Flublishing

Welcome to Flublishing, your candid publishing podcast. Hosts literary agents Carleen Geisler and Andie Smith are here to provide some insight into one of the lesser talked about topics in publishing: failing. Over this six-episode season, Carleen and Andie aim to normalize the chaos of the publishing world so we can all laugh about it together and get our butts back out there. Episodes release biweekly starting January 8, 2025.

Show Email: flublishing@gmail.com
Twitter/Instagram: @flublishing
Bluesky: @flublishing.bsky.social

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17 episodes
Avg 50 min
English

Episodes 17

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S3 · E4
August 19 · 1 hr 29 min
How agents manage their client list
In episode 4 of the third season of Flublishing, literary agents Carleen Geisler and Andie Smith discuss what the agent/author relationship should look like and how they each manage their own client lists. Are you enjoying Flublishing? Do you have thoughts on this episode's topic, or want to suggest a topic for a future episode? We’d love to hear from you! Show Email: flublishing@gmail.com Twitter/Instagram: @flublishing Bluesky: @flublishing.bsky.social
S3 · E3
July 15 · 1 hr 5 min
Social Media for Authors
In episode 3 of the third season of Flublishing, literary agents Carleen Geisler and Andie Smith discuss how authors should be using social media, and whether they think it's necessary. Are you enjoying Flublishing? Do you have thoughts on this episode's topic, or want to suggest a topic for a future episode? We’d love to hear from you! Show Email: flublishing@gmail.com Twitter/Instagram: @flublishing Bluesky: @flublishing.bsky.social
S3 · E2
June 10 · 35 min
Why books die on sub
In episode 2 of the third season of Flublishing, literary agents Carleen Geisler and Andie Smith discuss why books die on submission, and how often it happens. Are you enjoying Flublishing? Do you have thoughts on this episode's topic, or want to suggest a topic for a future episode? We’d love to hear from you! Show Email: flublishing@gmail.com Twitter/Instagram: @flublishing Bluesky: @flublishing.bsky.social
S3 · E1
May 6 · 58 min
Picking apart the query letter
In episode 1 of the third season of Flublishing, literary agents Carleen Geisler and Andie Smith pick apart what a query letter should look like: what they want to see and why they want to see it. Are you enjoying Flublishing? Do you have thoughts on this episode's topic, or want to suggest a topic for a future episode? We’d love to hear from you! Show Email: flublishing@gmail.com Twitter/Instagram: @flublishing Bluesky: @flublishing.bsky.social
S2 · E6
Sep 24, 2025 · 1 hr
Why an agent might switch agencies
In episode 6 of the second season of Flublishing, literary agents Carleen Geisler and Andie Smith finally address the elephant that's been in the room this season: why they changed agencies. Are you enjoying Flublishing? Do you have thoughts on this episode's topic, or want to suggest a topic for a future episode? We’d love to hear from you! Show Email: flublishing@gmail.com Twitter/Instagram: @flublishing Bluesky: @flublishing.bsky.social
S2 · E5
Sep 10, 2025 · 50 min
Breaking down large vs. small presses
In episode 5 of the second season of Flublishing, literary agents Carleen Geisler and Andie Smith chat all about the differences between large and small publishers. The blog post we mention in the episode can be found here: https://www.nadine-bells.com/book-publishers-you-can-submit-to-without-an-agent Are you enjoying Flublishing? Do you have thoughts on this episode's topic, or want to suggest a topic for a future episode? We’d love to hear from you! Show Email: flublishing@gmail.com Twitter/Instagram: @flublishing Bluesky: @flublishing.bsky.social
S2 · E4
Aug 27, 2025 · 1 hr 5 min
Getting real about pitch events
In episode 4 of the second season of Flublishing, literary agents Carleen Geisler and Andie Smith get deep into conversation all about pitch events! Are you enjoying Flublishing? Do you have thoughts on this episode's topic, or want to suggest a topic for a future episode? We’d love to hear from you! Show Email: flublishing@gmail.com Twitter/Instagram: @flublishing Bluesky: @flublishing.bsky.social
S2 · E3
Aug 13, 2025 · 51 min
All about R&Rs
In episode 3 of the second season of Flublishing, literary agents Carleen Geisler and Andie Smith do a deep dive into R&Rs: what they are, why they exist, and how best to handle them. Are you enjoying Flublishing? Do you have thoughts on this episode's topic, or want to suggest a topic for a future episode? We’d love to hear from you! Show Email: flublishing@gmail.com Twitter/Instagram: @flublishing Bluesky: @flublishing.bsky.social
S2 · E2
Jul 30, 2025 · 48 min
Chatting about rejections
In episode 2 of the second season of Flublishing, literary agents Carleen Geisler and Andie Smith chat about everyone's least favorite topic: rejection, it's prevalence in the industry and how to handle it. Are you enjoying Flublishing? Do you have thoughts on this episode's topic, or want to suggest a topic for a future episode? We’d love to hear from you! Show Email: flublishing@gmail.com Twitter/Instagram: @flublishing Bluesky: @flublishing.bsky.social
S2 · E1
Jul 16, 2025 · 48 min
How agents build their MSWLs
We're back for season 2! On the first episode of the second season of Flublishing, literary agents Carleen Geisler and Andie Smith chat all about manuscript wishlists: how they're made, how they're handled, and how to best use them. Are you enjoying Flublishing? Do you have thoughts on this episode's topic, or want to suggest a topic for a future episode? We’d love to hear from you! Show Email: flublishing@gmail.com Twitter/Instagram: @flublishing Bluesky: @flublishing.bsky.social
S1 · E6
Mar 19, 2025 · 49 min
Authors who have lost their agent
On the final episode of the first season of Flublishing, literary agents Carleen Geisler and Andie Smith discuss what happens when an author loses their agent unexpectedly. For this episode, Carleen and Andie brought in feedback from the writing community to hear from authors firsthand about this experience. They talk about the different reasons the author and agent would part ways, how the separation was handled, what this change means for their career, and helpful insights and advice to others going through the same situation. If you’re interested in learning more about what happens when you lose your agent and hearing directly from the community about this topic, this episode is for you. Are you enjoying Flublishing? Do you have thoughts on this episode's topic, or want to suggest a topic for a future episode? We’d love to hear from you! Show Email: flublishing@gmail.com Twitter/Instagram: @flublishing Bluesky: @flublishing.bsky.social
S1 · E5
Mar 5, 2025 · 51 min
Vetting agents before querying them
On this episode of Flublishing, literary agents Carleen Geisler and Andie Smith discuss the process of vetting agents before querying. They talk about where authors can do research, what kinds of things they should be paying attention to, and how whisper networks can both help and harm the research process. If you’re interested in learning more about how to research agents and what you can do to find your perfect champion, this episode is for you. Are you enjoying Flublishing? Do you have thoughts on this episode's topic, or want to suggest a topic for a future episode? We’d love to hear from you! Show Email: flublishing@gmail.com Twitter/Instagram: @flublishing Bluesky: @flublishing.bsky.social
S1 · E4
Feb 19, 2025 · 36 min
The "Elusive" Maybe Pile
On this episode of Flublishing, literary agents Carleen Geisler and Andie Smith discuss the elusive maybe pile. They talk about superstitions about the maybe pile and what this pile means to both of them individually as agents. We gain insight into how the maybe pile works, how submissions end up there, and ultimately how they make it out. If you’re interested in learning more about what “the maybe pile” means and what can come from it, this episode is for you. Are you enjoying Flublishing? Do you have thoughts on this episode's topic, or want to suggest a topic for a future episode? We’d love to hear from you! Show Email: flublishing@gmail.com Twitter/Instagram: @flublishing Bluesky: @flublishing.bsky.social
S1 · E3
Feb 5, 2025 · 45 min
Making an Offer of Rep (from the agent's side)
On this episode of Flublishing, literary agents Carleen Geisler and Andie Smith discuss the process of making an offer from the agent’s side. They talk about what leads them to making an offer and how they start that conversation with the author. Then they discuss each of their individual process for “the call” where they offer representation, and what happens after the offer is made. If you’re interested in learning more about “the call” and what it means from the agent’s side of things, this episode is for you. Are you enjoying Flublishing? Do you have thoughts on this episode's topic, or want to suggest a topic for a future episode? We’d love to hear from you! Show Email: flublishing@gmail.com Twitter/Instagram: @flublishing Bluesky: @flublishing.bsky.social
S1 · E2
Jan 22, 2025 · 43 min
Is there ever a good time to go on submission?
On this episode of Flublishing, literary agents Carleen Geisler and Andie Smith discuss the concept of submission, or submitting a project to editors. They talk about if there is ever a good time to go on submission by analyzing a calendar of known holidays, themes, and other events that may impact a submission schedule. If you’re interested in learning more about the submission process and what it’s like to prepare for and ultimately go on submission to editors, this episode is for you. Are you enjoying Flublishing? Do you have thoughts on this episode's topic, or want to suggest a topic for a future episode? We’d love to hear from you! Show Email: flublishing@gmail.com Twitter/Instagram: @flublishing Bluesky: @flublishing.bsky.social
S1 · E1
Jan 8, 2025 · 51 min
The Author/Agent Conundrum
On the debut episode of Flublishing, literary agents Carleen Geisler and Andie Smith discuss the author/agent conundrum. They define the term “flub” and describe their goals for this podcast, which is to talk about the more difficult side of publishing and how we can use our community to overcome these challenges. If you’re interested in hearing about the personal journey of an author who became an agent, or what it means to have an agent who is also an author, this episode is for you. Are you enjoying Flublishing? Do you have thoughts on this episode's topic, or want to suggest a topic for a future episode? We’d love to hear from you! Show Email: flublishing@gmail.com Twitter/Instagram: @flublishing Bluesky: @flublishing.bsky.social
Jan 2, 2025 · 58 sec
Welcome to Flublishing!
Welcome to Flublishing, your candid publishing podcast. Hosts literary agents Carleen Geisler and Andie Smith are here to provide some insight into one of the lesser talked about topics in publishing. Over this six-episode season 1, we aim to normalize the chaos of the publishing world so we can all laugh about it together and get our butts back out there. Episodes release biweekly starting January 8, 2025.

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