Activated Authors
Activated Authors
Subscribe
Hosted by bestselling author, Daniel Willcocks, the Activated Authors podcast unlocks the processes, systems, and productivity habits that take authors to their next level.
Available episodes
Newest first
Oldest first
Aug 2, 2022
News, Updates, and to the Future (Part II)
Thanks for tuning in to the Activated Authors podcast. If you're ready to ACTIVATE your author career, head on over to https://activatedauthors.com/
In this episode Dan and Sam talk about:
The future of the podcast
Sam's health updates
What you get with Activated Authors
Get more from Activated Authors!
https://activatedauthors.com/
Find out more about Daniel Willcocks
https://www.danielwillcocks.com/
Find out more about Sam Frost
https://mastressofnone.com
Special thanks to:
Show theme: Karl Hughes
Show editing: Sam Frost
playlist_add
Jul 17, 2022
Dan Howarth ON: Finding DISCIPLINE And The Circle Of Community
Thanks for tuning in to the Activated Authors podcast. If you're ready to ACTIVATE your author career, head on over to https://activatedauthors.com/
Dan Howarth is a Mancunian-born horror writer now living in Merseyside. He is the author of Dark Missives and his latest release “Territory” and his writing has appeared in numerous publications both online and imprint. Most notably, a number of Dan’s stories have appeared on The Other Stories podcast, where they have been downloaded over 100,000 times.
Dan is also the co-editor of three themed anthologies alongside James Everington—one of which “Imposter Syndrome” was short-listed for a British Fantasy Award.
In this episode we go deep into:
* Dan’s Journey [30:54]
* What Discipline Looks Like [35:45]
* Why do the work? [40:38]
* Finding your Tribe [45:41]
* The Early days [50:03]
* Why Horror? [55:26]
* How to approach networking [01:00:27]
* Reaching out and making connections [01:04:52]
* How do you keep moving forward? [01:09:13]
* Why Dan writes [01:17:51]
Find out more about Dan Howarth:
https://www.danhowarthwriter.com/
Twitter: @danhowarth20
Get more from Activated Authors!
https://activatedauthors.com/
Watch the show:
https://youtu.be/BoX3k3yKpsE
Find out more about Daniel Willcocks
https://www.danielwillcocks.com/
IG: @willcockswriter
Twitter: @willcockswriter
Find out more about Samantha Frost
www.mastressofnone.com
IG: @mastressofnone
Special thanks to:
Show theme: Karl Hughes
Show editing: Sam Frost
playlist_add
Jul 10, 2022
Tim Lebbon ON: TRADITIONAL Publishing, Tie In’s & Loving The Job
Thanks for tuning in to the Activated Authors podcast. If you're ready to ACTIVATE your author career, head on over to https://activatedauthors.com/
Tim Lebbon is an award-winning New York Times-bestselling horror, thriller and fantasy writer from a little village in South Wales. He’s written over 45 novels, dozens of novellas, hundreds of short stories, as well as tie-in novels in the Alien, Predator, Hellboy, Star Wars, and Firefly universes, and his novel The Silence was made into a Netflix movie starring Kiernan Shipka and Stanley Tucci. When not writing, Tim can be found swimming, biking, and running in triathlons—activities which found their way into his non-fiction book, Run, Walk Crawl – Getting Fit in My Forties
In this episode we go deep into:
* Tim’s Journey [12:27]
* The Joy of Writing [14:44]
* Going Full Time [17:01]
* The Creative Output of a Working Writer [20:04]
* Art Vs Commerce [22:53]
* Tim’s Typical Writing Process [27:34]
* Has the Process Changed? [29:24]
* Writing a Novel Long Hand [31:56]
* How Tim Approaches Where a Book will Live [37:31]
* Getting into Trad in 2022 [41:20]
* How Tim got Involved in Tie Ins [43:46]
* How Much Flexibility and Creativity is there in Tie In’s? [46:52]
* Type Casting [50:44]
* Climate Change [55:24]
* Why Tim Writes [57:22]
Find out more about Tim Lebbon:
https://www.timlebbon.net/
Get more from Activated Authors!
https://activatedauthors.com/
Watch the Show:
https://youtu.be/8vTxVh_Ofzw
Find out more about Daniel Willcocks
https://www.danielwillcocks.com/
IG: @willcockswriter
Twitter: @willcockswriter
Find out more about Samantha Frost
www.mastressofnone.com
IG: @mastressofnone
Special thanks to:
Show theme: Karl Hughes
Show editing: Sam Frost
playlist_add
Jul 7, 2022
(BONUS Ep: 003) Daniel Willcocks: Ask Me Anything
Thanks for tuning in to the Activated Authors podcast. If you're ready to ACTIVATE your author career, head on over to https://activatedauthors.com/
Daniel Willcocks is an international bestselling author and award-winning podcaster of dark fiction. He is an author coach and founder of Activated Authors; one quarter of digital story studio, Hawk & Cleaver; co-founder of iTunes-busting fiction podcast, ‘The Other Stories’,CEO of horror imprint, Devil’s Rock Publishing, and the host of the ‘Activated Authors' podcast.
Dan is furiously passionate about all things story. He has written 60+ books in five years for himself and on behalf of ghostwriting clients. Dan works with authors to keep their creative flames burning in an activated, and healthy way.
In this episode Dan answers your questions:
-What is a good per hour rate for ghostwriting?
-How long did it take you to develop your confidence as a writer ?
-How do you find the right pressure point to motivate you?
-You have so many irons in the fire, how do you keep them all straight?
-How do you interact with an author's work when they have done/did something reprehensible?
-How are you having FUN/gathering energy & inspiration?
-What was your favourite thing about writing when you first got into it and has this changed with where you are now? If it has changed, in what way?
Get more from Activated Authors!
https://activatedauthors.com/
Watch the Show!
https://youtu.be/E2dFcgeXI9Q
Find out more about Daniel Willcocks
https://www.danielwillcocks.com/
Special thanks to:
Show theme: Karl Hughes
Show editing: Sam Frost
playlist_add
Jul 3, 2022
Luke Kondor ON: SYSTEMS n’ Books & Stuff
Thanks for tuning in to the Activated Authors podcast. If you're ready to ACTIVATE your author career, head on over to https://activatedauthors.com/
Luke Kondor started writing on his computer in his early teens and never looked back… and now he has very sore eyes. He also runs and produces a short story podcast called The Other Stories, which has amassed over 9-million downloads and has a monthly listenership of ~200k downloads. Currently he works from a dining room table in the middle of Sherwood Forest and lives with his fiancée, Cat, their pet cat, Oscar, and their larger, angrier cat, Alaska, who is actually a dog.
In this episode we go deep into:
* The science of baths [24:50]
* How writing is going [28:26]
* The journey of creative confidence [30:06]
* Doubt [32:53]
* Dealing with ‘Sexy New Project’ temptation [41:07]
* Getting the RIGHT things done [43:23]
* Deadlines [50:45]
* Bod.press [52:24]
* Why Kickstarter? [55:13]
* The secret to Kickstarter [01:01:47]
* ‘My Dog Shits Cash’ [01:06:21]
* The Other Stories [01:07:53]
* Why Luke writes [01:23:05]
Find out more about Luke Kondor:
https://www.lukekondor.com/
IG: @lukeofkondor
Links from the show:
Sam’s Vlogs: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thEHu5tfDBg
Hawk&Cleaver: http://www.hawkandcleaver.com/
Deep Work: https://www.calnewport.com/books/deep-work/
Get your Book Selling on Kickstarter : https://www.amazon.co.uk/Your-Book-Selling-Kickstarter-Profitability-ebook/dp/B09TQ4G5S6/ref=sr_1_2?crid=1YAKGU84G7ZAC&keywords=kickstarter+for+authors&qid=1656864603&sprefix=kickstarter+for+authors%2Caps%2C491&sr=8-2
The ONE Thing: https://www.amazon.co.uk/One-Thing-Surprisingly-Extraordinary-bestselling-ebook/dp/B00D3J2QKW/ref=sr_1_1?adgrpid=54831878844&gclid=CjwKCAjw_ISWBhBkEiwAdqxb9sct2inWEk_hqSeNgflDfx7VjbzK6kBd9rVcoAyXSwgIYGe9e0eSsxoCDbcQAvD_BwE&hvadid=259047750414&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9045850&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=15315717395921812556&hvtargid=kwd-300960594631&hydadcr=28148_1821044&keywords=the+one+thing&qid=1656864999&sr=8-1
Get more from Activated Authors!
https://activatedauthors.com/
Watch the show:
https://youtu.be/D3asj150l_I
Find out more about Daniel Willcocks
https://www.danielwillcocks.com/
IG: @willcockswriter
Twitter: @willcockswriter
Find out more about Samantha Frost
www.mastressofnone.com
IG: @mastressofnone
Special thanks to:
Show theme: Karl Hughes
Show editing: Sam Frost
playlist_add
Jun 26, 2022
Kathy Murray ON: RECALCULATING & Taking The Leap
Thanks for tuning in to the Activated Authors podcast. If you're ready to ACTIVATE your author career, head on over to https://activatedauthors.com/
Kathy Murray is a certified personal trainer with over thirty years’ experience in the fitness industry. She is a graduate of The Ohio State University where she was a member of the 1983 National Cheerleading Championship Team.
After college she competed in and won the United States Aerobic Championship in 1986 and spent the year traveling the world as a Fitness Ambassador and worked as a free-lance educator to teach fitness to European Instructors.
While in Munich, Kathy coached the Munich Cowboys (American Football) Cheerleaders to six national titles in cheerleading and was head trainer/translator for the German Gladiators during a pilot TV show for the International Gladiators.
Always an avid cyclist, Kathy dipped her toe into the world of multi-sport in 2000, first competing in duathlons then eventually moving to triathlons. Kathy has owned her personal training business Fit Bodies for 24 years and in 2022 co-authored the Audible book, The Munich Cowboys Cheerleaders based on her time coaching the squad.
She lives in Atlanta with her husband Lutalo, dog Mingus and cat Sassy.
In this episode we go deep into:
* The journey of the book [25:15]
* The difference between European and American cheerleading [29:48]
* The challenges of the early days [31:50]
* Bringing the squad into shape [35:09]
* Rising above dsicrimination [40:20]
* How a PT mindset helped her write [43:55]
* Kathy’s writing process [46:46]
* Mixing fact and fiction [49:14]
* Leaving the 9-5 world [52:47]
* What’s next [58:20]
* Improving a writers health [01:04:16]
* Why Kathy writes [01:05:04]
Find out more about Kathy Murray:
https://www.fit-bodies.net
https://www.audible.co.uk/pd/The-Munich-Cowboys-Cheerleaders-Audiobook/B09Q971Y5M
Get more from Activated Authors!
https://activatedauthors.com/
Watch the show:
https://youtu.be/_1Ymsqti2BU
Find out more about Daniel Willcocks
https://www.danielwillcocks.com/
IG: @willcockswriter
Twitter: @willcockswriter
Find out more about Samantha Frost
www.mastressofnone.com
IG: @mastressofnone
Special thanks to:
Show theme: Karl Hughes
Show editing: Sam Frost
playlist_add
Jun 19, 2022
Robin Waite ON: Being FEARLESS With Integrity & Alignment
Thanks for tuning in to the Activated Authors podcast. If you're ready to ACTIVATE your author career, head on over to https://activatedauthors.com
Robin Waite is the Founder of Fearless Business, regular speaker at various business events and bestselling author of several books, including Online Business Startup, Marketing Machine and the recent popular release Take Your Shot. He puts his 2 decades of business experience to work, coaching clients to reach their goals, create more time and increase their revenue.
From the age of 18, Robin spent four years as a systems analyst for a medical devices company, increasing their turnover by 50 per cent, from £1m to £1.5m. From 2004 to 2016 Robin led a successful marketing agency serving over 250 clients. During this time delivering workshops and masterclasses that helped over 1,000 business owners improve their marketing, product architecture, pricing, websites and digital advertising.
Behind the scenes Robin is a husband and father to two young girls, a surfer and Sunday warrior (road cyclist). He hates going up the hills but is well known at his local cycling club for his descending at speeds more than 50mph down said hills.
Robin holds a Guinness World Record for participating in the largest ever speed networking event, has raised over £5k for a local Children’s charity in the last 4 years and has a goal to help remove 100kg of plastic from the World’s Oceans within the next 12 months via another charity he supports – 4Ocean.
In this episode we go deep into:
- Robin’s journey [31:27]
- Robin’s first book [35:25]
- Launching [37:29]
- Target audience [42:48]
- Putting the spotlight on clients [46:31]
- Universal starting point [49:27]
- Sustainability in business [52:13]
- Financial mindset [56:07]
- Getting what your worth [59:09]
- Heart led over head led [01:03:27]
- Productivity mistakes [01:06:51]
- Charity [01:11:16]
- What does it mean to be fearless? [01:12:58]
Find out more about Robin Waite:
Website: https://robinwaite.com/ https://fearless.biz
Instagram: https://instagram.com/RobinMWaite
Twitter: https://twitter.com/RobinMWaite
Facebook: https://facebook.com/RobinMWaite
LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/RobinMWaite
Links from the show:
For a free signed copy of ‘Take Your Shot’ https://fearless.biz/tys
Get more from Activated Authors!
https://activatedauthors.com/
Watch the show:
https://youtu.be/MpUy3FRI68E
Find out more about Daniel Willcocks:
Website: https://www.danielwillcocks.com/
IG: @willcockswriter
Twitter: @willcockswriter
Find out more about Sam Frost:
Website: https://www.mastressofnone.com/
IG: @mastressofnone
Special thanks to:
Show theme: Karl Hughes
Show editing: Sam Frost
playlist_add
Jun 12, 2022
News, Updates, and to the Future
Thanks for tuning in to the Activated Authors podcast. If you're ready to ACTIVATE your author career, head on over to https://activatedauthors.com/
In this episode Dan and Sam talk about:
Introduce a new co-host [01:32]
Where they are at in their journeys [06:21]
What the future looks like for the podcast [13:01]
Dan's Lotr Shaming [35:56]
Get more from Activated Authors!
https://activatedauthors.com/
Watch the show:
https://youtu.be/q2NTyqOYz2U
Find out more about Daniel Willcocks
https://www.danielwillcocks.com/
IG: @willcocksauthor
Twitter: @willcocksauthor
Find out more about Sam Frost
https://mastressofnone.com
IG: @mastressofnone
Special thanks to:
Show theme: Karl Hughes
Show editing: Sam Frost
playlist_add
Jun 5, 2022
Philip Duncan ON: BUILDING Your Way From Rock Bottom
Thanks for tuning in to the Activated Authors podcast. If you're ready to ACTIVATE your author career, head on over to https://activatedauthors.com/
Philip Duncan is an award-winning and best-selling self-published author. His debut novel, Blood Ties, won the gold medal for military thrillers at the 2022 Global Book Awards for Self-Publishing. Philip was born and raised in East Tennessee, where he still lives. Since the age of sixteen, he has had many jobs including landscaping,
farmhand, deli clerk, and personal trainer, but writing has always been his genuine passion.
He currently writes fast-paced thrillers where he aims to keep his readers on the edge of their seats, not knowing what’s coming next. He is very much a pantser with his books, and enjoys letting the characters he creates dictate where the story goes.
When Philip’s not writing his next book, you can find him coaching other authors, working out, and spending time with his beautiful wife and two kids.
In this episode we go deep into:
- Philips writing journey [04:07]
- Finding purpose [06:20]
- Momentum & Routine [07:40]
- Mark Dawson [08:49]
- Building the habit [11:20]
- Hard word days [13:39]
- Exercise [13:50]
- Staying on track [17:16]
- Blood Ties: reality V expectations [19:15]
- Awards [21:27]
- Going full time & the life of a full time author [24:16]
- Rock bottom [27:04]
- Words of advice {31:45]
- Virtual summits [33:56]
- Impostor syndrome [45:53]
- Why Philip writes [48:05]
- Bets author experience [49:36]
Find out more about Philip Duncan:
https://philipsduncan.com/ https://www.virtualsummitcoaching.com/optin1652796832148 Email: philip@philipsduncan.com
Get more from Activated Authors!
https://activatedauthors.com/
Watch the episode:
https://youtu.be/2_vho8gXOTo
Find out more about Daniel Willcocks:
https://www.danielwillcocks.com/
Special thanks to:
Show theme: Karl Hughes
Show editing: Sam Frost
playlist_add
Jun 2, 2022
(BONUS Ep 002) Daniel Willcocks: Ask Me Anything
Thanks for tuning in to the Activated Authors podcast. If you're ready to ACTIVATE your author career, head on over to https://activatedauthors.com/
Daniel Willcocks is an international bestselling author and award-winning podcaster of dark fiction. He is an author coach and founder of Activated Authors; one quarter of digital story studio, Hawk & Cleaver; co-founder of iTunes-busting fiction podcast, ‘The Other Stories’,CEO of horror imprint, Devil’s Rock Publishing, and the host of the ‘Activated Authors' podcast.
Dan is furiously passionate about all things story. He has written 60+ books in five years for himself and on behalf of ghostwriting clients. Dan works with authors to keep their creative flames burning in an activated, and healthy way.
In this episode Dan answers your questions:
* Did you feel weird showing yourself online? Especially in video form. Did or do you feel anxious about it? If so, what's your take on this?
* I'd love book coaching advice. Like where to start. -What are your favourite and least favourite tropes in horror, and why?
* Are there any horror cliches that you love or hate?
* Have you watched Our Flag Means Death, did you enjoy it?
* When writing a horror scene, what elements do you find are necessary to set the tone?
* Author journey and how he got into ghost writing. -Have you always been good at creative writing, did you take courses?
* How do you deal with self-doubt and overwhelm? Any top tips?
Get more from Activated Authors!
https://activatedauthors.com/
Watch the show:
https://youtu.be/3VEGFsiDc1E
Find out more about Daniel Willcocks
https://www.danielwillcocks.com/
Special thanks to:
Show theme: Karl Hughes
Show editing: Sam Frost
playlist_add
May 29, 2022
Ella Barnard ON: FINDING Your Value & Knowing It Could Be Better
Ella Barnard is the host of the Author Like a Boss podcast and owner of Author Boss Academy. She is an author and publishing coach who loves helping creative people connect with their audiences and with each other. Her superpower is finding the most effective and least complicated tools for every step of publishing and marketing.
She is also a cat lady, obsessed with dragons, and passionate about helping creative people make money with their craft.
Ella is committed to using positivity to spark productivity and has seven years of experience as a marketing and mindset mentor for entrepreneurs, coaches, and creative women from all walks of life.
In this episode we go deep into:
* Dragons! [01:37]
* Ella’s Journey [04:59]
* Why Podcasting? [14:30]
* Getting over Imposter Syndrome [19:48]
* Making money from books [24:27]
* Playing with form [27:16]
* Outside thinking and mindset [33:10]
* Reality V Expectation [38:39]
* Sustainability [43:40]
* Universal truths f…
playlist_add
May 22, 2022
Emme Grange ON: Finding The FUN Of Being Only Yourself
Thanks for tuning in to the Activated Authors podcast. If you're ready to ACTIVATE your author career, head on over to https://activatedauthors.com/
Emme Grange lives on stories of hope, on tales that tell us we can. She believes we don’t have to change to be good enough. We already are, just by being ourselves.
Growing up near the Golden Gate Bridge, she spent years searching for the missing manual, "How to Be Normal." Emme knows what it's like to be a reluctant rebel, a modern misfit, a peculiar person. She writes for anybody who needs a story of acceptance and everyone needing a story of encouragement and is a Royal Dragonfly Awards Grand Prize-Winner with the first book in her Jett Harper Series, “Needing Normal.”
In this episode we go deep into:
* Emme’s writing Journey [01:41]
* The first draft that started it [04:28]
* Autism & Authenticity [06:19]
* Jet Harper’s Origin [08:36]
* Researching High School [10:29]
* The brand of Jet [12:29]
* Genre switc…
playlist_add
May 15, 2022
Daniel Willcocks ON: The PURSUIT Of Creative Freedom
Thanks for tuning in to the Activated Authors podcast. If you're ready to ACTIVATE your author career, head on over to https://activatedauthors.com/
Daniel Willcocks is an international bestselling author and award-winning podcaster of dark fiction. He is an author coach and founder of Activated Authors; one quarter of digital story studio, Hawk & Cleaver; co-founder of iTunes-busting fiction podcast, ‘The Other Stories’,CEO of horror imprint, Devil’s Rock Publishing, and the host of the ‘Activated Authors' podcast.
Dan is furiously passionate about all things story. He has written 60+ books in five years for himself and on behalf of ghostwriting clients. Dan works with authors to keep their creative flames burning in an activated, and healthy way.
Find out more about Daniel Willcocks:
https://www.danielwillcocks.com/
Get more from Activated Authors!
https://activatedauthors.com/
Special thanks to:
Show theme: Karl Hughes
Show editing: Sam Frost
playlist_add
May 8, 2022
Renee Gallant ON: RETURNING to Writing and Putting Yourself First
Thanks for tuning in to the Activated Authors podcast. If you're ready to ACTIVATE your author career, head on over to https://activatedauthors.com/
Renee Gallant spent the biggest part of her childhood growing up in north Texas, hiding behind bushes or sitting in trees immersed in stories of mystery and adventure and scratching out her own Trixie Belden fan fiction. But it was only after reaching middle age, having an empty nest, and being bitten by a creepy little eight-legged foe that she thought to pick up pen and paper once more and lose herself in a fictional world where anything was possible. Unfortunately, no, she did not turn into Spiderman. Nor even The Tick, but instead became an advocate for auto-immune sufferers, a grandmother, and finally a published author. After a twenty-year hiatus where she was all things to all people, Renee Gallant switched her focus back to herself and her first love, words. In this episode we go deep into: Renee’s writing journey [03:39] Lesson…
playlist_add
May 1, 2022
Mark Leslie Lefebvre ON: HEART, Passion and Collaboration
Thanks for tuning in to the Activated Authors podcast. If you're ready to ACTIVATE your author career, head on over to https://activatedauthors.com/
Mark has published more than twenty-five books under the name Mark Leslie that include thrillers and fiction, paranormal non-fiction and anthologies. Under his full name he writes books to help authors navigate publishing which include The 7 P’s of Publishing Success, An Author’s Guide to Working with Libraries and Bookstores, and Wide for the Win
His industry experience includes President of the Canadian Booksellers Association, Board Member of BookNet Canada, Director of Author Relations and Self-Publishing for Rakuten Kobo, Director of Business Development for Draft2Digital and Professional Advisor for Sheridan College’s Creative Writing and Publishing Honours Program.
In this episode we go deep into:
* Mark’s journey so far [02:11]
* Rejection and Determination [04:59]
* How working in the industry helps Marks writing…
playlist_add
Apr 25, 2022
Thomas Fenton ON: QUALITY Work and the Practice of Creativity
Thomas Fenton is an American screenwriter whose writing credits include SAW IV, I Spit On Your Grave 2, Slay Per View on CryptTv. Chain Letter (drft) and the Max Payne (drft). He is also the author of The Scream Writers Handbook: How to Write a Terrifying Screenplay in 10 Bloody Steps.
Thomas has worked with Paramount Pictures, DC, and Lionsgate (to name a few), and on top of an active writing and directing career, also takes the time to teach future screenwriters at workingscreenwriter.com
In this episode we go deep into:
* Thomas’ first big break [09:08]
* Quality over quantity [12:00]
* Thomas ‘Thick Skin’ [13:58]
* How he gets to the words and the work of a screenplay [19:20]
* Communicating the core idea of a story [22:33]
* The practice of creativity [27:01]
* Common screenwriter mistakes [31:35]
* Saw 4,. the Journey [35:51]
* Robert Evans [52:27]
* legacy [57:00]
* Directing your own screenplay [59:09]
Find out more about Thomas Fenton:
workings…
playlist_add
Apr 17, 2022
Julie Hiner ON: AUTHENTICITY And Following Your Passion
Thanks for tuning in to the Activated Authors podcast. If you're ready to ACTIVATE your author career, head on over to https://activatedauthors.com/
Julie Hiner is an author, storyteller, and blogger. She has independently published an inspirational work of non-fiction and two dark crime novels. Several of Julie’s short horror stories have been published, and she has collaboratively released a horror anthology. Julie’s home-base is KillersAndDemons.com where she serves up toxic cocktails of 80s metal, ritualistic murder, and raw horror.
Julie lives in her home-town in Canada, nestled near the rocky mountains. A hardcore 80s rocker at heart, Julie’s writing is infused with music of all eras. Her dark crime novels are a fusion of 80s metal, 70s acid rock and dark story telling. Obsessed with the dark mind of the serial killer, Julie’s characters are based on bits and pieces of some of the most terrifying monsters to roam the earth.
In this episode we go deep into:
* What mo…
playlist_add
Apr 10, 2022
Bekka Willcocks ON: Food FREEDOM and Listening To Your Body
Bekka Willcocks ON: Food FREEDOM and Listening To Your Body
Thanks for tuning in to the Activated Authors podcast. If you're ready to ACTIVATE your author career, head on over to https://activatedauthors.com/
Bekka Willcocks is a level 4 qualified nutrition coach dedicated to helping others to gain a better understanding and relationship of food to further achieve their goals. Bekka wants to help others find their own food freedom and gain a sustainable balance when it comes to their nutrition and health
In this episode we go deep into:
* Bekka’s journey to ‘Food Freedom’ [02:32]
* Food Myths [05:27]
* Why eating more helps you loose weight [08:18]
* Listening to what your body wants [09:35]
* What the body looks like in a day [11:38]
* Common mistakes [14:31]
* Tracking food [20:32]
* Key facts about caffeine [24:25]
* Snacks and Movement during the writing day [28:43]
* Best snack foods [33:53]
* The Patients diet [35:11]
* How to properly fuel the b…
playlist_add
Apr 3, 2022
”Writing Short Horror Stories” Graduates ON: The POWER Of Short Stories & Investing In Your Craft
Thanks for tuning in to the Activated Authors podcast. If you're ready to ACTIVATE your author career, head on over to https://activatedauthors.com/
Daniel Willcocks is an international bestselling author and award-winning podcaster of dark fiction. He is an author coach; one fifth of digital story studio, Hawk & Cleaver; co-founder of iTunes-busting fiction podcast, ‘The Other Stories‘;’ CEO of horror imprint, Devil’s Rock Publishing; and the co-host of the ‘Next Level Authors’ podcast.
Dan is furiously passionate about all things story. He has written 60+ books in five years for himself and on behalf of ghostwriting clients. Dan now also provides author coaching services designed to help authors to help authors keep their creative flames burning in an activated, and healthy way.
In this episode we go deep into:
* Introductions [01:17]
* Why short stories? [07:25]
* The difference between NaNo and the short story course [10:28]
* How it felt and hesitations [13…
playlist_add
Mar 27, 2022
Samantha Frost ON: MENTAL HEALTH, Neurodivergence and the Dance of Recovery
Thanks for tuning in to the Activated Authors podcast. If you're ready to ACTIVATE your author career, head on over to https://activatedauthors.com/
Samantha Frost A.K.A. “Mastress of None,” Sam is a video-editor, poet, writer, painter, actor and creator. Based in the south of England (but not born there, that’s an important distinction) Sam is passionate about helping creatives while battling the will of a medium sized human and the “affectionate” sneezes of a smaller sized pug.
In this episode we go deep into:
* Sam’s writing journey [03:11]
* The gift of time [05:47]
* The evolution of a novel [08:34]
* Community [14:02]
* Creativity and Mental Health [20:44]
* Mastress of None [23:20]
* The dance of recovery [25:48]
* Resources and Inspiration for Mental Health and Neuro Divergance [31:07]
* Sam’s coaching journey [39:09]
* Why Sam creates [48:12]
Find out more about Samantha Frost:
https://mastressofnone.com/
Links from the show:
Get more f…
playlist_add
Mar 20, 2022
Kristina Adams ON: CREATING The Path That Works For You
Thanks for tuning in to the Activated Authors podcast. If you're ready to ACTIVATE your author career, head on over to https://activatedauthors.com/
Kristina Adams is the author of seventeen books and too many blog posts to count. She helps writers overcome their creative obstacles on her blog, podcast, and courses, over at The Writer’s Cookbook. When she’s not writing, she’s inflicting cooking experiments on her boyfriend or playing with her dog, Millie.
In this episode we go deep into:
* Cooking experiments [01:13]
* Kristina’s writing journey [03:57]
* Self belief,. conviction and Tenacity [9:17]
* Unsolicited advice [10:16]
* Arming yourself with the right knowledge [12:07]
* What Kristina got from traditional education in creative writing [13:02]
* How Nano nearly stopped Kristina’s writing career [14:44]
* Plotting and side quests [16:38]
* Coming back to the page [17:51]
* Not relying on books for income [19:18]
* The Writers Cookbook and The W…
playlist_add
Mar 18, 2022
(BONUS Ep 001) Daniel Willcocks: Ask Me Anything
Thanks for tuning in to the Activated Authors podcast. If you're ready to ACTIVATE your author career, head on over to https://activatedauthors.com/
Daniel Willcocks is an international bestselling author and award-winning podcaster of dark fiction. He is an author coach; one fifth of digital story studio, Hawk & Cleaver; co-founder of iTunes-busting fiction podcast, ‘The Other Stories‘;’ CEO of horror imprint, Devil’s Rock Publishing; and the co-host of the ‘Next Level Authors’ podcast.
Dan is furiously passionate about all things story. He has written 60+ books in five years for himself and on behalf of ghostwriting clients. Dan now also provides author coaching services designed to help authors to help authors keep their creative flames burning in an activated, and healthy way..
In this episode Dan answers your questions:
* When is the productivity book out?
* How do you do all the things NOW?
* Do you need a mailing list?
* Who has been the biggest influence…
playlist_add
Mar 13, 2022
Crys Cain ON: Your RELATIONSHIP with Work and Finding Your Value
To find out more and how you can help 'Writers for Ukraine' head on over to https://activatedauthors.com/ukraine/ now.
Thanks for tuning in to the Activated Authors podcast. If you're ready to ACTIVATE your author career, head on over to https://activatedauthors.com/
Crys Cain Through her super-secret alias, Crys has gone from homeless to six-figures, selling over 300,000 copies of her books. When she isn’t writing, she edits with an eye toward emotional power and teaches craft and business to the author community at The Author Success Mastermind with J Thorn and talks about the writer life on the Write Away Podcast with JP Rindfleisch.
In this episode we go deep into:
* Crys’ journey [4:45]
* Going full force [10:05]
* writing fast/rapid release [14:03]
* Burnout [19:43]
* Toxic Capitalism [24:40]
* You have value [28:02]
* Negotiating the relationship with work [30:45]
* No perfect plan & creating joy [33:13]
* The struggles of being a worcoholic [34:30]
*…
playlist_add
Mar 6, 2022
Katlyn Duncan ON: Systems, Reversions and LEARNING AS YOU GO
To find out more and how you can help 'Writers for Ukraine' head on over to https://activatedauthors.com/ukraine/ now.
Thanks for tuning in to the Activated Authors podcast. If you're ready to ACTIVATE your author career, head on over to https://activatedauthors.com/
Katlyn Duncan is a hybrid author of adult and young adult books, and has ghostwritten over 40 novels. When she’s not writing, she’s obsessing over many (many) television series’, and hanging out on YouTube where she shares her writing process and all the bookish things.
Katlyn recently published her debut non-fiction book for writers, “Take Back Your Book: An Author’s Guide to Rights Reversion and Publishing on Your Terms.”
In this episode we go deep into:
* Vlogmas [1:51]
* Katlyn’s Writing Journey [4:10]
* Balance and being productive [7:46]
* Systems [8:47]
* Morning Routine [10:41]
* Accountability with friends [12:33]
* Bookish things and YouTube [15:12]
* learning by doing [17:30]…
playlist_add
Feb 27, 2022
Helen Scheuerer ON: EMBRACING what you want and Riding the Learning Curve
Thanks for tuning in to the Activated Authors podcast. If you're ready to ACTIVATE your author career, head on over to https://activatedauthors.com/
Helen is the YA fantasy author of the bestselling series, The Oremere Chronicles and the Curse of the Cyren Queen. Her work has been highly praised for its strong, flawed female characters and its action-packed plots. Helen holds a Bachelor of Creative Writing and a Masters of Publishing. Now a full-time author, Helen lives amidst the mountains in Central Otago, New Zealand and is constantly dreaming up new stories.
In this episode we go deep into:
* Helen’s Higher Education Journey [1:26]
* Pro’s and Con’s of studying Creative Writing [2:11]
* The education of being an indie [3:23]
* The writing practice and process [4:51]
* Listening to the right people [6:47]
* Doing it all as an Indie [8:21]
* Being taken ‘seriously’ and fitting the mold [9:48]
* Knowing what she wanted to write [11:31]
* Trad v Indie [12…
playlist_add
Feb 20, 2022
Jeff Adams ON: ACCESSIBILITY and the MENTAL GAME of Being an Author
Thanks for tuning in to the Activated Authors podcast. If you're ready to ACTIVATE your author career, head on over to https://activatedauthors.com/
Jeff Adams has written stories since he was in middle school and became a published author in 2009 when his first short stories were published. He loves hockey and musicals, and you’ll usually find at least one of those elements in his stories. Along with his husband, Jeff co-hosts the “Big Gay Fiction Podcast,” a show for avid readers and passionate fans of gay romance fiction.
In this episode we go deep into:
* Balancing passion, drive and a pandemic [01:58]
* Relevance and value [3:30}
* Big Gay Podcast community [6:10]
* Queer content in the mainstream [6:43]
* Big Gay Fiction Fest [7:26]
* Managing big projects and learning as you go [11:28]
* Marketing [13:28]
* Collaboration [14-19]
* Teaching to a wider audience and why it’s a good time for online [16:33]
* Balancing Online & Live content [17:26]
*…
playlist_add
Feb 13, 2022
Jonathan Yanez ON: How to be YOUR OWN Champion
Thanks for tuning in to the Activated Authors podcast. If you're ready to ACTIVATE your author career, head on over to https://activatedauthors.com/
Jonathan Yanez is an author and screenwriter who owns his own publishing and production company. Current projects in development range from foreign translations and audiobooks to film and video games.
In this episode we go deep into:
- Social Media and being transparent [3:53]
- The only way to be defeated [3:28]
- Jonathan’s 5am Routine [04:32]
- Why Jonathan no longer believes in time being the most important resource [5:00]
- No one is coming to help you [5:45] - Raising kids and passing on lessons [6:00]
- The importance of self-talk [10:05]
- Discipline and extending yourself grace [11:31]
- Personal Responsibility and belief [12:23]
- Burn-out and winning the day [17:25]
- ‘Doing it All’ and time management [16:05]
- Exercise and the importance of Vitamin D [19:18]
- Giving 100% [21:24]
- Sleep Hygiene [23:21]
-…
playlist_add
Jan 26, 2022
Welcome to the Activated Authors podcast
Welcome to the Activated Authors podcast!
Daniel Willcocks is BACK with his unique dose of author advice, featuring guests from across the creative spectrum.
In today's episode, we look at what the Activated Authors podcast will bring to your ears, and introduce our newest member of the Activated Authors team, Sam Frost.
Find out more about Activated Authors at https://activatedauthors.com
Be sure to subscribe to never miss an episode, and ACTIVATE your author career today!
playlist_add
Mar 25, 2021
#080: So I guess this is goodbye...
On this, the final episode of the Great Writers Share podcast, Daniel Willcocks is joined by Holly Lyne, John Crinan, and Faye Trask as they recount their time on the show, and discuss the reasons that the show will be drawing to a close.
A huge thank you to everyone who has made this possible.
Thank you to everyone who has graciously given their time to be a guest on the show.
Thank you to Karl Hughes and Persephone Rose for giving the show its professional tune, voice, and edge.
Thank you to the hosts of the show.
Thank you to our patrons.
And thanks to you, the listener.
Follow Us:
Follow Dan: www.danielwillcocks.com
Follow Holly: www.hblyne.com
Follow John: www.johncrinan.com
Follow Faye: www.fayetrask.com
Get your Great Writers Share merchandise!
https://www.danielwillcocks.com/merch/gws
GWS Press books:
Collaboration for Authors: https://books2read.com/u/3G2jLn
Special thanks to:
Intro vocals: Persephone Rose
Show theme: Karl Hughes
Become a Patron of the show!…
playlist_add
Mar 18, 2021
#079: Jennifer Anne Gordon – Gothic horror, winning the Kindle Award, and experimenting in all mediums.
Jennifer Anne Gordon was born a strange, pale, and quiet child, a ghost scared of ghosts.... Originally from New Hampshire, she studied acting at The New Hampshire Institute of Art. She grew up to become an actress, magician's assistant, artist, writer, dancer, and muse. She currently haunts lonely places in New Hampshire, though she is not dead.
Her debut novel, "Beautiful, Frightening, and Silent," earned Jennifer the Kindle Award for Best Horror/Suspense 2020, the Best Horror 2020 in the Authors on the Air Awards, and was a finalist for both the American Book Fest's Best Book Award Horror 2020, and the Authors on the Air Book of the Year.
In this episode we go deep into:
* Jennifer’s dancing history and how it influences her writing
* How being a Pantser of Dance formed her witing process
* How her 7th grade bullies helped her craft
* Her experimentation with different styles of writing from poetry to journalism
* How she, ‘Broke through the barrier’ to start writ…
playlist_add
Mar 11, 2021
#078: Miranda Oh - Taking inspiration from life, working from home, and podcasting your way to better writing
Miranda Oh is the author of the successful Chick Lit series, Chin Up Tits Out! Author Miranda Oh, a girl of Metis tradition and descent is your typical girl: She loves the sunset, loves long walks on the beach, world travels, and when not playing the corporate part she can be found sipping wine and spending all her hard-earned money on nice shoes. Among her friends and family, Miranda Oh is known to be the storyteller of the group, always recapping crazy life stories and situations. Her personal experiences, emotions and fantasies are the inspiration for most of her books, so there is a little bit of her in every story.
In this episode, we go deep into:
* Miranda’s history of writing and as a storyteller
* How her 20s inspired her first series - from immigration, to racism, to mental health problems
* Living with endometriosis and connecting with other women who have experienced it
* Being okay with being judged
* Evoking emotion in readers
* Refilling the creative well…
playlist_add
Mar 4, 2021
#077: Suzy Vadori – Making it past the “half-books,” diversifying income streams, and bonuses of book coaching.
Suzy Vadori is a Book Coach, Editor, Public Speaker and the Calgary Bestselling Author of The Fountain Series, a fantastical Young Adult Series which has received two Aurora Nominations for Best Young Adult Novel, as well as Five Stars and a bronze medallion from Readers’ Favorite Book Awards.
Suzy lives in Calgary, Canada with her husband and three children and is an involved member in the writing community. She is a Program Manager for Calgary’s When Words Collide (WWC), teaches writing at Alexandra Writers’ Centre Society, and is a touring member of the Young Alberta Book Society. Suzy is also the founder of WriteIt! creative writing programs in schools.
In this episode we go deep into:
* How Suzy built an ice-rink in her back yard
* How Suzy got her start in writing
* Making it past the difficult beginning of the writing journey
* What exactly is a half-book?
* Why income streams means full-time author
* How to coach other authors
* Networking and taking the…
playlist_add
Feb 25, 2021
#076: Marc Watson – Approaching the right small presses for your book and writing in a way that feels right for your life.
Marc Watson is an author of genre fiction of all lengths and styles. His works include the novels Death Dresses Poorly, Catching Hell: Journey, and Catching Hell: Destination, as well as having short stories in the collections Enigma Front 5: The Stories we Hide, and A Land Without Mirrors. His newest release, a collection of science-fantasy short stories Between Conversations: Tales From the World of Ryuujin, is available now! He began writing at the age of 15 and continues to be a part-time writing student at Athabasca University. He has been published on flash fiction site www.101words.org (find his stories here) as well as comedy site www.thecorrectness.com.
Marc lives in Calgary, Alberta. He is a husband and proud father of two. He is an avid outdoors-man, martial artist, baseball player, and lover of all Mexican foods.
In this episode, we go deep into:
* Managing a job, family and writing
* Working with publishers and how his second book found a home quickly
* His decisi…
playlist_add
Feb 18, 2021
#075: J Benjamin – Learning from your failures, writing authentic LQBTQ+ characters, and networking with authors.
J. Benjamin is a sci-fi writer with a passion for space opera and aliens. He’s been writing since the 7th grade. However, it wasn’t until 2019 that he published his first novel, A Spacetime Tale.
J.’s love for understanding the universe started as a kid, growing up in South Florida, watching the space shuttles take off from his backyard. He studied at the University of Arizona, which only deepened his curiosity for science.
J. loves to imagine what is possible. He looks at the Universe, the pictures from Hubble, and likes to believe there is something beyond them other than static photos of stars and nebulae. When not busy writing, J works in the tech industry. His passions include yoga, running, rowing and Worms multiplayer. Burritos and Middle Eastern are his go-to cuisines.
In this episode we go deep into:
* Why J loves the Worms video game
* How J’s author journey began
* J’s journey from fantasy to science fiction
* What it looks like to take writing seriousl…
playlist_add
Feb 11, 2021
#074: Michelle Raab – The psychology of writing and selling and redefining the world of work and family.
Michelle Raab is not the biggest fan of talking about herself unless you ask her about what her current passion project is, then she’ll talk your ear off. If she’s into something, she’s all in. She is currently working on a sci fi dystopian novel, has founded a group of indie creatives called the World Indie Warriors, is a branding and marketing consultant for indie creatives and freelancers, and is a middle-aged mom of a preschooler. So yeah. She’s tired. She holds a doctorate in psychology, does photography, and loves to play with graphic design. She loves fantasy and sci-fi and sappy love stories. Her favorite trope is friends to lovers, which is by no coincidence how she found the love of her life.
In this episode, we go deep into:
* Writing dystopian fiction - how people adhere to traditions or rules without questioning why
* Her background in psychology and how the principle of asking why people do what they do is common to psychologists and writers
* Inspiration…
playlist_add
Feb 4, 2021
#073: JD Barker – On working with James Patterson, professional from the get-go, and grasping every opportunity.
J.D. Barker (Jonathan Dylan Barker) is an international bestselling American author whose work has been broadly described as suspense thrillers, often incorporating elements of horror, crime, mystery, science fiction, and the supernatural.
His work has been revered by the likes of Stephen King, Josh Malerman, Tosca Lee and many more, and his career has seen collaborations on a number of projects including writing the official sequel to Bram Stoker’s “Dracula” with Stoker’s great-grandnephew, Dacre Stoker, and his most recent novel “Coast to Coast Murders” with none other than James Patterson.
In this episode we go deep into:
* What is J Thorn like to work with on the Writers Ink podcast
* What benefits JD has found in starting a weekly podcast
* Where JD’s journey started from
* Taking advantage of opportunities when they present themselves
* What it means to be a book doctor
* Getting permission from Stephen King
* The importance of presenting yourself a…
playlist_add
Jan 28, 2021
#072: Jenna Greene – Writing YA, the art of balance, and podcasting to complement your writing.
Jenna Greene is a YA fantasy author from Alberta, Canada. She is known for the award-winning novel, REBORN, as well as the IMAGINE series. When she isn’t writing (or teaching), she is co-hosting the podcast “Quill and Ink: A Podcast for Book Lovers” with Miranda Oh.
In this episode, we go deep into:
* How Jenna got her to start writing
* What a dragon boat coach is
* Finding balance between teaching and writing
* What makes a good YA novel
* How YA audiences have changed over the years
* What it’s like writing for a magazine
* How podcasting has helped her writing
* Why Jenna Greene writes
Find out more about Jenna:
https://www.jennagreene.ca/
https://twitter.com/jgreenewrites?lang=en
https://twitter.com/podcastquill?lang=en
https://www.amazon.com/Jenna-Greene/e/B07MFR13KY?ref=sr_ntt_srch_lnk_3&qid=1611584307&sr=8-3
Get more from Great Writers Share!
https://www.danielwillcocks.com/merch/gws
https://www.facebook.com/groups/greatwritersshare/
GWS Press…
playlist_add
Jan 21, 2021
#071: Laura Kendrick – A Master's degree in Creative Writing, fan fiction, and being authentically you.
Laura Kendrick is a Manchester based multi genre author with a love of the strange and unusual.
After years of putting off publishing properly (and one slightly failed attempt in 2018), in 2021 she hopes to finally unleash her madness on the world.
This year will see the release of the swashbuckling fantasy adventure novels The Silverdeer Chronicles 1 & 2, plus a dystopian YA novel called Collarless.
She is in the process of getting her Masters in Creative Writing and starting a podcast with fellow author Samantha Frost.
Alongside writing she is the proud owner of a small menagerie and the complete collection of Diagnosis Murder Episodes and Diagnosis Murder Books.
In this episode we go deep into:
* Laura's writing journey so far…
* Studying Creative Writing (MA)
* First experiments in self-publishing
* Current projects
* What Laura learned writing her first novel
* Using movies as inspiration
* Fan fiction
* Handling criticism
* Being authentically you
* Na…
playlist_add
Jan 14, 2021
#070: Paul Michael Anderson – Writing moral murkiness, making short stories work, and prioritizing life.
Paul Michael Anderson is the author of the collection Bones Are Made to Be Broken, which Jack Ketchum called “a dark carnival of rigorous intelligence and compassion, the title novella alone of which is well worth the price of admission”, as well as the novellas I Can Give You Life, and How We Broke (with Bracken MacLeod), and dozens of short stories, articles, and reviews.
His new novella Standalone launches tomorrow (as of the time of recording), and Stephen Graham Jones describes it as “A metaphysical science fiction slasher that doesn’t scrimp on the gore and might just get you rooting for the guy with the machete, the ax, the knife, and that certain glint in his eye that lets you know it’s all over.”
In this episode we go deep into:
* Paul’s entry into blogging and building his website
* How Paul wrote his way out of a driving ticket
* Balance content and expectation with a knowledge of your privilege
* Why Paul writes fiction alongside his blogging
* Pa…
playlist_add
Jan 7, 2021
#069: Chris Allen – Games writing, storytelling through role-play & “Aren’t we all writing fanfic, anyway?”
Chris Allen has written, edited, and designed dozens of tabletop gaming products since 2005, including roleplaying games, board games, and miniatures games, and shows no signs of stopping any time soon. He has contributed to major game lines such as the World of Darkness and Trinity Continuum, and worked on licensed tie-ins for a broad spectrum of properties including Starship Troopers, Babylon 5, and 2000AD.
His design work extends to live action roleplaying, where he served on the plot team for the major UK fest LARP, Empire, for several years. Chris is also a published short fiction author and is currently writing a tie-in novella for Trinity Continuum: Æon.
Chris believes that tabletop games, albeit played increasingly via virtual tabletops, provide an important creative outlet for their participants and a different method of interacting with the resulting in-the-moment fiction to that traditionally provided by other forms of story media.
Chris was born in Thailand, but these d…
playlist_add
Dec 31, 2020
#068: NEW YEAR SPECIAL – 2020 highlights, plans for 2021, and Patreon Q&A (ft. Daniel Willcocks, Holly Lyne, John Crinan, and Faye Trask)
In this weeks’ episode, Daniel Willcocks, Holly Lyne, John Crinan, and Faye Trask sit down as a group to discuss the things they’re thankful for in 2021, what they plan to achieve in 2021, and we answer questions from Patreon (with an extra special song worthy snippet thrown in).
From all of us at the Great Writers Share team, we hope you have a prosperous and productive 2021!
Find out more about your hosts:
https://danielwillcocks.com/
https://hblyne.com/
https://www.johncrinan.com/
https://www.instagram.com/writerfayetrask/
Links from the show:
https://danielwillcocks.com/bootcamp
https://unstoppableauthors.wordpress.com/
Next Level Authors podcast https://pod.link/1508555372
Get your Great Writers Share merchandise!
https://www.danielwillcocks.com/merch/gws
GWS Press books:
Collaboration for Authors: https://books2read.com/u/3G2jLn
Special thanks to:
Intro vocals: Persephone Rose
Show theme: Karl Hughes
Become a Patron of the show! Get exclusive bonus content,…
playlist_add
Dec 30, 2020
BONUS: The "Writes and Wrongs" of Bad Behaviors for Authors, feat John L. Monk (A Great Writers Learn miniseries, ep 6 of 6)
In this episode of the Great Writers Learn miniseries, "Writes & Wrongs,” bestselling authors John L. Monk and Daniel Willcocks talk about their experiences with bad behaviors, highlighting bad author practices, suggesting alternatives, and holding each other to account on past mistakes.
Discussing personal stories from their collected decade of publishing experience, you’ll get the breakdown of their top tips to ensure you’re author journey is unmarred by the mistakes of the past.
Listen to the Great Writers Share podcast: https://pod.link/1473869415
Become a Patron over at https://patreon.com/greatwritersshare
Join the Facebook group! https://www.facebook.com/groups/great...
Find out more about Daniel Willcocks: https://www.danielwillcocks.com/
Find out more about John L Monk: https://john-l-monk.com/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/greatwritersshare
OFFICIAL Merchandise available! https://www.danielwillcocks.com/merch...
BUY ‘Collaboration for Authors’:
See acas…
playlist_add
Dec 29, 2020
BONUS: The "Writes and Wrongs" of Author Brand, feat John L. Monk (A Great Writers Learn miniseries, ep 5 of 6)
In this episode of the Great Writers Learn miniseries, "Writes & Wrongs,” bestselling authors John L. Monk and Daniel Willcocks talk about the intricacies of author brand, sharing the pros and cons, and how to develop an effective brand, should you wish to.
Discussing personal stories from their collected decade of publishing experience, you’ll get the breakdown of their top tips to ensure you’re building a solid author brand that’ll have you selling books for years to come.
Listen to the Great Writers Share podcast: https://pod.link/1473869415
Become a Patron over at https://patreon.com/greatwritersshare
Join the Facebook group! https://www.facebook.com/groups/great...
Find out more about Daniel Willcocks: https://www.danielwillcocks.com/
Find out more about John L Monk: https://john-l-monk.com/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/greatwritersshare
OFFICIAL Merchandise available! https://www.danielwillcocks.com/merch...
BUY ‘Collaboration for Authors’:
See acast.com…
playlist_add
Dec 28, 2020
BONUS: The "Writes and Wrongs" of Genre Hopping, feat John L. Monk (A Great Writers Learn miniseries, ep 4 of 6)
In this episode of the Great Writers Learn miniseries, "Writes & Wrongs,” bestselling authors John L. Monk and Daniel Willcocks talk genre hopping, analyzing the pros and cons of switching genres and the effect it has to an author’s career.
Discussing personal stories from their collected decade of publishing experience, you’ll get the breakdown of their top tips to ensure you’re building a solid path towards publishing success, no matter the genre.
Listen to the Great Writers Share podcast: https://pod.link/1473869415
Become a Patron over at https://patreon.com/greatwritersshare
Join the Facebook group! https://www.facebook.com/groups/great...
Find out more about Daniel Willcocks: https://www.danielwillcocks.com/
Find out more about John L Monk: https://john-l-monk.com/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/greatwritersshare
OFFICIAL Merchandise available! https://www.danielwillcocks.com/merch...
BUY ‘Collaboration for Authors’:
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and o…
playlist_add
Dec 27, 2020
BONUS: The "Writes and Wrongs" of Marketing, feat John L. Monk (A Great Writers Learn miniseries, ep 3 of 6)
In this episode of the Great Writers Learn miniseries, "Writes & Wrongs,” bestselling authors John L. Monk and Daniel Willcocks talk marketing for authors, exploring the platforms that have worked for them, the tactics that continue to work today, paid advertising, and the no-no’s of author behavior when it comes to book marketing.
Discussing personal stories from their collected decade of publishing experience, you’ll get the breakdown of their top tips to ensure you’re building solid connections and selling books over the long term.
Listen to the Great Writers Share podcast: https://pod.link/1473869415
Become a Patron over at https://patreon.com/greatwritersshare
Join the Facebook group! https://www.facebook.com/groups/great...
Find out more about Daniel Willcocks: https://www.danielwillcocks.com/
Find out more about John L Monk: https://john-l-monk.com/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/greatwritersshare
OFFICIAL Merchandise available! https://www.danielwillcocks.com/…
playlist_add
Dec 26, 2020
BONUS: The "Writes and Wrongs" of Genre Expectations, feat John L. Monk (A Great Writers Learn miniseries, ep 2 of 6)
In this episode of the Great Writers Learn miniseries, "Writes & Wrongs,” bestselling authors John L. Monk and Daniel Willcocks talk genre expectations for authors, covering the basis of post-apocalyptic, fantasy, romance, cosy mystery, and litrpg to name a few.
Discussing personal stories from their collected decade of publishing experience, you’ll get the breakdown of their top tips to ensure you’re hitting tropes and making sure readers love your books.
Listen to the Great Writers Share podcast: https://pod.link/1473869415
Become a Patron over at https://patreon.com/greatwritersshare
Join the Facebook group! https://www.facebook.com/groups/great...
Find out more about Daniel Willcocks: https://www.danielwillcocks.com/
Find out more about John L Monk: https://john-l-monk.com/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/greatwritersshare
OFFICIAL Merchandise available! https://www.danielwillcocks.com/merch...
BUY ‘Collaboration for Authors’:
See acast.com/privacy for privacy…
playlist_add
Dec 25, 2020
BONUS: The "Writes and Wrongs" of Book Covers, feat John L. Monk (A Great Writers Learn miniseries, ep 1 of 6)
In this episode of the Great Writers Learn miniseries, "Writes & Wrongs,” bestselling authors John L. Monk and Daniel Willcocks talk book covers, dishing out their top 18+ tips on how to source a book cover that sells, and where to find a cover designer.
Discussing personal stories from their collected decade of publishing experience, you’ll get the breakdown of their top tips and things to avoid.
Listen to the Great Writers Share podcast: https://pod.link/1473869415
Become a Patron over at https://patreon.com/greatwritersshare
Join the Facebook group! https://www.facebook.com/groups/great...
Find out more about Daniel Willcocks: https://www.danielwillcocks.com/
Find out more about John L Monk: https://john-l-monk.com/
Instagram: https://instagram.com/greatwritersshare
OFFICIAL Merchandise available! https://www.danielwillcocks.com/merch...
BUY ‘Collaboration for Authors’:
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
playlist_add
Dec 24, 2020
#067: Christmas conversations; mindset, rest, lessons, goals, and beards with Luke Kondor and Daniel Willcocks
In this week’s episode, Dan invites collaborator, author, and friend, Luke Kondor onto the show to talk all things creativity, learning, 2020, and plans for 2021.
In this episode we go deep into:
* The origin of Dan and Luke
* Trying to remain productive in 2021
* Learning games development
* Luke’s journey into publishing through small presses
* The fleeting buzz of external validation
* Making it in the publishing business and surrounding yourself in the art
* Keeping on top of your mental health
* How we’ve changed over our podcast careers
* Bluster and bravado when starting out and why that’s not valuable
* Getting started in podcasting
* The secret to talking to Josh Malerman
* Top interview guests from over the years
* Our top podcasts for getting motivated
* Flipping trinkets with Gary Vaynerchuk
* Therapeutic nature of upcycling
* Luke’s beard journey
* The power of journaling to process life
* Looking back over the last 1, 5, 10…
playlist_add
Dec 17, 2020
#066: Victoria LK Williams – Getting cozy with mystery, finding balance between the light and the dark side, and tips for Florida gardening.
Victoria LK Williams writes Cozy Mysteries with a Tropical Twist. Her Citrus Beach Mystery series, Sister Station series, Storm Voices series and Mrs. Avery’s Adventures series are set in small south Florida towns, with fun characters and often a dog or cat (or two).
Victoria can often be found writing from her south Florida home. Her two cats, Miss Marple, and Fletch, often join her at the desk each has their assigned spot whether to supervise her writing or watch the birds. She shares a love of gardening with her husband of 35 years and together they have penned a gardening handbook for any Florida gardeners needing a hand tackling the tricky conditions the state often throws their way.
In this episode we go deep into:
* What makes cozy mysteries different
* Where in the story her writing begins
* Striking balance with intrigue and maintaining the cozy aspect
* Florida Gardening
* Advice for new writers
* Why Victoria writes
Find out more about Victoria:
https://ww…
playlist_add
Dec 10, 2020
#065: Samantha Frost – Winning NaNoWriMo, writing groups, and the importance of creativity.
Samantha Frost is an actor and first-time novelist who recently took on the challenge of NaNoWriMo (to write 50,000 words in 30 days) and won in spectacular fashion, storming through her first draft in only 14 days and then completing her 2nd draft all before November 30th!
As an actor, she appeared in the feature film, SEAT 25, which won 'Best Pro Feature (Fiction)' and the 'RAW Jury Prize (Fiction)' at the RAW Science TV and Film Festival. Sam also wrote, directed, produced and starred in the short comedy film, Oak-Smoked.
In this episode we go deep into:
* Sam’s journey so far
* The necessity of creativity
* About Sam’s NaNoWriMo project
* Character-driven stories
* What story is for
* NaNoWriMo Bootcamp & Writing groups
* Writing under pressure
* High word count days
* Mindset; or, Failure is not an option
* Self-care
* Why Sam writes
Find out more about Sam:
https://www.instagram.com/Singlemumactor/
https://twitter.com/samfrost86
Samantha Frost aut…
playlist_add
Dec 3, 2020
#064: Alesha Escobar – Learning from collaboration, writing diverse characters, & learning through fiction.
Alesha Escobar writes fantasy to support her chocolate habit. She enjoys reading everything from Tolkien and the Dresden Files, to the Hellblazer comics and classic literature. She’s the author of the international bestselling Gray Tower Trilogy, an action-packed supernatural thriller set in an alternate World War II. The trilogy hit the bestsellers lists at Amazon (Top 60 in the entire Kindle store), as well as iBooks, Kobo, Barnes & Noble online, and Amazon UK.
Alesha is also the co-author of the bestselling Aria Knight Chronicles and Immortal Brotherhood series.
Besides being a loving warrior mom to her six children, she enjoys crafts, consuming more coffee than is necessary, and spending time with her husband Luis, a 20-year art veteran for The Simpsons television show.
In this episode, we go deep into:
● Alesha’s co-writing experiences and how she has learned from the writers she’s worked with.
● How co-writing helps her to write faster
● How she juggles writing…
playlist_add
Nov 26, 2020
#063: Josh Malerman – Definition of an artist, the power of “the end,” and what it means to be a Prolific.
Josh Malerman is a New York Times bestselling author and also one of two singer/songwriters for the rock band The High Strung, whose song “The Luck You Got” can be heard as the theme song to the Showtime show “Shameless.”
His critically acclaimed novel, Bird Box has been adapted into a Netflix feature film starring Sandra Bullock, John Malkovich, and Sarah Paulson and was also nominated for the Stoker Award, the Shirley Jackson Award, and the James Herbert Award. The sequel novel, Malorie, was released earlier this year to roaring success, and his books Black Mad Wheel and Goblin have also been nominated for Stoker Awards.
In this episode we go deep into:
* What it is to be an artist in today’s world
* The power of writing “the end” on your first novel
* Josh’s early writing journey
* How rough drafts can perform their own magic
* Pacing yourself on larger projects
* Experimenting with form and process
* How consistency can aid the early writer
* The…
playlist_add
Nov 19, 2020
#062: Lucinda E Clark – Living a life worth writing, lessons learned from writing, and falling into what’s right.
Lucinda E Clark is an award-winning self-published writer of memoir and psychological thriller, a global traveler, scriptwriting lecturer, and owner of a South African video production company.
She is the recipient of a number of awards, including a finalist for book excellence awards, the 2017 New Apple award for excellence in independent publishing, a two-time winner of the readers’ favorite book award, and a finalist in the Independent Author Network’s book of the year awards.
Lucinda has lived a colorful life, having met Nelson Mandela, broadcasted with a bayonet at her throat, managed a rock band, gotten involved in a crowd at a public hanging, survived riots, dodged a hail of bullets as well as deportation from Libya
In this episode we go deep into:
* How managed a rock band
* How traveling can impact your writing
* Switching genres
* How Lucinda fell into numerous jobs
* How The very worst riding school came to be
* Scriptwriting and her production company…
playlist_add
Nov 12, 2020
#061: Andy Conduit-Turner – Writing comics, navigating publishing contracts, and choosing the best medium for your story.
Andy Conduit-Turner is a writer, editor, occasional quiz host and serial podcaster from the UK (mostly). Writing across a number of genres and mediums, He is a fan of horror, comedy, picking on the small details and has a spreadsheet for everything!
Andy is one of the founders of Horde Comics and, in addition to his work there, several of Andy’s short stories have featured on The Other Stories podcast. He recently directed The Halloween Horrors of Old Mill Lane, a week-long audio production which starred Emily Booth in the lead role.
In this episode we go deep into:
* The Halloween Horrors of Old Mill Lane
* Premiering podcast episodes on YouTube
* Using audio adaptations of your stories in your portfolio
* Write once, publish many
* Working with Emily Booth
* What the future holds for Old Mill Lane
* The formation of Horde Comics
* Keeping your story ideas manageable… Start small!
* Writing for comics
* Online comics communities
* How to decide which mediu…
playlist_add
Nov 5, 2020
#060: Jessie Shedden – Escaping the cult, healing with writing, and empowering others through personal experience.
Jessie Shedden is a British-Australian chicken-loving, cult-escaping badass woman, who has become a sought-after speaker, consultant and inspirational author of Those Boots Were Made For Walking. Jessie is an entrepreneur, coach, author, chicken mom, internationally published model and motivational speaker. After 23 years of bullying for her appearance, and with her self-esteem deeply eroded, she decided to create a life where she could be herself, experience freedom and independence, and develop the confidence she'd never known. Jessie now helps other women become the most successful version of themselves in their lives, relationships and businesses, through her mindset course and practical wisdom on releasing confidence blocks. With her rustic Western charm and authentic personality, she shares her personal journey of creating freedom and independence, and finding love on her own terms.
In this episode we go deep into:
* The limitations that she grew up with as part of a cult
*…
playlist_add
Oct 29, 2020
#059: Great Writers Scare – Exploring horror with Michael David Wilson, Bob Pastorella, Daniel Willcocks, and John Crinan.
On today’s show, we forego the usual Great Writers Share format, as we turn off the lights, ignite some candles, place our Jack-o-Lanterns in the windows and invite the monsters in for a special Halloween episode of, what our guests have lovingly dubbed, the Great Writers Scare podcast.
The premise is simple. Four horror writers. Ninety minutes of unfiltered time to discuss all things horror writing. But who are these other three writers, you might be wondering.
Joining Dan today we have one of our regular co-hosts, sci-fi and horror author, John Crinan, as well as two powerhouses in the horror community. I’m excited to welcome back to the show, the founder and host of the This Is Horror podcast, Michael David Wilson, and to say hello for the first time to his glamorous (but haunting) co-host, Bob Pastorella.
In this episode we go deep into:
* Why do we write horror?
* Our earliest horror experiences
* Why are we not repulsed by horror?
* What has 2020 brought to horror…
playlist_add
Oct 22, 2020
#058: V.S. Holmes – Advocating for queer and disabled representation, winning awards, and collaborative relationships.
V. S. Holmes is an international bestselling author. They created the REFORGED series and the NEL BENTLY BOOKS. Smoke and Rain, the first book in their fantasy quartet, won New Apple Literary's Excellence in Independent Publishing Award in 2015 and a Literary Titan Gold in 2020. In addition, they have published short fiction in several anthologies.
When not writing, they work as a contract archaeologist throughout the northeastern U.S. They live in a Tiny House with their spouse, a fellow archaeologist, their not-so-tiny dog, and own too many books for such a small abode. As a disabled and queer human, they work as an advocate and educator for representation in SFF worlds.
In this episode we go deep into:
* V’s tiny home and how that came into being
* What the life of a contract archeologist looks like
* How V got into writing and what fuels that passion
* How V won their awards, and what the process looked like in the five years between
* V’s understanding of complex…
playlist_add
Oct 15, 2020
#057: Julia Scott – Formatting books the right way, tackling the second novel, and diving into audio.
Julia Scott is a British author, whose goal is to take you out of ‘regular life’ and teleport you to new worlds and alternate futures through her writing. The Mirror Souls is her debut novel, and like many sci-fi and fantasy books, it started off as a dream.
In her ‘other’ life, Julia lives in Essex, England with her husband and two children. She spends her time mum-ing, writing, prettifying books (via Evenstar Books), graphic designing, singing, and digging or planting stuff up in the garden without really knowing what she’s doing.
In this episode we go deep into:
* How Julia got started as a new author
* The difficulty of writing the second book after such a well-received debut
* Her history as a graphic designer
* How she wound up being such an in-demand formatter
* The common mistakes authors make when formatting their own books
* Having multiple streams of income - the pros and cons
* Her formatting course, The Book Formatting Formula
* And why she wri…
playlist_add
Oct 8, 2020
#056: Ben Errington – Starting with just a cover, gaining confidence as a writer, and positivity on social media.
Ben Errington is a writer from Bristol, UK. With debut novel ‘Ten Tales of the Human Condition’ and novella ‘Dye Pack’ under his belt, Ben’s fast-paced, chaotic, cinematic style has earned him many plaudits. He co-created the post-apocalyptic Luchador comic book El Marvo with Luke Kondor and is the co-host of horror movie discussion podcast Horror Hangout.
He’s also a member of the storytelling collective Hawk & Cleaver and one of the minds behind the highly successful fiction podcast ‘The Other Stories’, which releases original narrated horror, science-fiction and fantasy shorts every week.
In this episode we go deep into:
* Publishing his first short story quickly
* Public accountability
* The early days of Hawk and Cleaver
* Using the momentum from small wins to complete his first novel
* Imposter syndrome
* Gaining Confidence as a writer
* Trusting the process
* Collaboration
* Designing his own book covers before starting to write
* Tips for…
playlist_add
Oct 1, 2020
#055: Faye Trask – Debut novel writing, finding mentors, and falling in love with learning.
Faye Trask has had a love for writing and telling stories since she was a little girl. She was immediately drawn into the world of fantasy and science fiction. Throughout her schooling her passion grew. she put her writing on hold to serve in the US military. When not working at her day job or on her debut novel she can be found in the woods of Maine camping, hiking or trail riding with her fiancé and their dog.
In this episode we go deep into:
* Where Faye’s love of writing started from
* Why Faye used to get distracted in English classes, and how that led to her teaching parts of the curriculum
* The importance of exploring your imagination and holding onto that muscle
* Dropping out of college and joining the military
* The existential crisis of leaving the military
* How Faye rediscovered her creative muscle
* Discovering writers on YouTube and falling down the rabbit hole of indie
* Lessons learned from Neil Gaiman and Jenna Moreci
* How Faye approaches find…
playlist_add
Sep 24, 2020
#054: Jennie Nash – Becoming a book coach, the truth behind the author journey, and the power of integrity.
Jennie Nash is the founder and chief creative officer of Author Accelerator, a company on a mission to help writers write books worth reading. Since the company’s inception, writers serious about reaching readers have trusted Jennie to coach their projects from inspiration to publication. Her clients have landed top New York agents, national book awards, and deals with houses such as Scribner, Simon & Schuster, and Hachette. Jennie is the author of 9 books in 3 genres. She taught for 13 years in the UCLA Extension Writer’s Program, is an instructor at CreativeLive.com and speaks on podcasts and at writing conferences all over the country.
In this episode we go deep into:
* Jennie’s love of Seth Godin and how the start-up world can translate into the craft of writing
* The importance of asking yourself ‘Why’ to zero in on your writing goals and focus
* How Jennie found herself in the business of book coaching instead of writing
* What exactly is book coaching, and wh…
playlist_add
Sep 18, 2020
#053: Ritu Bhathal – “Marriage Unarranged,” setting priorities, and poetry versus prose.
Ritu Bhathal is a blogger and author of fiction and poetry. She was born in Birmingham in the mid-1970s to migrant parents, hailing from Kenya but with Indian origin. Ritu’s colourful background has been a constant source of inspiration to her. From childhood, the joy of reading spurred her on to become creative in her writing, from fiction to poetry, winning small competitions at school and locally along the way.
As well as a wife, mother, daughter, sister, and teacher, Ritu also writes on her award-winning blog butismileanyway.com, which was awarded first place in the Best Overall Blog Category at the 2017 Annual Bloggers Bash Awards, and Best Book Blog in 2019. Ritu is happily married and living in Kent, with her Hubby Dearest, and two children, not forgetting the fur baby Sonu Singh.
In this episode we go deep into:
* Where Ritu’s journey began
* How life can prioritize over writing
* Starting a blog on a whim without a plan
* Indian family customs
* How writing gr…
playlist_add
Sep 10, 2020
#052: V Castro – Boosting marginalized voices, word counts during lockdown, and writing in the horror genre.
V Castro is a Mexican American writer originally from Texas who now resides in the UK. She is the author of Maria the Wanted, Hairspray and Switchblades, along with the other upcoming horror titles: Goddess of Filth, Queen of the Cicadas and Mestiza Blood (all coming soon).
Recently, during lockdown, V co-founded Fright Girl Summer: an online book festival to promote women in horror with an emphasis on women from marginalized communities.
In this episode we go deep into:
* How lockdown and current events have affected V’s creativity
* The writing of V’s first book, Maria the Wanted
* Writing without a plan
* Hopping between projects
* Why V writes horror
* Writing in the erotic horror subgenre
* On writing what you wants to read
* Cultivating a diverse reading list
* Fright Girl Summer
* Writing short stories for submission calls
* Playing with genre tropes
* Writing to music
* Using dreams as inspiration for stories
* Editing an anthology and boostin…
playlist_add
Sep 7, 2020
Bonus Minisode, feat J. Thorn: "9 Things Career Authors Don't Do"
Thanks for tuning in to this episode of the Great Writers Share podcast. In this bonus mini episode of the show, Dan talks to J. Thorn about his latest non-fiction experiment, how it works, what he's hoping to achieve, and how it can help authors with their careers.
If you have suggestions for more content like this that you'd like to see from the show, then get in touch!
Links:
See the series: http://getbook.at/9thingsseries
Special thanks to:
Intro vocals: Persephone Rose
Show theme: Karl Hughes
BUY 'COLLABORATION FOR AUTHORS': https://books2read.com/collaboration
Find out more about the Great Writers Share podcast at https://danielwillcocks.com/greatwritersshare
Become a Patron over at https://patreon.com/greatwritersshare
Join the Facebook group! https://www.facebook.com/groups/greatwritersshare
Instagram: https://instagram.com/greatwritersshare
OFFICIAL Merchandise available! https://www.danielwillcocks.com/merch/gws
Become a Patron of the show! Get exclusive bonus co…
playlist_add
Sep 3, 2020
#051: Autumn Birt – Travelling the world while writing, talking to your characters, and running a business with your partner.
Autumn Birt is an award-winning and best selling author of almost 20 books. Her second epic fantasy series, Games of Fire, has received tremendous critical reviews and book 2, Gates of Fire & Earth, is also a Fantasia Reviews 2017 Book of Year nominee and winner of Best Worldbuilding.
She writes epic and dark fantasy, with a bit of post-apocalyptic mayhem thrown in. Oh, and somehow a few non-fiction books have snuck into life as well, including stories of Yurt living (in Maine, in the winter …) and real-life travel adventures with her husband as well as writing help books co-written with her writing partner, Jesper Schmidt. She is also a graphic artist when not typing away or motorcycling, hiking, paddling, or chasing her small dog through the Vermont woods.
In this episode we go deep into:
* Autumn’s route to writing via a career in conservation and then art
* Learning how to make book covers
* How she came to collaborate with her business partner
* Going travelling aft…
playlist_add
Aug 27, 2020
#050: What single piece of advice would you give to writers to carry them from 2020 into 2021? Feat. Special guests.
In this week’s episode, Dan celebrates 50 episodes of the Great Writers Share podcast by inviting back some old favorite guests of the show to share their one piece of advice they would give to writers to carry them from 2020 into 2021.
Featured writers and time stamps:
* 00:09:19 – Michael Anderle
* 00:11:40 – Craig Falconer
* 00:16:25 – Clare Littlemore
* 00:21:45 – Sacha Black
* 00:23:48 – John L Monk
* 00:26:42 – Jonathan Janz
* 00:32:04 – Jenna Moreci
* 00:34:36 – Rachael Herron
* 00:38:03 – J. Thorn
* 00:41:16 – Meg LaTorre
* 00:42:47 – Joanna Penn
New hosts
Dan also announces some brand new additions to the podcast, introducing authors Holly Lyne, John Crinan, and Faye Trask to the Great Writers Share team. We also announce how the changes will affect you, and some improvements to the Great Writers Share Patreon page and community.
Get more from Great Writers Share!
https://www.danielwillcocks.com/merch/gws
https://www.faceboo…
playlist_add
Aug 20, 2020
#049: Meg LaTorre – From literary agency to self-publishing, building a platform on YouTube, and finding your niche.
Meg LaTorre is a bestselling science fiction and fantasy author, YouTube darling and founder of iWriterly, creator of the free query critique platform, Query Hack, co-host of the Publishable show, and blogger. Formerly, she worked at a literary agency, and she has a background in magazine publishing, medical/technical writing, and journalism.
Needless to say, words are her thing.
In her free time, Meg enjoys spending time with her husband and son, running, going to Renaissance faires and comic cons, and napping.
In this episode we go deep into:
* How to take time off when you have a busy platform to maintain
* How Meg got into the writing game
* The importance of just taking that first step into writing
* How Meg’s previous experience at a literary agency gave her a unique lens on publishing her new book, The Cyborg Tinkerer
* Why Meg chose to self-publish her book
* What are indie authors ignoring that traditional publishers are killing it at
* Why Meg dived into t…
playlist_add
Aug 13, 2020
#048: James Blatch – The many iterations of the first novel, journalism to fiction, and serving authors with podcasts and courses.
James Blatch is a former BBC Defence Reporter and a former BBFC Film Examiner. He reported for the BBC on the UK military from, among other places, HMS Invincible, Kuwait, the Arctic Circle as well as covering the UK air offensive during the Kosovo Conflict in 1999.
However, you probably know James Blatch as one of the voices of the incredibly rich and popular Self Publishing Formula podcast which he co-hosts with thriller author Mark Dawson. James is also a director of the Self Publishing Formula Limited, an online course provider for independent authors, of which I have personally benefited from.
In this episode we go deep into:
* What 3 things James would never leave the house without
* Where Jame’s writing journey began
* Why NaNoWriMo helped James finish his first project
* The challenge between switching from journalistic writing to fiction writing
* The evolutionary journey of a 10-year novel
* How being surrounded by other writers with the SPF podcast has influ…
playlist_add
Aug 6, 2020
#047: Jeff Adams & Will Knauss – Getting started with gay romance fiction, collaboration, and keeping the creative passion burning.
Jeff Adams and Will Knauss are both writers of gay romance fiction, as well as the hosts of both the Big Gay Fiction Podcast (a podcast aimed at sharing their love for gay romance fiction) and the Big Gay Author Podcast (in which they document their journey to full-time writerdom, interviewing successful indies along the way).
Jeff and Will are a powerhouse couple in both business and life, residing in Northern California after more than twenty years of marriage.
In this episode we go deep into:
* How Jeff and Adam got into the writing game
* How to keep the flame alive as a writer
* What Jeff and Will’s collaboration looked like when they released their co-written novel
* What were the pitfalls found in collaborating on a novel?
* How to manage expectations on a series when the next book has fallen by the wayside
* Marketing your books with content podcasts
* The growth journey of a podcast
* How to maintain your interest in your podcast after years of publishing…
playlist_add
Jul 30, 2020
#046: Iain Rob Wright – Finding success in horror in 2020, effective mailing lists & bringing your spouse into your creative business.
One of Horror’s most respected authors, Iain Rob Wright is the writer of more than twenty books, many of them bestsellers. A previous Kindle All-Star and a mainstay in the horror charts, he is a prolific producer of unique and original stories. From his apocalyptic saga The Gates to his claustrophobic revenge thriller ASBO, Iain writes across a broad spectrum of sub genres, creating both beloved series and standalone titles.
With work available in several languages and in audio, Iain Rob Wright is one of the fastest rising stars in horror, but when not writing he is a dedicated family man. Father to Jack and Molly, and husband to Sally, he is often seen sharing his family memories with his fans on Facebook.
In this episode we go deep into:
* The reality behind the difficulty of making money in writing in 2020
* An insight into Iain’s writing journey from 2011 until present
* How to be certain you can continue afloat as a full time writer
* Iain’s attitude towards serie…
playlist_add
Jul 23, 2020
#045: Kristina Rienzi – Pitching through Twitter, the power of perpetual learning & choosing honesty.
Kristina Rienzi is a Jersey Shore local, new adult author, certified professional coach, and the former president of Sisters in Crime-Central Jersey. An INFJ who dreams beyond big, Kristina encourages others (and herself) to embrace the unknown through her stories about fierce women risking their lives to become who they were always meant to be.
When she’s not writing or drinking wine, Kristina is spoiling her three fur-beasts, dissecting true crime stories, singing (and dancing) to Yacht Rock Radio, or rooting for the WVU Mountaineers. She believes in all things paranormal, a closet full of designer bags, weekly manicures, the Law of Attraction, aliens, angels, and the value of a graduate degree in psychology.
In this episode we go deep into:
* Kristina’s experiences with the paranormal
* How Kristina’s writing journey started
* The power of seeking honest criticism
* What Kristina’s writing process looks like as a mother in the middle of a pandemic
* Why the writ…
playlist_add
Jul 16, 2020
#044: Robert J. Sawyer – How to win awards, The Oppenheimer Alternative, & the evolving publishing approach.
Robert J. Sawyer is one of only eight writers ever to win all three of the world’s top awards for best science-fiction novel of the year: the Hugo, the Nebula, and the formerly titled John W. Campbell Memorial Award. He has also won the Robert A. Heinlein Award, the Edward E. Smith Memorial Award, and the Hal Clement Memorial Award; the top SF awards in China, Japan, France, and Spain; and a record-setting sixteen Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Awards (“Auroras”).
Rob’s novel FlashForward was the basis for the ABC TV series of the same name, and he was a scriptwriter for that program. He also scripted the two-part finale for the popular web series Star Trek Continues.
He is a Member of the Order of Canada, the highest honor bestowed by the Canadian government, as well as the Order of Ontario, the highest honor given by his home province; he was also one of the initial inductees into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame.
In this episode we go deep into:…
playlist_add
Jul 9, 2020
#043: Gemma Amor – Funding horror through Kickstarter, keeping things simple, and the joy of creation.
Gemma Amor is a Bram Stoker Award-nominated horror fiction author, podcaster illustrator, and voice actor based in the UK. Her books include Cruel Works of Nature, the award-nominated Dear Laura, White Pines, and Till the Score is Paid. She's also the co-creator, writer and voice actor for horror-comedy podcast Calling Darkness, starring Kate Siegel.
Gemma's stories feature on the NoSleep podcast, Shadows at the Door, Creepy and the Grey Rooms podcast. You can find her in a number of horror anthologies, too.
In this episode we go deep into:
* The influence of Stephen King’s “Cujo."
* How Gemma cut her teeth in writing
* The power of actually finishing a story
* The short story medium and getting yourself published
* Playing with various mediums of art to satisfy the creative ache
* Using Kickstarter to create, publish, and launch your book
* The power of keeping things simple when writing a story
* How draining it can be to give a story your all
* The best ways…
playlist_add
Jul 2, 2020
#042: Garrett Robinson – Serializing fantasy, making it through the hard times, and changing the world with fiction.
Garrett Robinson is the author of #1 bestselling Amazon fantasy series, “The Nightblade Epic”, a heroic fantasy saga with tens of thousands of avid readers. The epic is set in the land of Underrealm, alongside a second bestselling series, “The Academy Journals.” His imprint, Legacy Books, has published over 2 dozen fantasy titles, showcasing fresh writing talent in the genre. Garrett is also a filmmaker, and successful YouTube talent, with brand new vlogs hitting his channel every Friday.
In this episode we go deep into:
* Garrett’s advice for anyone who hasn’t watched Hamilton yet
* Garrett’s experience working in filmmaking, screenwriting, and directing, and how that segued into his writing career
* The origins of his hit series “Underrealm"
* Letting your story grow in your mind until you’re professionally ready to write it
* Allowing yourself time to develop as an artist
* The experience of writing and releasing serial fiction, and how that has chang…
playlist_add
Jun 25, 2020
#041: Daniel Willcocks – “Collaboration for Authors."
Daniel Willcocks is an international bestselling author and podcaster of dark fiction. He is one fifth of digital story studio, Hawk & Cleaver, co-producer of iTunes-busting fiction podcast, 'The Other Stories,’ as well as the host of the 'Great Writers Share' podcast, in which he breaks down the strategies, tricks, and productivity habits of some of the best writers in the game today.
Residing in the UK, Dan's work explores the catastrophic and the strange. His stories span the genres of horror, post-apocalyptic, and sci-fi, and his work has seen him collaborating with some of the biggest names in the independent publishing community.
In this episode we go deep into:
* Where did Dan’s collaboration journey began
* Why Dan wrote a book on collaboration
* How collaborations have impacted Dan’s career
* The key mistakes authors make when they collaborate
* What is the biggest takeaway from the book that authors need to understand
* How to find a collaborator
* How…
playlist_add
Jun 18, 2020
#040: Julie Hiner – Growth through challenge, the welcoming arms of writers, and embracing your genre.
Julie Hiner is a writer of dark crime, horror, and non-fiction.
Julie has been fascinated with the complexity of the dark mind of the serial killer and obsessed with trying to understand how murder can occur. Finding inspiration at a talk given by a local homicide detective, Julie surged down her new path to writing a dark, serial killer novel.
Julie's favorite parts of her new found writing process are the detailed research, creating an in-depth character and digging deep into his, her or its mind, and unleashing her inner artist on photos to create the cover and marketing material.
In this episode we go deep into:
* Julie’s journey into reading and writing
* Dealing with anxiety around gaining weight
* How “Just A Girl and a Bike” was born
* How knowing less reduces the fear
* Getting involved in writer’s groups and asking for help
* The welcoming arms of other writers
* How Julie first approached her publishing process
* The differences between writing no…
playlist_add
Jun 11, 2020
#039: Jenna Moreci – YouTube for writers, diversifying income streams, and cultivating superfans.
Jenna Moreci is a half-human, half-weaponized robot hellbent on overthrowing mankind. She’s also a best selling author specializing in so-cute-you-could-barf romance interspersed between extreme violence and bloodshed.
A Silicon Valley native, Jenna hosts a YouTube channel with over 210,000 subscribers (at the time of recording) where she uses her passion for storytelling and background in business to help other creators navigate their writing and publishing journey. When she’s not writing or ’tubing, Jenna enjoys listening to music, cuddling with her dog, and kissing her fiancé’s gorgeous face. Her other talents include prolific cursing, spilling/dropping things, accidentally making people cry, and cooking.
In this episode we go deep into:
* How Jenna accidentally makes so many people cry
* How Jenna first got started with writing
* Choosing passion over smarts
* Jenna’s introduction into YouTube and how she made it work
* What it takes to make it on YouTube…
playlist_add
Jun 4, 2020
#038: Drew Starling – The power of short stories, real-time feedback, and emotionally insulating yourself.
Drew Starling is an Amazon bestselling author of horror and dark fiction, a husband and dog dad who loves strong female leads, martial arts, and long walks in the woods with canine companions. He would like to think his plots are better than his prose, but strives to make his words sound both beautiful and terrifying at the same time. He listens to Beethoven, Megadeth, and Enya when he writes.
His only rule of writing: the dog never dies.
In this episode we go deep into:
* Why the dog never dies
* Drew’s writing journey and how he’s gotten to where he is
* How beneficial author communities are online
* Why short stories are a great way create emotional insulation
* The incredible influence of Stephen King
* Whether the TV series of “The Outsider” was better or worse than the book
* The power of the short story submission loop
* Why short stories are a great way to build an author reputation
* How to maximize your chances of getting short stories submitted a…
playlist_add
May 28, 2020
#037: Lindsay Weisner – Finding ‘happy,’ the Neurotic Nourishment podcast, and talking is healing.
Dr. Lindsay Weisner is the host of the Neurotic Nourishment Podcast – a show where she talks with smart, sweary women about s**t that matters – and her first book ‘Ten Steps To Finding Happy’ released on March 20th, 2020.
Dr Weisner graduated from Georgetown University in 1999 and was awarded a fellowship in child development at the NIH. She received her doctorate from C.W. Post, LIU and pursued post-doctorate training at the American Institute of Psychoanalysis
In this episode we go deep into:
* How Lindsay defines ‘happy'
* The effect of launching a book during the time of the coronavirus
* The importance of choosing to find happy
* Battling your own habits to improve yourself
* Lindsay shares methods to maintain happiness during the coronavirus pandemic
* How Lindsay got involved in publishing Ten Steps to Finding Happy
* The effectiveness of plunging yourself in at the deep end
* Finding your passion, and finding your purpose
* Learning to keep going…
playlist_add
May 21, 2020
#036: Clare Littlemore – Writing dystopian fiction, the power of closing a series, and using trial and error to find your outlining process.
Clare Littlemore is a young adult dystopian and sci-fi author who thrives on fictionally destroying the world with a cup of tea by her side. The tea will often be cold, because her characters have a way of grabbing hold of her and not letting go until the final page of their story is finished. They regularly have the same effect on her readers.
In this episode we go deep into:
* The difference between a dystopian author and a sociopath
* Clare’s journey into writing and how she finished her first major work
* How life gets in the way, but you can’t let it win
* Why Clare chose dystopian fiction when her first foray was a mystery thriller
* What keeps people writing when there’s no immediate reward
* Celebrating wrapping up a first series
* The pitfalls of assuming you don’t have to worldbuild, even in dystopian fiction
* Lessons learned from not outlining a series from the beginning
* Discovery writers vs planning and finding your preference
* The benefits…
playlist_add
May 14, 2020
#035: Mag Dimond – Award-winning memoirs, documenting your life to leave a legacy, and mindfulness for writers.
Mag Dimond is the award-winning author of BOWING TO ELEPHANTS, Tales of a Travel Junkie (which hit #1 in 5 countries on the day it launched and just won Best Indie Biographies & Memoirs from Kirkus). Her book has been compared to EAT PRAY LOVE in professional reviews and has received accolades from many thought leaders in the mindfulness space, including Jack Kornfield.
Having written her first book in her 70s, Mag has also been honored in American Literary Review, Travelers Tales Solas Awards, the Tulip Tree Awards, and the William Faulkner Wisdom Awards.
Mag is a practicing Buddhist and dedicated member of Spirit Rock Meditation Center north of San Francisco. The loves of Mag’s life are: her family, playing Bach on her grandmother’s baby grand, meditating, traveling, knitting, watching the wild Pacific Ocean, writing, teaching, reading, and enjoying good food and wine with dear friends.
In this episode we go deep into:
* Mag’s love for her grandmother’s baby grand piano…
playlist_add
May 7, 2020
#034: Nick Cole – Innovating rapid release, guarding your brand, and giving readers what they want.
Nick Cole is a former soldier and working actor living in Southern California. When he is not auditioning for commercials, going out for sitcoms or being shot, kicked, stabbed or beaten by the students of various film schools for their projects, he can be found writing books.
Nick’s Book The Old Man and the Wasteland was an Amazon Bestseller and #1 in Science Fiction. In 2016 Nick’s book CTRL ALT Revolt won the Dragon Award for Best Apocalyptic novel.
The Galaxy’s Edge series is his new bestselling series and an Audible smash hit.
In this episode we go deep into:
* Nick’s love for Stephen King and, specifically, the genius of The Dark Tower
* Being financially successful or critically acclaimed
* The demanding rapid release market
* Maintaining quality while rapid releasing
* Serving the readers with what they want
* Nick’s publication process
* Utilizing your fans to help with your process
* The power of stacking books
* Learning the power of restraint…
playlist_add
Apr 30, 2020
#033: Michael David Wilson – ’The Girl in the Video,’ creating your own opportunities, and confronting your fears.
Michael David Wilson is the founder of the popular UK horror website, podcast, and small press, This Is Horror. He's a professional writer, editor, and podcaster, and has worked for such companies as 2000 AD, Terrorizer, and Broken River Books. His brand-new novella, The Girl in the Video will be published via Perpetual Motion Machine Publishing on 28 April 2020, with a second novella, House of Bad Memories, to be published by Grindhouse Press in 2021.
Michael's work has appeared in numerous other publications including The NoSleep Podcast, Dark Moon Digest, LitReactor, Hawk & Cleaver’s The Other Stories, and Scream. He is also a professional ESL Teacher and graduate of the University of Warwick’s English Literature and Creative Writing Programme.
In this episode we go deep into:
* How Michael cut his teeth with writing
* Putting your money where your mouth is as a writer
* Using challenges to keep yourself motivated in writing
* Sharing the gift of storytelling with tho…
playlist_add
Apr 23, 2020
#032: Joanna Penn – Staying ahead of the game, the realities of indie authorship, and prioritizing your health for the long-game.
Joanna Penn is an Award-nominated, New York Times and USA Today bestselling thriller author, as well as a writer of non-fiction for authors.
She's written over 30 books and sold over 500,000 books in 84 countries and 5 languages. She's an independent author and also runs a small press, Curl Up Press, with her husband and business partner.
Joanna is also an international professional speaker and award-winning creative entrepreneur. In 2018, she was awarded Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World. Her show, The Creative Penn Podcast, has been downloaded 3.7 million times in 219 countries.
Based now in Bath, Joanna is a travel junkie who also likes hiking, and relaxing with a book and a glass of pinot noir, or a gin & tonic (Hendricks & Fever Tree).
In this episode we go deep into:
* How Joanna’s handling herself during the coronavirus lockdown
* How Joanna’s writing process and approach to business has changed since she first started writing
* Where does J…
playlist_add
Apr 16, 2020
#031: Tosca Lee – Learning enough to be dangerous, evolutions as a writer, and finding the joy in your work.
Tosca Lee is the multi-award winning, New York Times, IndieBound, and Amazon bestselling author of eleven novels including The Line Between, The Progeny, Firstborn, The Legend of Sheba, Iscariot, and the Books of Mortals trilogy with New York Times bestseller Ted Dekker. Her work has been translated into seventeen languages and optioned for TV and film. She is best known for her meticulous research, masterful prose, unexpected points of view, and high-octane thrillers.
A notorious night-owl, she loves movies, playing video games with her kids, and sending cheesy texts to her husband. She’s also a big fan of her amazing readers.
In this episode we go deep into:
* What video games Tosca is currently playing
* What makes a good soup?
* How Tosca got involved in writing
* The naivety that comes with writing your first novel and how to learn the craft
* The importance of pushing onward despite failures
* Being tenacious and passionate enough to write until you succeed
* K…
playlist_add
Apr 9, 2020
#030: T.W.M. Ashford – The difference between good prose and great storytelling, lessons learned from SPF, and soft relaunching your author career.
Tom (T.W.M.) Ashford is a British novelist. He lives in London with his American wife, not far from where he was born.
He’s written hundreds of scripts and copy for some of the biggest companies in the world, and previously published articles on games and films. He has been known to play a bass guitar on more than one occasion, and sometimes well.
of course, his main passion is writing fiction. His books include the Blackwater trilogy, the Checking Out series and numerous standalone adventures.
In this episode we go deep into:
* Adjusting to working around the coronavirus quarantines
* How Tom started writing
* How writing gets easier over time
* Transitioning from writing good prose to telling a good story
* How Tom got involved with the Self Publishing Formula gang
* Pushing yourself to deliver when you believe in your goals
* Taking opportunities where you can and not expecting too much
* Behind the scenes of the Self Publishing Formula
* Lurking or being voc…
playlist_add
Apr 2, 2020
#029: Jonathan Yanez – Conquering the impossible, becoming a healthy writer, and finding freedom in sci-fi.
Jonathan Yanez is an author of sci-fi and fantasy fiction. He's the creative mind behind the “Forsaken Mercenary” series and the “Gateway to the Galaxy” series. He is also the author of the non-fiction, “Get it Done: Hard-Hitting Motivation For Authors”, which I’d HIGHLY recommend.
This is not where Jonathan’s skills end. He is also a former personal trainer, a part-time model, and an all round inspiring guy.
In this episode we go deep into:
* How Jonathan started his journey into non-fiction
* Jonathan’s 5-year journey from grinding to success
* The importance of getting up early to get your shit done
* Jonathan’s morning routine and how he gets 4,000 words done a day
* Finding a way to keep your routine with the current coronavirus pandemic
* The importance of physical health with your writing career
* How to build a healthy workout habit that’s easy to keep
* Fail early. Fail often. Fail forward.
* Why Jonathan writes science-fiction
* Le…
playlist_add
Mar 26, 2020
#028: Jeffrey A. Carver – Over a decade of publishing changes, becoming your own publisher, and the power of teaching in your own fiction.
Jeffrey A. Carver is an American science fiction author. He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, and graduated from Brown University. He now lives outside of Boston, Massachusetts and his novel Eternity's End was a finalist for the 2001 Nebula Awards.
In this episode we go deep into:
* The story behind Jeffrey’s 11-year publishing gap
* Bridging the series gap between 2008 and 2019
* Changes in publishing over the last decade
* Leaning how to publish and market new books in 2019/2020
* Bringing older properties to a brand new audience
* The best way to learn what you need to know
* How indie publishers are becoming more savvy than traditional
* How elder publishing bodies are opening the doors to indies
* Jeffrey’s changing in process given the new publishing culture
* Understanding and adapting your personal process, despite what others tell you
* Losing yourself in your story and letting your characters speak
* Why Jeffrey blogs, and is it worth it in 2020?
*…
playlist_add
Mar 19, 2020
#027: Jonathan Janz – Knowing your value, cultivating positivity, and being authentic to yourself.
Jonathan Janz is the author of more than a dozen novels and numerous short stories. His work has been championed by authors such as Joe R. Lansdale, Jack Ketchum, and Brian Keene; he has also been lauded by Publishers Weekly, Library Journal, and School Library Journal.
His ghost story The Siren and the Specter was selected as a Goodreads Choice nominee for Best Horror. Additionally, his novel Children of the Dark was chosen by Booklist as a Top Ten Horror Book of the Year. Jonathan’s main interests are his wonderful wife and his three amazing children.
In this episode we go deep into:
* What it’s like to be praised by horror sensation, Brian Keene.
* What were the core mistakes that Brian Keene helped him through.
* Knowing the value of your own work and shooting for the moon.
* The value of mentorship.
* How social media strengthens connections and widens the world.
* Gravitating towards the people that raise you up, and distancing yourself from those who push you…
playlist_add
Mar 12, 2020
#026: H.B. Lyne & Angeline Trevena – Navigating collaborations, running author events, and reviving a podcast.
HB Lynne and Angeline Trevena are the power duo behind the Unstoppable Authors podcast and the masterminds behind the UK’s Indie Fire Writers Conference. They each write across the science fiction and fantasy genres, and I’d be doing a disservice if I didn’t give each of them a highlight from their respective bios.
Angeline Trevena is a British science fiction, fantasy, and horror author. Creator of The Paper Duchess series, she is best known for her feminist brand of dystopia.
She's been writing stories since she was old enough to hold a pen, and after gaining a BA Hons degree in Drama and Writing, she honed her craft with horror and fantasy shorts which are published in numerous magazines and anthologies.
H. B. Lyne has always lived close to the dark side, never quite mastering the ability to force choke but contemplating it during dark times.
These days, when not chasing two chaotic munchkins around, Holly somehow engineers time to write fantasy. Her series, Echoes of the…
playlist_add
Mar 5, 2020
#025: Brandon Ellis – The secret to marketing box sets, embracing mentorship and tutelage, and using vision boards to drive success.
Brandon Ellis is the bestselling author of the Mars Colony Chronicles, Ascendent Chronicles, and many more sci-fi works.
Brandon grew up on the outskirts of Portland, Oregon. After being declared an All State Baseball and All League Basketball player, he obtained his state and federal Therapeutic Massage License to become a successful Sports Massage Therapist & Instructor. During his life adventures so far, he has become a father of three and a successful author, and has recently taking the plunge in moving to Bali.
In this episode we go deep into:
* Brandon’s love for board games
* Writing in Brandon’s early years
* What kept Brandon motivated when he believed his writing stunk
* Building a strong mentality and learning to excel
* Lessons which crossed from sports therapy to writing
* Why networking is a superpower
* Giving, being helpful, and being charitable without expectation
* Not being scared to reach out and ask for advice from those you want to learn fro…
playlist_add
Feb 27, 2020
#024: John L Monk – The importance of being unforgettable, writing through the tough stuff, and the reality behind rapid release.
John L. Monk is the creative mind behind such series as The Jenkins Cycle, This Dark Ages, and The Chronicles of Ethan. His work has spanned the genres of science-fiction, post-apocalyptic, with his most recent venture taking him into the genre of LitRPG
John lives in Virginia, USA, with his wife, Dorothy. A writer with a degree in cultural anthropology, he boldly does the dishes, roots out evil wherever it lurks, and writes his own stunts.
In this episode we go deep into:
* What’s changed in the 3 years since John and Dan spoke.
* The importance of following up quickly on a success
* Emotional and intellectual expenditure and how to manage it when writing about tough issues.
* Writing your reality and wondering about reviews later
* Experimenting with the fast release with John’s LitRPG series
* Why John decided to play in the LitRPG genre
* Seizing opportunities when they come
* John’s experience working with a small press
* The reality of writing three boo…
playlist_add
Feb 20, 2020
#023: Meg Cowley – Creating an author brand, business vs art, and making the muse your b**ch.
Meg Cowley is a USA Today bestselling author of fantasy fiction.
She lives in Yorkshire, England with her husband, son, and their two cats, Jet and Pixie. Meg loves everything fantasy, magic, and dragons, and has been a writer and artist since she could pick up a pencil. Meg works best when fuelled by Earl Grey Tea, margherita pizza, and characters who won’t do what they’re told! She’s passionate about writing sweeping fantasies with characters that could step off the page, and worlds that could be as real as our own.
In this episode we go deep into:
* Meg’s obsession with tea and pizza
* Finding and connecting with fellow writers
* Coloring books for adults
* Becoming a USA Today Bestselling author
* Realizing that writing can be an actual career
* The reality of the business vs the artistic brain
* How Meg structures her day
* Balancing writing with the duties of being a mother
* Training yourself to rest
* The importance of reading and socializing to b…
playlist_add
Feb 13, 2020
#022: Craig Falconer – Lessons in writing Sci-Fi, modeling specific success, and quality versus quantity.
Craig A. Falconer is a bestselling Scottish novelist, specializing in science fiction. He has written several widely popular series in his career, including the Not Alone series, Terradox series, and the Sycamore series.
In this episode we go deep into:
* What it feels like to win a ‘Best Dressed’ at a ceilidh
* Advantages of leveraging a box set
* Changing your mindset from minimum work to maximum output
* Importance of specializing in one ad platform instead of trying to juggle them all
* Best ways to market a box set
* Modeling specific success
* Finding your ideal writing routine
* Going beyond what you believe you’re capable of (writing 113,000 in 13 days)
* How speed can help the quality of your writing
* Tips to increase your odds of creating a runaway success
* Studying trends across mediums to find what could sell
* Knowing your genre inside and out
* Craig’s research process
* Capitalizing on emotional resonance and playing with contrasti…
playlist_add
Feb 6, 2020
#021: Steff Green – Doubling down on what works, engaging your readers, and setting boundaries to focus on what works for you.
Steff Green is a USA Today bestselling and award-winning author, blogger, metalhead and heavy metal maiden living in an off-grid home on 4 acres of rural paradise in New Zealand with her cantankerous drummer husband, four cats, a menagerie of farmyard animals, and their medieval sword collection.
She publishes dark fantasy and science fiction under the name S C Green, and paranormal romance as Steffanie Holmes. Her most popular books are set in the fictional English town of Crookshollow and are described by one reviewer as “dark and steamy … a gothic delight.”
All of this success has been found despite Steff being completely colour blind, photophobic, and legally blind. In 2017, she was awarded the Attitude Award for Artistic Achievement, which recognises achievement in the disability sector, and in 2018 she was a finalist for a Women of Influence award in the arts category.
In this episode we go deep into:
* Why black jellybeans suck
* Where Steff’s writing journey beg…
playlist_add
Jan 30, 2020
#020: Katie Forrest – Time Management for Writers, the only constant is change, and the benefits of saying ‘yes'.
Katie Forrest is a busy wife and special needs parent, doing her best to juggle this with her work. She runs a boutique law firm, writes cosy mystery under a pen name and is obsessed with cacti. She loves solo-travelling, is a complete time management geek, and is the author of the new non-fiction book, Time Management for Writers
In this episode we go deep into:
* Katie’s new book, Time Management for Writers
* Importance of building habits
* Why sleep sucks
* How to overcome the burden of ‘doing everything’ and narrow your life down to the key things
* Setting boundaries with your loved ones to prioritise your writing
* Navigating difficult conversations with your partner
* Managing fiction and non-fiction projects around work
* Katie’s novel planning process
* Benefits of saying ‘yes’ to things
* How Katie prepares (or doesn’t) for speaking engagements
* Embracing entrepreneurship
* How Katie hones her craft before writing her books
* Managi…
playlist_add
Jan 23, 2020
#019: Bruce Olav Solheim – Documenting the paranormal, serving veterans with education, and trusting the muse.
Bruce Olav Solheim is a distinguished professor of history at Citrus College in Glendora, California. He served for six years in the US Army as a jail guard and later as a helicopter pilot. He is the founder of the Veterans Program at Citrus College and co-founded, with Manuel Martinez and Ginger De Villa-Rose, the Boots to Books transition course—the first college course in the United States designed specifically for recently returned veterans.
Bruce has published eight books, one comic book, and has written ten plays—two of which have been produced—and spends time exploring and documenting his experiences with the paranormal.
In this episode we go deep into:
* Why the paranormal is actually normal
* Bruce’s experiences with the paranormal.
* Why Bruce chronicled his paranormal experiences in his books
* Why it’s key to take risks and go to the other side of fear
* Shrugging off critics in favor of unlocking doors for others
* Thriving in a supportive environm…
playlist_add
Jan 16, 2020
#018: Welcome to 2020! – Goalsetting, productivity, and expectation management ft. Luke Kondor
I'm BACK, baby!
Welcome to the first episode of the Great Writers Share in 2020. After a 2 month hiatus, Luke Kondor joins Daniel Willcocks to discuss goal-setting for 2020, achieving your dreams, and putting yourself into action to achieve your goals. In an episode which veers off the usual format, the gents motivate and share their top tips for ensuring that 2020 kicks all the ass it can.
Special thanks to:
Intro vocals: Persephone Rose
Show theme: Karl Hughes
Become a Patron of the show! Get exclusive bonus content, find your tribe, and get early access to all episodes.
Thank you to my patrons:
David Hines
Harley Christensen
Jon Cronshaw
Jenn Mitchell
Innes Richens
Ian J Middleton
PT Hylton
Michael Anderle
Jerry Evanoff
Mark McClure
See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
playlist_add
Nov 22, 2019
Intermission: Going on Hiatus
This week, I sit down alone with my microphone for a public service announcement that the Great Writers Share podcast will be going on a short hiatus.
This has been a decision which I have been very hesitant to make. In the full transparency of the show which I value greatly, I am currently dealing with a few monumental shifts in my own personal life which mean that my attention needs to be focused on sorting a few things out. I am currently in the process of moving out of the home I shared with my ex-partner, and there is a 5-year-old in the middle, so my attention needs to be on making sure the situation can run as smoothly as possible while this all occurs over the Christmas period. Since writing is my main income, that’s going to be my work focus, and while I love running the podcast, and will undoubtedly come back to it at the beginning of next year, I need to focus on that.
I hope you can all understand. The Patreon and all of its rewards will still be open and anyone current…
playlist_add
Nov 14, 2019
#017: Humphrey Hawksley – Going deep with research, translating journalism to novels, and the changing nature of traditional publishing.
Humphrey Hawksley is an author, commentator and broadcaster, who has reported on key trends, events and conflicts from all over the world.
His work as a BBC foreign correspondent has taken him to crises on every continent. He was expelled from Sri Lanka, opened the BBC’s television bureau in China, was arrested in Serbia and initiated a global campaign against enslaved children in the chocolate industry. A campaign which continues today.
Humphrey is the author of the acclaimed ‘Future History’ series that explores world conflict. He has published four international thrillers, together with the non-fiction Democracy Kills: What’s so good about the Vote – a tie-in to his TV documentary on the pitfalls of the modern-day path to democracy from dictatorship.
His work has appeared in the The Guardian, The Times, Financial Times, International Herald Tribune, Yale Global and other publications and now he appears as a guest on the Great Writers Share podcast.
In this episode we g…
playlist_add