Catherine is a writer and journalist who has contributed to many media outlets, including Slate, Quartz, CNBC and NBC News. She is a frequent podcast and radio guest, with appearances on NPR and Lifehacker’s Upgrade. Catherine currently lives in Richmond, Virginia with her husband and baby son. Today we’ll be discussing her first book, Poe for Your Problems: Uncommon Advice from History’s Least Likely Self-Help Guru, which came out this past September.

In this episode Catherine Baab-Muguira and I discuss:

• How Edgar Allan Poe unexpectedly inspired her to write a book about mental health.
• Why she keeps her day job and how it helps her avoid literary snobbery.
• The value of learning to write good copy and the art of marketing your book.

Plus, her #1 tip for writers.

About Catherine Baab-Muguira

Catherine Baab-Muguira is a writer and journalist who has contributed to, among others, Slate, Quartz, CNBC and NBC News. A frequent podcast and radio guest, with appearances on NPR and Lifehacker’s Upgrade, she lives in Richmond, Virginia with her husband and baby son. Her first book, Poe for Your Problems: Uncommon Advice from History’s Least Likely Self-Help Guru, came out from Running Press/Hachette in September 2021.

You can find Catherine on her website or follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Check out the Substack post Catherine wrote about the long, long journey to a book deal, and what her P&L statement looks like.

Poe for Your Problems

Of all the writers anywhere, Poe might be the least likely person you’d ever turn to for advice. His life was a complete dumpster fire: he married his cousin; got fired from one job after another; constantly feuded with friends and rivals; and he was always broke. But that’s also precisely the point. Though Poe failed again and again, he also persevered.

Drawing deeply on his works and life, Catherine Baab-Muguira takes the familiar image of Poe in a new and surprising direction in this darkly inspiring self-help book. Despite what you might think, Edgar Allan Poe is the perfect person to teach you to say “Nevermore, problems!” and show you how to use all the terrible situations, tough breaks, bad luck, and even your darkest emotions in novel and creative ways to make a name for yourself and carve out your own unique, notorious place in the world.

An inspirational tale for black sheep everywhere, Poe for Your Problems will teach you how to overcome life’s biggest challenges to succeed at work, love, and art—despite the odds and no matter your flaws.

If you decide to check out the book, we hope you’ll do so via this Amazon affiliate link, where if you choose to purchase via the link DIY MFA gets a referral fee at no cost to you. As always, thank you for supporting DIY MFA!

Link to Episode 383

(Right-click to download.)

If you liked this episode…

Head over to iTunes, Stitcher Radio, Spotify, or Google and subscribe so you’ll be first to know when new episodes are available.

Also, remember that sharing is caring so if you know anyone who might enjoy this podcast, please tell them about it or leave us a review so other listeners will want to check it out.

In this episode, we mentioned a summit, which is now over. It will be housed in the DIY MFA Members HUB. To get on the waiting list for the HUB, click here.

Until next week, keep writing and keep being awesome!

The post Episode 383: The Mashup as a Model: Lessons for Your Writing Career from Edgar Allan Poe – Interview with Catherine Baab-Muguira appeared first on DIY MFA.