our mission

In 2022, two authors debuted in the same genre, with the same publisher, in the same year. Yet each of their books, and subsequently each of their careers, went in very different directions. That pattern repeats itself throughout the industry, over and over. Why does this happen, and what does it mean?

In THE PUBLISHING RODEO podcast, we aim to answer those questions and many more, using collated experiences from ourselves, friends, colleagues, and a slew of industry professionals in an attempt to deconstruct what makes or breaks a book, along with how to build–and maintain!–an author career.

Facts matter. Truth is power. Get your boots on, and let’s ride.

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Listen Now:

S2 E45: Post-Debut Blues & Bookish Longevity, ft. "Drake Scottford" – Publishing Rodeo: The Good, The Bad, and the Bloody Ugly

Are we really back? Were we ever truly gone? Who is special guest Drake Scottford, and why is he joining us today? These questions and more will be answered in episode 45.On a more serious note, we cover a wide range of topics today: a general catch-up on where we both are, career-wise, what prompted us to record again, and how life after debut is going. (Spoiler: it's complicated and stressful.)There's been a move in the industry to talk about the problem of career longevity, which is definitely a favorite subject here, and now we're weighing in, almost 3 years exactly after our 2022 debuts. Though we have no guest other than Drake Scottford, we did collect some responses in an informal questionnaire, and share a few of those answers.Other things we discuss: the magic sales number, and an infamous AMA with a big 5 marketing person, and the absolute joy of reading commercial fiction.Link to the Reddit AMA with Marketer: https://www.reddit.com/r/PubTips/comments/1nw96ti/ama_big_five_marketer_umssalt/Link to The Magic Number, by Todd Satterson:https://bardpress.com/the-magic-number/Tracks of My Tears (article featuring David Headley):https://www.thebookseller.com/features/tracks-of-my-tears-where-does-the-fault-lie-when-books-fail-to-hit

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The Hosts

Sunyi Dean

…is a biracial autistic author who was born in Texas, grew up in Hong Kong, and now resides in North England. She writes speculative fiction with a weird slant, and has both too many books and too many children. Her poetry and short fiction has been published in places like Tor Dot Com, Aurealis, Prole, FFO, and other magazines. Her debut novel, THE BOOK EATERS, launched Aug 2022 and was an instant #2 Sunday Times Bestseller.

Scott Drakeford

…is a fantasy and historical fiction author with a deep love for meaningful stories in all genres and formats. His debut novel, Rise of the Mages ,was published in 2022 by Tor Books. At present, Scott is a stay-at-home dad, dogfather, writer, outdoorsman, and maker of various things. He is a recovering corporate stooge, a former mechanical engineer, and an ex-Mormon. He was born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah and now resides in the Pacific Northwest.

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