Author and poet Marla Taviano knows what it's like when publishing chews you up and spits you out. After four Christian books went out of print despite editors calling her writing "brilliant," she reinvented herself through indie publishing, daily content creation, and radical generosity.

In this conversation, Marla shares how she followed Rachel Held Evans' blueprint of elevating marginalized writers, connecting young Black pastor Trey Ferguson with Lake Drive Books, and championing authors of color. She talks about five years of posting daily with minimal engagement before something finally shifted, her Frog and Toad poem art, and why there's no hack—just showing up every day because you love it.

This episode is about abundance over scarcity, collaboration over competition, and trusting that generosity creates more than fear ever could.

Enjoy the video of this episode here.

Bio: Marla Taviano is into books, love, justice, globes, anti-racism, blue, gray, rainbows, and poems. She reads and writes for a living, wears her heart on her t-shirts, and is on a mission/quest/journey to live wholefarted (not a typo). She’s the author of unbelieve: poems on the journey to becoming a heretic, jaded: a poetic reckoning with white evangelical christian indoctrination, whole: poems on reclaiming the pieces of ourselves and creating something new, and other books. She lives in South Carolina with her four freaking awesome kids and two adorable cats. Find out more at marlataviano.com.

Publishing Disrupted is at PublishingDisrupted.substack.com

Mick Silva is at MickSilvaEditing.substack.com

David Morris is at dvdmorris.substack.com, LakeDriveBooks.com, and Hyponymous.com.

Publishing has been disrupted. There’s now a better way for the vast majority of authors. In this episode, David and I get into the biggest problems with traditional publishing: consolidatation, huge overhead, low royalties, and unearned advances. Much recent evidence bears out the fact that for the vast majority of newer and mid-level authors, big publishing is simply no longer built to serve them.

Meanwhile, there's a better hybrid model that partners with authors' upfront investment to create organic, sustainable, and long-term sales, book after book. Listen in as I ask David about the significant benefits and strategic differences at Lake Drive Books.

Publishing Disrupted is at PublishingDisrupted.substack.com

Mick Silva is at MickSilvaEditing.substack.com

David Morris is at dvdmorris.substack.com and LakeDriveBooks.com

For too long, publishing professionals, ourselves included, have been chasing the largest possible audiences. But in this episode we tried to take our experience and apply some finer lenses to focus on the far-more diverse independent market.

We dug into some new research about book readers and their preferences, and discussed the common biases of highbrow and lowbrow book culture. While not immediately obvious, this distinction may offer more helpful way to understand why fiction is dominated by genres, and also why it's such a struggle to find books and book communities that transcend those familiar marketing categories.

Links to the readings mentioned:

"The Omnivore Dilemma," by Laura B. McGrath: substack.com/home/post/p-176741258

"The Publishing Industry Has a Gambling Problem," by Tajja Isen: TheWalrus.ca/the-publishing-industry-has-a-gambling-problem/

"Freedom Without Belonging: The American Spiritual Predicament," by David Morris: dvdmorris.substack.com/p/freedom-without-belonging-the-american

Publishing Disrupted is at PublishingDisrupted.substack.com

Mick Silva is at MickSilvaEditing.substack.com

David Morris is at dvdmorris.substack.com and LakeDriveBooks.com