Trio House Press (@triohousepress.org)

How to Become the Go-To Expert, Sell the Book & Do Your Own PR with Tawny Lara Welcome, writers and book lovers. The Bleeders is a podcast about book writing and publishing. https://thebleeders.substack.com/welcome: https://thebleeders.substack.com/welcome Today’s guest is author, writing coach, and sobriety expert Tawny Lara, the author of https://bookshop.org/a/85623/9781683693635. In this episode, Tawny pulls back the curtain on her publishing journey—from blogging and viral essays to finding an agent, switching from memoir to more journalistic nonfiction, completely rewriting her proposal, and ultimately selling her book. We get into querying, indie publishing vs. the Big Five, advances, audiobooks, and DIY book publicity. She also shares why every writer needs a newsletter, how she built an effective Substack strategy, the publicity tactics that landed her major media coverage, and why tapping into your existing network is often more powerful than chasing social media algorithms. Plus, Tawny explains how she sold a sobriety card deck to Penguin Random House, why rejection is an essential part of every publishing career, and the simple writing advice that transformed her creative practice. Subscribe to Tawny's Substack https://tawnylara.substack.com/welcome. Follow her on https://www.instagram.com/tawnymlara/ @tawnymlara, and buy your copy of Dry Humping on https://bookshop.org/a/85623/9781683693635, https://amzn.to/3RonUcc, or wherever books are sold! Get your copy of Courtney's debut memoir Girl Gone Wild from https://bookshop.org/a/85623/9781949487541 or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://amzn.to/3M7EYR5. The Bleeders is hosted by Courtney Kocak. Follow her on https://www.instagram.com/courtneykocak/ and https://bsky.app/profile/courtneykocak.bsky.social. For more, check out her website https://courtneykocak.com/links. Courtney is teaching some upcoming classes you might be interested in: - https://www.courtneykocak.com/store/midsummerpitchparty: https://www.courtneykocak.com/store/midsummerpitchparty - https://writingworkshops.com/products/start-podcast-workshop-courtney-kocak: https://writingworkshops.com/products/start-podcast-workshop-courtney-kocak - https://writingworkshops.com/products/edit-elevate-revision-intensive-zoom-seminar-with-courtney-kocak: https://writingworkshops.com/products/edit-elevate-revision-intensive-zoom-seminar-with-courtney-kocak - https://writingworkshops.com/products/the-multi-passionate-writers-life-zoom-seminar-with-courtney-kocak: https://writingworkshops.com/products/the-multi-passionate-writers-life-zoom-seminar-with-courtney-kocak - https://writingworkshops.com/products/memoir-in-essays-incubator-nonfiction-writing-workshop-online-june-2026: https://writingworkshops.com/products/memoir-in-essays-incubator-nonfiction-writing-workshop-online-june-2026 - https://writingworkshops.com/products/how-to-build-a-platform-for-writers-who-shudder-at-the-thought-zoom-seminar: https://writingworkshops.com/products/how-to-build-a-platform-for-writers-who-shudder-at-the-thought-zoom-seminar - https://writingworkshops.com/products/start-a-newsletter-to-supercharge-your-platform-network-business-zoom-seminar: https://writingworkshops.com/products/start-a-newsletter-to-supercharge-your-platform-network-business-zoom-seminar - https://writingworkshops.com/products/land-big-bylines-by-writing-for-columns-zoom-seminar: https://writingworkshops.com/products/land-big-bylines-by-writing-for-columns-zoom-seminar https://www.spreaker.com/episode/how-to-become-the-go-to-expert-sell-the-book-do-your-own-pr-with-tawny-lara--72864269