Episode 102: From Doom scroll to Book Deal: Michelle Maryk on found objects and her unexpected path to publication

Could a random scroll through Instagram turn into a debut novel? That's exactly what happened to Michelle Merrick when she spotted an Etsy ad for a 1920’s martini glass and immediately thought, "What if a person died holding this…and left their energy in the glass?" Four months later, she had a complete manuscript for her debut speculative thriller The Found Object Society.  

Michelle graduated from Cornell University with a degree in English and attended the Yale Writer’s Workshop. For the better part of twenty-five years, she’s been a successful voiceover, on-camera commercial, and comedic actor, and now she’s a celebrated author.

In this episode, Michelle gets real about the writing life—the good, the messy, and the terrifying. She talks about waking up every morning to face the blinking cursor with a bit of terror, writing 2,000 words before lunch, and trusting her acting improv background to let the story unfold without rigid outlines. Her approach? Write the first draft fast and messy, take notes in your phone constantly, don't overthink it, and never give up.

In this episode, you'll learn:

•    How to trust your creative instincts even when you don't have it all figured out

•    How Michelle wrote a first draft in 3-4 months without burning out (and why messy is better)

•    Why attending writing conferences is the single most important thing Michelle did for her career

•    How to build genuine relationships in the writing community (even if you're an introvert)

•    How to keep going after rejection and use each manuscript as a stepping stone

•    How to balance research with momentum so you don't get stuck in the details

•    Why your supernatural or speculative idea might be exactly what readers need right now