Jul 26, 2026 · 50 min · 12 segments
**Season 4, episode 14 is here!** Karin Gillespie got her first book published by Simon & Schuster in 2004, and has spent the two decades since working across traditional publishing, small presses…
Karin GillespieGuest
David McIlroyHost
Yeah, authors definitely need help with that because as an author myself, I know that, I mean, I went down the sort of indie publishing and then self-publishing routes with what I've done.
um I just couldn't quite get get there but um I know that it is something we all struggle with as authors a lot of us I think the dream is to have a publishing deal with a big uh publishing house for many authors and they want to see that happen um what has your experience been like current working with um big publishing houses have you found that it kind of is what authors think it is or maybe is it a different experience than they might eventually come across
And I think one of the misconceptions a lot of authors have is once they're published, they will stay published, which is not true at all.
In fact, I think it's 70% of all debut novelists do not write another novel or they don't get another novel published.
And publishing, when you get into it, your agent and your editor, they're always very excited.
And it's a little bit like throwing the spaghetti at the wall to see who survives, you know.
And I think a lot of authors go in looking at the publisher as sort of being paternalistic in a way, you know.
They have made the dreams come true and they're going to, you know, guide you with the career.
with the marketing of yourself as an author because your publisher is only marketing the book and really get yourself out there.
And I go to their Amazon pages, kind of get a feel who's doing well and who isn't.
It looks like maybe they, you know, on their publication day, they've sold maybe by looking at their Amazon numbers or whatever, you know, two, three copies.
Yeah, authors definitely need help with that because as an author myself, I know that, I mean, I went down the sort of indie publishing and then self-publishing routes with what I've done.
um I just couldn't quite get get there but um I know that it is something we all struggle with as authors a lot of us I think the dream is to have a publishing deal with a big uh publishing house for many authors and they want to see that happen um what has your experience been like current working with um big publishing houses have you found that it kind of is what authors think it is or maybe is it a different experience than they might eventually come across
And I think one of the misconceptions a lot of authors have is once they're published, they will stay published, which is not true at all.
In fact, I think it's 70% of all debut novelists do not write another novel or they don't get another novel published.
And publishing, when you get into it, your agent and your editor, they're always very excited.
And it's a little bit like throwing the spaghetti at the wall to see who survives, you know.
And I think a lot of authors go in looking at the publisher as sort of being paternalistic in a way, you know.
They have made the dreams come true and they're going to, you know, guide you with the career.
with the marketing of yourself as an author because your publisher is only marketing the book and really get yourself out there.
And I go to their Amazon pages, kind of get a feel who's doing well and who isn't.
It looks like maybe they, you know, on their publication day, they've sold maybe by looking at their Amazon numbers or whatever, you know, two, three copies.
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