New to Drafts, Deals & Detours? Start Here

The inside scoop on my writing and publication life

Some of my WIPs.

When you’re in the middle of a writing life, it’s hard to know if what you’re experiencing is part of the process or a sign that something needs to change. Drafts, Deals & Detours is where I share what’s actually happening in my writing life—the decisions, doubts, and direction changes—while it’s still unfolding.

I’ll share works-in-progress, deals in motion, and those unexpected (and sometimes disappointing) pivots. You’ll get actual numbers, the behind-the-scenes realities of publishing and income, and a front-row seat to what it looks like to build a sustainable writing life without staying in one lane.

If you’ve taken a class with me at UCLAx or caught one of my Lives at Writer-ish with Darien Gee, you know I’m an open book. I value clarity and curiosity and, like many of you, want to make money from my writing while doing what I love. Whether you're starting out or starting over, you’re in the right place.

The Dispatches

A couple times a month you’ll receive a short Dispatch that rotates between:

• Drafts → What’s happening (or not happening) with my works-in-progress: structure, direction, revision, and the questions a project raises while it’s being written.

• Deals → Query and agent journeys, contracts, rejections, submissions, different kinds of deals, and how a career is maintained between books. And yes, the numbers.

• Detours → How wrong turns, distractions, and unexpected pivots might be exactly what you need to move forward (even if we don’t know it at the time).

The Debriefs

Once a month, I host a live conversation about a real decision or situation currently unfolding in my writing or publishing life, followed by Q&A.

Debriefs happen on Wednesdays from 12:00–1:00 pm PT. Details and registration are posted the month of each session. Once a date is highlighted, you can register to be notified of when I go live.

Debriefs+ are Substack Lives with other authors and industry experts who are also willing to pull back the curtain of their working writer lives.

Watch Now

• Watch Now | When a Book Stops Working
  Deciding whether to fix, restructure, or walk away

• Watch Now | Income That Came From Writing (Beyond Royalties or Advances)
  Book-adjacent opportunities

• Watch Now | On Writing Multiple Genres and Day Jobs with Paul Crenshaw
  Art, ambition, and paying the bills

• Watch Now | When a Book Stops Working: Should You Fix, Restructure or Walk Away?
  On navigating draft doubts and major revisions

• Watch Now | Sorry But Yes, You Need a Platform with Karin Gillespie
  Platform, publishing, and other ways writers can build sustainable visibility

• Watch Now | When the Dream Comes True (What Happens After the Book Deal) with Amran Gowani
  The aftershock of arrival

• Watch Now | An MFA Won’t Save You (But It Might Help)
  What education changes and what it doesn’t

• Watch Now | Wait, She Writes Novels, Too? with Becky Tuch
  Building a literary life beyond one identity

Upcoming

• June 24, 2026 — Why You Might Want to Start a Substack Newsletter
  For writers, creatives, and anyone curious about building a creative practice online

• July 8, 2026 (Debrief+) — Don’t Play It Safe: Risk, Reinvention, and Writing Without a Net with Allison K Williams
  The cost of creative risk—and what it opens up

• July 15, 2026 (Debrief+) What Does It Mean to Be a Writer Now? with Jeannine Ouellette [this Debrief+ will happen at 2:00 pm PT]
  The new shape of a writing life

• August 12, 2026 (Debrief+)— You May Not Want to Hear This About Getting an Agent with Mark Gottlieb, literary agent
  Hope, hype, and hard truths

• August 26, 2026 — Keep Your Day Job
  Why keeping a full- or part-time job may be the best thing for your writing career

• September 23, 2026 — Your Draft Isn’t Broken, It’s Just Not Done
  When revision can feel like failure

• October 21, 2026 — Collaboration: When Two is Better Than One
  Why it might be the best creative decision you’ll ever make

• November 11, 2026 — Self-Publishing as Artistic Independence with Ran Walker
  What indie publishing makes possible

• November 18, 2026 — Writing in the Real World
  Kids, jobs, caregiving, and what we sometimes give up

• December 23, 2026 — Writing is a Long Game—Know Your Why
  It’s time for a little self-inquiry

Some of my books, written by me as Darien Gee and Mia King. My husband’s books are here as well (can you guess which ones? 🏌🏼‍♂️)