Hi there, welcome, grab a snack! Where do people even start posts like these? I suppose I’ll introduce Backtalk Books, a new hub for bookish news and features. Then I’ll introduce myself, and you can read about my background (assuming you’re not already dozing off by then).
So, What The Heck Is Backtalk Books?
Backtalk Books is something between a book blog and an independent media venture…I suppose it hopes to be the latter, but first we’ve got to do the former. On it, you’ll find everything from bookish news to reviews and recommendations. My hope is that it can connect readers with stories they love, keep them informed, and potentially become a community of sorts.
My other probably-too-ambitious hope is that it can one day serve as a place for writers to cover the stories they love, too. I believe in compensating writers and editors, and my bank account tells me we’re a long way from that particular goal. But as someone who’s tired of the crumbling state of media and the enshittification of the internet, I’d love to do what I can.
And that brings me to the mission of Backtalk Books, which is right there in its name. This blog is a challenge as much as it’s a celebration of the stories we love. It seeks to push back against two issues plaguing the digital landscape:
- The deprioritizing of book coverage across media. Many outlets have forgone book coverage entirely. The ones that do it don’t have the time or resources to cover anything but the biggest titles. Many book sections sit untouched for months on end. This deprives readers of regular content, and it leaves authors with few outlets to shine a light on their work.
- The undervaluing of writers on a broader scale. In the age of AI, too many companies believe they can cut writers out of the equation to save a buck. We strive to honor the humans behind the stories we love. Likewise, we hope to eventually uphold the voices of critics, writers, and editors being pushed out of a shrinking media landscape.
You know how it goes: if you’re mad at the problem, be a part of the solution. It’s what our favorite book characters would do. And that brings me to the biggest reason Backtalk Books exists: to highlight the importance of books that talk back themselves — against systems of oppression, unquestioned norms and beliefs, the struggles of everyday life, and everything in-between.
Books are a revolution. It’s why we love them. It’s why they deserve our support and attention.
Now to Introduce Your Founding Wench…
Well, now that we got the fun part out of the way, let’s get into me. Why am I the one starting Backtalk Books? I suppose because time is a flat circle.
My name is Amanda Mullen, and I’ve been covering entertainment topics for the last decade — everything from TV and movies to anime and video games. And books. Always books.
Comically enough, I got into entertainment writing because of books. I graduated into an economy a lot like this one: horrific job market; no space for baby writers, especially from working-class backgrounds; the sort of world where you need 2-5 years of experience for an entry-level job that pays in exposure and M&Ms. (On the bright side, McDonalds was affordable, daily news was easily distinguishable from The Onion, and I never once had to hear about AI.)
Anyway, I didn’t have any proper experience, and I really like M&Ms, so I set out to create clips and get into freelancing. Where did those clips come from? A book blog.
As you’d probably guess, that blog had no direction, inconsistent branding, and content that wasn’t optimized for the algorithm or geared towards readers. If I came across 20-year-old Amanda’s work today, I’d think, Dang, she has no idea what she’s doing, but at least she’s having fun?
My first book blog doesn’t exist anymore, but it did get me in the door of this insane industry. Before I knew it, I was writing about far more than books. Weirdly, though, book coverage kept finding me, even in the places I least expected.
Fast-forward 10 years, and I’m a seasoned writer and editor. I know how to craft articles for reader queries, Google, and Discover. I’ve overseen teams and content schedules, and while mileage may vary depending on who you ask, I think I’ve been pretty dang decent at it. I’ve also become annoyingly invested in this industry, the people who keep it running, and the readers we serve — so much so, that I’m starting another book blog. But hey, this one has a vision!
