Unfortunately...
by Mona West and Courtney Floyd
ArtsE · Explicit
Latest episode
S1E25 - It's Like Throwing a Pebble into Space
S1E25 - It's Like Throwing a Pebble into Space
About this podcast
Unfortunately... is a podcast about fiction, failure, and moving forward. Like nearly all creatives, we’ve experienced our share of rejection, disappointment, jealousy, and frustration. We’ve wallowed in the lonely darkness wrought by that simple phrase, “unfortunately, this story didn’t quite work for us…” With this podcast, we hope to shed light on that darkness. To create a safe space to discuss the harder parts of the craft, to reassure one another that we’re not alone, and to learn together how to keep going and keep writing. Co-hosted by speculative fiction authors Mona West and Courtney Floyd, new episodes release on the 1st and 3rd Friday of every month.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 25 episodes
- S1E25 - It's Like Throwing a Pebble into Space · 54 min · Season 1 Episode 25In the final episode of season one, Mona and Courtney chat about their top failures of 2025, self-forgiveness in writing, season one's highs and lows, and what we're thinking…
- S1E24 - It's Never Gonna Be Perfect · 59 min · Season 1 Episode 24Courtney and Mona chat with author Jennifer Hudak about navigating major career shifts, the necessity of fallow periods, negotiating identity as a writer, and finding ways to…
- S1E23 - The Book of Your Heart is Not on Trend · 1 h 3 min · Season 1 Episode 23Courtney and Mona chat with debut novelist Emily Zipps about going on sub when the world is on fire, silence around the novel submission process, the debut learning curve…
- S1E22 - If You Force the Zipper, It Won't Budge · 53 min · Season 1 Episode 22Courtney and Mona chat with debut author, Piper L. White, about the debut learning curve, how other types of writing and art inform and interconnect with our fiction, and writing…
- S1E21 - It's an Economy of Favors · 1 h 2 min · Season 1 Episode 21Courtney and Mona chat publishing, precarity, and privilege with debut author Lacey Dunham. Transcripts here! Find Lacey online at www.laceyndunham.com., on Bluesky and on…
- S1E20 - It's Like Army Crawling Through 30 Inches of Snow · 1 h 7 min · Season 1 Episode 20Mona and Courtney chat with debut novelist Rebecca Danzenbaker about the power of persevering, finding what works for you in the publishing process, and using privilege to lift…
- S1E19 - You Need a Suitcase Full of Skills · 54 min · Season 1 Episode 19Mona and Courtney chat with author Lisa Tirreno about shifting from journalism to novel writing, celebrating rejections, gamifying the writing process, motivation, and working…
- S1E18 - You Need Work-Life Balance for Writing, Too · 1 h 1 min · Season 1 Episode 18Courtney and Mona debut novelist Alysha Rameera about the skills you need to learn on the fly in debut year, the feeling of not being enough to write your culture, how vital…
- S1E17 - You’re (Not?) Two Halves of the Same Brain · 1 h 12 min · Season 1 Episode 17Courtney and Mona chat with MK Hardy, co-authors of debut Sapphic Gothic Horror, The Needfire, about what happens when your agent leaves agenting, co-writing and editing…
- S1E16 - Progress isn't an Upward Slope · 51 min · Season 1 Episode 16Mona and Courtney chat with author Rukman Ragas about short stories, getting paid, the importance of complexity in representation, survivorship bias, and finding hope in the…
- S1E15 - Plotters have an Advantage · 1 h 0 min · Season 1 Episode 15Courtney and Mona chat with debut author Sasa Hawk about short story vs novel submissions, identifying your own patterns, writing synopses, genre labels as marketing tools, and…
- S1E14 - You Can't Just Set That Book Aside · 1 h 1 min · Season 1 Episode 14Courtney and Mona chat deadlines, post-deal writing slumps, advocating for yourself as an introvert, and anxiety and mental health with author Roselyn Clarke. Transcripts here!…
- S1E13 - It's a Business Relationship · 57 min · Season 1 Episode 13Courtney and Mona chat agent relationships, prioritizing yourself, and combatting comparanoia with author Lorraine Wilson. Transcripts here! Find Lorraine online at…
- S1E12 - You Lose the Calluses · 57 min · Season 1 Episode 12Courtney and Mona chat with mythpunk and horrorromance author Danai Christopoulou about writing in a second language, unsupportive family, the power of community, and more!…
- S1E11 - You’re a Member of a Losing Team · 1 h 11 min · Season 1 Episode 11Mona and Courtney chat with author and writing teacher Daryl Gregory about community, imposter syndrome, awards, teaching, and tricking yourself into writing. Transcripts here!…
- S1E10 - There's a Room Full of People Talking about You · 1 h 2 min · Season 1 Episode 10Courtney and Mona chat with debut horror author C. J. Dotson about rebuilding your writing process from the ground up, handling reviews, what it's like to put a book out in the…
- S1E9 - You're On the Publishing Treadmill, and You Don't Set the Speed · 57 min · Season 1 Episode 9Mona and Courtney chat with Nebula, World Fantasy, Ignyte, and Aurora award-winning Indo-Caribbean scientist and speculative fiction author Premee Mohamed about moving the…
- S1E8 - You're Not (Always) in Charge · 53 min · Season 1 Episode 8Courtney and Mona chat with fantasy author Demi Winters about writing from and about personal experiences, her journey from self-pub to trad pub, and letting go of the need to be…
- S1E7 - You'll Fall Down · 57 min · Season 1 Episode 7Mona and Courtney chat with debut author Saratoga Schaefer about reframing failure, getting sober, debut pressures, and mental health support in the publishing industry…
- S1E6 - It Takes Luck · 43 min · Season 1 Episode 6Mona and Courtney chat with debut fantasy author M. Stevenson about luck and timing in the publishing process, revising to trends, and giving back to the writing community…
