More to the Story Podcast with Janna Maron

Aspiring authors: do you have a pre-set idea of how to write and publish your book, based on what experts and gurus have said is the (best/only/most effective) way to do it? Have you already decided that you need to do XYZ because that's what so-and-so says to do? If you answered YES to any of these questions, this episode is for you. And I have some questions for YOU. Here's the deal: there is no one-size-fits all path to getting published and, in fact, if you haven't gotten clear on a few things for yourself first, then you may be following bad advice. Take a listen to find out what I mean. Subscribe to the podcast on Substack: moreothestorypodcast.substack.comMore about Under the Gum Tree: underthegumtree.comMore about my coaching & editing: moretothestory.coSign up for my email list: jannamarlies.com/keep-in-touch This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit moretothestorypodcast.substack.com

After a nearly four-year hiatus, More to the Story Podcast is back! Brought to you by Janna Marlies Maron, book coach and editor for women writing nonfiction, and editor and publisher of the creative nonfiction lit mag, Under the Gum Tree. Time is on your side: many of previous podcast guests have published books since being on the show; what’s been happening for Janna & plans for this podcast going forward. Subscribe to the podcast on Substack: moreothestorypodcast.substack.com Sign up for Janna’s email list: jannamarlies.com/keep-in-touch This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit moretothestorypodcast.substack.com

Janna Marlies Maron (she/her) is a professional editor with nearly 20 years of experience helping writers to complete their projects and produce the best work possible. Her experience includes time as a magazine editor, college professor, agency editorial director, and content director for a popular internet brand. Her life’s work began when she was a kid writing in a spiral bound notebook, and she has since turned an MA in creative writing into a successful career as an editor, publisher, and director of her own business supporting women authors writing nonfiction. In addition to founding and editing Under the Gum Tree, she‘s the host of More to the Story, a podcast all about creative nonfiction, as well as private online community for nonfiction writers also called More to the Story.In the episode I talk about: What’s been happening in the past three years, since the last season of More to the StoryThe importance of stepping back and taking a break when necessarySelf-care as an essential component of work and lifeShowing up for the people you care aboutMy new business working with nonfiction authorsMore to the Story, my private community for nonfiction authors. Find more info at jannamarlies.com/communityNonfiction Bootcamp, the 9-month coaching and editing program designed to help nonfiction authors finish a complete draft of their book manuscript. Find more info at jannamarlies.com/nonfictionbootcampThe best way to stay in touch with  me is to subscribe to my email list at jannamarlies.comThanks so much for tuning in to this season of the More to the Story podcast! Visit us online at moretothestorypodcast.com and visit Under the Gum Tree at underthegumtree.com. Follow Under the Gum Tree Twitter and Instagram @undergumtree. Follow me on Twitter @justjanna and @jannamarlies on Instagram.  This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit moretothestorypodcast.substack.com

Author Nicole Walker discusses the intersection of science and literature, the importance of braided essays and collaboration in writing. They touch on climate justice, the editing process, and the capacity for humans to care for each other. The episode explores societal issues, the power of storytelling, and managing multiple book projects while balancing inner conflicts.

Kristie Robin Johnson is an educator, essayist, and poet from Augusta, Georgia. She is the current Chair of the Department of Humanities at Georgia Military College’s Augusta campus where she is an Assistant Professor of English. A graduate of the MFA Creative Writing program at Georgia College and State University, Kristie’s writing has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and has received other awards and recognition, including an AWP Intro to Journals award, the 2020 Porter Fleming Prize for Nonfiction, and the 2021 Page Prize for Nonfiction from The Pinch Literary Journal. Her work has been published in numerous literary magazines, journals, and anthologies. Her first book, High Cotton, was released in 2020 by Raised Voice Press.In the episode we talk about: Hip hop as Kristie’s first introduction to literatureWriting essays as a function of journaling, being a young mother, and writing letters to her unborn childThe transition from being a poet to being an essayistMaya Angelo, Harlem Renaissance writers, and imagining her first poems as if Tupac or Biggie and Langston Hughes had a babyBilly Collins’s theory that every poet has 200 bad poems that they have to get outDetermining whether a piece is an essay or a poemWriting about the same things over and over as a writer of color, in reference to the lynching of Ahmaud Arbery and his murder being particularly difficult because of not being able to gather during COVIDThe impact that reading Black male authors had on her young sonAddressing race with kids and how parents make the choice of when, where, and how to talk about itHow the media has changed the frequency at which we see racial injusticeKristie’s strongest writing coming out of examining the intersections of life as a woman, a Black person, a single mom, and a returning college studentThe benefits of publishing with a small pressFind Kristie online at kristierobinjohnson.comKristie’s essay collection High Cotton is available on raisedvoicepress.com and everywhere books are soldVisit us online at moretothestorypodcast.com and visit Under the Gum Tree at underthegumtree.com. Follow Under the Gum Tree Twitter and Instagram @undergumtree. Follow me on Twitter @justjanna and @jannamarlies on Instagram. If you’re looking for a place to find more support with writing your true personal story, join the More To The Story community! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit moretothestorypodcast.substack.com

Timothy J. Hillegonds is the author of The Distance Between (Nebraska, 2019), a finalist for the 2020 Chicago Writers Association Book of the Year Award. A Pushcart Prize nominee, Tim's work has appeared in The Guardian, the Chicago Tribune, Salon, The Daily Beast, The Los Angeles Review of Books, The Rumpus, Assay, Fourth Genre: Explorations in Nonfiction, River Teeth, Baltimore Review, Brevity, Under the Gum Tree, Hippocampus Magazine, The Fourth River, Midway Journal, RHINO, Bluestem Magazine, r.k.v.r.y. quarterly, and others.In 2019, Tim was named by the Guild Literary Complex as one of their thirty "Writers to Watch,” and he currently serves as a contributing editor for Slag Glass City, a digital journal of the urban essay arts.In the episode we talk about: The practice of writing in rehab at the beginning of a serious writing life and as an integral part of healingComing to nonfiction as a result of traumaGetting an undergrad degree at age 30Recovery as never being singular, we're constantly recovering from one thing or anotherNever writing the same book twice and giving yourself permission to try something differentCrafting a persona in creative nonfictionTruth vs subjectivity in nonfiction, honesty in recoveryUsing the second-person perspective in nonfictionThe challenges of an addiction memoir and a story of abuse from the perpetrator’s point of viewThe benefits of publishing with a university pressWriting visceral scenes of using after being soberThe moral inventory of self and wrestling with privilege working on his behalfHow to reinvent a story like an addiction that is, let’s be honest, so played outWriters Hope Edelman, Michele Morano , and  Sheryl St. Germain Find Tim online at timhillegonds.com.Visit us online at moretothestorypodcast.com and visit Under the Gum Tree at underthegumtree.com. Follow Under the Gum Tree Twitter and Instagram @undergumtree. Follow me on Twitter @justjanna and @jannamarlies on Instagram. If you’re looking for a place to find more support with writing your true personal story, join the More To The Story community! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit moretothestorypodcast.substack.com

Award-winning essayist Kelly Fig Smith discusses turning grief journals into essays, the art of flash and 'micro' writing, learning to love things without owning them, and the balance between creating with care vs. self-imposed deadlines. The episode delves into themes of loss, relationships, and personal growth through writing.

Writer Kati Standefer discusses heartbreak, conflict minerals, and illness as a driving force for nonfiction writing. She explores crafting personal stories with narrative depth, the ethical implications of conflict minerals in medical devices, and the emotional hurdles in her writing journey. Her book 'Lightning Flowers' delves into a complicated relationship with her ICD, the healthcare system, and the global supply chain.

In this episode, I talk with writer James M. Chesbro. James is the author of A Lion in the Snow: Essays on a Father’s Journey Home. His work has appeared in The Writer’s Chronicle, America, The Washington Post, The Millions, Essay Daily, and The Huffington Post. Essays from A Lion in the Snow were chosen as notable selections in The Best American Essays series 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017, and 2018, as well as The Best American Sports Writing 2014.In the episode we talk about: Making sense of things in a private journalMourning the loss of a parent while trying to keep children alive at the same timeThe confluence of the role of son and father, feeling like a kid foreverHow becoming a father allowed him to learn about and understand his own father who passed away before he had kidsHow the memories that we  attach to objects allow them to take on a life of their ownJamie's book, A Lion in the Snow, Essays on a Father’s Journey Home compiling an essay collectionFinishing a project, even when it takes almost a decade, has to be an obsessionThe importance of books about men for men and exploring emotions as menjamesmchesbro.com / jamie_chesbro on Twitter & InstagramVisit us online at moretothestorypodcast.com and visit Under the Gum Tree at underthegumtree.com. Follow Under the Gum Tree Twitter and Instagram @undergumtree. Follow me on Twitter @justjanna and @jannamarlies on Instagram. If you're looking for a place to find more support with writing your true personal story, join the More To The Story community! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit moretothestorypodcast.substack.com

In this episode I talk with Tori Weston, creative writer and visual artist. Tori received a BFA in Writing and Literature and an MFA in Creative Writing from Emerson College. While working for the Professional Studies department and finishing her last semester of graduate school, she wrote a proposal for a creative writing high school program. Fifteen years later, she is now the Assistant Director of Pre-College Programs at Emerson College. When not running the pre-college program, she balances her professional life with her creative life as both a writer and artist. Her writing has appeared in What's Up Magazine, Providence Journal-Bulletin, Sleet Magazine, and Under the Gum Tree. She has also been a featured storyteller in the Risk! Live show, podcast, and book. Her artwork has been shown at the Somerville Museum, Diesel Cafe, and Bloc 11 Cafe. In the episode we talk about: Her 6th grad teacher’s quirky essay assignmentsTori's love of grammar & being rewarded for memorizing poems with partiesThe 1991 Doors movie inspiring a generation of creatives writing bad poetryThe recurring theme of teachers taking interest, encouraging her to pursue writingMoving to nonfiction as a result of telling personal storiesThemes unifying multiple short-short piecesThe richness of growing up in a cultural diverse neighborhoodTori’s memoir-in-progress about her whopping 38 roommate situationsCheck out her work at: ToriWestonWriterArtist.com Visit us online at moretothestorypodcast.com and visit Under the Gum Tree at underthegumtree.com. Follow Under the Gum Tree Twitter and Instagram @undergumtree. Follow me on Twitter @justjanna and @jannamarlies on Instagram. If you're looking for a place to find more support with writing your true personal story, join the More To The Story community! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit moretothestorypodcast.substack.com