Writing LA History & Publishing Without an Agent

🎙️ New episode: How Paul Haddad brought old Los Angeles to life with “Inventing Paradise”

Feb 07, 2025

Hey Bleeders,

This week, I had the pleasure of chatting with Paul Haddad, author of Inventing Paradise and Freewaytopia, and this episode is chock-full of LA history and nonfiction writing advice.

Here are a few highlights you don’t want to miss:

🕵️ Uncovering the drama: Paul was delighted with the letters he found when researching Inventing Paradise. “It's like reading diaries from middle school,” he says. “It’s very juicy, a lot of backstabbing—they're like the Kardashians, just like old men though!” He also dives into his go-to research strategy, from scouring old newspapers on Newspapers.com to exploring the archives of institutions like the Huntington Library and Cal State Northridge. If you're a history nerd or researching a nonfiction book, you’ll want to take notes!

✍️ Paul’s writing process: After a year of research (hello, 800-page document!), Paul spent six months on a super fun writing sprint fueled by his meticulously organized material. He shares Google Photos and keyword search hacks that sped up his process—and why he avoided getting bogged down by footnotes until later.

📚 The beauty of finding a small press that gets you: Paul has been working with Santa Monica Press since 2012, making it his natural home for Inventing Paradise. But his advice for writers is golden: “Don’t be a slave to getting an agent.” Paul’s never had a literary agent and it hasn’t slowed him down one bit. He offers inspiration for pitching small press publishers directly, especially for nonfiction.

🎤 A case for author-read audiobooks: If you’re listening to Inventing Paradise on Audible, you’ll notice Paul’s voice. He’s a big believer that nonfiction audiobooks are best read by the author, and his reasoning will resonate with anyone who’s ever cringed at a mispronunciation.

💡 Writing advice to his younger self: In his 20s, Paul focused on writing “flashy” screenplays he now finds hollow and unoriginal. His takeaway? “Get more life experience—that helps your writing.” It wasn’t until his 40s when he really found his voice and started hitting his stride… and he keeps getting better. It’s a reminder that as writers, we keep improving with age, which is an awesome aspect of our profession.

Paul’s passion for Los Angeles history makes this a fascinating episode beyond all the excellent advice for writers. Let that serve as a nudge to lean into your own nerddom as a writer—it’s a recipe for success.

🎧 Listen to the latest episode of The Bleeders now.