Bad On Paper

It's time for an advice episode! We’re excited to answer your questions about staying motivated while writing a book, maintaining long-distance friendships, learning how to stop holding yourself back from dating, making big career changes, and more!  Obsessions Becca: Custom legal pad Olivia: We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman (out Nov. 8) What we read this week! Becca: In My Dreams I Hold A Knife by Ashley Winstead, and It Ends With Us by Colleen Hoover Olivia: Every Summer After by Carley Fortune, We All Want Impossible Things by Catherine Newman This Month’s Book Club Pick:  When We Were Bright And Beautiful by Jillian Medoff (check content warnings on this one!)  Sponsors: Prose - Take your FREE in-depth hair consultation and get 15% off your first order at Prose.com/bop   Join our Facebook group for amazing book recs & more!  Like and subscribe to RomComPods. Available wherever you listen to podcasts.  Follow us on Instagram @badonpaperpodcast. Follow Olivia on Instagram @oliviamuenter and Becca @beccamfreeman.

We’re so excited to finally discuss our delightful and surprising September Book Club Pick: Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn! We share what we loved about this book, our thoughts on the rotating POV, which character we identified with the most, and our love for how the book addressed ageism. We also discuss our mixed feelings about the ending and if we could become CIA operatives.    To learn more about the origins of this book, check out The Shit No One Told You About Writing Interview with Deanna Raybourn   For the Art Heist Curious, check out: Fake by Erica Katz and The Lost Leonardo, and Last Seen.    Check out this NYT Article: Millions of Followers? For Book Sales, ‘It’s Unreliable.’   Obsessions  Olivia: Free People Sweater Dress Becca: Lou & Grey Signaturesoft Sweatpants   What we read this week! Becca: In My Dreams, I Hold A Knife by Ashley Winstead Olivia: Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn   This Month’s Book Club Pick:  When We Were Bright And Beautiful by Jillian Medoff (check content warnings on this one!)    Sponsors: Uncommon Goods - To get 15% off your next gift, go to UncommonGoods.com/BOP Better Help - Visit BetterHelp.com/badonpaper today to get 10% off your first month   Join our Facebook group for amazing book recs & more!  Like and subscribe to RomComPods. Available wherever you listen to podcasts.  Follow us on Instagram @badonpaperpodcast. Follow Olivia on Instagram @oliviamuenter and Becca @beccamfreeman.

This week we’re releasing our inner foliage sluts and soup fiends to talk about all things FALL! We discuss our favorite things about fall, and our favorite fall activities from weekends away to cozying up at home.   We also had to share a robust list of candle recommendations. Olivia recommends Bath & Body Works candles in the scents Hometown Sugar Cookies Autumn Chai, White Pumpkin, Flannel, Lakeside Morning, and Leaves. Becca recommends Brooklyn Candle Studio’s Apple Cider and Montana Forest, Le Labo’s Santal 26, Maison Louis Marie No. 4 Balincourt,  Hotel Lobby’s Signature Candle (they have a fall candle coming out at the end of September!), and Yankee Candle’s Sandal Balsam and Cedar.    We also highly recommend Chappy Wrap and Barefoot dreams Blankets     Favorite Fall Movies include Halloweentown, Hocus Pocus, Practical Magic, You’ve Got Mail, Gilmore Girls, Mermaids, and Autumn in New York if you’re having a sad girl fall.    Our Favorite Fall Reading includes City of the Lost by Kelly Armstrong, The Ex Hex by Erin Sterling, A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness, The Magicians Series by Lev Grossman, and A Special Place for Women by Laura Hankin.    Fall Foods: Olivia’s Soup Recipe and Chrissy Teigan’s Stuffed Shells   Click here to join this haunted boat tour.    Share hyped products you want us to review in a future episode via DMing @badonpaperpodcast or emailing us at badonpaperpodcast@gmail.com.    Obsessions  Becca: Look Both Ways on Netflix, Breakfast by Dove Cameron Olivia: Birkenstock Bostons    What we read this week! Becca: People Person by Candice Carty-Williams Olivia: When We Were Bright and Beautiful by Jillian Medoff, Jackal by Erin E. Adams (check content warnings before picking these up!)   This Month’s Book Club Pick: Killers of A Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn   Sponsors: ZocDoc - Go to Zocdoc.com/BOP and download the ZocDoc app for free. Then start your search for a top-rated doctor today. Tell Me Lies - Check out Tell Me Lies on Hulu and let us know what you think!   Join our Facebook group for amazing book recs & more!  Like and subscribe to RomComPods. Available wherever you listen to podcasts.  Follow us on Instagram @badonpaperpodcast. Follow Olivia on Instagram @oliviamuenter and Becca @beccamfreeman.

This week we’re excited to interview two English teachers about what books are taught in High School English classes right now. We chat about what books are in their current curriculum, how books get chosen, what books students get excited about, and what books outside the curriculum are popular with high school students right now.    Mary’s Books: The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Jane Austen, Emily Dickenson, Walt Whitman, Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde, Behold The Dreamers by Imbolo Mbue, and Antigone by Sophocles.   Caroline’s Books: Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, The Boy Who Dared by Susan Campbell Bartoletti, A Long Way Gone by Ishmael Beah, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, The Hunger Games by Susan Collins, and Harrison Burgeron by Kurt Vonnegut.   Obsessions:  Becca: Amazon Hair Clips, The Don’t Worry Darling Drama   What we read this week! Becca: The Final Gambit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes and Scandalized by Ivy Owens (Lauren from Christina Lauren)  Olivia: The Measure by Nikki Erlick      This Month’s Book Club Pick: Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn    Sponsors:  Tell Me Lies: Check out Tell Me Lies, now streaming on Hulu and let us know what you think! Betterhelp: Visit BetterHelp.com/badonpaper today to get 10% off your first month.   Join our Facebook group for amazing book recs & more!  Like and subscribe to RomComPods. Available wherever you listen to podcasts.  Follow us on Instagram @badonpaperpodcast. Follow Olivia on Instagram @oliviamuenter and Becca @beccamfreeman.

We’re preparing for indoor time this fall and talking TV and Movie recommendations! Becca and Olivia share their recommendations, and our listeners call in to share their favorite shows and hidden gems!   Olivia’s TV Recs: Scripted: Yellowjackets, Severance, Under the Banner of Heaven, Starstruck, and Fleabag.   Becca’s TV Recs: Partner Track, Loot, Never Have I Ever, Tell Me Lies, Hacks, Ten Percent, and The Bear.   Listener TV Recs: Trying, Minx, Crash Landing on You, Call your Agent!, Valeria, Minx, Everything I Know About Love, What We Do in the Shadows, Gilmore Girls, The Expanse, Love Island UK, Six Feet Under, A League Of Their Own, Abbott Elementary, The Great British Bake Off   Movie Recs Becca: Not Okay, Vengeance, and Top Gun: Maverick Olivia: Good Luck To You, Leo Grande, The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent Listeners: The Last Duel (check content warnings before watching!) and Cha Cha Real Smooth   Obsessions  Olivia: Orange Amazon dress (pleasant surprise) Becca: Sweat shorts (Lou & Grey; Amazon)   What we read this week! Olivia:  Reclaiming Body Trust by Hilary Kinavey and Dana Sturtevant Becca: Now Is Not The Time To Panic by Kevin Wilson The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna How To Fall Out Of Love Madly by Jana Casale The Final Gambit by Jennifer Lynn Barnes   This Month’s Book Club Pick: Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn   Sponsors: HelloFresh - HelloFresh.com/bop16 and use code BOP16 for 16 free meals across 7 boxes AND 3 free gifts. Prose - Go to Prose.com/bop for your FREE in-depth hair consultation and 15% off.   Join our Facebook group for amazing book recs & more!  Like and subscribe to RomComPods. Available wherever you listen to podcasts.  Follow us on Instagram @badonpaperpodcast. Follow Olivia on Instagram @oliviamuenter and Becca @beccamfreeman.

So excited to discuss our August book club pick: You Made A Fool of Death With Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi. This lush romantic drama sparked a lot of conversation in our Facebook Group, and we share our differing feelings about the book as well! We also discuss why we think this book was so divisive, our thoughts on the characters' chemistry, how the theme of grief is explored, and what we thought about the ending.   In this conversation we bring up author Akwaeke Emezi’s interview with Elle, and To Be Black and Loved’s You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty review!    Obsessions Olivia: Cowboy boots  Becca: New desk setup - Wireless Keyboard, Laptop Stand, Magic Trackpad    What we read this week! Olivia:  All Good People Here by Ashley Flowers We Were Never Here by Andrea Bartz Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt  Becca: Seoulmates by Susan Lee (out 9/20) If You Could See The Sun by Ann Liang (out 10/11) Now Is Not The Time to Panic by Kevin Wilson (out 11/8)   September Book Club Pick: Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn   Sponsors: Better Help - Visit BetterHelp.com/badonpaper today to get 10% off your first month   Join our Facebook group for amazing book recs & more!  Like and subscribe to RomComPods. Available wherever you listen to podcasts.  Follow us on Instagram @badonpaperpodcast. Follow Olivia on Instagram @oliviamuenter and Becca @beccamfreeman.

This week we’re talking about all things freelancing. We share when, why & how we made the decision to go freelance, what our work entails, and if we ever see ourselves going back to a full-time job. We also answer YOUR questions about freelance life including how much experience you need, how to find clients, and how we structure our schedules and stay motivated.    We also get into all the money stuff: from how to set and negotiate your rates, the good, the bad, and the ugly of payment timing, how we save for taxes, how we deal with health insurance, and what we’re doing for retirement planning.   Curious about Oliva’s Zero to Freelance Course and How to Pitch guide? Use code BADONPAPER for 60% off her offerings which you can learn more about here! (She’ll be shutting it down on October 1, 2022!)   Obsessions  Becca: Ceramic cosmetic scooper stick (here’s something similar on Amazon) A bonus thing we discussed today was Bug Bite Thing   Everything we read this week! Olivia: All Good People Here by Ashley Flowers Becca: The Summer Place by Jennifer Weiner   August’s Book Club Pick: You Made A Fool of Death With Your Beauty by Akweake Emezi   Sponsors: Zocdoc - Go to Zocdoc.com/BOP and download the Zocdoc app for FREE and start your search for a top-rated doctor today. Honeylove - Get 20% off your second item, PLUS an ADDITIONAL 10% off at Honeylove.com, with code BADONPAPER   Join our Facebook group for amazing book recs & more!  Like and subscribe to RomComPods. Available wherever you listen to podcasts.  Follow us on Instagram @badonpaperpodcast. Follow Olivia on Instagram @oliviamuenter and Becca @beccamfreeman.

We’re taking body diversity in books with Jennifer Weiner, the #1 New York Times bestselling author of nineteen books, including That Summer, Big Summer, Mrs. Everything, Good in Bed, and an essay collection, Hungry Heart: Adventures in Life, Love, and Writing.    Jennifer talks about her journey to becoming a best-selling author, what motivated her to feature women with different body types in her books, and the process of getting a visibly plus-size woman on book covers. We also ask Jennifer about how she decides what to write about, her newest book The Summer Place, and writing a book set in the time of COVID.   Jennifer also shares her favorite Philly bookstores and her favorite recent reads.    You can find Jennifer at @jenniferweinerwrites on Instagram, @jenweinerwrites on Tik Tok, Jennifer Weiner on Facebook, jenniferweiner.com, and get a signed copy of her books at Head House Books in Philadelphia    Books Jennifer loves right now: When We Were Bright and Beautiful by Jillian Medoff Wish You Were Here by Jodi Picoult You Made A Fool Of Death With Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi  American Wife by Curtis Sittenfeld   Obsessions Becca: Anthropologie bracelet stack: Colorful Chicklet Bracelet, Pearly Heart Bracelet, and Colorful Tennis Bracelet  Olivia: The Ghost Ship That Didn’t Carry Us by Cheryl Strayed, Dear Sugar Column   Some bonus things we talked about this week include Olivia’s Mango Cucumber salad by What’s Gaby Cooking and a Smashed Pickle Salad recipe from NYT cooking we both want to make ASAP.    What we read this week! Becca: Killers of A Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn (out Sept 6!) The Summer Place by Jennifer Weiner Olivia: The Summer Place by Jennifer Weiner, The Measure by Nikki Erlick   This Month’s Book Club Pick: You Made A Fool Of Death With Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi    Sponsors: Better Help - get 10% off your first month at BetterHelp.com/badonpaper   Join our Facebook group for amazing book recs & more!  Like and subscribe to RomComPods. Available wherever you listen to podcasts.  Follow us on Instagram @badonpaperpodcast. Follow Olivia on Instagram @oliviamuenter and Becca @beccamfreeman.

It's finally time for another Q&A! We answer some quick questions about how we found our voices as writers, advice for balancing creative projects and a day job, how we answer the question “so what do you do for work?” We also dive into lengthier questions about our favorite books of the year, the backlist books we love, the best & worst parts of hosting a podcast, and more!    Our favorite books of the year Becca: Every Summer After by Carley Fortune, This Time Tomorrow by Emma Straub, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin   Olivia: Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson,  Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin, and Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka.   Backlist books we love Becca: The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern, The Selection Series by Kiera Cass, A Discovery of Witches series by Deborah E. Harkness, A Million Junes by Emily Henry, and Tell Me Lies by Carola Lovering   Olivia: The Push by Ashley Audrain, Paper Palace by Miranda Cowley Heller, The One by John Marrs, The Whisper Man by Alex North, Good Girls’ Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson, and Room by Emma Donoghue.   Becca’s seltzer influencer updates Nixie Peach Iced Tea Seltzer (caffeinated) Spindrift Pineapple   Our Favorite Candles Hotel Lobby Signature Candle  Hotel Lobby Miami Candle Hotel Lobby Pride Candle    Obsessions  Olivia: Airfly Pro for flying with wireless headphones Becca: Sticky Tabs on Amazon   What we read this week! Becca: Nora Goes off Script by Annabel Monaghan You Made A Fool Of Death With Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi  The Counselors by Jessica Goodman Killers of a Certain Age by Deanna Raybourn (out September 6!) Olivia: Notes on an Execution by Dana Kukafa    August Book Club Pick: You Made A Fool Of Death With Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi    Sponsors: Tradlands - Go to tradlands.com/badonpaper and use the code BADONPAPER20 for 20% off your order Prose - Take your FREE in-depth hair consultation and get 15% off your first order at prose.com/bop   Join our Facebook group for amazing book recs & more!  Like and subscribe to RomComPods. Available wherever you listen to podcasts.  Follow us on Instagram @badonpaperpodcast. Follow Olivia on Instagram @oliviamuenter and Becca @beccamfreeman.

For the final episode of our series about how a book gets made, we’re talking all things marketing and publicity with Cristina Arreola, the senior marketing manager at Sourcebooks Landmark, and Ashley Winstead, the author of In My Dreams I Hold A Knife, Fool Me Once, and the forthcoming The Last Housewife.  Cristina and Ashley answer our questions about at what point marketing gets involved in the publishing process, how publishers decide how much marketing support a book gets, what the author is responsible for when it comes to marketing and publicity, and how much input authors get on book covers. We also discuss the different marketing playbooks for an author's first book vs their following books, the importance of pre-orders, and the impact of book clubs and social media buzz.   Find Cristina at @sourcebooks and @tinamariposa on Instagram. Find Ashley at @ashleywinsteadbooks on Instagram. Obsessions  Becca - The Bear on Hulu Olivia - her niece’s obsession with dinosaurs What we read this week! Becca - Portrait of A Thief by Grace D. Li Olivia - Every Summer After by Carley Fortune and Notes on an Execution by Danya Kukafka This Month’s Book Club Pick: You Made A Fool Of Death With Your Beauty by Akwaeke Emezi  Sponsors: Better Help - get 10% off your first month at BetterHelp.com/badonpaper   Join our Facebook group for amazing book recs & more!  Like and subscribe to RomComPods. Available wherever you listen to podcasts.  Follow us on Instagram @badonpaperpodcast. Follow Olivia on Instagram @oliviamuenter and Becca @beccamfreeman.