Episode 292: In the return of Write Now Workshop Podcast after a too-long sabbatical, Kitty joins Podcasthon (https://www.podcasthon.org/) and over 1000 other podcasters around the world who are highlighting their favorite charity. Today we welcome back Bonnie DePue and CHUM Therapeutic Riding (https://www.chumtherapy.net/), Kitty’s favorite charity!

Learn more about CHUM and what they do and how you can support them, and writers will find encouragement and ideas on how to add real-life charities to their stories to increase reader engagement.

Alessandra Torre is our guest today sharing her top 4 take-aways from just the marketing portion of the 2022 Inkers Con writers conference. (Not even her top 4 overall!) If you'd like to sign up for the conference, you can still access the digital version -- and Alessandra kindly gave us a $50 off coupon! Enter the code WNWPODCAST at Inkers Con to get your discount!

Download the Author Assessment Worksheet today! A gift from Alessandra!

EPISODE 282E

In today's Encouraging Words episode, I share my experience of the first time I ran in the snow just last month. It was cold and wet and more miserable than fun, but I did it. And it reminded me of how I can look at the harder parts of my writing life and see how I can tweak my attitude to make it through -- and even enjoy it. I hope this helps you find a similar parallel in your own life to talk yourself through the harder areas and on to accomplishment!

EPISODE 192

We've had a lot of "new normal" forced on us lately, but what if we take charge and create our own new normal? We're creative people, we can think of ways to make our new circumstances work for us!

In this episode, I talk about how to redefine the structure of your day so you still attain your overall goals. I mention my own health goals, business goals, and keeping some fun time in the schedule - because it is way too easy to work all the time, or not much at all when you work at home.

You have more power over your life than you realize! Make choices that work for you, and you can add more joy and laughter into your life. Now is the time to harness your creative energy to make changes that just might continue working better for you after our current restrictions are lifted.

EPISODE 191I

Today’s guest is Brad Borkan, author of When Your Life Depends On It (co-written with David Hirzel, audiobook narrated by Dennis Kleinman). Brad's specialty area is decision sciences, how businesses and people make decisions.

We have a fascinating discussion about Antarctic explorers, the main characters in his nonfiction book, and how we can learn from their choices, both for our own modern life and for our fictional characters. These people made life and death decisions every day and rarely ever died. How did they manage that?

Brad tells us how he found his co-writer (even that was a risk), and explains how they spent a lot of time working on the outline before they started writing. After reading just a few paragraphs of the finished book, Brad decided they needed a professional audiobook narrator. Now all three men are not just a team, but lifelong friends.

You’ll love the exciting stories Brad shares in this episode! It’s interesting how the lessons learned from these explorers also applied to how Brad’s team formed and grew. He reminds us that teamwork is an important part of survival and growth in any area of our lives.

You can learn more about Brad and the book on his website (https://extreme-decisions.com/), on Amazon, and wherever books are sold.

EPISODE 190E

This month for our Encouraging Words episode, I asked my friend Markus Watson to join us. We discuss how people weren't made to be in isolation, and some things we can do to overcome the emotional effects.

Markus explains the "Robinson stories" and we talk about the ideas of families and people being lost and in isolation. We also talk about a lot of ways we can use technology to overcome the feeling of being alone.

EPISODE 189I

Today's guest is James Blatch from Mark Dawson's Self Publishing Formula talking to us about one of their online classes that's open just a couple more days from when this episode goes live on April 2, 2020.

I'm a student in both of Mark's courses, Self Publishing 101 and Advertising for Authors. I took the 101 course after hearing Mark talk about a couple things I didn't know how to do on his podcast, The Self Publishing Show. I figured if I could improve my book's chances of selling even to a small degree, it would be worth the cost of the class.

I don't have any affiliate links, but I'm such a fan of everything Mark and James and John do, I wanted to be sure you knew about it as well. James also mentions in the interview that for a limited time, they are making their SPF University (not a real university) FREE to everyone! So click the link and sign up! And check out the 101 class while you're there. It might be just what you've been looking for.

https://learn.selfpublishingformula.com/p/101

http://selfpublishingformula.com/spfufree

https://selfpublishingformula.com/spf-podcast/

EPISODE 188I

Today’s guest is romantic suspense author Natalie Walters, author of the brand new Silent Shadows coming out on March 31, 2020. Listen to the end to find out more about pre-order goodies you can receive directly from Natalie if you order the book before March 31. :)

[Sorry about the audio and video hiccups in this episode! With sooo many people using the Internet and streaming at the same time, this was the best quality we could get at the time.]

Chatting just a couple weeks into the Covid-19 pandemic, Natalie and I decided to talk about what's happening, how it's affecting our lives and the lives of those around us, and how it affects us as writers.

So many people are having to give up things they’ve been working toward for years - graduation ceremonies and parties, celebrations like my 30th anniversary party and trip, and innumerable other events, large and small. But Natalie has been telling their son that they will celebrate, but differently now, and maybe do a bigger celebration later when people can get together again. Trying to put things in perspective, we need to remember that this will pass - and we may find ourselves being refined to become better people.

There are also lots of things to inspire us - people going to visit grandparents and playing tic-tac-toe on each side of a window, people finding a way to give some of the extra they have to others in need, people creating flash mobs in social media to open your windows at a certain time to sing or exercise together.

Because it's all about people. Our world is created by our actions and reactions, and while we may feel so many things are outside our control right now, our actions and reactions are within our control. Natalie and I share a lot of ideas for how we can all do things to help our little corners of the world survive and thrive.

Remember that exercising grace and care and encouragement towards those around you as well as yourself will help this crisis feel more manageable. Helping others in big and small ways will help you feel better about the world.

And no matter what genre we write in, there are ideas in the headlines and stories now that can help us add depth to our own stories as we write and edit. Or maybe you'll get new ideas, for even the smallest part of your story, when you ask “what if” based on how things are happening in the world around you right now. It can add the sense that this story feels like real life.

You can learn more about Natalie and her books at her website, where you can also find her social media links. And remember, pre-order goodies are available to anyone who orders Silent Shadows between now and Tuesday, March 31, when the book comes out!

EPISODE 187T

Since our world has been tipped on its side from the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), many of us find ourselves trying to make sense of a new normal. Maybe you're working from home for the first time, and it may not have transitioned in a smooth and easy way. Maybe other people are at home now that you're not used to having in your work space, and you all have to figure out how to get things done without getting irritated at each other.

I wanted to give you a whole bunch of reminders/ideas about things you can do to make this period a little easier. From taking an afternoon walk to spring cleaning to finishing watching that online class you never finished, we can find ways to make this temporary period not so bad.

I hope you enjoy my enthusiasm and encouragement, especially if you really needed a boost today! :-D

EPISODE 186T

This week I attended the first ever live event hosted by the Self Publishing Show podcast with Mark Dawson and James Blatch. It was awesome!!

First of all, there is nothing like being with your people, the folks who "get" you, who don't have a blank look on their face when you talk about your writing, or editing, or read-through rates, or ad ROI.

Second of all, the amount of positive energy running through the room, through the restaurants when we got together to eat, even as we walked together to the tube station in London to go home - I felt like I was high. :-D

The speakers were incredible and I wanted to share a little of what they talked about with you. I couldn't share a lot of details because it was a paid event and some of the speakers wanted the information to stay with those who attended or paid for the videos after, totally understandable. But I give you the highlights here and name a lot of people and companies you can Google to find out more about them!

I hope you enjoy the episode and feel inspired and encouraged by all the positive energy and publishing tips! :-D

EPISODE 185I

Today's guest is historical fiction author Jill Eileen Smith. Jill's focus has been on Old Testament women of the Bible and, wow, does she have her research work cut out for her!

We talk about how to research from multiple sources, and how to fill in the blanks when written history doesn't give you many details. Jill is particularly encouraging when it comes to writing a story "everyone" has already done, like the story of Esther in the Bible. Her latest book is Star of Persia, her take on the story of Esther, including some known historical figures of the day.

If you've been wondering how to write a piece of historical fiction without much written history to go on, Jill may be able to give you some ideas.

You can find Jill and her books on her website, or look for Jill Eileen Smith on most social media.

EPISODE 184E

I had a really crappy week this past week. Lots of good moments, but days that kept ending in stress and disappointment and frustration. By the end of the week, I was a bit of a wreck...which was no good since I was finally going to be enjoying some time with friends Friday night.

I kept thinking that I just needed to think of something that makes me happy, or think of some things I'm grateful for. I'm grateful for A LOT but I couldn't think of anything as I took the wrong bus to our friends' house. Until I remembered the forecast said it might snow overnight. That made me smile. It hasn't snowed here in over a year and I've been waiting and watching.

Then it made me giggle a little that the hope of snow was the thing that made me smile after a long week. I hope you are looking for and finding something that will make you smile when you're stuck in a pit of frustration. It helps! :)

EPISODE 183

Sometimes you hear or read similar things over and over in a short period of time. When that happens, our brains often nudge us to ask - is this something important that I should be paying attention to right now?

This past week, I have heard or read similar ideas from Joanna Penn of The Creative Penn podcast, Susan May Warren with My Brilliant Writing Planner (on sale for 30% off as of the day this episode airs), and Paul Scanlon. After thinking about all of them for a bit, I realized I had more to say on some of these subjects, so I decided to do just that with this episode. I hope you find it interesting and helpful.

EPISODE 281I

Today's guest is Olivia Bowser, founder and CEO of Liberate, the first mental fitness studio.

Liv explains to us how Liberate began and what it offers to help people develop and maintain mental wellness. The great thing about Liberate is that they work with both individuals and companies, in person and online. Check out their offerings and sign up for the 7-day free trial. Let's make 2022 our best year for mental health!

Learn more about Liberate at https://www.liberatestudio.com/.

EPISODE 182I

Today's guest is fantasy author Kym Thurlow, writing as Eliza Raine. Kym tells us how she got started writing and why she decided to self-publish, sharing a lot of great information along the way.

Kym has learned a lot about writing and the business of publishing through online forums like 20Booksto50K, courses like Mark Dawson's Self Publishing 101 and Ads for Authors, and podcasts like Mark Dawson's Self Publishing Show, The Creative Penn, Six Figure Authors, and KM Weiland's Helping Writers Become Authors. She also loves the reports at K-lytics and recommends them.

In this episode, we talk about planning to leave your day job, changing and testing book covers, advertising, audiobooks, and more! I got super excited when Kym told us about a website called 4theWords that gamifies your writing to help you increase your word count. :-D

You can find Kym's book cover design work at Kim's Cozy Covers. Learn more about her and her books on her website, or by searching for Eliza Raine in Audible and Amazon.

EPISODE 181

For my first EXTRA episode, I decided to have fun and read the first chapter of my short book, My Bullheaded Superhero Valentine, for your Valentine's Day listening pleasure. I hope you enjoy it! :-D

EPISODE 180I

Today's guest is bestselling and award-winning author James Scott Bell. We talk about two of his many nonfiction books for writers, The Last Fifty Pages and Plotman to the Rescue.

From the first book, Jim talks about the Ahhh and the Uh-Oh types of endings. There can be a satisfying ending where it all works out for the protagonists, or at the end, when things seem to have worked out, the reader glimpses some little thing that says something bad might still happen, like at the end of Stephen King’s Pet Semetery.

There are genre conventions for some books like the happily ever after in romance, but there are all kinds of shapes to endings. As an author, you need to find the right trajectory for your ending. Not having any idea what it is can lead to a lot of rewriting or a less than satisfactory ending for readers.

Plotman to the Rescue is a reference book to find the problem you’re having with your story and some suggestions on how to fix it. Jim has so many creative suggestions for writing books - this is a great episode for any level of writer!

You can find out more about Jim, his books, and his teaching on his website. He can also be found on Patreon where you can read his short fiction before anyone else!

EPISODE 179I

Today's guest is Tom Threadgill, author of police procedurals and suspense novels. His newest book, Collision of Lies, just released this week and is the beginning of a new series.

For those of you who don't consider yourselves plotters, you'll love hearing Tom talk about how he writes - a true seat of the pants writer! He shares how he came up with the idea for Collision of Lies and how he wrote the first draft. A fun and funny interview with plenty of take-aways for listeners.

You can learn more about Tom on his website, and find his books everywhere books are sold.

EPISODE 178E

Today I talk about having a word or verse for the year, something to help us focus or to encourage us toward this year's goals. But sometimes that point of focus changes - and you get even more focused! That's what happened to me this month. I hope my experience encourages you that this is the start of something great!

EPISODE 177T

I just finished helping a friend get his very first book up on Amazon - woohooo!! We're both very excited as this is something he's wanted to do for a few years! It occurred to me that I could share what I know about repurposing your writing and maybe help you get a book together too!

I hope you find this to be a helpful episode! Good luck and happy writing! :-D

EPISODE 176I

Regina Scott has published over 45 historical novels, winning awards and fans along the way. She loves history, so she finds research fun, not boring at all. Today she tells us about some of the amazing fun - that is, research - she's done in the name of fiction, and helps us see what we can do as well.

Since she writes Regency romances (and explains what that is) as well as Christian historical romances, we talk about her two newest books today. A Distance Too Grand came out in October from Revell, and is an adventure about a photographer traveling with an Army unit so she can photograph the Grand Canyon. The book came out during the 100th anniversary year of this wonder of the world being preserved as a national park.

Because I absolutely love Regency romances, we also talk about her newest, The Matchmaker's Rogue, book one in a new series released just this month.

You can find all of Regina's books wherever books are sold, and you can find Regina at her website, and on Facebook and Pinterest.

EPISODE 175I

Today's guest is Lynette Eason, author of the new book, Collateral Damage. With over 60 books published, Lynette has a lot of experience in creating new characters, new series, and all kinds of interesting plots.

Lynette shares how she starts a book, how she gets started writing for the day, how she found law enforcement and military experts to ask questions, how she works with her critique partner, and so much more. She suggests you find the people you need to help you early on. Then you can ask these experts a few questions here and there over the course of writing the book rather than asking them all your questions and "please, read my whole book" at the end. :-D

She mentions several great references including the Killer Nashville conference, Writers Police Academy/MurderCon, Crime Scene Writers, and more.

You can find Lynette on her website, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and find her books wherever books are sold. Be sure to check out Collateral Damage, book one in her new series, Danger Never Sleeps.

It's time to plan out our new year, to think about what worked last year and what didn't. But don't just write down a bunch of hoped-for goals, consider how much time you'll need to do them all compared to how much time you actually have.

I go through several good first steps to getting the big picture under control as well as talk about what I've been learning from James Clear's book, Atomic Habits, and Charles Duhigg's book, The Power of Habit.

This is going to be our best year yet! Welcome, 2020! :-D

EPISODE 173E

As you start the new year, it's important to remember that over-planning and over-scheduling can lead to stress, disappointment, and - worst case scenario - burnout. To avoid that and enjoy your work all year long, plan some white space into your schedule. Some extra room in your calendar so you can move things around when necessary, and to take a little time out sometimes to stare at the ceiling and daydream. It'll boost your energy and your creativity, and lead to a more peaceful - and possibly more productive - life.

EPISODE 280I

Today's guest is Lynn Bohart, writing teacher and author of the cozy mystery series, Old Maids of Mercer Island.

Lynn shares her experiences on many of the ways she leveraged her writing skills to get more work and make money quicker while she continued writing her book series. Great ideas that will spark your imagination for things you can do as well, whether you are also moving into retirement or you're busy and only have time for small projects. We also talk about her mystery series -- fun times!

Learn more about Lynn and her books at https://www.lynnbohart-author.com/, and follow her on LinkedIn, Facebook, or wherever you like to connect.

EPISODE 172I

Interviewing the lovely Patricia Bradley was an exercise in paradoxes. Hearing this sweet Christian woman pronounce in her soft, Southern drawl, "Oh, I love to talk about murder. It's just fun" was just the beginning of my mind bending to look at things differently. :-D But I should have expected nothing less after I read the tagline for her website: Where love and faith cross paths...with murder.

Patricia writes romantic suspense and says that murdering your characters is a great way to kill off your anxieties. (I think I'm going to try that! :-D ) What follows is a fun conversation about how she writes - an encouraging look at writing for pantsers!

My biggest takeaway was when I realized that Patricia writes the scenes with the murderer or psychopath's point of view without knowing who the bad guy is - so it's just "he or she" - and later she'll have an ah-ha moment about who that person is in her story. I can't wait to try this!

Patricia has a lot of great stuff on her blog, and she also suggests several other blogs/websites including:

Suspense Sisters: https://suspensesisters.blogspot.com/...

Learn How to Write a Novel: 

http://learnhowtowriteanovel.com/blog...

Writers Police Academy: http://www.writerspoliceacademy.com/

Alicia Rasley's site: http://www.aliciarasley.com

Harlequin Heartwarming blog: http://heartwarmingauthors.blogspot.com/

The Crime Scene Writer Yahoo Group: 

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/c...

She also loves to use James Scott Bell's book, Super Structure, as she writes.

You can follow Patricia Bradley on Goodreads, Facebook, and Twitter and on her blog: https://ptbradley.com/blog

EPISODE 171I

James Scott Bell is a Christy Award-winning and International Thriller Writers Award-winning author in several fiction genres, and a beloved and sought-after writing teacher. He has written many nonfiction titles on the craft of writing, including several for Writer’s Digest Books. In today’s episode, Jim talks about how he got the idea for his craft book, Write Your Novel From the Middle.

EPISODE 170T

Today's guest is - ME! :-D In January 2018, James Blatch interviewed me on The Self Publishing Show Podcast (then called Mark Dawson's Self Publishing Formula Podcast) about time management for writers. I've been teaching a class called Going the Distance for over a decade, helping other writers plan their time so they can get more done.

I thought this would be a good overview of all the things I teach in my course, and give you something to mull on in the back of your mind while you're cooking or shopping or wrapping presents or lying on the beach. (Hello, Southern Hemisphere!) In January, I'll come back with more practical details you can use to make 2020 your best year yet!

EPISODE 169I

Today Ellen Martin is back and discussing her Radical Rx - her path from overworked entrepreneur to fighting cancer and winning with a whole new health plan.

As author entrepreneurs, we have to be careful not to work ourselves to the point of burnout - as I've talked about on several episodes - or worse, a terrible illness. What can we do to keep our health at its best while also getting our work done? And what might be done if we've pushed ourselves too far?

Ellen is not a medical professional, and we are not giving medical advice, but she shares what has worked for her, and encourages us all to start taking better care of ourselves today.

EPISODE 168E

A friend told me the funniest thing the other day in a Facebook comment - and I had to share it with you. Such a smart, funny bit of philosophy that can apply to so many areas of life!

EPISODE 167T

A couple weeks ago, I spoke to my Rotary Club about myself and ended with what I hoped was an encouraging push for everyone to believe that they have a lot to give to the world, no matter background or age. I hope listening to my talk encourages you to believe you have more power than you realize! :-D

EPISODE 166I

Our guest today, Natalie Walters, has just published her second romantic suspense novel, Deadly Deceit, the followup to Living Lies. We have an enthusiastic conversation about scary movies, where to hide the bodies, and finding story ideas in your own life.

Natalie finds brainstorming to be the most fun part of writing. While usually a plotter, sometimes she brainstorms the main character first and sometimes it\'s the situation. For Deadly Deceit, she was excited to come up with the method of murder first.

We spend some time discussing suspension of disbelief in books and movies, and the questions that writers ask themselves in order to keep readers believing that the situation could really happen. Natalie suggests reaching out to fellow writers to ask them for contacts to interview to make sure your characters and situations are as realistic as possible.

You can find Natalie on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, and all of her social media links can be found on her website.

EPISODE 165I

Today\'s guest is James R Hannibal, author of military thrillers for adults and fantasy adventure books for kids. His newest book is The Gryphon Heist, book one in a new series.

In this episode, we chat about James\' military background and how he came to write military thrillers. We also discuss how to create characters different from ourselves, and the kinds of research James did for The Gryphon Heist.

James is a big believer in the power of writers conferences to network, even if you\'re an introvert. Like many writers, he\'s made some lifetime friendships at conferences.

You can find James at his website, and on most social media as James R Hannibal. He\'s most active on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, and is happy to answer questions on Facebook.

EPISODE 164I

Since I’m sick this week, I’m bringing you an encore of one of my favorite episodes of the show, an interview with Lisa Cron, which aired April 12, 2018. I hope it inspires you!

In addition to teaching writing in the UCLA Extension writing program, Lisa Cron is the author of both Wired for Story and Story Genius. She is an energetic and enthusiastic speaker who will reignite your fire and passion for writing!

Lisa says that her first book, Wired for Story, is more of an explanation of how it all works in the audience member’s brain when they are reading or watching a story. Story Genius takes it a step further and explains how to make your stories amazing.

If you’re a neuroscience geek like me, there’s really interesting stuff to get your mind racing along those lines. But if you just want to know, Why do people love the stories they love?, Lisa and her books will help you better understand it.

This interview is so interesting on so many levels! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did!

Learn more about Lisa’s take on story at her CreativeLive workshop!

EPISODE 163E

In this Encouraging Words episode, I compare how I get a book written with how I learned to run a half marathon, and I share some of the ways I keep up positive energy when I’m writing. So much of our energy is in our minds, so watch your thoughts! So much of it also comes from our hearts, so choose how you feel about writing today. And have some fun – stickers, word count competitions with your friends, or working toward badges in something like National Novel Writing Month.

EPISODE 279I

Today's guest is Sarah Santacroce, author of Marketing Like We're Human and Selling Like We're Human, and host of the Humane Marketing podcast. As a ‘Hippie turned Business Coach’, Sarah works with heart-centered entrepreneurs to question their assumptions when it comes to marketing and give them permission to market their business their way, the gentle way!

We discuss Sarah's approach to marketing and how it differs from the traditional and online marketing styles, and talk about how the gentle marketing approach can work for writers.

Download Sarah's free 1-Page Marketing Plan at https://humane.marketing/1page. Learn more about her at https://sarahsantacroce.com/ and https://humane.marketing/

https://humane.marketing/humane-marketing-podcast/

https://humane.marketing/book1

https://humane.marketing/book2

EPISODE 162I

Our guest today is debut author Tari Faris. Her first book, You Belong With Me, just came out in September 2019.

Tari’s number one tip for authors is patience. She’s been writing for ten years, and it took seven years from the time she began pursuing publication to getting a contract. She encourages writers to find a community of writers to get involved in so you don’t feel alone. It’s also a good place to learn and share information.

Tari shares other tips and things she’s learned along her journey as we discuss You Belong With Me and the other books she’s writing in the series. In addition to the writing, we also discuss some of the business parts of writing including her decision to give away the prequel novella to anyone who signs up for her newsletter by November 30, 2019.

You can learn more about Tari and her books at TariFaris.com and on her Facebook page, and you can meet her in person at the annual ACFW conference, at Book Lovers Con in March 2020, and at Story Fest next year (part of ACFW). She also helps teach at MyBookTherapy.com and blogs at LearnHowtoWriteaNovel.com.

EPISODE 161I

Today’s guest is Ellen Martin, founder of CourseLauncherHQ. We’re talking about online classes and all the questions you might have as to whether or not this is something you might want to pursue.

Some of the questions Ellen answers include:

• How do you know if you’re really a teacher?
• How do you know if you know enough to teach someone else?
• How do you know if your class is successful?
• How much work is it to setup and run an online class?

She also mentioned a couple of books she likes – The Course Design Formula by Rebecca Frost Cuevas, and Teach and Grow Rich by Danny Iny.

If you’re interested in learning whether Ellen and CourseLauncherHQ can help you, go to CourseLauncherHQ.com/go/writenowworkshop to get more information. She’s launching a beta program soon, and it might be just the right time for you to teach a new course! (I use Ellen’s services, and I’ve been really happy with the program for the last few years!)

Also, if you’re interested in the TED talk about Sacred Rest by Saundra Dalton-Smith, here is the link. You can also find her book of the same title on Amazon and other bookstores.

This month’s Encouraging Words episode – sorry it’s late! – is about the power of our words, both written and spoken. In Proverbs, it says words hold the power of life and death. I really think that’s true no matter what kind of words – spoken or written, fiction or social media or conversation.

The tricky part is trying to keep our hearts in a good place…and keeping our mouths shut when our hearts are not quite right.

EPISODE 159I

Our guest today has been a cheerful and encouraging presence on the show before – bestselling author Susan May Warren is back to tell us about My Brilliant Writing Planner.

When people started asking Susie May how she gets so much done, she explained her system for planning and organizing all the facets of her life from writing to mothering to personal time. Her base idea is called power blocking, and she explains how she’s been using it for years.

Eventually, she created her own daily planner that included all the aspects of her writing career that she wanted to plan and track as well as aspects of her daily life that also needed to be done. In the new planner, there is also a section at the beginning explaining values-based planning, and a sacred rest assessment. Understanding what Susie May intended when she created the planner will help you use it in the best way for you personally. There is even a free online class explaining how she uses it that you have access to after your purchase.

Whether you like My Brilliant Writing Planner, have something else, or don’t like planners at all, we share a lot of ideas for planning the year in our interview. We discuss sacred rest, values-based planning, being fully present whatever you are doing, and the power of gratitude – as well as the power of colorful encouraging stickers! We hope this episode inspires and encourages you!

If you’re interested in My Brilliant Writing Planner, it is $10 off through the month of October 2019. Plus, if you order using the coupon code KITTY, Susie May will add a free sticky pad that is a daily to-do sheet that matches the planner. This free gift is available with the coupon code until the 2021 planner comes out!

You can learn more about Susie May’s online classes at My Book Therapy.com. From there you can find the planner, the school – Novel Academy, and the blog. Find out more about Susie May and her books at her website.

EPISODE 158I

Join us today as Carol L Wright and AE Decker from the Bethlehem Writers Group share their wisdom and experiences in creating an online literary magazine.

Carol and Ann explain how it all started, some of the mistakes made along the way, and how they found their groove. In addition to the quarterly literary magazine, Bethlehem Writers Roundtable (a paying market!), the group also publishes an anthology of short stories every other year.

Early each year they host a contest based on the theme of the anthology. The annual winners are published in the anthology, and the runners-up are published in the online magazine. A celebrity judge chooses the best story. In 2019, John Grogan, author of Marley and Me, was the final judge. In 2020, Spencer Quinn/Peter Abrahams, author of the Chet & Bernie Mysteries, will be the celebrity judge.

More information on the contest can be found at the Bethlehem Writers Roundtable site. You can find Carol at her website and on Facebook. Ann can be found at her website, and on Twitter. Her publisher’s website is World Weaver Press.

Today’s guest is Ellie Rhodes, a product manager (and copywriter!) at Ubisoft Montreal, a video game developer. Ellie has tweeted her experiences in the area of anxiety, depression, and burnout, sharing tips with her followers about coping mechanisms and just helping others know they are not alone.

We talk about burnout and the video game industry, self-care tips and taking selfish time to renew your energy (might be a puzzle, might be watching cake decorating videos or farm animals on YouTube), and more things Ellie and I have found that help or hinder the healing process.

Ellie and I hope that this episode is encouraging to you – personally or so you can help a friend.   If you’d like to read the article that introduced me to Ellie in the first place, you can do so here. A list of all the Women of Ubisoft articles is here. (They’re great!)

You can follow Ellie on Instagram and Twitter and other social media platforms as EllieJoyPanic. If you’d like to ask her a question on any of the topics we discussed, you can also email her at EllieJoyPanic AT Outlook DOT com.

EPISODE 156E

Sometimes it seems like I overplan. Some days I think I need a better plan. I’ve had a few days that have been blissful with no plan! But how do you know when to do the one thing and when to do the other? I give you my best ideas on how I decide.

EPISODE 155T

Many of us are wrapping up the summer, vacations, and watching or helping students go back to school. It’s one of those natural times of year to see what else we want to accomplish in the last few months, and figure out the best way to accomplish our goals.

I teach a time management class most January’s, and I help people do all they can to accomplish the tasks they set for themselves. But this past year or so, I’ve been very careful about not helping you to the point where you burn out, too.

One of the things that can help is planned time off. I marked last Sunday off my calendar specifically to have no plans. It was blissful!

So in addition to planning some time off, we also want to plan the most important things we want to get done before year’s end. You can plan forward – how much time do you have each day or week, and how much can you get done in that time. Or plan backwards – what do you need to get done, and how many hours a day or week will be necessary to do so.

Planners can also be a big help. Check out Susan May Warren’s My Brilliant Writing Planner for a discount on the 2019 version, and a discount when preordering the 2020 one. Susie May will be on the show again in a few weeks to tell you about all the new updates in next year’s planner.

EPISODE 154T

Sadly, I've felt like my journey to recovery from burnout has been a bit two or three steps forward, one step back. I don't ever want to create an episode about it just to have someone to vent to, but it's been a hard few weeks. I thought if I could figure out how to help myself, I could write down what seemed to work and share it with you.

In this episode, I discuss how to learn to recognize the backward steps and encourage you to start a list of things that usually help you stop backsliding and begin making forward progress again. I share some of the mental and emotional challenges I've had and what has helped, as well as the wisdom I've gleaned about how to deal with the physical symptoms.

I hope this helps you - to either help yourself if you're struggling with burnout, or to help a friend.

EPISODE 153I

Today's guest is Marianne H. Donley, a writer who has worked with her writers group to put out several fiction anthologies over the last several years. She uses this experience as an example for her tips and suggestions for you if you're thinking about getting some writers together and creating an anthology.

There are a lot of pieces and parts to consider if you want to put together a multi-author anthology. It takes far more time than you think it will, especially for whomever edits it. (Unless you hire out an editor, the best editor in your group is going to need to read every story and give notes where appropriate.)

You also will have to cover all the production items within your group, or decide how to pay for hiring it out - editing, cover design, formatting, etc. Someone will have to be in charge of the uploading - and under whose name will that be? That segues into the topic of money - will the costs come from one person or evenly from the group? And how will proceeds from sales be distributed? Or will you offer the book for free?

These are just a small sampling of the many issues Marianne helps us consider as she walks us through the process of creating an anthology. Here are links to some of the things she mentioned:

Bethlehem Writers Roundtable ezine:  https://sites.google.com/site/bethlehemwritersroundtable/

Submit to the ezine: https://sites.google.com/site/bethlehemwritersroundtable/submissions

Short Story Award contest page: https://sites.google.com/site/bethlehemwritersroundtable/short-story-contest

Bethlehem Writers Group anthologies: https://www.asliceoforange.net/authors/bethlehem-writers-group-llc/

A Slice of Orange: https://asliceoforange.net/

...and its bookstore: https://www.asliceoforange.net/book-store/

Request to be an interviewed author: https://www.asliceoforange.net/contact/author-interviews/

Charmed Writers free Flash Fiction book (and description includes information on how to join): https://www.asliceoforange.net/books/charmed-writers-presents-flash-fiction-2019/

5-Minute Covers (may or may not still be in business): https://www.facebook.com/5MinuteCovers/

The Book Designer with Joel Friedlander: https://www.thebookdesigner.com/

EPISODE 278E

In this month's Encouraging Words episode, I talk about how I've been looking at Susan May Warren's Values-Based Planning from episode 276 to decide on my priorities for 2022. After struggling with the idea that I don't want to stop doing things I love and am good at, I finally decided that I needed to let some things go - at least for now - because I'm not doing the work that is most important to me.

As of January 2022, the podcast will be on semi-hiatus, meaning I'll still do the monthly Encouraging Words episodes, and I'll also have guest episodes at irregular intervals. This will free up an enormous amount of time for me to get back to focusing on my first love, writing. :-)

I hope my candid discussion on how I came to this decision helps you as you think back on the last year or two and ask yourself what worked, what didn't, and how you can plan next year based on the things you find most important in your life.

EPISODE 152E

There are times when I'm thinking about or talking about something happening in my life and I mention what didn't go well, and I wonder if I'm complaining. I'm often happy with and grateful for the bigger picture of the topic even though there are areas that I wish were different. It could be my hair or my writing or my vacation. In general, I'm happy with all those things...but I mention the parts I didn't like...and I worry I might be getting into a bad habit of complaining.

Of course there are lots of things we wish were different, but if we can stay focused on the good things and all we are grateful for, it will help us to keep a healthy perspective. And a positive outlook does amazing things for helping our minds to think up new and creative solutions! So that's a bonus!

I hope this Encouraging Words episode has helped you to feel good about yourself and your life today! :-D

EPISODE 151I

Today’s guest is Jodie Brandt, senior bookseller at Brilliant Books, an independent bookstore in Traverse City, Michigan.

Jodie shares some ideas on how to approach Brilliant Books or another bookstore as an author. You can find more information on what Brilliant Books is looking for in authors who would like to do a signing or other event on their Resources for Authors page. Even if you don’t live near this store, it could be helpful information you can apply when contacting an independent bookstore near you.

If you’re interested in tabletop gaming, that’s another interest of Jodie’s and we spend some time talking about how he got involved in writing in that industry.

Jodie is also the host of QuestWise, a YouTube channel where he discusses and reviews tabletop and video games. He mentions an amazing game called The Great American Novel Roleplaying Game that recently completed a successful Kickstarter campaign. It sounds like a fun game to check out. You can find Jodie on Facebook under QuestWise.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Brilliant Books has an amazing shipping policy! If you don’t live near a great independent bookstore yourself, Brilliant Books can be YOUR bookstore - they ship anywhere in the United States for FREE! When you add a U.S. shipping address at checkout, a new shipping option will pop up: FREE Shipping - USPS Media Mail: $0.00. Try it out!

EPISODE 150T

When I self-publish my own books or work with clients to publish theirs, I use my Book Specifications Worksheet to collect all the information needed to create the final ebook and/or print book. In this episode, I go over several areas of the worksheet, letting you know all of the things you'll have to decide before you publish.

If you use Vellum to create your book files, some of the information isn't necessary since Vellum does it automatically. If you use Adobe InDesign or something similar, you'll need to make decisions on most of the areas included. One of the best parts of this worksheet is that you can use the decisions you made on the first book to roll over to future books. Then your readers will get a consistent publishing experience from you - one more way to look like the professional you are.

Download your copy of my Book Specifications Worksheet here.