Season 2 Starts Now: Bigger Guests, Bigger Plans & Jenna's Book Update

Margs & Manuscripts

Margs & Manuscripts
Season 2 Starts Now: Bigger Guests, Bigger Plans & Jenna's Book Update
Jul 14, 2026 Season 2 Episode 1
Cait & Jenna

Season 2 is officially here.

After 30 episodes of interviewing authors, learning the publishing industry alongside our listeners, and accidentally building an incredible community, we're kicking off a brand new season with a behind-the-scenes conversation about everything that's changing.

From bigger author interviews to new ways to spotlight indie books, we're sharing where the podcast is headed, where Jenna is in her publishing journey, and why we're more excited than ever about what's next.

If you've been with us since Episode 1—or you're just finding the show—welcome.


In This Episode

  •  Celebrating 30 episodes and launching Season 2 
  •  What publishing Cait's debut taught her about the industry 
  •  Why every book truly has its own publishing journey 
  •  Jenna shares a major update on her debut romantasy 
  •  How author confidence impacts marketing more than algorithms 
  •  Why no one will ever market your book better than you 
  •  Introducing Book Breaks—our new indie author book commercials 
  •  Announcing The Limelight, our Thursday mini-release interviews 
  •  Why we're saying no to traditional podcast advertising 
  •  Bringing more indie authors into the spotlight 
  •  The surreal experience of booking bestselling authors for Season 2 
  •  Why we're launching a community Discord 
  •  Our plans to moderate author events around the country 
  •  Everything we're excited about for the next season 

What We Mention

  •  Book Breaks 
  •  The Limelight episodes 
  •  Indie author marketing 
  •  ARC campaigns 
  •  Author events 
  •  Discord community 
  •  Character art 
  •  Launch parties 
  •  Book merch 
  •  Spooky season reads 

Listener Call-to-Action

If you're enjoying Margs & Manuscripts, we'd love your support.

  •  Follow the show 
  •  Leave a rating and review 
  •  Share this episode with another writer or reader 
  •  Follow us on social media 
  •  Visit our website to learn about Book Breaks, The Lime Light, and everything coming in Season 2. 
Episode Artwork Season 2 Starts Now: Bigger Guests, Bigger Plans & Jenna's Book Update 31:07 Episode Artwork Why Indie Authors Feel Set Up to Fail | Bitty Balducci 16:46 Episode Artwork The Scams Targeting Indie Authors Right Now | Bitty Balducci 31:22 Episode Artwork Discovery Writing, Outlining & Trusting Your Characters | Lauren Okie 47:25 Episode Artwork She Turned a Situationship Into a Bestselling Book with Author Alissa DeRogatis 41:18 Episode Artwork Places We'll Go Book Launch | Margs & Manuscripts LIVE 35:37 Episode Artwork Sara Ney Unfiltered: 50 Books, Tropes, & Romance Writing Chaos 51:41 Episode Artwork Mom-fluencers, Motherhood & Midwest Family Chaos | Claire Swinarski 36:28 Episode Artwork We Need to Talk About Abigail Adams with Laura Kamoie and Stephanie Dray 38:21 Episode Artwork The Fantasy Series That Made It Out of the Group Chat | Cozy Fantasy with E.B. Asher 38:41 Episode Artwork The AI Conversation in Publishing Has Gone Off the Rails 31:57 Episode Artwork Sex Scenes Are Just Another Scene: How to Write Them Without Making It Weird 49:17 Episode Artwork Why No One Warns You About Book Launch Anxiety | ft. Meg Rosenthal 46:50 Episode Artwork Nightmares, Plot Twists & Writing Psychological Thrillers | ft. Calvin Naraghi 30:14 Episode Artwork The Indie Author's Playbook with Debut Author Jourdana Webber (pt. 2) 25:20 Episode Artwork How an Indie Author Landed in Time Square: ft. Jourdana Webber (Pt. 1) 25:01 Episode Artwork What It’s Really Like to Be a Literary Agent | ft. Tali & Lauren of The Prose Pros 44:22 Episode Artwork YA Books are Booming: What’s driving the surge + what’s trending now, with literary agent and owner of the Reading Chamber, Jess Taylor 29:50 Episode Artwork Choosing Indie Publishing as a Debut Author (Self-Publishing Without Gatekeeping) with Alyssa K. Burns 24:56 Episode Artwork Female Main Characters We Love and the Ones We Can’t Stand 36:24 Episode Artwork Marketing Yourself as an Author Is Exhausting (4 Authors, No Filter) 28:54 Episode Artwork Rage, Resistance and Writing When Everything Feels Wrong 31:17 Episode Artwork What It’s Really Like to Get a Literary Agent 14:45 Episode Artwork From Bodice Rippers to BookTok: How Romance Became the #1 Bestselling Genre, with guest, Crystal Leigh 36:11 Episode Artwork Trad vs Indie Publishing: No Facts Just Feelings 33:40