One Man's Quest to Find the Next Big Book Idea: Episode 313 with A.J. Jacobs

Jess here. <a target="_blank" href="https://ajjacobs.com/">A.J. Jacobs</a> has long been my inspiration for both writing and writerly mentorship, so I was thrilled when his forthcoming book, <a target="_blank" href="https://ajjacobs.com/books/the-puzzler/">The Puzzler: One Man&#8217;s Quest to Solve the Most Baffling Puzzles Ever, from Crosswords to Jigsaws to the Meaning of Life</a> landed on my doorstep. I adore A.J.&#8217;s work and this book might be a new favorite. We talk about the book, yes, but we also discuss where the ideas come from, how to stay curious and the effect that curiosity has on the writing, and the work of crafting proposals that resemble the final book. <br/><br/><strong>Links:</strong><br/><br/>A.J. Jacobs: <a target="_blank" href="https://ajjacobs.com">https://ajjacobs.com</a><br/><br/>Kevin Roose: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.kevinroose.com">https://www.kevinroose.com</a><br/><br/><a target="_blank" href="https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104755254">The Unlikely Disciple</a><br/><br/><a target="_blank" href="https://www.worldjigsawpuzzle.org/en/championship_en.htm">World Jigsaw Puzzle Championship</a><br/><br/><a target="_blank" href="https://www.vermontcornmaze.com/">Great Vermont Corn Maze</a><br/><br/>KJ here&#8212;and I am now a certified Author Accelerator book coach! If you&#8217;ve been listening for a while, you know I spent five years as an editor with <em>The New York Times</em>&#8212;but I still had a lot to learn about helping writers through the process of taking a book from idea to manuscript, and I loved learning it with the Author Accelerator team. What they taught me has changed my approach to editing completely. I didn&#8217;t just learn how to help a writer move from one stage of the process to the next&#8212;I learned how to help them appreciate how far they&#8217;ve come and feel excited about what&#8217;s coming next, see their strengths and how they can build on them and trust me to guide them into the hard work that lies ahead. If you&