Welcome, writers and book lovers. The Bleeders is a podcast about book writing and publishing. <a href="https://thebleeders.substack.com/welcome" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Make sure you subscribe to the companion Substack</a>: https://thebleeders.substack.com/welcome<br /><br />Today’s guest is Antonia Crane, author, academic, and one of my all-time favorite memoirists. In this special episode, the tables are turned as Antonia interviews me about my debut memoir <a href="https://amzn.to/4snxAA8" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><i>Girl Gone Wild</i></a>, and we get into what it actually takes to write a book over 15 years and finally share it with the world.<br /><br />We talk about the long, nonlinear road from first essay to finished memoir, including incubators with Chloe Caldwell, revising through many drafts, and why sometimes you have to write an entire version of a book just to figure out what it isn’t. We also get into structure, how trusting your gut can be more important than following industry expectations, the difference between factual accuracy and emotional truth, the challenge of fact-checking your own life, and why writing about the past often means confronting the parts you’ve tried hardest to forget. We discuss “dark teachers,” perfectionism, and the complicated process of making meaning out of tough experiences like addiction, abusive relationships, and sexual trauma.<br /><br />Plus, we get into sex work, feminism, the male gaze, and the cultural forces shaping <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/85623/9781949487541" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><i>Girl Gone Wild</i></a>—from growing up in small-town Minnesota to chasing Hollywood dreams and encountering its underbelly.<br /><br />Subscribe to Antonia's Substack <a href="https://antoniacrane.substack.com/welcome" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Meow Town</a>. Follow her on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/antoniacrane/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Instagram</a> @antoniacrane, and buy your copy of her amazing memoir <i>Spent </i>on <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/85623/9781942600862" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bookshop.org</a>, or wherever books are sold!<br /><br /><b>Get your copy of Courtney's debut memoir <i>Girl Gone Wild</i> from <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/85623/9781949487541" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Bookshop.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a> or ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠<a href="https://amzn.to/3M7EYR5" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Amazon⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠</a>.</b><br /><b></b><br />The Bleeders is hosted by Courtney Kocak. Follow her on <a href="https://www.instagram.com/courtneykocak/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Instagram @courtneykocak</a> and <a href="https://bsky.app/profile/courtneykocak.bsky.social" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bluesky @courtneykocak.bsky.social</a>. For more, check out her website <a href="https://courtneykocak.com/links" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">courtneykocak.com</a>.<br /><b></b><br /><b></b><b>Courtney is teaching some upcoming workshops you might be interested in:</b><a href="https://writingworkshops.com/products/start-a-newsletter-to-supercharge-your-platform-network-business-zoom-seminar" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"></a><a href="https://writingworkshops.com/products/how-to-make-2026-your-best-writing-year-yet-manifest-your-writing-goals-zoom-seminar-with-courtney-kocak" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"></a><a href="https://writingworkshops.com/products/land-big-bylines-by-writing-for-columns-zoom-seminar" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"></a><br /><ul><li><a href="https://writingworkshops.com/products/the-multi-passionate-writers-life-zoom-seminar-with-courtney-kocak" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Multi-Passionate Writer's Life</a>: https://writingworkshops.com/products/the-multi-passionate-writers-life-zoom-seminar-with-courtney-kocak</li><li><a href="https://writingworkshops.com/products/how-to-build-a-platform-for-writers-who-shudder-at-the-thought-zoom-seminar" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">How to Build a “Platform” for Writers Who Shudder at the Thought</a>: https://writingworkshops.com/products/how-to-build-a-platform-for-writers-who-shudder-at-the-thought-zoom-seminar</li><li><a href="https://writingworkshops.com/products/start-a-newsletter-to-supercharge-your-platform-network-business-zoom-seminar" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Start a Newsletter to Supercharge Your Platform, Network and Business</a>: https://writingworkshops.com/products/start-a-newsletter-to-supercharge-your-platform-network-business-zoom-seminar</li><li><a href="https://writingworkshops.com/products/memoir-in-essays-incubator-nonfiction-writing-workshop-online-june-2026" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">12 Months to a Full Memoir in Essays Incubator: Write Your Memoir in a Year</a>: https://writingworkshops.com/products/memoir-in-essays-incubator-nonfiction-writing-workshop-online-june-2026</li><li><a href="https://writingworkshops.com/products/land-big-bylines-by-writing-for-columns-zoom-seminar" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Land Big Bylines by Writing for Columns</a>: https://writingworkshops.com/products/land-big-bylines-by-writing-for-columns-zoom-seminar</li><li><a href="https://writingworkshops.com/products/start-podcast-workshop-courtney-kocak" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">So You Want to Start a Podcast?</a>: https://writingworkshops.com/products/start-podcast-workshop-courtney-kocak</li></ul>