Famed for his highly unique fiction, and for the the pink mask that conceals his secret identity, Chuck Tingle (pseudonymous name) is a much-beloved icon in the SFF book world and beyond. Today he joins us to share the incredible story of his journey through publishing, and to make a passionate case for why authors are so much more than just the story they write. We also discuss the nuts and bolts of book deals, running innovative book events, and how to approach publisher negotiations.

Although this has a bit longer run-time than normal, we hope you find this episode as intriguing, entertaining, and profoundly uplifting as we did. LOVE IS REAL, buckaroos!

Topics covered:

• Autism and backstory
• Journey into publication
• The origins of his surrealist art
• Sad Puppies / Rabid Puppies
• Chuck's unique view on the concept of "branding"
• Integrating art with marketing
• The role authors can play in self expression
• The relationship between who authors are and what they write
• When authors we love let us down
• Chuck suggests that publishing is the kindest of all the artistic industries
• Chuck's advice for approaching deals
• We talk about Chuck's deal progression
• Selling books through events, and rethinking them

Catch-up episode after a long gap! Sunyi and Scott both discuss career momentum, cheerfully losing at the Hugos, and the pushback they've had from Reddit / the internet. Sunyi explains why she'd turn down other nominations in the future, while Scott talks about why he was happy to sign a smaller deal for his UK rights. They also cover future plans, and what happened to previous author guests.

And finally, they each get to give the pettiest hill they'd die on. Hint: Sunyi's hill starts with "J" and ends in "owling".

Link to the Guardian article that Sunyi talks about in her Petty Hill at the end: https://www.theguardian.com/books/1997/jul/08/booksforchildrenandteenagers.danglaister

Authors are expected to juggle many different demands on their time and energy--from social media and self-promotion, to side projects and live events. How do we decide what is or isn't worth our efforts, and where do we set boundaries to prevent burnout and overwhelm?

Award-winning author and professor, Suyi Davies Okungbowa, discusses how he makes the writing life work for him, by balancing his original fiction and his prolific IP work against his academic career.

Among many other topics, he outlines the crucial role of a personal assistant (especially how they can supplement publisher marketing), his criteria for accepting or rejecting IP projects, his very unique approach to social media, and how he sets certain boundaries with publishers.