Tessa Fontaine: Writing fiction & making great money

This was one of my favorite conversations all year.

I met Tessa at a party, then went to a reading for her book, The Red Grove.

Instacrush. She’s funny, charming and smart.

I’m doing a two-part series on the Sunlight Tax Podcast interviewing people making a living as writers. Next week you’ll hear from Stacy Ennis, a non-fiction writer and book coach. This week, Tessa:

Tessa Fontaine is the author of THE ELECTRIC WOMAN: A MEMOIR IN DEATH-DEFYING ACTS (FSG 2018), a New York Times Editors’ Choice; Barnes & Noble Discover Great New Writers pick, and best book of the year by Southern Living, Refinery29, Amazon Editors’, and The New York Post.

THE RED GROVE (FSG 2024), her debut novel, was named a best book by Amazon Editors’ and People Magazine, and longlisted for the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize.

Other writing can be found in Outside, The New York Times, Glamour, AGNI, The Believer, People, LitHub, Creative Nonfiction, and more. Raised outside San Francisco, Tessa teaches in Warren Wilson’s MFA program, started Salt Lake City’s Writers in the Schools program, and has taught in jails and prisons for years. She co-founded and teaches the Accountability Workshops with writer and pal Annie Hartnett, and lives in Asheville, North Carolina, with her daughter, silly dog and sassy cat.

Whether your small business is a creative one or not, I think you’ll enjoy this conversation about the writing process, capitalism, and building a bespoke career.

Here’s the episode:

And if you’re a writer, don’t miss my free visual guide to writer’s tax deductions.

Enjoy.

Warmly,

PS You know you keep meaning to read the kindest, most pro-weirdo tax guide ever written. (Did you know that the workbook, which you can also get, has gentle prompts to get you past your biggest money fears so your taxes are finally easy?)

Isn’t this summer the perfect time?

—>Get Taxes for Humans & the Workbook HERE