"The best way to survive is to turn everything into hilarity." - Ursula Vernon

In this episode we dive into the chaotic world of writing, marketing, and the ups and downs of self-publishing. Mur shares her recent trip to Maryland for Independent Bookstore Day, and Ursula catches us up on Swordheart's launch.

Self promotion is hard, ya'll.

Highlights:

• (05:12) Mur's experience running a solo RPG at an independent bookstore
• (12:45) Ursula's updates on Swordheart and her UK marketing team
• (25:30) The difference between traditional marketing and self-promotion
• (38:15) The importance of targeted outreach to influencers
• (47:50) Mur's thoughts on new marketing tools and strategies
• (55:30) Reflections on the passage of time and creative endeavors

(This post went live for supporters on May 22, 2025. Join the Fabulists if you want early, ad-free, and sometimes expanded episodes!)

Transcript

Links:

• Death of the Author (Game)
• Stamp Fans (Mur isn't set up there yet, but bookmark that page)
• Escape Pod

Evergreen Links:

• Ursula Vernon/T. Kingfisher
• Mur Lafferty
• Mur on Focusmate!
• Mur on Instagram, Youtube
• Support via Patreon!
• Theme song by Devo Spice

Ditch Diggers credits:
theme song by Devo Spice, art by Numbers Ninja,
site hosted by Libsyn (or Patreon).

May 19, 2024 | Season 11 Ep 4 | murverse.com
"Navigating Agents, Rights, and Reality" by Mur Lafferty and Ursula Vernon
is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

"If you can tolerate the boring and lonely, then hopefully you'll be rewarded on the other side." - Ursula Vernon

In this episode of Ditch Diggers, Mur and Ursula navigate the chaotic world of freelancing, taxes, and the ups and downs of being a writer. They discuss the recent Hugo nominations (two for Ursula, one for Mur!), share insights into their creative processes, and delve into the challenges of working with agents.

Chapters:

(03:29) Congratulations to Hugo Finalists!
(04:06) Several people from the podcast have been nominated for various awards
(05:41) Ursula has been working on several projects
(21:25) NaNoWriMo reportedly folded due to poor financial decisions
(22:03) NaNoWriMo brought hope to authors for decades
(28:07) Other writer community options?
(30:39) There are many guides on how to get an agent and how to spot a scam
(36:02) Agents are all different people.
(48:54) How much creative control does the author have over their book
(51:25) Where your agent is plugged into the ecosystem of the genre is very important
(54:48) How do you know when it's the right agent
(01:00:45) Brief side quest with Andrew the plant guy
(01:01:53) Ursula's new book hit number five on the New York Times bestseller list

(This post went live for supporters on April 21, 2025. If you want early, ad-free, and sometimes expanded episodes, support at Patreon!)

Links:

• Hugo Awards
• Caves of Qud
• Dawn of Man
• Swordheart (#5 on NYT Bestseller List!)
• Episode Transcript

Evergreen Links:

• Ursula Vernon/T. Kingfisher
• Mur Lafferty
• Mur on Focusmate!
• Mur on Instagram, Youtube
• Newsletter, The Hot Mic
• Support via Patreon! Or Substack!
• Theme song by Devo Spice

Ditch Diggers credits:
theme song by Devo Spice, art by Numbers Ninja,
site hosted by Libsyn (or Patreon).

Apr 14, 2024 | Season 11 Ep 3 | murverse.com
"Navigating Agents, Rights, and Reality" by Mur Lafferty and Ursula Vernon
is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

"Sometimes the best way to survive is to turn everything into hilarity." - Ursula Vernon

Transcript

S.11 Ep.2

In this episode of Ditch Diggers, join hosts Mur and Ursula as they navigate the chaotic world of freelancing, taxes, and the ups and downs of being a writer. They discuss the recent Hugo nominations, share insights into their creative processes, and delve into the challenges of working with agents.

Highlights include:
(05:32) Ursula has too many author copies. She's written nearly 50 books
(12:30) Let's talk about marketing for SwordHeart
(24:09) A lot of your writing happened when you were doing chemo
(31:34) Mur wants to talk about newsletters. They constantly vex her.
(33:00) When Mur left mailchimp, she didn't export her mailing list
(44:58) It's called decision fatigue for a reason
(54:26) If you do get the desire to create during this time, do it

Links:

• Tor Publishing

• Zombies Run

• Swordheart

Evergreen Links:

• Ursula Vernon/T. Kingfisher

• Mur Lafferty

• Mur on Focusmate!

• Mur on Instagram, Youtube

• Newsletter, The Hot Mic

• Support via Patreon! Or Substack!

• Theme song by Devo Spice

Support Local Book Stores!

Ditch Diggers credits: theme song by Devo Spice, art by Numbers Ninja, site hosted by Libsyn (or Patreon).

April 21, 2024 | Season 11 Ep 2 | murverse.com
"Weeping Bunkers and Writing Woes: Surviving the Creative Chaos" by Mur Lafferty and Ursula Vernon is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0