Unfortunately...

A podcast about fiction, failure, and moving forward.

A round, blue logo of a small train falling off a broken track. From back to front, the train cars are labelled "idea," "book," "query," and "dream." A plume of smoke from the train's chimney spells out "unfortunately..."

About

Unfortunately... is a podcast about fiction, failure, and moving forward, co-hosted by speculative fiction authors Mona West and Courtney Floyd.Like nearly all creatives, we’ve experienced our share of failure modes: rejection, disappointment, jealousy, confusion, burnout, and frustration. We’ve wallowed in the lonely darkness wrought by that simple phrase, “unfortunately, this story didn’t quite work for us…” We've scrambled after shifting goalposts. We've writhed with impostor syndrome in moments of success.With this podcast, we hope to shed light on those experiences. To create a safe space to discuss the harder parts of the craft, to reassure one another that we’re not alone, and to learn together how to keep going and keep writing. There are plenty of master classes for writers, but this... this is a disaster class.Find us wherever you listen to podcasts. New episodes release on the first and third Friday of every month.

Episodes

Episode 1.22: Unfortunately... If You Force the Zipper, It Won't Budge

Episode 1.21: Unfortunately... It's An Economy of Favors

Episode 1.20: Unfortunately... It's Like Army Crawling Through 30 Inches of Snow

Episode 1.19: Unfortunately... You Need a Suitcase Full of Skills

Episode 1.18: Unfortunately... You Need Work Life Balance for Writing, Too

Episode 1.17: Unfortunately... You’re (Not?) Two Halves of the Same Brain

Episode 1.16: Unfortunately... Progress Isn't an Upward Slope

Episode 1.15: Unfortunately... Plotters Have an Advantage

Episode 1.14: Unfortunately... You Can't Just Set That Book Aside

Episode 1.13: Unfortunately... It's a Business Relationship

Episode 1.12: Unfortunately... You Lose the Calluses

Episode 1.11: Unfortunately... You're a Member of a Losing Team

Episode 1.10: Unfortunately... There's a Room Full of People Talking About You

Episode 1.9: Unfortunately... You're On the Publishing Treadmill

Episode 1.8: Unfortunately... You're Not (Always) in Charge

Episode 1.7: Unfortunately... You'll Fall Down

Episode 1.6: Unfortunately... It Takes Luck

Episode 1.5: Unfortunately... It's Going to Get to You

Episode 1.4: Unfortunately... You Have to Learn to Edit Yourself

Episode 1.3: Unfortunately... There's Another Mountain Past This One

Mona West and Courtney Floyd check-in

Episode 1.2: Unfortunately... The Ladder of Success is a Möbius Strip

Episode 1.1: Unfortunately... We're All Participating in the Rejection Olympics

with hosts Mona West and Courtney Floyd

Contact

Drop us a line if you'd like to be on our podcast, have a question or comment, or just want to say hello!