Episode 112 - The Long Game: How Hannah Selinger Went From MFA at 25 to Debut Novelist at 45

Hannah Selinger graduated with an MFA in fiction at 25, built a successful journalism career, got nominated for a James Beard Award, and still spent two decades wondering if she'd ever sell a book.

She did.

In this episode, Hannah discusses her acclaimed new literary thriller, Valley of the Moms, a sinister tale that plunges into the lives of wealthy, suburban moms (and dads) with deliciously dark secrets. Hannah also talks candidly about her winding road to publication, the difference between her memoir and fiction debuts, what she learned the hard way about book marketing, and the counterintuitive advice she has for debut authors that subverts conventional wisdom.

In this episode, you'll learn:

•    Why the big advance isn't always the smart advance — and the career risk that almost no one talks about when debut authors earn out

•    How a real-life PTO kerfuffle became a literary thriller — and what it takes to transform everyday frustration into a compelling murder mystery

•    What actually sells books in today's market — hint: it's not The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, or any legacy media outlet you've been chasing

•    How Hannah wrote a novel in two months — her daily word count habit, her journalism-trained mindset, and why she doesn't recommend doing it quite that fast

•    The plotting vs. pantsing question — answered differently for every book — and why switching methods project to project might actually be the most honest approach

•    What a James Beard nomination has to do with getting a literary agent — and how one piece in the New York Times Magazine changed the trajectory of her entire career

•    The emotional difference between memoir and fiction — and why a bad review of your novel hits completely differently than a bad review of your life