Finding the Throughline with Kate Hanley

Welcome back to the Finding the Throughline interview with Laura Belgray, author of the national bestseller Tough Titties, a collection of essays that is essentially a permission slip to be a dork, a sometimes-unspiritual slacker, a late bloomer and, ultimately, unapologetically you. Laura is the founder of Talking Shrimp and co-creator of The Copy Cure with Marie Forleo. She has been featured in Elle, Fast Company, and Business Insider, and has written for Bravo, HBO, Nick at Nite, VH1, and more.Today, we find out what’s currently brewing for Laura and what she knows at this moment about where her personal throughline is leading her next, as well as what kinds of things she’s been reading, watching and listening to latelyWe covered:• Crawling out of a pit of despair after the election results• Continuing to build her email list in the modern world where there are so many more things vying for our attention• How she is not a visionary or planner—yet has achieved many amazing things anyway• David Sedaris as the author who first introduced her to a genre/structure of book that is a collection of essays and also memoir.• Her love of fiction and lack of confidence she will be able to write one someday, though she would love to• How she would love to win Powerball so she could write whatever she wants• How she wouldn’t have written a fraction of what she’d written if she didn’t write as a way to eat and make money• Margot's Got Money Troubles by Rufy Thorpe--the last book that she could not put down.• Spaghettini pomodoro at Scarpetta, with plenty of extra butterConnect with Laura at talkingshrimp.com.For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.Thank you for listening!And thanks to this week’s sponsor, Air Doctor Pro. Visit airdoctorpro.com and use code KATE to save 30% off an amazing indoor air filter *and* receive a free three-year warranty (an $84 value). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to the second part of my conversation with guest Laura Belgray, author of “Tough Titties,” a hilarious, bestselling collection of NYC-flavored life lessons that Laura’s own husband calls a “loser Sex and the City.”Today I’m talking with Laura about what I call inner stuff–the thoughts, ideas, and attitudes that affect your work, even if you’re not fully conscious of itWe covered:• How writing a book was one of the hardest things she’s ever done professionally• The tough feedback her editor initially gave her• The aftermath of the criticism that led to crying, pacing, and writer’s block• A friend’s metaphor of mountain climbing helped her to start working on her book• The experience of dealing with anxiety and people pleasing tendencies when writing a memoir• The dangers of self-comparison which can lead to despair and nonproductivity• Learning to borrow from authors she loves without trying to be them or feel disappointed because she doesn’t have the exact same talents they have in the same wayConnect with Laura at talkingshrimp.com.For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.Thank you for listening!And thanks to this week’s sponsor, Air Doctor Pro. Visit airdoctorpro.com and use code KATE to save 30% off an amazing indoor air filter *and* receive a free three-year warranty (an $84 value). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week my guest is Laura Belgray, author of the national bestseller Tough Titties: On Living Your Best Life When You’re the F-ing Worst. Laura is also an internet-famous copywriter, founder of Talking Shrimp, and co-creator, with Marie Forleo, of The Copy Cure. Laura started her writing career at Spy Magazine, New York Magazine, and then VH1 before starting her own copywriting and teaching business almost by accident. That business went on to earn a million dollars the year she turned 50–an achievement Laura wrote about for “Business Insider.”Fun fact: Laura taught Sherman Helmsley, aka George Jefferson from The Jeffersons, how to moonwalk.We covered:• How she finagled a job for herself that involved her watching a lot of TV (one of her favorite things to do)• Why getting paid to ‘’write emails to friends’’ is her dream job• How inspiration comes from writing--not the other way around• The magical powers of writing on the fly• Her morning routine which includes iced coffee, a walk outside, and dicking around• The website she swears by to get her writing every day• How she deals with bouts of talker’s block on social mediaConnect with Laura at talkingshrimp.com.For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.Thank you for listening!And thanks to this week’s sponsor, Air Doctor Pro. Visit airdoctorpro.com and use code KATE to save 30% off an amazing indoor air filter *and* receive a free three-year warranty (an $84 value). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this final part of my conversation with Susan Merrell (author of Shirley: A Novel, teacher in the MFA in Creative Writing & Literature at the Lichtenstein Center of Stony Brook Southampton, and co-creator, with the novelist Meg Wolitzer, of the BookEnds Fellowship novel revision program) we talk about where her personal throughline is leading her next and she shares how she’s been writing two different books for the last eight years (OMG).We covered:• Her two current book projects: one about a man haunted by a story he’s read and another about living full-time in a “vacation town” thought to be abandoned in winter• Real estate privilege• The books she includes on her writing syllabus and why• Finding inspiration in everything, including cereal boxes• Giving up the plum nature of her current life vs chasing the dream.• Her friend’s philosophy—whatever move you make tends to be the one your feet took you to• Why silence is her pick-me-up of choice• Her friend’s magnificent roasted chickenConnect with Susan at susanscarfmerrell.com.For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.Thank you for listening!And thanks to this week’s sponsor, Air Doctor Pro. Visit airdoctorpro.com and use code KATE to save 30% off an amazing indoor air filter *and* receive a free three-year warranty (an $84 value). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this second part of my interview with Susan Merrell, author of Shirley: A Novel, teacher in the MFA in Creative Writing & Literature at the Lichtenstein Center of Stony Brook Southampton, and co-creator, with the novelist Meg Wolitzer, of the BookEnds Fellowship novel revision program, we talk about what I call inner stuff–the thoughts, ideas, and attitudes that affect your work, even if you’re not fully conscious of it.We covered:• Really cool, serendipitous story about how she came to write a novel about the iconic American writer, Shirley Jackson• How she deals with her inner Achilles heel: shame• Meditation as the answer to everything• How the need for validation drives many writers to produce more (this was truly fascination and made me think, hmm, maybe I just don’t have a drive for validation, and maybe that’s not a good thing?)• How teaching students makes her feel ‘’ridiculously happy’’• How the publishing industry doesn’t necessarily support the right booksConnect with Susan at susanscarfmerrell.com.For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.Thank you for listening!And thanks to this week’s sponsor, Air Doctor Pro. Visit airdoctorpro.com and use code KATE to save 30% off an amazing indoor air filter *and* receive a free three-year warranty (an $84 value). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week my guest is Susan Scarf Merrell, author of Shirley: A Novel, which became a major motion picture. She’s also the author of A Member of the Family, and The Accidental Bond: How Sibling Connections Influence Adult Relationships.Susan teaches in the MFA in Creative Writing & Literature at the Lichtenstein Center of Stony Brook Southampton, and she is the co-creator, with the novelist Meg Wolitzer, of the BookEnds Fellowship novel revision program.Susan’s essays, book reviews and short fiction have appeared in The New York Times, Newsday, The Los Angeles Review of Books, and The Washington Post. Fun fact: she brushed her hair and changed out of her sweatshirt for this interview, which inspired me to do the same!We covered:• How she first became a published author as a child• Her mother (Maggie Scarf), a psychology journalist who worked on books about Antarctica and Jane Goodall• Her alternative fantasies to writing, like being a swimmer or opening a bakery• How she was a copy editor in the right place at the right time and talked her way into a job as a research professor which eventually earned her a tenured position• The value of a what she calls a vomit draft• How a lot of the times she’s working on her writing, she’s not actually sitting at a desk and writing—she’s baking, or walking, or swimmingConnect with Susan at susanscarfmerrell.com.For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.Thank you for listening!And thanks to this week’s sponsor, Air Doctor Pro. Visit airdoctorpro.com and use code KATE to save 30% off an amazing indoor air filter *and* receive a free three-year warranty (an $84 value). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this final installment of the Finding the Throughline interview with James Beard Award-nominated journalist Hannah Selinger (whose book, Cellar Rat: My Life in the Restaurant Underbelly, will be released in 2025 and is available for pre-order now), we talk about what’s coming up next for her as well as what she’s been reading, watching, and eating, including:- The badass Martha Stewart documentary- “Health and Safety,” a memoir by Emily Witt, staff writer at “The New Yorker”- Her invention of the term #Scandivol- How “The Real Housewives” series rope you in- Her best friend who gives her major writer’s envy- Her goal to get off the hamster wheel of freelance- Why she hopes her book “Cellar Rat” will piss people off- The most pleasurable books she read this year- An ode to French vanilla coffee creamer, McDonald’s french fries, and the Indigo GirlsConnect with Hannah at https://www.hannahselinger.net/ or on Instagram @druishamericanprincess.For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.Thank you for listening!And thanks to this week’s sponsor, Air Doctor Pro. Visit airdoctorpro.com and use code KATE to save 30% off an amazing indoor air filter *and* receive a free three-year warranty (an $84 value). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome back to my interview with Hannah Selinger–James Beard Award-nominated lifestyle journalist, Certified Sommelier, about-to-be memoirist, and–surprise!-someone who just sold her first novel.In this episode we really get into the nitty gritty of the mindset it takes to build a career as a journalist and author.We covered:The amazing feeling that happens when a longer piece of writing falls into placeHow starting the actual writing or a new piece gives her the heebie jeebiesFighting imposter syndrome after reading another writer’s stellar workLoudmouth troll shitposting on InstagramThe devolution of journalism and how to navigate itScraping by at lousier pay rates, and the enormous stack of W2s it generatesThe fallacy of people telling her it wasn’t possible to make a living as a writerStaying afloat in an industry that frequently experiences large scale layoffsYes, Virginia, you can sell a novel to a publisherConnect with Hannah at https://www.hannahselinger.net/ or on Instagram @druishamericanprincess.For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.Thank you for listening!And thanks to this week’s sponsor, Air Doctor Pro. Visit airdoctorpro.com and use code KATE to save 30% off an amazing indoor air filter *and* receive a free three-year warranty (an $84 value). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week my guest is Hannah Selinger, a James Beard Award-nominated lifestyle journalist who is also a Certified Sommelier.Hannah's work has appeared in a long list of prestigious places, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, Travel + Leisure, Food & Wine, The Wall Street Journal, Slate, Wine Enthusiast, Al Jazeera, and more. Her book Cellar Rat: My Life in the Restaurant Underbelly, will be released in 2025 (and it’s available for pre-order now).Fun fact: Hannah has traveled to 25 countries and currently lives in Boxford, Massachusetts with her husband, two sons, two dogs, and one Russian tortoise.We covered:The sad tale of woe that happened when one of Hannah’s family tortoises got sick and diedHow taking a gap year after graduating from college led Hannah to work in restaurants for a decadeWhy she decided to become a certified sommelierCreating imaginary restaurants to put on her resume in order to land a job at a Bobby Flay restaurantWhat it felt like to have a piece published in the NY Times Modern Love columnHow getting that prestigious clip did NOT magically result in her getting an agentHow the task of making a living as a writer is so very different from the artful, leisurely writing romanticized in graduate schoolHow many of her dreams that seemed completely delusional ended up coming true–10 years later.How she partners with PR agencies to generate story ideasHer personal essay about being an American Jew who is against the war in Gaza that’s coming out on EatingWell.com in a few weeksStarting the morning with a pitchConnect with Hannah at https://www.hannahselinger.net/ or on Instagram @druishamericanprincess.For full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.Thank you for listening!And thanks to this week’s sponsor, Air Doctor Pro. Visit airdoctorpro.com and use code KATE to save 30% off an amazing indoor air filter *and* receive a free three-year warranty (an $84 value). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this final part of my interview with Antonia Angress, author of "Sirens & Muses," we peek at what’s coming around the bend for her and I get her answers to my fast five questions.(Note–this episode is a replay. We’ll be back to new episodes next week, yay!)We talked about:- The novels about motherhood Antonia is reading to prepare for when her baby is born- The pressure on young women authors to be likable, available, and approachable- The two writers Antonia looks to for inspiration on being successful while “resisting the machinations of publicity that can devour you”- Getting better at not squandering time, vacuuming the rugs- The Pulitzer finalist Antonia devoured in a couple of days- What it’s like when your husband becomes a Swiftie in his 30s, when you’ve been on board since your teensFor full show notes with links to everything we discuss, plus bonus photos!, visit katehanley.substack.com.Thank you for listening!And thanks to this week’s sponsor, Air Doctor Pro. Visit airdoctorpro.com and use code KATE to save 30% off an amazing indoor air filter *and* receive a free three-year warranty (an $84 value). Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices