Episode 110: Author Joan F. Smith on Soulmates, Extreme Plotting, and Why Great Ideas Aren’t Enough

What would happen if everyone in the world received an email (or telegram) at the exact same time, naming their true soulmate? This is the question Joan F. Smith explores in her thoughtful and original adult debut novel, Your Soulmail is Attached. But before Joan sits down to write, she has more than a simple question in mind. A self-confessed “extreme plotter,” Joan grounds wildly speculative elements and keeps readers turning pages with meticulous research and extensive structural outlining.

In this episode, Joan gets real about her process, the writing “rules” she refuses to follow, her obsession with TV pilot episodes, navigating publishing's unpredictability, and building a creative life that lasts. Whether you're drafting your first chapter or querying your tenth manuscript, Joan's practical, hard-won insights will meet you exactly where you are. 

In this episode, you'll learn:

•    The difference between an idea and a book concept — and why writing before you know which one you have is the most common (and costly) mistake aspiring authors make

•    How to make wildly speculative premises feel completely grounded — Joan's research-heavy, reader-first approach to world-building in Your Soulmail is Attached

•    Why extreme plotting works — how writing a 20,000-word outline before drafting a single scene can actually set you free

•    The unexpected craft lesson from screenwriting — why studying TV pilots and film structure gave Joan a story-shaping toolkit that fiction workshops couldn't

•    What reading in your genre actually means — and how recent your comps really need to be