Your ears do not deceive—I actually put a man on my show.

Former chemist and Wall Street analyst, Amran brought his insider knowledge of the financial industry's wildest excesses to his satirical thriller Leverage, published by Atria Books in August 2025. It’s a fun, fast, biting read about Ali Jafar (yes, two names from Aladdin), a hedge fund analyst who loses $300 million in a single day and must find increasingly unethical ways to make it back.

In what is my most No BS conversation yet, Amran breaks down the economics of why debut novels fail, how the “1,000 true fans” model is BS, and why we should stop with the false humility and own the arrogance of being a writer.

And he used to lift!

Just some of the juicy tidbits we lay bare:

• Getting ghosted by your publisher happens more than you think

• Why both Amran and I are the Dogecoin of traditional publishing—“to the moon!”

• Amran’s catastrophic BookScan data

• Rich authors buying their own books to hit bestseller lists

• Why traditional publishing is "one big tiger mom"

• The "debut flop" is now the industry norm

• Why Amran still believes in traditional publishing

• The GOOD news we can take from this—and some inspiring words for all writers

Top quotes:

"It would take me 200 years to earn back my advance at the rate the books are selling."

"There's about 100 authors that make a ton of money. And then there's about 25,000 other authors that make no money. You are the 25,000."

"It's good to have realistic expectations and know exactly the business you're in, because otherwise you can psych yourself out and then find yourself asking, ‘Do I even do art at all?’ And that's a really unfortunate place to end up because you should make art because you're an artist at the end of the day."

TIMESTAMPS:

00:00 Amran, my DEI guest

01:09 Do you even lift, bro?

02:50 The Asian Squat: key to longevity?

03:18 White like Obama

03:59 Was Sophia an investment banker?!

04:46 What illegal activities has Amran seen?

06:09 Cali, the richest country in America

06:58 Naming Ali Jafar after Aladdin

08:39 The High-achieving Losers Club

09:32 Ghosted by your publisher: Impact of Sales on Future Book Deals

16:39 Should we write to market?

19:55 Is Traditional Publishing Still Worth It?

26:33 You are the 25,000

27:57 The arrogance of writing a book, the futility of selling it

30:23 Is 1,000 True Fans BS?

33:58 The False Humility BS

36:51 The Creative Process and Artistic Integrity

Find Amran

• Website & Newsletter: amrangowani.com

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/amrangowani/

Buy his book: Leverage

Hardcover https://amzn.to/4nph1kM

Ebook https://amzn.to/4hzLrzE

Audible (you can use your credit) https://amzn.to/43GRPzc

Follow this podcast for more great interviews!

⁠Subscribe to my Newsletter:⁠ Get more publishing real talk and behind-the-scenes content every Tuesday

Sophia’s Website⁠

Like what you saw/heard? Rate 5 stars & Review: Help other book lovers find us!

(Amazon affiliate links may provide me 10 much-needed cents.)

If your back sounds like bubble wrap when you finish writing, gaming, or working at the computer—this episode is your rescue plan.

Mobility coach and Body Nerd Show host Alex Ellis joins us to talk repetitive strain, and how a few minutes a day can change everything. No yoga mat, gym, or guilt required.

I also introduce a new segment where I ask my guests a very important question…

You’ll learn:

• Quick 1-5 minute fixes

• Why flexibility ≠ mobility (and what to do instead)

• How to hack your dopamine addiction to build habits

• The only hard-and-fast fitness rule you need

Whether you write books or emails all day, this episode will help you move smarter, write longer, and feel human again.

Timestamps:

00:00 — Your Text Neck Is Saved — Alex Is Here!

01:55 — Every Story Starts With Injury

03:55 — “Core Strength”? What Even Is That?

05:11 — Why Yoga Didn’t Fix It

06:17 —What If I Get in the Flow and Can’t Stop?

11:18 — The Whole, Human Writer

12:42 — Live Demo: Do This Right Now

15:41 — Variety Is the Key

17:57 — Hack Your Phone-Addicted Brain for Good

19:30 — Which One of Us Gets Our Electronics Taken Away Like a Toddler?

21:23 — Tiny Habits, Big Results

22:49 — Love Is Blind vs. Sleep: Which One Wins?

24:29 — How Alex Actually Works With Clients (Hint: No Boring Handouts)

27:49 — “Do You Even Lift, Sis?”

31:04 — Fitness Influencers vs. Real-Life Sustainability

Find Alex:

www.aewellness.com

Video Vault: https://www.aewellness.com/vault/

Bodywork Starter Guide: https://www.aewellness.com/op/bodywork-starter-guide/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@aewellness

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hollaformala/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/aewellness

Follow this podcast for more great interviews!

⁠Subscribe to my Newsletter:⁠ Get more publishing real talk, writer health tips, and behind-the-scenes content

⁠Sophia’s Website⁠

Like what you saw/heard? Rate 5 stars & Review: Help other book lovers find us!

#WritingLife #MobilityCoach #AlexEllis #SophiaChang #WritersHealth #TextNeck #WriterWrist #BodyNerdShow #CreativeWellness #AuthorLife #WritingPodcast

All right, let’s get the Napoleon jokes out of the way. I’m short, flamboyant, and I love to dictate—my novels, that is.

I first started dictating text messages when I went blind in 2017, and what started as a necessity has turned into the only way I’m able to complete seven novels.

This week I’m chatting with Sarah Elisabeth Sawyer, author of 19 books—and counting, host of The Confident Fiction Author podcast, and the queen of dictation.

One dishwashing session changed her life: she spoke 1,500 words in 20 minutes, and she’s been dictating every first draft since.

For the record—I still mutter one sentence at a time. Yes, I’ll be taking her Dictation Bootcamp next week for the SECOND time, and if you know what’s good for your wrists, I’ll see you there too.

Dictating isn’t just about writing faster. It’s about writing LONGER. Having a sustainable writing career that won’t wreck your body. Whether you’re navigating chronic illness and disability like me, or you just want to dodge the carpal tunnel coming for every writer, dictation might be as vital as your next deadlift.

We cover:

• Why you don’t need fancy equipment or expensive software—the phone in your hand is enough

• Quick tips for getting started and overcoming the awkwardness of speaking fiction aloud

• The huge difference between dictating nonfiction, texts, and full-on story worlds

• How dictation isn’t just faster—it’s a lifeline for writer health and longevity

• What really happens inside Dictation Bootcamp (hint: it’s equal parts training and Hamlet soliloquy)

⁠Sign up HERE for Sarah’s last Dictation Boot Camp of the year⁠—I’ll be there!

Timestamps:

00:00 Dictating…Cuz I Was Blind

02:21 Dictating Was Epic! (Epic Failure…)

05:12 7 Years of False Starts

06:15 Fiction vs. Nonfiction Dictation

07:53 Small Steps to Start Dictation

08:35 Doing Dishes Changed Everything

11:19 Tips for New Dictators (uh, Authors)

13:56 Sophia’s Going Back to Bootcamp

14:56 Dictation: Not Just a Luxury for Writers’ Health

17:41 Low-Tech Ways to Begin

19:55 The Dictation Bootcamp Experience

22:57 Where to Find Sarah

If you’ve ever said “I don’t have time to write” or felt your hands ache after a long session at the keyboard, this episode is your sign to give dictation a try.

SIGN UP for Bootcamp

Note: that's my affiliate link, click to feed a hungry Asian

Sarah's Substack

Sarah's Website

Follow this podcast for more great interviews!

Subscribe to my Newsletter: Get more publishing real talk and behind-the-scenes content

Sophia’s Website

Like what you saw/heard? Rate 5 stars & Review: Help other book lovers find us!

If you need one reason to watch this interview on video: Mara’s disobedient dog.

I didn’t think The Sophia Chang Show could get any more honest, but this week with author Mara Williams we crank the No BS to high gear—busting three of the biggest myths about traditional publishing.

Mara writes contemporary fiction about strong, messy women, and together we trace our own winding journeys from dance floors to life getting in the way to finally finding our voices—and how age became our secret weapon.

My favorite myth we smash? That finishing your first book is the hardest part. Nope. That’s just the prologue.

Mara on reclaiming identity: “Sometimes when you get to a certain age, as a woman especially, you have to get back to yourself. You have to let all the constraints of society and everything everybody's told you about what you should be doing fall away and figure out who you've always been and find your way back to that.”

Me on the sobering reality of trad publishing: “I went through Hollywood and I had an easier time making money there than I do in traditional publishing.”

Buy Mara's Books:

Debut: The Truth is in the Detours

Paperback

Ebook

Audible (you can use your credit!)

Pre-order: The Epicenter of Forever

Paperback

Ebook

Audible (you can use your credit!)

Where to Find Mara:

• Website
• Substack
• IG

Timestamps:

00:00 Mara's Dog Steals the Show

00:07 Intro

01:54 Practicality gets in the way

04:32 Overcoming Perfectionism and Fear

06:25 Hollywood is easier than trad publishing

07:15 Myth #1: My First, I Mean Sixth Book

10:10 Finishing the book is just the prologue

14:50 When I Went Blind I Thought My Dream Was Over

17:26 Keeping Your Sense of Self

21:48 Myth #2: I'm rich!

27:06 Myth #3: Trad v. Indie Marketing

29:29 Will TikTok get me published?

32:24 I thank Leigh Bardugo every day

Follow this podcast for more great interviews!

Subscribe to my Newsletter for more publishing real talk and behind-the-scenes content.

Sophia’s Website

Like what you saw/heard? Rate 5 stars & Review: Help other book lovers find us!

(Amazon affiliate links may provide me 10 much-needed cents.)

Launch Day Special—and we get deep on this one!

Celebrating the release of Try Your Worst with fellow Reese's Book Club LitUp Fellow and Stonewall Honor winner Chatham Greenfield.

In this follow-up episode to last week, we dive into life one year post-publication, billionaire-on-billionaire romance tropes, and discovering your hero David Levithan knows your book (!!)

We also talk about the taboo topic of jealousy and envy in the writing community, feeling like a failure, and what a group of white writers once said to me .

Quotes:

On writer stereotypes: "I think there is this sort of idea that because we're writers, we're sitting alone every day and we have no social needs."

On creative authenticity: "I kind of spread my personal life in my books like confetti—there's little pieces here and there, but there's not enough that you can tangibly pick it all up and hold it."

On managing publishing expectations: "It feels like the goalpost is always moving... I'm trying as much as I can to not expect anything and be pleasantly surprised."

Try Your Worst Details

• Genre: Cozy mystery + lesbian YA romance

• Plot: Rivals forced to team up to solve who's framing them for petty crimes (Enemies to lovers, anyone?)

Buy the Book on Amazon: https://amzn.to/48gswah

Audible: you can use your credit! https://amzn.to/47Hl1Jl

Or your favorite retailer including B&N, Bookshop, and more: https://chatgreenfield.com/tyw

Where to Find Chatham

• Website: ChatGreenfield.com

• Social Media: @ChatGreenfield (all platforms)

Timestamps:

00:00 The Extroverted Writer Experience

03:02 Women apologizing for existing—let’s stop doing that

04:43 Writing opposites attract and introvert characters when you’re an extrovert

05:06 Marginalized authors can make things up too

10:00 Why we gravitate toward shy kids at the party

11:13 What nobody tells you about your debut vs. your second book

17:42 How to celebrate the small wins when you have big dreams

21:18 Embracing the reality of jealousy in the Writing Community

Follow this podcast for more great interviews!

Subscribe to my Newsletter: Get more publishing real talk and behind-the-scenes content at ⁠https://thesophiachang.substack.com/⁠

Like what you saw/heard? Rate 5 stars & Review: Help other book lovers find us!

(Amazon affiliate links may provide me 10 much-needed cents.)

We're finally three-quarters gay this episode!

My first-ever video guest is Chatham Greenfield, Reese’s Book Club inaugural LitUp fellow, Stonewall Honor recipient, Lambda Literary nominee, and author of the unputdownable lesbian YA romance TIME AND TIME AGAIN.

Or, as I have dubbed them: Gay of the Year.

Watch our candid conversation on writing while disabled, the guilt that comes with chronic illness, and why Chatham is honored to be your next favorite bathroom read.

We dive into:

• How disability shapes our creative and practical writing process

• Why Chatham sleeps 18 hours and I don't sleep at all—and neither is enviable

• The physical reality of being a writer: wrist braces, shoulder pain, and eye strain

• Learning to pace vs. riding the creative wave until you crash

• Authentic disability rep: Why Chatham doesn't write magical cure endings

• New book alert: TRY YOUR WORST drops September 23rd with dual narrator audiobook

Best Quotes from our talk:

"I always say I'm Jewish and Catholic, so I'm like a perfect storm of guilt."

"People think our pain is on a scale of 0 to 10. Our pain is on a scale of 5 to 10."

"I try to make my endings hopeful, but still with the hint of realism of like, you don't know what's gonna happen. And sometimes the only certainty is the pain."

Pre-order TRY YOUR WORST and get exclusive access to the alternate ending of TIME AND TIME AGAIN: on Amazon https://amzn.to/48gswah

Audible: you can use your credit on the pre-order! https://amzn.to/47Hl1Jl

Or your favorite retailer including B&N, Bookshop, and more: https://chatgreenfield.com/tyw

Follow Chatham: @ChatGreenfield (all platforms)

WATCH the Video of today's episode: https://bit.ly/chathaminterview

Timestamps:

00:08 Meet Chatham Greenfield: Author and fellow LitUp Fellow

03:05 Writing While Disabled

07:32 Pushing our bodies past our limits

11:37 Writer's Guilt, Jewish Guilt, Asian Guilt, We all get a guilt

14:05 Writing About Bathroom Woes While Running for the Toilet

17:27 Aspirational Writing and Open-Ended Endings

19:24 Pre-Order Information

Follow this podcast for a bonus episode next week with more Chatham goodness!

Subscribe to my Newsletter: Get more overly honest and behind-the-scenes content at ⁠https://thesophiachang.substack.com/⁠

Like what you saw/heard? Rate 5 stars & Leave a Positive Review: Help other book lovers find us!

(Amazon affiliate links may provide me 10 much-needed cents.)

What does it mean to be a lonely extrovert with limited energy?

Sophia talks friendship, popularity, and the impact of chronic illness on finding and keeping connections.

• the weird things introverts say about extroverts
• the value of quality friendships over quantity
• a love letter to every extrovert who craves community but struggles to find it

00:00 The Extrovert Paradox

02:57 The Introverts Doth Protest Too Much

04:34 Chronic Illness as a Great Filter

05:25 California vs. New York Friend Culture

06:39 I Want To be...Popular!

07:44 Lessons Chronic Illness Teaches about Friendship

09:01 Embracing Unimportance

If you’ve ever Googled “extrovert with no friends” or wondered why extroverts feel so acutely lonely , this episode is for you.

Sign up for my Substack newsletter and be tortured weekly by my written witticisms: https://thesophiachang.substack.com/

Little known fact: Sophia was completely bedridden when she got her Reese's Book Club fellowship AND her agent.

After a year and a half of typing, college admissions coaching, and suffering in pain on my back, I was finally saved by the power of the deadlift. This is the story of how I became a lifting bro not to get swoll, but to write.

00:00 Writing with chronic pain

03:10 The Pain Industry Racket

04:09 Rediscovering Strength Training for Pain Relief

08:01 The Importance of Lifting for Women, and for Creativity

10:50 Starting Small

Disclaimer: I am NOT a medical expert or personal trainer or nutritionist. This is my personal story for entertainment , not medical or fitness advice.

Sign up for my Substack newsletter and be tortured weekly by my written witticisms: https://thesophiachang.substack.com/