Writers, Ink Podcast: From Bookseller to Author With Nicholas Russell

BookTrib is proud to present to our readers the Writers, Ink podcast, a show about the business of writing.

J.K. Rowling was nearly homeless when she wrote the first Harry Potter book. Stephen King penned Carrie on a small desk wedged between a washer and dryer. James Patterson worked in advertising and famously wrote the Toys “R” Us theme song long before becoming an author.

Whether you’re traditionally published or indie, writing a good book is only the first step in becoming a successful author. The days of just turning a manuscript in to your editor and walking away are gone. If you want to succeed in today’s publishing world, you need to understand every aspect of the business — editing, formatting, marketing, contracts. It all starts with a good book, then the real work begins.

This Week’s Episode

Join hosts J.D. Barker, Christine Daigle, Jena Brown, and Kevin Tumlinson as they discuss the week’s entertainment news, including stories about Authors Guild, Anthropic, literary video games, and Simon & Schuster. Then, stick around for a chat with Nicholas Russell!

Nicholas Russell: I’m a writer and editor from Las Vegas. My work has been featured in The Believer, McSweeney’s, The Yale Review, Reverse Shot,The Point, The Baffler, The Nation, and Dirt, among other publications. I’ve attended Short Fiction workshops at VQR and Tin House, as well as the Critics Academy for the New York Film Festival and the Press Inclusion Initiative at the Sundance Film Festival. I’ve also received support from MacDowell and the Nes Artist Residency. I’m a contributing writer at Defector (formerly at Gawker 2.0), managing editor at Still Alive Magazine, and a bookseller at The Writer’s Block. My debut novel Observer is out on September 15, 2026.