All Episodes
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 in total
#13: Robinson Crusoe
Robinson Crusoe was an instant bestseller in 1719, yet Daniel Defoe never became rich from it. Why not? In this episode, we look at how authors made (and failed to mak...
#12: Startup Publisher Piatkus Books
Piatkus Books started as a small U.K. publisher focused on supplying books to libraries. Judy Piatkus founded her second publishing company in 1978, while still in her...
#11: Publishing and Pillory (Daniel Defoe)
The author of Robinson Crusoe, started his professional life as the 1700s equivalent of a blogger and a hot-take merchant. Daniel Defoe’s satirical pamphlet The Shorte...
#10: Expansion of Ingram Books - Part 2
This episode tells the story of how Ingram transformed from a regional schoolbook depository into the go‑to wholesaler for U.S. trade books. Learn about how Harry Hoff...
#9: Birth of Ingram Books - Part 1
Learn about how a family owned oil company came to run one of the most important companies within book publishing. Here the story of the start of Ingram Books.People D...
#8: James Patterson Markets a Bestseller
James Patterson has built a publishing juggernaut. His publishing success all started with Little, Brown publishing Along Came a Spider in February 1993. In this episo...
#7: James Patterson Writes a Better Thriller
It took James Patterson seven attempts before he found the right formula for a successful thriller. In this episode, we focus on Patterson break out commercial success...
#6: Crichton's Jurassic Park
Michael Crichton had his first hit book in 1969 when he was in his 20s. But 20-years later he was in a rut. Jurassic Park got him out of is rut, and his friend Michael...
#5: Advice from Bob Gottlieb
Robert Gottlieb started in publishing in 1955. Just 10 years later he became editor-in-chief at publishing house Simon & Schuster. Following that, he went to Alfred A....
#4: Publishing Little House in the Big Woods - Part 2 (Wilder, Fiery, & Kirkus)
OverviewFollow Laura Ingalls Wilder’s journey from rejected memoir to successful first novel. To get there she needed the unsung help of editor Marion Fiery and then V...
#3: Publishing Little House in the Big Woods - Part 1 (Laura Ingalls Wilder & Rose Wilder Lane)
Episode OverviewAt age 63, Laura Ingalls Wilder sat down with a No. 2 pencil and wrote a memoir she called Pioneer Girl. Following the stock market crash of 1929, it w...
#2: Cerf woos Seuss (Ted Geisel & Bennett Cerf)
Episode OverviewThe start of the partnership between Dr. Seuss and publisher Random House. CEO Bennett Cerf wooed little known children’s author Theodor “Ted” Geisel....
#1: Promoting Mastering the Art of French Cooking (Julia Child & Judith Jones)
Judith Jones, long-time editor for Alfred A. Knopf, persuaded the publisher to take a chance on a French cookbook that no one knew they wanted. That book and TV made J...
