Kelton gets her first agent rejection and refuses to sugarcoat it—while Krisserin shares what she learned about advances, deal structures, and editor wish lists from her meeting with agent Kima Jones.

Then bestselling author Cait Flanders joins to tell the unlikely origin story of The Year of Less—how a blogged shopping ban went viral on Forbes, attracted six literary agents, and became a Wall Street Journal bestseller now resurfacing on TikTok a decade later. Cait gets refreshingly transparent about advances, earning out, switching publishers, and the real tension between maintaining a SubStack audience and carving out space to write her third book.

Plus: middle grade fiction advocacy, a genre-busting reading challenge, and why Kelton’s only goal this week is to read a book.

Find Cait Flanders:
Website: www.caitflanders.com
Substack: caitflanders.substack.com
Instagram: @caitflanders

Books by Cait Flanders:
The Year of Less (Hay House) — Wall Street Journal Bestseller
Adventures in Opting Out (Little Brown Spark)

Books Mentioned in This Episode:
“October, October” by Katya Balen
“The Names” by Florence Knapp
“The Housemaid” by Frieda McFadden
“Annihilation” by Jeff VanderMeer
“Lady Tremaine” by Rachel Hochhauser
“The Ogress and the Orphans” by Kelly Barnville

Write to us:
officialpenpalspod@gmail.com

Follow us:
Instagram: @penpalspod
TikTok: @penpalspod
YouTube: @PenPalsPod
SubStack: penpalspod.substack.com

Follow Krisserin and Kelton:
TikTok: @krisserin, @keltonwrites
Instagram: @keltonkin, @keltonwrites
Kelton's Substack: Shangrilogs
Krisserin's Substack: krisserin.substack.com

Music by Golden Hour Oasis Studios