Coffee & Real Talk for Writers Podcast
Ep 13: My Book Publishing Timeline
In this episode, I talk about working under duress, ways I’ve been using dictation, and the approximate schedule I use in my indie publishing process.
In this episode, I talk about working under duress, ways I’ve been using dictation, and the approximate schedule I use in my indie publishing process.
Note: I am an affiliate of some of the platforms you can access through the universal book links below, which means if you make a purchase, I get a few cents at no additional cost to you.
Mentioned in this episode:
The Indie Publishing Process Part 1: From the End to the Finish
The Indie Publishing Process Part 2: Publishing and Distribution
The Indie Publishing Process Part 3: Finding Your Readers (a.k.a Marketing)
Wide for the Win Facebook Group
Wide for the Win by Mark Leslie Lefebvre
Successful Self-Publishing by Joanna Penn
Draft2Digital (affiliate link)
Mug Quote of the Week:
"Excuse my mess. My comfort zone is being renovated." - Talena Winters
Inspired by:
“It’s only after you’ve stepped outside your comfort zone that you begin to change, grow, and transform.” - Roy T. Bennett
Question of the Week:
What's one thing you wish you had known before you started publishing?
Tweet me: https://twitter.com/talenawinters
Original music by Josh Rickard, www.joshrickardmusic.com.
Ep 12: Improving Characters with the Enneagram
In this episode, I talk about working with beta readers, planning my next project, and how learning the Enneagram helped me make my characters better.
In this episode, I talk about working with beta readers, planning my next project, and how learning the Enneagram helped me make my characters better.
Note: I am an affiliate of some of the platforms you can access through the universal book links below, which means if you make a purchase, I get a few cents at no additional cost to you.
Mentioned in this episode:
Every Star that Shines preorder
The Emotional Wound Thesaurus by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi
H. Claire Taylor's email series about the Enneagram for writers: www.ffs.media/readnow
Mug quote of the week:
“I am the wound and the blade, the torturer and the flayed.”
― Charles Baudelaire, The Flowers of Evil
Question of the week:
What tools do you use when you are creating or refining characters?
Original music by Josh Rickard, www.joshrickardmusic.com.
S1E11: What Editors Wish Authors Knew about Working with Editors
In this episode, I talk about completing the first draft of my manuscript, what I'm going to do next, and my thoughts as a writer and editor about what editors wish writers knew about working with them.
In this episode, I talk about completing the first draft of my manuscript, what I'm going to do next, and my thoughts as a writer and editor about what editors wish writers knew about working with them.
Note: I am an affiliate of some of the platforms you can access through the universal book links below (marked with an *), which means if you make a purchase, I get a few cents at no additional cost to you.
Mentioned in this episode:
The Story of St. Patrick (VeggieTales)
Newsletter Ninja 2 by Tammi Labrecque*
Blog tour for The Undine's Tear
Sell More Books Show Episode 418: Mastering Deadlines, Creativity, and That Kickstarter
Kobo Writing Life Podcast Episode #286: Writing Female Friendships with Anat Deracine
Six Figure Authors Episode 123: Dealing With Criticism as an Author
Save the Cat Writes a Novel by Jessica Brody*
Mug Quote of the Week:
How to fly:
Throw yourself at the ground.
Miss.
Inspired by the following quote by Douglas Adams from Life, the Universe, and Everything:
““The Guide says there is an art to flying,” said Ford, “or rather a knack. The knack lies in learning how to throw yourself at the ground and miss.””
Question of the Week:
Was there a time you disagreed with an editors' recommendation, and are you glad you did?
Original music by Josh Rickard, www.joshrickardmusic.com.
S1E10: Change is the only Certainty
In this episode, I talk about tools for writing emotion and developing characters, a recent family situation that means a major adjustment, and my tools for coping with change and challenges.
In this episode, I talk about tools for writing emotion and developing characters, a recent family situation that means a major adjustment, and my tools for coping with change and challenges.
Note: I am an affiliate of some of the platforms you can access through the universal book links below, which means if you make a purchase, I get a few cents at no additional cost to you.
Mentioned in this episode:
Brenna Davies's article about me on the Boomarten Editorial blog:
2022-02-25: Author Spotlight: Talena Winters
The Writer's Thesaurus series by Angela Ackerman and Becca Puglisi:
Mug Quote of the Week:
"Let reality be reality."
From the following longer quote:
“Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don't resist them; that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.” Lao Tzu
Bonus quote:
“We must be willing to let go of the life we planned so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” Joseph Campbell
Question of the Week:
If you've been affected by the stresses of the world or just the natural stresses of life, what are useful practices to help you adapt, in your business or in life?
Original music by Josh Rickard, www.joshrickardmusic.com.
S1E9: Taking Chances on Yourself with Jessica Renwick
In this episode, I interview Jessica Renwick, an independently published middle grade fantasy and sweet romance author and copyeditor who has bucked popular indie wisdom and reaped great rewards. We also talk about dealing with Impostor Syndrome, where she finds inspiration, and adventures in advertising. In the introduction, I talk about some new tools in the indie author space.
In this episode, I interview Jessica Renwick, an independently published middle grade fantasy and sweet romance author and copyeditor who has bucked popular indie wisdom and reaped great rewards. We also talk about dealing with Impostor Syndrome, where she finds inspiration, and adventures in advertising. In the introduction, I talk about some new tools in the indie author space.
(Please note that I am an affiliate of Amazon.com, .ca, and .co.uk, so if you click through to one of those stores from the links below and make a purchase, I’ll get a few cents without any additional charge to you.)
Mentioned in this episode:
The Undine's Tear reviewed in Lorehaven last Friday. (Not an "interview" like I said in the episode!)
Rebel Author Podcast with Sacha Black Ep. 126 - Mailing Lists for Indie Authors with Tammi Lebrecque
Jessica Renwick, author of the Starfell middle grade fantasy series and the Starlight Inn sweet small-town romance series. Image: A Caucasian woman with long, dark brown hair and glasses leans against a turquoise door in a white house wall and smiles at the camera.
About Jessica Renwick:
Jessica Renwick is the award-winning author of books about friendship, courage, and being true to yourself. The Book of Chaos was her first novel and the start of Starfell, her fantasy series for middle-grade readers. Since then she has also published the second and third book in the series, a paranormal mystery for middle-grade kids, and a sweet romance series for adults.
She lives in central Alberta, Canada with her loving partner, two pocket monsters (her dogs), and a flock of chickens.
Interviews with Jessica on my blog:
Jessica Renwick: Writing a New Ending (inspirational personal essay)
Author interview with Jessica Renwick when she released The Bow of Anarchy (Starfell Book 2)
Jessica on Instagram:
@jessicarenwickauthor, @jessicaannerenwickbooks
What we chat about:
How the inspiration for Jessica's first book, The Book of Chaos, came from a long-running DnD campaign
How she got her copy editing certification through Writers Digest University
How she's continually worked to improve her craft
A book that helped her with Impostor Syndrome: The Secret Thoughts of Successful Women - Valerie Young
Resource for middle grade indie authors: How to Self-Publish and Market a Children's Book - Karen Inglis
Facebook groups Jessica recommends for middle grade authors: Society of Middle-Grade Writers
The Creative Penn episode: Draft2Digital Acquires Smashwords with Mark Coker and Kevin Tumlinson
Podium Audio: https://podiumaudio.com/
Courses Jessica recommends:
Bryan Cohen's 5-Day Author Ad Profit Challenge - Free Amazon Ads challenge
Mark Dawson's advertising course: comprehensive cross-platform ads course
David Farland's craft and business courses: https://mystorydoctor.com/
Find Jessica’s upcoming books here:
March 15 - The Book of Chaos (Starfell Book 1) releasing on audio. Pre-order on Audible.
March 29 - The Curse of the Warlock (Starfell Book 4) on eBook & print. Audiobook in September.
The Book of Chaos (Starfell Book 1) by Jessica Renwick. A girl reads a magical-looking book in front of a jewel-toned blue and green star-filled background.
Mug quote of the week:
"Our own life has to be our message." Thich Nhat Hanh
Question of the week:
What's a risky decision you've made about your indie author business that has paid off in unexpected ways?
Tweet me: https://twitter.com/talenawinters
Original music by Josh Rickard, www.joshrickardmusic.com.
S1E8: Inviting Opportunity to Knock
In this episode, I talk about:
My recent struggles with Impostor Syndrome and Resistance and how I overcame them (this week)
Branding and marketing are both telling stories
Putting lots of hooks in the water - how we create doors for Opportunity to Knock on. (Don’t worry, the metaphor is only mixed in these notes, not the episode. Or is it?)
Marketing done right is actually serving our readers
In this episode, I talk about:
My recent struggles with Impostor Syndrome and Resistance and how I overcame them (this week)
Branding and marketing are both telling stories
Putting lots of hooks in the water - how we create doors for Opportunity to Knock on. (Don’t worry, the metaphor is only mixed in these notes, not the episode. Or is it?)
Marketing done right is actually serving our readers
Mentioned in this episode:
Sell More Books Show, Episode 410: Helpful Mindsets and Pursuing Your Passion
Mug Quote of the Week:
“If opportunity doesn't knock, build a door.” Milton Berle
Question of the Week:
When was a time opportunity knocked because you'd built a door for it to knock on, and how did it pay off?
Tweet me: https://twitter.com/talenawinters
Original music by Josh Rickard, www.joshrickardmusic.com.
S1E7: Branding challenges for multi-passionate creatives
In this episode, I talk about embracing my finitude (or trying), writing progress, and some of the challenges and progress I've made with branding multiple creative businesses under one domain.
In this episode, I talk about embracing my finitude (or trying), writing progress, and some of the challenges and progress I've made with branding multiple creative businesses under one domain.
Mentioned in this episode:
Four Thousand Weeks by Oliver Burkeman (affiliate link to some stores)
Mug quote of the week:
"Slow progress is still progress." (Available as an actual mug in my merch store. And a sticker.)
Question of the week:
What's your biggest branding challenge? If you don't have any but you've solved some before, what was it and how did you solve it?
Original music by Josh Rickard, www.joshrickardmusic.com.
S1E6: The hidden value of our connections
In this episode, I talk about planning for the unexpected, working around copyright issues when referring to other people's Intellectual Property in our novels, the life and times of Pinocchio, Punch and Judy, and Anna Leonowens, and how serendipitous inspiration makes books better. I also discuss the hidden value we should take into consideration when hiring people in our business.
In this episode, I talk about planning for the unexpected, working around copyright issues when referring to other people's Intellectual Property in our novels, the life and times of Pinocchio, Punch and Judy, and Anna Leonowens, and how serendipitous inspiration makes books better. I also discuss the hidden value we should take into consideration when hiring people in our business.
Mentioned in this episode:
Best Book Ever podcast by Julie Strauss: https://bestbookever.libsyn.com/
Stark Reflections Patreon roundtable discussion where I met Julie
Mug Quote of the Week:
Be the kind of person you would like to meet.
Question of the week:
How have you seen the hidden value you and others bring to the table pay off in your career or in your life?
Original music by Josh Rickard, www.joshrickardmusic.com.
S1E5: Excellence is a habit
In this episode, I talk about doing writing math, the one-step-back stage of recovery burnout, and whether it's worth it to revise and republish older work.
In this episode, I talk about doing writing math, the one-step-back stage of recovery burnout, and whether it's worth it to revise and republish older work.
Mentioned in this episode:
Roundtable Reflective on the Stark Publishing podcast with me as one of the guests
MUG QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
“Excellence is a habit.”
S1E4: Life happens. Write anyway.
In this episode, I talk about being inspired to do better at direct sales, the results of my experiment with AI Narration, and the struggle with setting book prices, as well as a shift I'm thinking of making to increase writing productivity.
Welcome to Episode Four of Coffee & Real Talk for Writers, which I'm recording on Thursday, January 20, 2022.
I've got intermittent internet and I'm not feeling great, so going to keep this short. Ha!
Note: The following are the notes I took before recording the podcast, not a transcription. Content will be similar, but not exact, to the recording.
Writing & Marketing Weekly Update:
After last week's high, things went wonky. I've been asking myself if it's a weird way of self-sabotaging I have, or if I really am not allowing my brain access to the full range of types of projects it would like.
I did less writing than I'd like, but I still wrote almost 4,000 words so far this week. I will try to make that 7k by the end of tomorrow.
I'm also going to have to revamp my schedule on this a bit, I think. Stop planning for 12,000-word weeks and accept that it's just not happening right now, and that's okay.
That being said, I've been pushing extra hard on this editing project with the plan of finishing early so I could then focus more on the writing, which I like to do. I often find I'm just getting into it and ready to sprint ahead, but then my writing time for the day is up. I'd love to plan for six-hour writing days, but I rarely do that. Hmm, maybe I need to try just putting some of those in the schedule and see if I'm more productive.
My problem is, I like to stay doing whatever I'm already doing. I don't like task switching. But I also know that I get anxious if I'm not making steady, consistent progress toward completion of projects with a deadline. So these two feelings conflict.
Maybe I need to start looking at progress more on a weekly level than a daily level, which might allow my brain to schedule “focus days” instead of simply “focus time blocks” before switching. This podcast might help, because I've never had a consistent habit of looking back at my weekly progress before I started doing this. I'm going to think about this for a bit, and maybe experiment with it next week.
Anyway, when I am doing the actual writing (on Every Star that Shines), it's going smoothly. I've had fun “redesigning” parts of my town to work for my story, such as the local coffee shop, while painting pictures of iconic landmarks and beautiful scenery unique to this area. And I adore my characters and storyline, so it's all still so fun.
Back to how things went sideways:
They did so productively, just not in the writing.
My brain felt pretty mushy last Friday morning, so I opted to do accounting for the day instead of write in the morning. I usually do a little accounting on Friday afternoons, but I'm trying to catch everything up so I can submit taxes on time this year.
Anyway, at lunch, I listened to a fantastic interview on the 6-Figure Authors podcast about selling books direct from your website with author Katie Cross (SFA 115 - Making More Money Selling Your Books Direct with Katie Cross), and my brain exploded with new ideas. I'd already been reworking the knitting sections of my website to promote better direct sales, and I'd been tweaking the books section too, but this just put it into overdrive. I sat down and did some quick planning, and quickly realized there were some pain points in my current setup that I could easily address by reworking things with my current plan… and there are some that I can't because they are actual limitations of Squarespace's platform.
I'm on the legacy plan, but I would consider upgrading to their current commerce plan if it would solve some of these pain points, like no way for customers to leave reviews, among other issues. But those features simply don't exist on Squarespace yet.
They've come a long way since I signed up with them in 2014, and this is the first time I've really felt like I am ready to grow my platform faster than they are growing theirs. I looked into third-party plugins to solve some of these solutions, but I'm currently trying to decide if the price tag is worth it. In the long run? Yes, it would be. But I might have to wait for a bit to implement some of those changes.
However, I made what changes I could, making it easier for people to decide to purchase directly through my website.
As part of this, I tweaked my Intellection Property tracking formulas in Excel to help me determine my prices for both eBooks and print books. One of the frustrations of selling direct as a Canadian, or even of drop-shipping from an American Print On Demand (POD) printer (I use IngramSpark for all my books), is the high cost of Canadian shipping. For one of my books that I priced out on Canada Post to ship out from my house, I could ship the exact same book to the United States, France, the UK, or Australia for around the $10 mark. To ship that same book to BC, my neighbouring province, was $20, and to Nova Scotia, it was $25.
I was so frustrated, I almost ranted on social media. Instead, I ranted at Google, they reminded me of what I already knew, and then I grumbled some more and kept tweaking my formulas in my spreadsheet.
This does make it tricky to set prices, give deals, etc.
And POD books, if you plan to make any profit, just have to be priced pretty high. But I still regularly sell some. One of my author friends who writes middle grade sells most of her copies in print, which makes sense. But learning to price books as an indie author is one of the things that feels most like throwing darts in the dark, even with all my fancy formulas.
Especially eBooks. I actually raised the price of several of my eBooks this week, too. It was only two days ago, so I don't yet know how it's affected anything. However, my steady seller still seems to be selling steadily, so I'm hoping it means a slightly higher profit margin and no drop in sales for me. I'll have more information next week.
News:
Impromptu Writing Panel discussion on Stark Reflections:
Last night, participated in a round table meet-up for the patrons of Mark Leslie Lefebvre's Stark Reflections podcast, and had a great discussion. Will repost the link when he puts that up publicly.
Theme Music Coming Soon:
I also heard from the musician that I commissioned to write a theme song for the podcast, Josh Rickard. He was busy finishing up the score for a fan-made Spiderman film called Spiderman: Miles Behind. I was stunned by how good it was—the whole production.
Anyway, I hope to have actual theme music soon, and I'm thrilled I got to hire one of my college classmates to write it.
AI Narration:
A couple weeks ago, included the draft of Chapter 1 of my AI-narrated audiobook All I Want for Christmas. If you listened to the whole thing, you may have noticed how much the technology struggled with recreating verbal tic or other non-standard sounds, such as “mm-hmm,” which it pronounced “um-hum.” I'd also used “uh-huh” several times in later chapters, which it butchered every time.
To resolve this in the final cut, I simply replaced those sounds with the word “yep.” It's not ideal, but it was better than what was there. Overall, I have mixed feelings about the results of this experiment. In some ways, the results were better than I expected them to be from an AI-generated voice. In other ways, especially in reference to how it intonated certain parts of the dialogue, I was disappointed.
However, the results are not unpleasant. I'll still be offering this book for sale on my website, clearly marked as “Digitally Narrated”. But I'm not going to rush out and get any of my other books digitally narrated anytime soon.
In the future, I may consider it for non-fiction books, which I think it would do a very good job of.
"Write for the Win" Storybundle:
Curated by Melissa Snark and Mark Leslie Lefebvre
Available for the next two weeks (ends February 3, I think?)
For minimum of $20 USD (but you can give more), you can get ten amazing craft, business, and writer's mindset books:
Author Smarter Boot Camp by Michelle Fox
Playwriting: The Merciless Craft by Carol Wolf
Super Structure by James Scott Bell (one I recommend)
Taking the Short Tack by Matty Dalrymple and Mark Leslie Lefebvre
Wide for the Win by Mark Leslie Lefebvre (another one I recommend)
It's All Just a Draft by Tobias S. Buckell
Prosperity for Writers by Honorée Corder
Dear Writer, Are You in Burnout? By Becca Syme (looking forward to this one!)
Three Story Method by J. Thorn and Zach Bohannon (and this one)
The Heroine's Journey by Gail Carriger (and this one!)
Coupon code for your pick of one of three "Empower your Writing" writing courses with Margie Lawson
MUG QUOTE OF THE WEEK:
“Life happens. Write anyway.”
Professionals show up. So keep showing up, friend, and so will I.
Talk to you next week.
S1E3: The Joy is in the Journey
In this episode, I talk about how the CliftonStrengths have helped me develop as a person and a writer, and also why most of my top strengths are fed by my podcast addiction. :-) Also, we talk about success metrics for writing, cliffhangers in series, and marketing tips for newer authors—especially wide authors who write in multiple genres. Hint: Patience is the key, so take joy in the journey.
I think I have all my episode numbers figured out, lol.
In this episode, I talk about how the CliftonStrengths have helped me develop as a person and a writer, and also why most of my top strengths are fed by my podcast addiction. :-) Also, we talk about success metrics for writing, cliffhangers in series, and marketing tips for newer authors—especially wide authors who write in multiple genres. Hint: Patience is the key, so take joy in the journey.
Mentioned in this episode:
Goddess Fish Promotions: https://www.goddessfish.com/
Becca Syme - Write Better-Faster Academy - https://betterfasteracademy.com/
5 Critical Things for Successful Book Signings by Adam Dreece (affiliate link) - https://books2read.com/u/bOyPZW
The Elevator Pitch blog post - https://www.talenawinters.com/writing-tips/2019/9/9/your-story-in-a-single-sentence-part-2-the-elevator-pitch
The Elevator Pitch video: https://youtu.be/16Uy8DtGm4o
My Book Description Writing Services - https://www.talenawinters.com/editing#blurb
Post by author Suzie O’Connell in Facebook group Wide for the Win about marketing - https://www.facebook.com/groups/wideforthewin/permalink/1252194868624693/
ALLi post “What Readers Want from Writers in 2022” -
https://selfpublishingadvice.org/what-readers-want-2022/
Written Word Media’s “What Do Readers Really Want: How to Write a Book to Market” - https://www.writtenwordmedia.com/how-to-write-a-book-to-market/
Bryan Cohen’s 5-Day Author Ad Profit Challenge, currently just starting if you want to check it out at https://bryancohen.lpages.co/jan22/.
Author and editor Brenna Bailey-Davies is doing a webinar called “Self-Editing for Fiction Writers” on January 27 through Editors Canada. You do not have to be a member to take the webinar.
Register at https://training.editors.ca/upcoming_webinar/self-editing-for-fiction-authors/.
S1E2: Begin as you Mean to Carry On
In this episode, I talk about how I spent my so-called holidays, the current state of my writing projects, what I’ve been trying for marketing lately and what I’ve learned from it, and some of my favourite writing tools. I also discuss some movies I watched over the holidays and my business plans for 2022.
In this episode, I talk about how I spent my so-called holidays, the current state of my writing projects, what I’ve been trying for marketing lately and what I’ve learned from it, and some of my favourite writing tools. I also discuss some movies I watched over the holidays and my business plans for 2022.
Here are some resources mentioned in this episode:
Tool of the Week:
Scrivener: https://www.talenawinters.com/scrivener (affiliate link)
Podcast mentions:
6-figure Authors: SFA 112: How to Smartly Invest back into Your Book Business
Life Lessons - Episode 57: Intermittent Fasting for LIFE
The Creative Penn - #596: Improve Your Sleep And Creativity With Dr. Anne D. Bartolucci
The Creative Penn - #589: Digital Narration with AI Voices with Taylan Kamis from DeepZen
Interview with Geoff Woods on Afford Anything with Paula Pant: #293: THE ONE QUESTION THAT MAKES EVERYTHING EASIER, WITH GEOFF WOODS (Replay of January 1, 2021 episode)
The One Thing podcast - 332: Why this year's success comes down to One Thing
Other Resources:
Alana Terry’s resources for authors: https://successfulwriter.podia.com/
5 Point Plot Structure Freebie: https://www.talenawinters.com/plot-structure/freebie
Romancing the Beat by Gwen Hayes (affiliate links for some platforms)
Delay, Don’t Deny and Clean(ish) by Gin Stephens (affiliate links for some platforms)
All I Want for Christmas excerpt:
The postscript on this episode is an excerpt from AI-Narrated audiobook of All I Want for Christmas, using the licensed voice of Edward Herrmann. The company I used to create the audiobook was DeepZen, https://deepzen.io.
Mug quote of the week:
“It’s only cold if you’re standing still.”
Happy writing!
Talena Winters smiles at the camera. Image text: Season 1, Episode 1: Begin as you mean to carry on. January 6, 2022. Coffee & Real Talk for Writers with Talena Winters
Introduction: My Journey So Far
Hello, and welcome to Coffee & Real Talk for Writers. In this episode, I get real about why I started this podcast, my writing journey so far, and what you can expect going forward.
Hello, and welcome. I’m Talena Winters, host of Coffee and Real Talk for Writers, the podcast where we get real about the writing life.
One of my favourite things about the author community, especially the indie author community, is that it is just that—a community. While I know there are exceptions to this, in general, authors are generous, supportive, and happy to share their knowledge with others to help them along.
I have certainly been the recipient of such generosity from the moment I decided I wanted to learn to write fiction. I typed “how to write fiction” into my search engine, and immediately found a course that would teach me just that in Holly Lisle’s How to Think Sideways. Thanks to the online forum Holly had built, I also got my first taste of what the author community was like. Since I’m still here, you know how that turned out.
Other mentors and communities would follow. I published my first book, an inspirational clean romance novella I’d written as practice while taking Holly’s course, in 2015. (Five years after I wrote it, by the way. Real talk—I didn’t grow up wanting to be a writer, and didn’t even know if I wanted this career even when I published that book. More about that in a bit.) Last month, I published my third full-length novel, which joined a cast of two novelettes and two novellas in three different genres. Yep, I’m a multi-genre author, and I won’t apologize for it.
In 2018, I was interviewed for the Just Joshing podcast, hosted by Joshua Pantalleresco, and I’d never even listened to a podcast before. Soon after that, though, I got the bug, starting with Stark Reflections by Mark Leslie Lefebvre and The Creative Penn by Joanna Penn, followed by many more. By 2019, audio had become my primary way of consuming short-form and non-fiction content, and by 2020, it was my primary way of consuming all content, including fiction and nonfiction books. I’m now a little addicted to podcasts. Last weekend, I changed to a new podcast app, adding podcasts as I went. By the time I was done, I had subscribed to 82 podcasts, most of which are still active. (Not all of them are writing podcasts, but a lot of them are.)
There are so many great podcasts out there that teach you how to be a better writer and book marketer, so why did I decide to start my own?
Several reasons. First of all, I’m a communicator and storyteller who processes things by writing or speaking, and this year, for the first time, I’ve struggled with getting the words out.
I have blogged since 2006. It was because of comments on my blog that I should write a book (I always heard “novel”) that I got the idea that I could be a writer in the first place. I’d grown up wanting to be a professional songwriter, and by that point, I had a nearly complete musical theatre script and songbook under my belt, co-written with one of my BFFs for life, Candace Marshall. But I got married at 22, started having kids at 25, and by the time my kids were old enough for me to consider picking up my career again, my dreams had changed.
But I’m getting ahead of myself. I started blogging when my third son was only three months old. Our family had just moved to a new community in northern Alberta, far away from our friends and family further south. (Eventually, my mom and her husband moved here, too.) I had three little boys three and under and no friends where I lived. My friend shared a blog post with me she’d written (she is a wonderful writer), and I loved it so much that five minutes later, I’d started my own blog. And I didn’t just start it—blogging became an obsession for me.
Blogging, scrapbooking, and knitting were my main creative outlets when my kids were small. They kept me sane. If I go for long periods of time without creating something, I get rather cranky. I now feel that way about writing, but I used to be less specific—I love learning things, and I tried a lot of different artsy things before I finally started narrowing my focus. As we’ll likely talk about on this podcast, none of those skills were wasted, and I now apply many of them to my writing business.
2020 was a pivotal year for me. I had been editing professionally for two years by that point, and I don’t know if it was related to the pandemic, but in March of 2020, I got enough queries to fill up my calendar for the rest of the year. It was the first time I’d been booked that far in advance. At the time, I was also teaching piano part-time and working as the lead writer for a quarterly regional magazine, in addition to working on the second book in my young adult epic historical fantasy series. I tried to plan my year well, but, as is often my problem, I underestimated how long everything would take. I also underestimated the effect the pandemic would have on my mental health. We’d lost our fourth son rather traumatically in 2015, and, having survived that trauma, I didn’t expect the pandemic to trigger as much stress for me as it did.
(Oh, sweet, naïve Younger Me.)
In addition to my already-full schedule, my mom got diagnosed with a rare form of abdominal cancer in September of 2020. I got the call that she’d gone to the hospital five minutes after dropping my oldest son off for his first year of college on an island off of British Columbia. Oh, and did I mention we’d been trying to buy a house since the week after the Western world first went into lockdown? The deal finally went through in October. We were moving a house onto our existing property, and we’d hoped to have it all done during the summer. Nope. It came in two pieces, and the second piece was moved during the first real snowstorm of the year at the end of October. And then I got increasing responsibilities at the magazine.
Needless to say, my mental health was going down the toilet. I remember having a clue sometime in November that my two weeks a month of being on the verge of tears might have something to do with menopause. I’m too young for that, I thought, but I knew that some symptoms can start up to ten years early. So I googled it, and yep, it looked like I was well along in perimenopause.
Hey, I warned you right in the title. We’re getting real here.
Fortunately, I’d at least quit teaching piano by that point, thanks to pandemic restrictions I couldn’t acquiesce to in my previous house, which was very small. My editing schedule was too full to allow for teaching, anyway. But I was working over 60 hours a week, and, once the house had been moved, I was working on painting all weekend long. In between all of that, I was occasionally accompanying my mom to Edmonton for treatments that we hoped would prevent her from having a very invasive surgery, and trying to not worry about the possible outcomes for her. Oh, and there was a pandemic, so my two younger sons were home from school at least as often as they were in it that school year.
I had booked two weeks off at the end of December, but I spent the entire two weeks painting our house. (Don’t worry, those of you who wonder what my husband was doing—he was at least as busy on the house project as I was, except he got to do the outside-in-freezing-cold-weather type of jobs. Oh, and he was also super stressed at work. It was a great year.)
By January 2021, I was D-O-N-E, done. Sons 2 and 3 were home for an extra week at the beginning of January on a school lockdown, and my third son commented to me that he was worried about my mental health. Later that day, I called my husband from the bathroom, where I was hiding so my son wouldn’t see me balling my eyes out, to tell him that I thought I was losing my mind.
Yeah, that’s what burnout looked like for me.
I’ve never been so overwhelmed in my life. Fortunately, I had booked an appointment with the naturopathic clinic my mom was seeing to help me deal with the exaggerated menopause symptoms and get back in balance, and that appointment was only a few days away. But I knew getting on supplements wouldn’t fix the things that had gotten me to this point. So I took a hard look at my schedule, and started cutting.
I quit my job with the magazine where I had worked for four years. They had just made me managing editor, but no matter how much I might enjoy the work, it was one of my biggest sources of stress. And I couldn’t handle any extra stress. So out it went.
I had a few smaller freelance writing contracts that I finished up and dropped over the next month or two.
I revamped my editing schedule so projects would be stretched over more time, allowing me to reduce my work week to about 48-50 hours—a very doable pace for me, and compared to the recent 70- to 80-hour weeks I’d been experiencing, it seemed like vacation. But writing those emails to my clients explaining the situation and asking if they still wanted me to work on their projects was maybe the hardest part of this entire process. I hate not fulfilling things I said I was going to do when I said I would do it.
I signed up for Becca Syme’s Write Better-Faster 101 course for March, and started consuming as much of her content as I could in the meantime. (She has an excellent series on burnout on her YouTube podcast, called the Quitcast, if you want to check it out. I also highly recommend the course, and all of her Dear Writer books.)
We had moved into our house at the beginning of January, and I gave myself permission to only worry about future “settling in” projects on weekends when I felt I actually had energy to tackle them. There were lots of weekends when I had none. It’s now December 2021, and I intend to finish painting my living room over the Christmas break. (That’s it, though, just one room, and then the house is done. Yay!)
In March, inspired by how much I enjoyed the community in Becca’s course and realizing how much I’d missed that since I’d stopped teaching piano and stopped interviewing people, I started a small mastermind with several other writer-editors, which was one of the best things I did this year.
Which brings me to why I’m starting this podcast.
In November, I published a massive epic fantasy manuscript I’d been working on since May of 2019. But while writing through burnout to finish that project was tough, I had almost no writing energy left for anything else this year, including my blog. And my love of audio kept growing.
I also got a lot out of the sections of my favourite podcasts where the host or hosts would share what they had been doing in their writing business that week. It was basically like a miniature blog update in audio form, and they often shared tidbits that don’t normally come up in an interview which I could then apply to my own business. Even though I often listened to the interviews that followed, I’d sometimes start listening just to hear the comforting voice of a podcaster whose business I’d become invested in and whose judgement I trusted. That personal update was the kind of podcast I could see myself doing—because although there are a ton of teaching podcasts out there, no one else has made the exact mistakes I have. I try a lot of things, which means there are a lot of things that don’t work out, but some that do. And I love teaching and helping others along.
There are more reasons for me to start this podcast. The biggest one might be that, in my remote location, the pandemic and my reduced energy after burnout have limited my options to give back to the community, which is something I miss.
So, in this podcast, I’m going to share with you my writing trials and triumphs. I’ll get real about what I’ve tried, what’s worked, and what doesn’t. I’ll also share how the decisions I’ve made have affected my success or failure so far, and my perspective on advice offered by other authors in the community. I may even have some of those authors on the show to share that advice themselves.
I look forward to having you with me on this journey, friend. The kettle is always on in my house, and, despite the title, I actually drink coffee, tea, and hot chocolate on a daily basis. (Despite what my naturopath would prefer.) So whatever your preferred poison, we have that. (Also water. Water is good, too.)
Oh, and in case you’re wondering—my hormones have balanced out a great deal, as have the stresses in my life. My mom had surgery this September, and she’s recovering well, which I’m so grateful for. I know life always has more surprises waiting just around the corner, but for now, at least, the rest from excess stress has let me heal a great deal. And then one day not so long ago, I thought, “I think I’ll start a podcast.”
And I did. So grab a cuppa, and let’s get real.
P.S. Shoutout to Leslye Penelope, who hosts the podcast My Imaginary Friends. I recently heard her interviewed on the Kobo Writing Life podcast and found out she was doing exactly the kind of podcast I could see myself doing, I’d just never heard of anyone podcasting this way before. Leslye’s podcast is awesome, and I discovered several other great new podcasts through the Frolic Network, of which she is a part. Leslye is an award-winning fantasy author. I encourage you to go check her podcast out.