More To The Story

Today on More to the Story Podcast: An interview with author Molly Mogren KattMolly holds a special place in the More to the Story universe—she was my very first coaching client when I launched my business in 2020! Molly finished her manuscript, Mom Geans, with me, and in this conversation she shares the ups and downs of her journey toward publishing.Her memoir explores the decision to have kids after growing up in an abusive household. It’s a story about breaking cycles of generational trauma, cultivating empathy, and becoming the parent you always wished you had. We also talk about her path to finding an agent, the challenges of querying, and what it means to keep writing even in the midst of uncertainty.About MollyMolly Mogren Katt believes in making every day an adventure, and you can read all about it on her Substack, Hey Eleanor. She’s written for Food & Wine, Minneapolis-St. Paul Magazine, and Experience Life. Her forthcoming memoir, Mom Genes, chronicles her decision to have kids after growing up

Today on More to the Story Podcast: A debrief + book outline session with anti-hustle coach Tracy StangerI’m back after a summer pause to revamp how I’m integrating Substack with my work—and I’m kicking things off with a special conversation with my friend Tracy Stanger. We met on Instagram, grabbed coffee, and realized we share the same philosophy: do the work in a way that fits you. That turned into a trade—half a day on my business with Tracy, and half a day on Tracy’s book with me—followed by this debrief you’ll hear in the episode.Tracy is an anti-hustle business coach whose “Less But Better, Most You” approach helps human, justice-minded (often neuro-spicy) entrepreneurs focus on results—not just checking things off a to-do list—so they can do meaningful work and live their dream days.About TracyTracy Stanger is an anti-hustle business coach who believes we shouldn’t have to choose between meaningful work and living your dream days. She’s on a mission to prove we CAN have time for our dreams when we foc

Today on More to the Story Podcast: Why I Don’t Do Outlines for Memoirs (Part 2 of the Genre Conversation)This is a continuation of the genre conversation from the last episode, and I dive straight into something I get asked about all the time: book outlines. Specifically, why I do create outlines for prescriptive nonfiction (what I call memoir-ish), and why I don’t use outlines for memoir or personal essay.I also introduce a new term I’m using with clients—memoir-ish—to distinguish prescriptive books that are driven by teaching, insight, or process but are supported by personal story. This is different from memoir-plus (or hybrid memoir), where the personal story leads and other elements supplement it.If you’ve ever wondered whether you “should” outline your memoir, or you’re trying to figure out what kind of book you’re writing in the first place, this episode will help with clarity, language, and direction.In today’s episode:* what I mean by memoir-ish and how it differs from memoir and hybrid memoir* the

Today on More to the Story Podcast: Why I’m rethinking how I use the word “nonfiction” to describe the kind of books I work on.I’ve been rethinking how I describe the work I do with writers, and one thing has become clear: the word nonfiction doesn’t really serve us. It defines writing by what it isn’t, rather than what it is. In this episode, I talk about why that matters, how it affects the way writers think about their projects, and why I prefer to use the term personal story.This shift isn’t just semantics—it’s about honoring what writers are actually doing when they tell the truth about their lives and experiences. Whether you’re writing memoir, essay, or narrative nonfiction, centering story (instead of “not fiction”) gives you a clearer, more empowering frame for the work ahead.In today’s episode:* why the term nonfiction feels limiting and misleading* how genres like memoir, essay, and narrative don’t quite fit under the same umbrella* why story—especially personal story—is a more accurate way to name

Today on More to the Story Podcast: A Reintroduction After a Summer BreakAfter a summer hiatus, I’m back with a fresh season of More to the Story. In this episode, I share what’s been happening behind the scenes—how I’ve been reflecting, pivoting, and rebuilding my business in a way that’s sustainable with my health and energizing for the women writers I serve. I also talk about Substack becoming a bigger part of my work, the importance of personal story in nonfiction, and a new layer of insight I’m gaining through Human Design.In today’s episode:* a summer hiatus and what I’ve been reflecting on since my MS relapse three years ago* why I’ve been experimenting with new ways of working sustainably* the challenges of using the term “nonfiction” and why I center personal story instead* how Substack is becoming the new home for my podcast, emails, and posts* shifting to a “mostly weekly” cadence to make the work easier and more sustainable* what I’ve been learning about Human Design and being a Manifestor—surges

There is a lot going on behind the scenes for me right now, including do I keep using the term “nonfiction” to talk about the work I do with women writing books?? What do you think? Leave me a comment with your thoughts! In today’s episode: - special birthday message to my husband, Jeremy, who’s birthday is June 2, the day this episode goes live

Today on More to the Story Podcast: Why I don’t teach structure for books. Well, technically I do, but not in the way that others teach it. Another conversation I had with a woman at AWP during one of the mini book coaching sessions I held was all about her book, which she thinks is going to be kind of a big family saga spanning her grandmother’s life, her mother’s life, and her own life. She’s sorting through family memorabilia, including letters, and she wants to do interviews with her ancestors.She’s feeling very overwhelmed with all the topics and themes she wants to cover, and all the material she already has. “Where do I start?” she asked. “I feel like I need to know what the structure is in order to start organizing and figuring out what to prioritize.”In todays’s episode: * yes, some writer’s work better with an outline from the beginning* when I recommend using an outline to start* why I don’t recommend one for this woman’s project* how to find out if you have enough material for more than one book*

Today on More to the Story: a simple (but not easy) way to affect change or the outcome you’re hoping to achieve. In today’s episode: - inspiration from a recent book that I read, Be Ready When the Luck Happens, by Ina Garten- how I feel about celebrity memoirs, even though I have read a few (listen to find out which ones!) - a popular TV show from the 1990s that I wasn’t allowed to watch when I was in high school- leaning into the energy of curiosity and playfulness, holding things lightly and practicing not being too attached to expectations for a specific outcome- being too attached to expectations is what causes disappointment - holding expectations loosely to allow room for something surprising to happen- two stories from Ina Garten’s memoir that really stuck with me: one from when she and her husband Jeffery were engaged, and one from when she was the new owner of the Barefoot Contessa in the Hamptoms- a lesson that Ina has used many times in her life that can be applied to our creative livesLinks men

When you’re close to being done with a manuscript project, what do you do? Do you finish the manuscript, and then start submitting? If it’s an essay collection, do you submit individual essays first, wait for them to get published, and then submit the manuscript?These questions and more in today’s episode about playing small, by which I mean limiting yourself by not taking advantage of all the opportunities available to you.In this episode:- submitting on a parallel path for individual essays + an essay collection manuscript- strategy for querying when an agent has expressed interest in seeing your work when you’re ready- following up with outstanding queries if/when you get an offer- thinking about finding an agent as if you’re hiring for a job, and you want to have as many applicants as you can- why starting to query before the manuscript is done is a good strategy- playing small=internal turmoil over should I/shouldn’t I/what should I do, instead of finding a place where you can feel confident and take act

Staying organized is kind of a boring topic, but a practical and essential part of writing—especially if you‘re working on a book project. I’m talking about organization of writing material with all these different Word docs or Google docs or storing files on Dropbox.This came up in a conversation I had with a woman at AWP who booked one of my 15-minute book-coaching sessions. She’s working on an essay collection, she has 12 essays so far, all in varying stages of completeness or needing revision, and in varying stages of being submitted individually. In addition to this essay collection, she has a full time job, she’s also a visual artist, and she regularly applies for grants for both writers and artists. She was feeling very scattered. In this episode: * how easy it is to lose track of material when it’s stored digitally* how I recommend approaching a problem like keeping track of writing material at different stages of a project* why I like to use Google Docs, specifically Google Sheets, for this kind of o

When I talk with women about their book projects, one of the most common things I hear them say over and over is: I feel like my book is missing something, but I don't know what it is. And I don't know how to figure IT out. In the episode: - the typical way these conversations go- what happens when I have these conversations & how I respond- why self-awareness & simply paying attention are essential to discovering what your book is missing- one of my superpowers as book coach- getting to the point of not knowing what your book needs causes sheer exasperation - “memoir-plus” as an industry term and what it means - examples of memoir-plus: Already Toast, by Kate Washington & Lightning Flowers, by Katherine Standefer- why resistance is also key to identifying what’s missing from your bookLinks mentioned in this episode: - Get 10% off your first order of whole bean coffee from a boutique Northern California coffee roastery.- More about Under the Gum Tree- More about my coaching & editing services-

This week I want to tell you a story about an experience I had a the beach and relate it to something I’ve been learning about and focusing on in my life and observing how it manifests in our writing, creative, and publishing lives.In this episode: - my husband Jeremy and I have been vacationing in Baja California, Mexico and we recently decided to see how it would be to drive there from our home in Northern California- on our visits we take daily walks on the beach and would collect sea shells - I really wanted a whole sand dollar, and I found a lot of broke pieces but never found a whole one- I found not one, but two on our most recent trip, but not exactly what I wanted- unrelated, I was reading the book 10x Is Easier than 2x, and one concept that really stuck with me for how to measuring progress and success with a perspective that is either negative or positive- how this negative vs. positive perspective for measuring success shows up in our creative life- an example from a conversation I had with a woma

I’m revisiting the topic of what a book coach does, and t’s on my mind because of the two conferences I went to last month in March (Alt Summit & AWP). At both conferences I held 15-minute mini book coaching session and had so many great conversations with women who are working on books.There were also a lot of people, more so at AWP, talking about what they do professionally and how they help writers in the books/publishing world from book coaches like me to writing coaches, editors of all kinds, and publishers.At AWP I was hearing a lot around the topic of book coaching that gave me pause, because it doesn’t align with how I do things. So I wanted to continue the conversation, talk about what I was hearing, why I disagree, and why I feel like it doesn’t align with the way that I work.In this episode:- giving myself time to recover from two back-to-back conferences- why I disagree that coaches and editors need to be different people- one of my superpowers as a coach an editor & the resistance that of

Whew, we made it to April. March was an incredibly busy month for me. I was out of town March 14-17 for a conference called Alt Summit, and then again March 22-30 for another conference called AWP. Even before leaving for both those trips I was asking myself the question: was that the best decision? To commit to going to two conferences back-to-back? Last year when AWP was in Kansas City, I was one year post-relapse and new treatments but still had a lot of lingering symptoms. So instead of attending the entire conference for 3 days, I stayed just 2 nights and my priority for being there was the off-site reading event that I have been hosting for 9 years now with three other nonfiction publications.In this episode: - how it was such a relief to still attend the conference in a way that works for me- why I was in no condition to travel and had to skip the AWP conference in 2023- when we don't have the capacity, bandwidth, energy to deal with, yes travel and logistics, but also our creative lives - how I'm able

At one of the two conferences I attended last month, one of the questions I got was: what is a book coach? Which is the perfect question for a podcast episode. In this episode: - a newly published book by one of my clients! - the meetup I hosted on authors & publishing at the Alt Summit conference last month- realizing that I haven’t talked about what a book coach is on this podcast- certification for book coaches, and why I’m not certified or think it’s necessary- an overview of my 20+ career history from my first job out of college to starting my business in 2020- a big part of the way that I work as a book coach & an inside joke for WWJD with my clients- my take on how coaching is different from editing: not all coaches are editors & not all editors are coaches- the difference between book coaches, writing coaches, and author coaches- what exactly a book coach can help you with, and when to engage one- tune in next week for more on managing health & energy, regardless of what it is you’re d

I’m at AWP this week! If you’re also in LA for this annual conference, be sure to stop by Under the Gum Tree’s booth 1213 to say hello.Two things I’m doing at AWP this year:1. Hosting 15-minute mini-consults for women working on nonfiction books. If you could use a mini book coaching session, check here to see if there are any spots available and grab one.2. Under the Gum Tree’s off-site reading in partnership with Fourth Genre, River Teeth, and Hippocampus Magazine. On Friday, March 28 from 6-8p at Bonaventure Brewing Co. Under the Gum Tree’s featured readers are Laura Julier and Brad Snyder.In this episode:- If you’re not familiar, what is AWP? An overview and quick & dirty intro for first-timers- What to expect with the conference schedule- What to expect at the book fair, and why it’s probably my favorite part of the conference- A reflection on my first ever AWP back in 2009 or 2010 (can’t quite remember which year)- What came out of that first conference for me (practically everything I’m doing with

For months now, maybe even a year or more, I have been wanting to spend 10 minutes, first thing in the morning, drinking my coffee outside.I set up the perfect spot to sit, with chairs facing east toward the rising sun, moved the gas fire pit over to the chairs. But for some reason I couldn’t get myself to take my coffee outside in the mornings.Actually I know exactly the reasons:1. It’s been winter time, and cold, and less sunny, and not the ideal weather for wanting to be outside.2. Because of the time I get up in the mornings, I would wake up, look at the clock and automatically think, “I’m behind.”In this episode:- more about why I sleep so much, which precipitated the “I’m behind” narrative- a conversation with a friend who was telling herself the same thing, about a completely different situation- how we both got ourselves out of the “I’m behind” cycle and laughed at ourselves- how you can get out of that cycle tooLinks mentioned in this episode:- Under the Gum Tree: underthegumtree.com- More to the Sto

I saw a Notes thread on Substack recently that someone had shared an article, commenting that it was the saddest thing she had read on Substack that day. It had a lot of comments, so I clicked to read out of clarity and then curiosity. Clarity, because at first I didn’t get what was so sad about the article. Then curiosity, because as soon as I figured it out, I wanted to see what others had said. Maybe you already guessed that this thread was one long b***h-fest. The comments were all writers bemoaning that Substack has been infiltrated by what they called "Linked-In self promotion content," complaining that all they want to do is write and not try to figure out how to hack the system for growth. I have thoughts. In this episode: - why selling & self-promotion doesn’t have to be icky- how to make selling & self-promotion not icky- why anyone with writing they think can help (or teach, or entertain, or comfort) others should actually want to share it- why self-promotion isn’t selling out (unless you d

Someone sent me this question recently, and man did it get me fired up.Whenever I hear any so-called advice (from anyone) saying you need XYZ specific thing in order to get published, my first response is:Well, how does saying that benefit THEM?Here’s the thing: do you need 100,000 followers to get published? NO. Absolutely not. Would it be helpful? Of course.But (and this is a big BUT), there is a lot of nuance to this question, which I unpack in this episode.Listen in for:- thinking through using Substack, making work sustainable, whether or not to turn on paid subscriptions for this podcast, and doing work that’s easy and that I want to do- why someone would say something like, “you need 100,000 followers to get published”- what we mean when we say “get published” & the importance of distribution- how to determine whether going after hundreds of thousands of followers makes sense for YOU- why your own personal vision + goals are the most important thing to inform your book publishing decisionsLinks men

When an opportunity for expansion and growth presents itself, but it’s something you’ve never done before, what’s your first instinct? To avoid doing it? To dismiss it simply because you’ve never done it? Maybe the idea of trying the thing hasn’t even occurred to you because you’ve never done it.But just because you’ve never done something doesn’t mean you can’t do it, or shouldn’t do it. In fact I would argue that when this type of resistance comes up it’s a good indicator that it’s time to do some self-reflection and some exploring by first, getting curious and asking yourself some questions, and, second, taking one small action to get just a little closer to the thing you’ve never done.In this episode I share an example of a client who came up against this resistance + some questions to ask yourself when it comes up for you.Links mentioned in this episode:- Subscribe to the podcast on Substack: moretothestorypodcast.substack.com- My signature video course: Nonfiction Bootcamp- Follow me on Instagram: @jann