getting noticed by pubs (the boozy kind), and our cranky, cranky take on the future of publishing.

The article that launches us on the rants. The Fight for The Future of Publishing by Alex Perez

https://www.thefp.com/p/the-fight-for-the-future-of-publishing

You can read more from Jenn Zuko at https://jennzuko.wordpress.com and on her Substack

You can follow Jason Quinn Malott at https://www.jquinnmalott.com

This show’s audio is cleaned up and trimmed by Heather Eden.

On this month’s episode we talk about recording issues, Jenn’s first driver’s license, pooping, peri-menopause, and D&D dice. The big topic is a combination of AI in publishing, Literary Freedom, and how we’re letting algorithms determine what is worth publishing and kill art.

Reading

Jenn: LeCarre box set. Colorado Paranormal Society from a new press in Denver.

Jason: The Refugee Ocean by Pauls Toutonghi.

Jenn’s interview on The Career Adjunct Podcast

https://www.buzzsprout.com/2251914/13937795

Source Material

The Transformative Role of Artificial Intelligence in the Publishing Industry by Tony Saikaly for FADEL

Pen Center: Booklash: Literary Freedom, Online Outrage, and The Language of Harm

https://pen.org/report/booklash/

You can read more from Jenn Zuko at https://jennzuko.wordpress.com and on her Substack

You can follow Jason Quinn Malott at https://www.jquinnmalott.com

This show’s audio is cleaned up and trimmed by Heather Eden.