Ep 190: Novel Writing for People Who Hate Self-Promo (with Anna Dorn)

Click Here to ask your book writing and publishing questions! Anna Dorn’s debut novel, Vagablonde, came out in May 2020, which was a spectacular moment to launch a book (hear the sarcasm). Her tour was obviously cancelled, which she was fine with since she prefers doing things online anyway. The paperback version came out October 6, 2026 from Simon & Schuster—six years later, which is not the typical order of operations and also a decent reminder that even traditional publishing doesn’t always follow the script people assume it does. The main character, Prue, is a 30-year-old attorney who wants two things: to live without psychotropic medication and to experience success as a rap artist. Anna was also once a lawyer who wanted to be a rapper, so we know where some of this came from! The six-year gap between hardback and paperback versions gifted her something most authors never get, which is five years of distance before re-editing her own book, which she ended up liking far more than she expected to. We get into: How distance let her read her own novel almost like someone else wrote it What she updated, and which dated references didn’t survive Why law school prepared her for editorial notes better than anything in publishing did How she decides whether a Goodreads consensus is worth acting on Why she’d rather read for a few minutes at someone else’s event than host a launch What happened to the five novels she’s abandoned On the business side, Anna is cheerfully hands-off. Her take is that if she were business minded she’d be doing something more lucrative, which is exactly why agents exist. She went to law school and still doesn’t want to read her own contracts! Her next novel is slated for January 2028. In the meantime she freelance edits and writes a Substack with a friend about perfume titled...wait for it...Sample Sluts, where they pair scents with pop music and Bravo shows. I came away with a reading list, a watch list, and a renewed interest in Salt and Stone. 🧭 BACK COVER BLUEPRINT Get back cover templates for nonfiction, memoir, and fiction; real-world examples; a polishing checklist; and a guide for turning it into an optimized online description that attracts the right readers.  🔗 https://www.publishaprofitablebook.com/blueprint WONDERING EXACTLY HOW TO SELF-PUBLISH SO YOU CAN STOP GUESSING? Grab the action plan and finally feel confident you’re doing this the right way. 👉 PublishAProfitableBook.com/actionplan READY TO FINALLY BE IN THAT "CAN'T STOP WRITING" FLOW? Grab the free nonfiction or memoir kickstart that's helped hundreds of authors get out of their heads and into the flow:  👉 PublishAProfitableBook.com/chapterone Support the show ****** Write the Damn Book Already is a weekly podcast featuring interviews with authors as well as updates and insights on writing craft and the publishing industry.  Available wherever podcasts are available: Apple Podcasts Spotify YouTube Let's Connect! Instagram Website Email the show: elizabeth [at] elizabethlyons [dot] com The podcast is a proud affiliate partner of Bookshop, working to support local, independent bookstores. To see all the ways we can work together to get your book written and published, visit publishaprofitablebook.com/work-with-elizabeth