In this first episode of Season 6, Mary shares what she's been working on during this long break between seasons and why she set aside her latest novel, never to return to it. Trigger warning: Pregnancy loss is mentioned.

Mary applied for MFA programs 3 times and was accepted twice, but never went. In this episode, she shares her story, as well as what she sees as the pros and cons of an MFA in Creative Writing.

Literary agents: no one really knows the secret to getting one or everything they do for you once you have one. Here, Mary shares the 3 things she didn't know about getting a literary agent and working with one (until she did).

Getting a literary agent was, for Mary, the hardest part of becoming a published author. Here, she breaks down the process into actionable steps.

Publishing your first book mostly feels amazing, but there are a few surprises you may not expect. In this episode, Mary shares 5 of those surprises.

Writing a book—and not just any book, but a good book—doesn't have to take over your life or take forever. You can write a solid draft in 45 minutes a day, 5 days a week, over just a few months. Here's how.

You've started writing...but at 10 or 40 pages in, how do you decide what happens NEXT in your story? In this episode, Mary shares 4 favorite strategies.

Here it is—Mary's entire process for writing a publishable novel, broken down into 7 steps. You won't want to miss this one.

It took Mary 99 years to write her first book (well, 6). In this episode, she shares the 3 biggest mistakes she made that she doesn't want you to make...and what to do instead.