Sara Rosett and Jami Albright
352 episodes listed below
Publishing lessons from the working writer’s side.
Wish I'd Known Then . . . For Writers is a grounded writing-and-publishing show built around lessons writers learn the hard way. Recent episodes move from AI trust signals and social media promos to serial fiction, Kickstarter, developmental edits, and the emotional weight of publishing.
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Wish I'd Known Then . . . For Writers is a practical writing-and-publishing show for writers trying to make better decisions with imperfect information. It is conversational, lightly funny, and built around the kind of publishing lessons people usually learn after the stressful part has already happened. The show treats writing as creative work, but never separates it from business, technology, marketing, deadlines, and reader trust. Recent episodes move easily from manuscript revision to book pages for bots, from TikTok hooks to Kickstarter fulfillment, and from AI anxiety to the value of visible human imperfection. The rhythm is candid and useful. A guest might explain why social media is not always the right audience-building tool, while another walks through how a promotional scene gets chosen, marked up, and turned into a reel. The hosts' own writing lives stay in the room too, through launch pressure, draft problems, developmental edits, travel, events, and deadline math. That gives the advice a lived-in texture rather than a polished seminar feel. The show is at its best when it complicates standard publishing wisdom. It asks what kind of presence an author can sustain between books, how market research can inform a writer without flattening their voice, and why a crowdfunding campaign can become too much if the scope is not controlled early. It also pays attention to mindset. Episodes touch on resilience, external validation, neurodivergence, originality, and the uncomfortable link between creative identity and public response. AI appears as both tool and disruption, with discussions of author-page optimization, guardrail prompts, and how writers can signal that real humans are still behind the work. The show does not offer one grand system. It favors specific lessons, honest tradeoffs, and small operational choices that add up. Writers looking for hype may find it too grounded. Writers trying to finish books, market them, and keep their sense of self intact will find a steady companion.
Made for: For writers who want practical help with writing, publishing, marketing, author platforms, and mindset. It especially suits writers who like candid process talk more than glossy success formulas.
What sets it apart: The show pairs guest experience with visible, ongoing writing-life context, so advice lands beside real examples of drafts, launches, edits, events, and deadlines. It is less about abstract publishing wisdom and more about what writers wish they had understood before doing the hard part.
Welcome to the Wish I'd Known Then podcast. Join authors Jami Albright and Sara Rosett as they interview authors about lessons they've learned about writing and publishing.
Book-launch nerves meet real numbers and missed expectations before they can eat you alive.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A calm, practical conversation about publishing mindset, resilience, and audience-building that fits the writer.
Catherine Collette's conversation gives writers a steady, practical way to think about publishing and mindset. As a book coach and author coach, she walks through the archetypes writers may run into after release, with a clear focus on resilience and on not letting self-worth…
A blunt reminder that small human imperfections still carry weight, even as AI speeds the pace of the discussion.
Sarah and Jamie keep the conversation light, even as the subject is plainly uneasy. The strongest thread is simple: writing still depends on a human ear, and the episode keeps coming back to the small things that make that point feel real, like mistakes, typos, bloopers,…
A practical marketing conversation for writers trying to make social posts work harder.
The discussion shows how book marketing now has to survive shifting rules on TikTok and Instagram. Lona McCombie stands out on the five-hashtag limit, treating the caption as part of the hook instead of leftover space.
Honest craft talk for working writers.
Lars Hedbor tells Sarah Rosette and Jamie Albright how he built a historical-fiction career around one book a year while working a full-time job.
Sarah Rosette and Jamie Albright recap a library signing where about 80 people attended, three audience members asked questions, and Albright sold both new and earlier books.
Catherine Collette, a novelist published in Australia and internationally, says the hardest part of writing is not craft but the thoughts, feelings, and expectations around publication.
Sarah Rosette and Jamie Albright turn 'show your human' into a checklist: in-person book signings, typos, bloopers, physical extras, and imperfect video all come up as signals that a real author is behind the work.
Lona McCombie says TikTok's algorithm rewards training your account, not random scrolling.
Authors Jami Albright and Sara Rosett interview Kim Boo York about serial storytelling, fan fiction, and transitioning to original work.
Authors Jami Albright and Sara Rosett interview author Ember May about crowdfunding, social media, in-person events, and neurodivergence as a writing superpower.
Authors Jami Albright and Sara Rosett interview Nat Connors about balancing market data with authentic voice in writing.
Authors discuss optimizing author websites for AI and using AI tools for writing blurbs and content.
Authors Jami Albright and Sara Rosett interview a book coach about manuscript tips and discuss their experiences at Author Nation.
Authors Jami Albright and Sara Rosett interview author Douglas Pratt about writing thrillers, marketing, and lessons learned in publishing.
Authors Jami Albright and Sara Rosett interview Fiona Morin about her transition from traditionally published middle grade to indie contemporary romance, covering craft, revision, and adapting writing routines.
Authors Jami Albright and Sara Rosett interview John Gaspard about his book on a theater that screened Harold and Maude for two years, discussing research, organizing, and IngramSpark.