How Many Jobs Make a Creative Life? with Mary Robinette Kowal

Past Due with Ana Marie Cox and Open Mike Eagle

Ana Marie Cox and Open Mike Eagle

News, Arts, Performing Arts, Business, Society & Culture, Politics

4.6 • 6.4K Ratings

🗓️ 3 December 2025

⏱️ 55 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Award-winning author Mary Robinette Kowal joins us to talk about building a creative ecosystem that actually fits your brain. From viral cat videos to Patreon-powered writing sessions, she shares exactly how she budgets, hires, monetizes, and prioritizes joy across multiple income streams, and how being honest about what you don’t want might be the key to building the career you do want. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, book nerds.
0:02.7	Ever wonder what today's most celebrated writers are actually reading?
0:06.1	What books inspired them or their most controversial book opinions?
0:10.1	Well, join me Elena Pasellello on Open Book,
0:13.0	a new literary podcast from Live Wire Radio, PRX, and Powell's books.
0:17.3	Each week I'll talk to best-selling authors like Karen Russell and Melissa Fibos on bookish topics and so much more.
0:23.4	So cozy up and crack a spine.
0:25.5	Open book drops June 11th wherever you get your podcast.
0:34.7	Mary Robinette Kowal is a Nebula award-winning author, puppeteer, audiobook narrator, and a cat influencer.
0:43.3	My guiding principle through my freelance career and Elsie is another form of freelancing has been to be able to turn down the gigs I don't want to do.
0:53.3	We talk about creative ecosystems, building a business.
0:56.2	It actually fits how your brain works and what it really means to be a working writer today.
1:01.1	At my heart, I'm a storyteller and I just kind of switch mediums.
1:04.7	And she breaks down exactly how she budgets, how she hires people, and how she manages to make a living doing what she loves,
1:12.3	without burning out or selling out.
1:17.0	The creative economy is broken, but some people are still making it work.
1:20.9	We are here to find out how.
1:22.7	I'm Anna Marie Cox.
1:24.0	And I'm open Mike Eagle.
1:25.4	This is past due.
1:33.9	Thank you so much for having me. I'm delighted to be here.
1:40.1	We're delighted to have you. I think that you are one of the most wide-rangingly income-streamed people that we have had on the show.
	...

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