Episode
Dennis Hensley on Going from Landing a Book Deal to Working at Crate & Barrel (And Everything in Between)
- Podcast
- Behind the Book Cover
- Published
- Dec 2, 2025
- Duration seconds
- 2612
- Processing state
not_requested- Canonical source
- https://share.transistor.fm/s/2964d353
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Summary
If you're thinking about writing an authority building book, and I really hope you are, and you don't want to be counting pennies or checking your book sales all the time, you actually want a book that's going to change your life, I can tell you how. Just go to sevenfigurebooks.com. I'm not trying to capture your email or anything. You can just download this PDF that's going to tell you exactly how to turn an authority building book into revenue, speaking, authority, and no exaggeration, a whole new life. Dennis Hensley was the very first real writer I ever knew—back when getting a book published felt like spotting a unicorn in 1990s LA. His debut novel Misadventures in the (213) came out in 1998, and I thought it was the coolest thing imaginable. Years later, we'd find ourselves sweating through Ben Allen's dance classes together, proving that creative people really do wear all the hats. Dennis has written for everyone from Joan Rivers to Wondery podcasts, created party games and somehow made more money dancing in commercials than writing this year. Our conversation (recorded the day before his 61st birthday) goes deep on resilience, disappointment and figuring out how to keep creating when the scoreboard stops making sense. Topics Discussed: The 1990s writing gold rush : When Gen X believed you could actually make a living as a writer, gift bags overflowed at parties. and magazines paid $1 per word Breaking in : How an audition rejection for Madonna's Blonde Ambition tour became Dennis's first published article, leading to gigs at Movieline , Detour and beyond Writing for free (for three years) : The unglamorous hustle behind Misadventures in the (213) , including interviewing Carrie Fisher in her bed and scoring a gym membership through barter The 2013 Fashion Polic…