'A Better Literary World Is Possible': How to Get a Book Deal Without an Agent

WATCH: "How to Report on Family Secrets" with New York Times Contributor Susan Saulny

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.narrativelyacademy.com [https://www.narrativelyacademy.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7] Happy weekend, writers! What did you work on this week? Don’t forget to share your #WeeklyWins over in the Narratively Academy Chat. [https://substack.com/chat/4371472/post/de86d3ce-36c6-4a7f-905e-426a8bdef592] The best thing I did this week was my chat with Susan Saulny [https://substack.com/profile/516452624-susan-saulny], the writer behind one of the most impressive feature articles I’ve read this year, the epic story, “A Family Secret No More [https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/15/us/degrange-family-history-race.html?unlocked_article_code=1.m1A.-Zu6.SlnccJuE7DI0&smid=url-share],” published in The New York Times a few weeks ago. In her story, Susan explores the dual life stories of her grandfather, George, who lived in the Jim Crow South as a Black man, and his lighter-skinned brother, Edward, who moved to Chicago and “crossed the line” to live as White. It’s a remarkable reported essay that I can only imagine took an immense amount of researching, reporting, and navigating complicated family dynamics to put together. If you haven’t had a chance to read Susan’s story yet, here’s a gift link for you to catch up this weekend [https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/15/us/degrange-family-history-race.html?unlocked_article_code=1.m1A.-Zu6.SlnccJuE7DI0&smid=url-share]. Click play above to dive into our full conversation about how Susan put this incredible piece of storytelling together.

WATCH: Melissa Petro on How to Write a Hybrid Memoir

This Open Book conversation with Melissa Petro [https://substack.com/profile/1782559-melissa-petro], author of Shame on You: How to Be a Woman in the Age of Mortification [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/736321/shame-on-you-by-melissa-petro/], is one that has been particularly helpful for a lot of writers in our community. So many of us have lots of material for a memoir but no firm concept about how that material comes together into a marketable book. Melissa chatted with us about how she re-conceptualized her memoir into a hybrid book that feels very of-the-moment — and got a publisher’s attention with her new proposal. Give it a watch by clicking play above. BTW, we have just a couple seats left in Melissa’s Nonfiction Book Development Boot Camp [https://www.narrativelyacademy.com/p/nonfiction-book-development-bootcamp], which starts next week. If you’re ready to take on a full-length book—memoir, narrative nonfiction, or something in between—but you’re not totally sure how it takes shape, this two-day workshop is designed to help you transform your idea into a structured, strategic vision you can confidently pitch, write and publish. To make sure you never miss a post, become a free or paid subscriber to Narratively Academy. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.narrativelyacademy.com/subscribe [https://www.narrativelyacademy.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Writing + Publishing My Memoir at 75

This was such a fun one! It was so inspiring to hear Laurie Garnier’s story of how, at age 40, she decided to change everything in pursuit of a better life—and how, at age 75, she finally wrote that life story and got it published. The book is And Then There Was Paris [https://www.amazon.com/Then-There-Was-Paris-ebook/dp/B0GHPC6RQC/?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_w=verIg&content-id=amzn1.sym.f8e88413-4697-42ea-9bf7-b28eb886330d&pf_rd_p=f8e88413-4697-42ea-9bf7-b28eb886330d&pf_rd_r=142-1047649-6454515&pd_rd_wg=KCUAg&pd_rd_r=5e0f519c-85b9-4ca4-9a4b-648bc2ea09a0] and for those who didn’t have the chance to join us live, we’re making the recording free for everyone. Here’s to always chasing your dreams. Happy weekend! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.narrativelyacademy.com/subscribe [https://www.narrativelyacademy.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Inside the Book Launch: How Hybrid Publishing Works

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.narrativelyacademy.com [https://www.narrativelyacademy.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7] Hello, writers! Hope you all had a wonderful and relaxing long weekend—or at least a not-so-miserable Monday if you weren’t lucky enough to have yesterday off. On Thursday we had a fantastic conversation with Amy Gabrielle [https://substack.com/profile/5498662-amy-gabrielle], author of the just-published memoir Widow in the City: A Memoir of Heartbreaks and Hookups [https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Widow-in-the-City/Amy-Gabrielle/9798896362005]. We recently published an adapted excerpt of Amy’s memoir over on Narratively.com [https://www.narratively.com/p/widow-in-the-city], and we wanted to chat with Amy to learn more about how she finished and published her book. Her memoir comes via She Writes Press, an award-winning hybrid publisher for women authors. Many of you have questions about how this model works, and Amy was kind enough to open up and chat about everything.

WATCH: The Secret Life of an Obit Writer

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.narrativelyacademy.com [https://www.narrativelyacademy.com?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_7] This week’s Open Book was one of my favorite yet. The great Lee Gutkind keeps reeling in fascinating guests, and the latest is veteran New York Times obituary writer Michael Roswenwald, who told us all about the craft of obituary writing—how he decides what to include, what to leave out, and how this work shapes the way we think about narrative, memory, and meaning. Paid subscribers can watch the full conversation above. (Not a subscriber and want to try it out? Drop us a line at academy@narratively.com and we’ll give you a free week’s access so you can watch this and our entire archive of Open Book videos [https://www.narrativelyacademy.com/s/live-videos].) Watch more Open Book episodes from Lee Gutkind and Narratively Academy: * Jane Friedman on Finding Balance in the Writing Business [https://www.narrativelyacademy.com/p/watch-finding-balance-in-the-writing] * Kim Cross on How to Write Great Dialogue in Nonfiction Stories [https://www.narrativelyacademy.com/p/how-to-write-great-dialogue-in-nonfiction] * Dinty W. Moore on What the Heck is a Flash Essay? [https://www.narrativelyacademy.com/p/watch-what-the-heck-is-a-flash-essay] And if you’re new to Narratively Academy—or if you’re not!—a quick reminder that tomorrow is Writers’ Room [https://www.narrativelyacademy.com/p/writers-room], a virtual session we facilitate each Wednesday morning — at 8 a.m. on both the East and West coasts — in which writers of all genres gather to write together. We share what we plan to work on at the top, spend a majority of the time typing away and then check back in at the end to share how it all went. If you’re looking for accountability, inspiration or some semblance of a writing routine, this might be just the thing for you. (If you are asked for a passcode, enter: 824784) Want to receive text message alerts each week when we’re about to begin Writers’ Room, or add this weekly event to your calendar? 8 a.m. ET Writers’ Room: head here to (very easily) sign up for text alerts [https://markitai.com/e/hVf0F9aH3r], and here to add the 8 a.m. ET Writers’ Room to your calendar [https://www.addevent.com/event/Wb25964354]. 8 a.m. PT Writers’ Room: head here to sign up for text alerts [https://markitai.com/e/uWC13ZOW8Y] and here to add the 8 a.m. PT Writers’ Room to your cal [https://www.addevent.com/event/ggq02cyt16r5].