Prompt to Page, Ep. 59: Josh Boldt Carrie: [00:00:00] Welcome to the Prompt to Page podcast, a partnership between the Jessamine County Public Library and the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning. I'm your host, librarian and poet, Carrie Green. Each episode, we interview a published writer who shares their favorite writing prompt. Our guest today is Josh Boldt. Josh is a crime and mystery writer from Lexington, Kentucky. His novels include "Moneymaker," "The False Favorite," and "Slurry." He has worked a long list of jobs, from restaurants and horse farms to construction and grocery. These experiences informed his writing with many of the people and places that now fill his fiction. He eventually earned a master’s degree in English from Eastern Kentucky University and taught writing at the University of Georgia for several years. Josh is the editor of the popular literary magazine, Brown Hound Press, and serves on the board of directors for the [00:01:00] Lexington Writers' Room. When he's not writing, he spends his time with his lady, Gwenda Bond, and their many animals. Welcome, Josh, and thanks so much for joining us. Josh: Hi, Carrie. Good to be here. Big fan of the podcast, so glad to be on it. Carrie: Oh, thank you. Josh: Yeah. Carrie: Well, thanks for listening. So it just popped into my head as I was reading your bio and Brown Hound Press that I think I got to meet the brown hound that the name of your press comes from recently. Josh: That is true, yeah. When I ran into you at the park, Ruby was with me. So I always say that Ruby was the inspiration for the press. She's not- Carrie: Okay ... Josh: she's not technically the mascot. She, but she did inspire- Carrie: The inspiration Josh: ... the logo and, yeah, certainly, she is the brown hound in my life. Carrie: Excellent. Well, and speaking of Brown Hound, I did wanna ask you about the magazine, which is pretty new magazine, like about a year old, I think. Josh: Not even. So our first story [00:02:00] was published in February. Carrie: Okay. Josh: So coming up on six months, so it, which is unbelievable- Carrie: Oh, wow Josh: ... and cool to me, like how, how quickly it's grown in six months. Carrie: Yeah. Josh: The model is to publish one story each week. We're on a break right now for the summer, but we did our first season, which ended last month in June, and we published 20 stories in the first season. And, you know, I started just thinking, "Well, this would be fun." I mean, you know, even if we just find a good, couple good stories and a few people read it. Carrie: Mm-hmm. Josh: But very quickly realized that we had struck a nerve. So we, you know, our Instagram account is close to 6,000 followers now. I've got- Carrie: Wow Josh: you know, more than 2,000 people subscribed to the weekly email. So we have a lot of people that are interested. We've had, gosh, a couple thousand submissions in the six months that we were open. Carrie: Wow, that's amazing. Josh: It really... Yeah, it's been amazing. And not only that, I've, you know, I've, I've read some really good stories. That's been the best part about it. I've met some great [00:03:00] authors. I've read some really good stories. I've gotten to publish a lot of good authors, both locally and nationally, and even internationally, in fact. Carrie: Mm-hmm. Yeah, and I mean, you mentioned that you just thought it would be fun. Was that the main reason that you wanted to do this, or? What was your- Josh: You know, that was a big part of it because I love to read, you know, and I love to read good short stories. So, I wanted to find stories that I enjoyed. But, you know, as an author who has been in the trenches of submissions, I've seen that there are, I mean, you know, I know firsthand there are a lot of good stories out there that are not getting published right now. You know, no matter how many literary magazines there are in the world, there are always gonna be authors who have good stories that aren't getting published. So, you know, I wanted to try to give a voice to some of these people. Particularly for me, you know, my goal as a Kentuckian is to find voices everywhere, but to lift voices from this region in particular and [00:04:00] situate them, you know, in the national context with other great writers. Carrie: Mm-hmm. And has being on the editorial side, has that changed your own view of what the submission process is like? Josh: Has it changed my... yes and no. I mean, it's no secret to anyone who knows me that I am very frustrated by the process of submissions. The idea that you could wait six months and never get a response, to me is just, it's just not fair. It's not right. It's not the way things should be done, if you ask me. So I set out with the goal of responding to every single submission within two weeks, which I've done so far. And a lot of that's just due to the system, the workflow that I've built in order to be able to process submissions. So on the one hand, I still have that belief that I think things could be done better than they currently are being done at most magazines. But on the other hand, it has impacted my own [00:05:00] writing. You know, seeing 1,000 or more stories has certainly impacted the way I write my stories. And I've learned a lot just as an editor when I start to see like recurring issues, and I think like, "Okay, I know to look out for that in my own writing as well too." 'Cause when you see it 100 times, it really stands out like a sore thumb. Carrie: Yeah. That's a great point. And what advice would you give to people who maybe are just getting started with the submission process? Josh: Well, gosh, that's gonna depend a lot on the person and where they are in their writing journey. But I think probably one of the things that I see the most are people who are submitting a little bit before they probably should. And I, you know, I get that. I mean, you have a story that you're proud of, and you wanna try and get it published. But it's very rare that you're gonna, one or two drafts of a story, it's gonna be ready for publication. I [00:06:00] know personally in my writing, you know, if I let a story, sit for a month or more and come back to it, I always find things where I think like, "My goodness, I can't believe I wrote that." Like, I should've done that differently. So I think maybe, prior to jumping right into submissions, I think it's a good idea to let your story simmer a little bit maybe. Carrie: Yeah. So in the longer bio on your website, you mention that you're a believer in the Jack London school of experiential learning. So I was just wondering if you could talk a little bit about that. Josh: Yeah. Carrie: What do you mean by that? Josh: Listeners can't see the smile on my face right now. [Laughter] But yeah, for sure. I mean, you mentioned in the shorter, in the introduction there, the jobs that I've had. I've worked a lot of different jobs in my life. 50 or more I'd say, for sure. And a lot of that is just because I love learning. I love experiences, meeting new people and [00:07:00] learning new things. So I kinda have, I don't really, you know, I don't settle into one job and expect it to be what I'm gonna do for my life. I kinda am always looking for new adventures. And, you know, that's not to say that I'm like job hopping, but I just am always kinda like thinking about like, "Well, what can I do next in order to learn a new thing? What kind of experiences can I have?" So I guess that's where I get that Jack London school of learning, you know? The idea that you write best, or at least this is how I feel, but I write best when I am actively absorbing the world around me. Carrie: Mm-hmm. Absolutely. And I know you're not the only writer who I've talked about that with. I think a lot of people don't realize how much work can inspire what you're writing about as well. Josh: For sure. And that's to tease my prompt idea that I'm sure we'll talk about in a minute. That's kind of where I'm gonna come from for [00:08:00] my suggestion today. Carrie: Okay. Well, yeah, if you wanna go ahead and share it since this is a good segue. Josh: There you go. So I mean, honestly, I don't use prompts much in my own writing, or at least not like traditional prompts. But, as I tried to think, you know, as I thought more about what we might talk about on this episode, I wanted to think about what gets me writing, what gets my creative juices flowing, so to speak. And that is, you know, like I said, it's being in the world and having experiences. I'm a big... I really, like writing characters in my novels, and that character development piece is a part that I really enjoy. So a lot of what, of where that inspiration comes from is the people I meet, you know, out in the world. So I think often you don't necessarily know when you meet a person that they're gonna become a character in your book. Sometimes it's obvious right up, right at... You're like, "That person's a character." [Laughter] But [00:09:00] sometimes you'll just pick up on like a little personality quirk from one person and like a turn of phrase from another person, and it kind of all mashes together in a character later. So I guess, I guess my prompt, so to speak, would be to pick a place and go and sit and observe the world around you, and listen. So, honestly, for me, a lot of my characters, because I do write crime and mystery, a lot of my characters come from bars. So my prompt is, become an alcoholic and go hang out in bars. [Laughter] No. My prompt is, maybe for the type of writing that I do, would be to go and grab a seat at a bar and just listen to the conversation happening around you. I mean, if you're feeling daring, jump in, but you don't even have to do that. I mean, a lot of times you can just pick up on what people are saying, the way they talk. Listen to the way they talk you know, the vernacular they use, the [00:10:00] dialect that they use, and absorb that. Carrie: And so do you then like keep a journal of those observations that you... Like how, how do you go from just absorbing to, you know, then maybe making use of it somehow? Josh: I try not to do it in the moment personally, because I've found that especially if you're really observing a specific person, it kind of takes them out of it if you bust out a notebook and start jotting- Carrie: Sure [Laughter]... Josh: everything, that you kind of become the journalist- Carrie: Yeah ... Josh: interviewing you. So I do my best, and that's the best thing about writing fiction. It doesn't have to be accurate, you know? I just have to capture the vibe. So, what I'll usually do is if I hear a topic that interests me or, you know, a particular phrase that catches my ear, then I'll just try to remember it. And when I, you know, when I get home later, I'll jot something down. And I just--I do, to your point, have, you know, a document that I have lots of different quotes [00:11:00] that I've picked up. And those get peppered into characters. The novel that I'm actively working on right now has a character in it whose name is Roger. And he's really... Can you curse on this podcast? [Laughter] No? Okay. He's, he's a real jerk. Carrie: No probably not. [Laughter] Josh: Let's put it that way. Carrie: Okay. Josh: He's a real jerk, but somehow he's kinda lovable. Like, you kinda like him even though he's, he's so awful. And the way he talks, he's like very, like burly and hyper-masculine, which is annoying, but at the same time there's like something about him that you still, you kinda wanna know what he's gonna say next, you know? And a lot, I mean, that character, I can picture in my mind right now, a couple, probably two, three people that I drew from to create the character of Roger. Carrie: Mm-hmm. I feel like, I don't know if he talked about this on this podcast, but I feel like I've heard Silas House talk about that as [00:12:00] well, where you take little bits of people that you know and sort of create a mashup of a new character based on that. It kind of s- Josh: That sounds right. Carrie: Yeah, it kind of sounds similar. Josh: Well, if Silas said it, then it's definitely true, so. [Laughter] Carrie: Yeah, absolutely. So another thing I wanted to ask you about, I mean, I think your books are self-published, right? Josh: Yes, they are. Carrie: So what are some of the advantages and disadvantages of publishing that way? Josh: Well, the major advantage, you know, I talked a little bit earlier about my frustration with the pace of the traditional publishing industry. You know, you could be waiting years to have your novel out, whereas I can, by the time, once I finish the editing process ... I'm also, in my day job, a graphic designer, so I've done the covers and the book layouts and [00:13:00] everything. And I can have a book out pretty quickly. Now, that's not to say, I mean, because of the advantages of traditional publishing, which is you have a much broader reach, you typically have at least some marketing plan behind your release. You would gain more industry contacts and bookstore contacts. You know, these are things that I don't have. So a lot of the marketing piece to a self-published author is much more challenging. So because of that, I mean, I have recently begun to seek a traditional path. I would love... The novel that I'm working on right now, in fact, is, with an editor in acquisitions at a mid-size publisher, which is the farthest I've ever gotten with that particular route. So fingers crossed. I'm hopeful that something could come of that. But even so, even if that were to happen, I think I would continue to do this hybrid publishing model where I would have some self-pub that I can get out quickly and some, you know, ideally that I would be able to you know, [00:14:00] place traditionally. Carrie: Yeah, I think that's something that a lot of people Don't really realize is how long it takes in publishing for not only for the submissions pro- I mean, it takes a while to write it, and then you have to submit it and, or find an agent if you're going that route, and then the whole publication. I mean, I, yeah, so I guess you can... Self-publishing is definitely an advantage in that regard. Josh: For sure. I mean, and not to mention the fact that, you know, the more hands you have in it, the less of a cut the actual author gets, you know, at the end of the day. Whereas with a self-published novel, you know, a lot of that percentage goes directly to the author, which is nice. Carrie: Yeah. And it seems, too, like that publishers are really expecting authors to do a lot more of the marketing and publicity now than they used to. Josh: It sure [00:15:00] seems that way. Yeah. I mean, you mentioned Gwenda Bond in the introduction there, so, you know, obviously a multi-published, traditionally published author. So she and I talk a lot about this and, you know, she said exactly what you said, that it's, that more and more it's like falling on the author themselves to do a lot of the work. Carrie: Mm-hmm. Yeah. Well, do you have any final writing tips that you'd like to give our listeners? Josh: Well, you know, this is not so much a tip. Maybe it's just a piece of advice or a commiseration, let's say. For anyone out there who is in the position like me, you know, I published my first novel a little over six years ago, and, you know, really, since, you know, even before that had been trying to find an agent, trying to find a publisher, and it's hard, you know? Even if you have lots of beta readers who are reading your stuff and saying, "This is great, I love it," like, "When's the next one coming [00:16:00] out?" It's just really hard to find that exact right fit that you need. And I know, again, I'm sure that there are lots of people who listen to this podcast who are in that exact same boat. And, I guess maybe, so the person out there that's listening to this and feeling that way right now, I'm there with you, you know? We're in it together and that's a big part of the reason why I created "The Brown Hound Press" because I wanna reach some of these people and help them know that yes, like there are people out there that are going through the same thing they are and yet, hopefully maybe we can find each other. Carrie: Yeah. Absolutely. And we didn't bring this up or I didn't bring this up before, but you are on the board of the Writer's Room. Do you wanna maybe talk about how that is a way of bringing writers together? Josh: Absolutely. Yeah, the Lexington Writer's Room in Lexington. We have over 100 active [00:17:00] members now, which is kind of amazing. We've grown a lot in the last year. Situated right in downtown Lexington and let's see here. At least one, I'm trying to think, at least one story that I published came from a Writer's Room member with Brown Hound. But yeah, it's a great way to, you know, to share in experiences with other writers. Like I was just talking about, like sometimes, sometimes it's just a matter of having somebody listen, to listen to and talk to about your situation. But beyond that, editing experience, I mean, talking to other people who work in the same genre as you, accountability partners. No question, my affiliation with the Writer's Room has really helped in my own writing. Carrie: Mm-hmm. Well, thank you so much for joining us today, Josh. We really appreciate it. Josh: Thank you. Glad to be here. Carrie: Thanks for listening to Prompt to Page. To learn more [00:18:00] about the Jessamine County Public Library, visit jesspublib.org. Find the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning at carnegiecenterlex.org. Our music is by Archipelago, an all-instrumental musical collaboration between three Lexington-based university professors. Find out more about Archipelago: Songs from Quarantine Volumes 1 and 2 at the links on our podcast website