Introducing "The Bleeders:" A New Podcast On Book Writing And Publishing

  If you are an aspiring writer or writer in the midst of your career, try a new podcast for you called The Bleeders. 

The title is a nod to the famous Hemingway quote: “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”

The creator and host of this new podcast is Courtney Kocak, who is, among many other achievements, the editor of the podcast newsletter Podcast Bestie. It's billed as a weekly newsletter and best friend to podcasters seeking jobs, industry info, craft tips, marketing strategies, and creative inspiration.

Kocak announced the podcast in her newsletter, "I’m very excited to announce that the first episode of my new podcast, The Bleeders, launched on Thursday — and since I’m releasing extra episodes this month to celebrate the launch, I dropped the second episode today." 

 

The first episode kicked things off with Samantha Allen, author of Real Queer America, and her upcoming novel Patricia Wants to Cuddle. 

"Samantha shared so many nuggets of wisdom for writers. We talked shop about writing and publishing from start to finish, book advances, narrating her audiobooks and her Audible Original, her foray from nonfiction to fiction, and more," says Kocak in her newsletter.

Episode # 2 spotlighted feminist noir crime writer Halley Sutton. Kocak explains:

"She wrote the first draft of her debut novel, The Lady Upstairs, while getting her MFA at Otis College of Art and Design in Los Angeles, so we got into the pros and cons of MFAs for writers. And we also talk book number two, since Halley’s currently in the home stretch with her second novel. Halley shared how Pitch Wars helped her first book find its footing, how she turned a rejection letter into an agent, the importance of a midpoint, and other sage advice for fledgling writers."

 Kocak has experienced many successes in podcasting, such as The Bellas podcast, where WWE Superstars, TV personalities and entrepreneurs, Nikki and Brie Bella go head-to-head in a weekly trivia battle, duke it out over juicy debate topics, kill some rumors, and answer questions tweeted in from the Bella Army

In Private Parts Unknown, (the podcast formerly known as Reality Bytes) best friends Courtney Kocak and Sofiya Alexandra bring you along as they traipse from country to country exploring sex, relationships, dating & different types of food poisoning.

Courtney Kocak's essays have been published in The Washington Post's Solo-ish column and The Los Angeles Times's L.A. Affairs column. She was a lifestyle contributor to Bustle, a sex writer for Greatist, and a health and fitness contributor to Hint's branded blog The Quench. Other bylines include BUST, Healthline, HelloGiggles, and more.

Kocak wrote for Amazon’s Emmy-winning animated series Danger & Eggs, voiced by SNL's Aidy Bryant. Along with Sofiya Alexandra, Kocak wrote a national Get Out the Vote commercial for the House Majority PAC, starring Brooklyn Nine-Nine’s Melissa Fumero and Stephanie Beatriz, which aired leading up to the 2016 election.

Courtney Kocak graduated from Stephens College with my BFA in Theatre Arts, and then went on to UCLA's graduate-level Professional Program in Screenwriting. In 2018, she completed Second City's satire writing program and AIR’s Full Spectrum Storytelling Intensive.

The Bleeders is a podcast (and support group!) about book writing and publishing. Transparent conversations with authors, agents, and people in the publishing industry about how to write and sell books.  

If you need support with your writing career, check out The Bleeders.