We meet Jennifer de Leon as she prepares for the release of her debut young adult novel, Don’t Ask Me Where I’m From, on August 4. Though Jennifer has been writing for years, she quickly learns that there’s a lot about Capital-P-Publishing that she doesn’t know. (Hear her First Draft interview here.)

We meet Holly Root, literary agent and founder of Root Literary who represents clients such as Victoria Schwab (hear her First Draft interview here), Jasmine Guillory (listen to her First Draft interview here), and Christina Lauren.

Seth Fishman, he’s an author and literary agent with The Gernert Company and manager of their West Coast office,. He reps clients such as John Joseph Adams, Ali Almossawi, and Kate Beaton.

This episode is brought to you by Writing in Place, the podcast series brought to you by bestselling and Printz-winning author Nina LaCour (listen to her First Draft interviews here and here), who also brings you the Keeping a Notebook podcast and the Slow Novel Lab.

Want more information? Sign up for a free 30-day trial of the Track Changes newsletter, which goes a step (or two) further behind the scenes into the publishing world.

Support First Draft by subscribing to the podcast wherever you listen (on Apple Podcasts, Spotfiy, Stitcher, or elsewhere), and leave a rating or review on Apple Podcasts. You can donate to the podcast, on a one time or monthly basis.

Track Changes is produced by Hayley Hershman. Zan Romanoff is the story editor. The music was composed by Dan Bailey, and the logo was designed by Collin Keith.