Krisserin and Kelton sit down with writer Rachael Maddux (Life Expectancy: A Memoir, The Void, Third Person) to talk about what happens when a book you’ve spent 14 years writing never sells through traditional channels — and how you decide to make it exist anyway. Rachael walks us through her journey from first draft to cold querying agents to three years on submission to ultimately self-publishing through Ingram Spark. They get into the real mechanics: ISBNs, the difference between fulfillment and distribution, what your agent can still do for you after a book doesn’t sell, and why self-publishing still carries a weird “stank” in literary circles.

Plus: writing groups as lifelines, reading as a writer, mortality as a muse, and the moment you realize your friends actually showed up. Also featuring a very special cameo from Krisserin’s mom, Kennette.

Find Rachael Maddux
Website: rachaelmaddux.com
Instagram: @rachaelmaddux
Life Expectancy: A Memoir — Bookshop.org | Amazon

Books Mentioned in this Episode
Mary Magdalene Once Upon a Time by Kennette Canary — Amazon
Book of Claire by Kennette Canary — Wattpad
The Star Who Lost Her Shine by Alex Huey Evans (debut picture book, coming Summer 2026) — alexhueyevans.com | Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Homage to Catalonia by George Orwell
The Keeper by Tana French
Works by Clarice Lispector

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Music by Golden Hour Oasis Studios