Thank you so much to everyone who's tuned in and everyone who continues to find the show and listen to us. If The Writing Sparrow has helped you write in any way, know that I made it for you. I had the best time.

Thank you again - truly - and good night. Keep writing, Sparrows 💛 

Please note that I'll likely move all episodes to thewritingsparrowpodcast.wordpress.com/ in the future. Keep an eye on that, and feel free to reach out to me with any writing questions at any time. This podcast has ended, but my doors are always open (if you'll pardon the cliche).

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To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

It's time for the final episode in our 3-parter on creating magic systems, and for our final episode of Season 3! Today, Andrew and I answer your questions from social media and generally ramble about this topic we both love so much.

To catch up with Andrew, find him on his website, on Facebook, and on Instagram.

Thank you, folks, for tuning in! The Writing Sparrow will now take a break but may return one day for Season 4. Don't forget to subscribe so you don't miss us when we're back!

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To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

Where are my fellow gamers at? This episode is for you (and for everyone who wants to have even more fun with writing, of course!). In this chat, JC and I talk about how you can turn your writing into a game and/or use games to get more writing done.

The sites and apps we mention in this episode are:

4thewords 

750 Words 

Habitica 

Finch 

Forest

To catch up with JC check out her Facebook, her Instagram, her TikTok, and her website.

And, to go questing with us on 4thewords, her username is LadyBrown and mine is SarinaLanger. To add someone, go to Account -> My Friends -> Add a friend.

NEXT WEEK: Plotting Your Novel with Emma Briedis

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In today's episode, I explain my favourite season of the year: NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month).

NaNoWriMo exists in two versions:

• the big event in November, in which the goal is to write 50,000 words in 30 days.
• the two smaller camps in April and July, for which you can set your own goal and edit or outline a novel instead of writing a novel.

All three are annual events, and they are free to join for writers of all backgrounds and experience levels.

This week's action step: 

1. Join the NaNoWriMo fun (https://nanowrimo.org)
2. Declare your project
3. Join a cabin (mine might have room! ask me on social media or leave a comment)
4. Stock up on cafeeine and snacks.

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To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

This week, I had a chat with urban fantasy author Grace - G.R.Thomas - about her recently wrapped-up debut series, the importance of making connections, and what it's like to get negative reviews. Grace started working on her books in 2014 and has learned a great deal along the way. She shares some of her gained knowledge in this week's episode.

You can find out more about Grace on her website, find her on Instagram, or follow her on TikTok.

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To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

This week I had a chat with Becky Wright, indie author and founder of PlatformHouse Publishing, which she runs with her husband and where they create book trailers, covers, formatted interiors, and promo images for authors. I have worked with them on several projects (including the cover for this podcast!) and happily vouch for their quality and affordable prices.

You can find out more or book PlatformHouse Publishing for your project on their website.

To find out more about Becky, check out her Instagram, her Twitter, and her website.

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To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

We've all doubted whether our novel ideas are enough, but I'm here to tell you that yes, it is, because all it needs to do is exist!

This week's action step:

Just... start writing. I know it's hard, but you can't polish something you don't have. Get the first draft written and worry about infusing the magic later.

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To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

In April 2020, I burned out bad. It took me over two months before I was back to myself again, and I want to help you avoid the same pain. In today's episode, I talk you through some of the symptoms, how burning out for two months affected me, and what you can do to stay far away from it.

Common symptoms of burnout include:

• You're exhausted physically and mentally
• Writing is harder than usual, even impossible
• You're emotional irritable,and stressed
• You feel like you can't possibly take any time off
• Your to-do doesn't seem to get any smaller even though you're working.

Your action steps for today are:

1. Make a list of your burnout symptoms (or copy the ones from this episode if you've never burned out before)
2.  Make a list of the things that help you relax
3.  Share your symptoms with someone you trust so they can help you take a break when you need it.

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To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

Meet Sarina, indie author of dark epic fantasy, mama to one beautiful cat, and your host for this writing podcast!

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To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

Welcome to the Writing Routines chat of the season! Dana and I talked about the big questions such as Are you a plotter, pantser, or somewhere in between? ,  Do you write every day? ,  Where does your inspiration come from?,  What’s your beverage of choice?, and many more!

At the end of each episode, the writers recommend their favourite book on writing and share their advice for establishing a writing routine that works for you.

To find out more about Dana, check out her website , find her or Twitter , or follow her on Instagram.

NEXT WEEK: How to Gamify Your Writing with JC Brown

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Today I'm talking to writer and poet Shane Douglas Keene about how you can focus on writing when your ADHD is making it more difficult.

Shane's tips from personal experience are:

• Routine is important. Sitting down to write at the same time every day creates a habit, which may be easier for you to stick to longterm.
• If you can, have a separate computer just for writing. If you can't, there are programs you can use to block distractions, such as Scrivener's full screen mode.
• If you realise that you've lost the passion for your project, walk away for a while. You can either work on something else you do feel passionate about or take a break from writing altogether if you need it.
• Be brave and be transparent with your readers. If your ADHD is slowing your progress, it's okay to be honest about it - plenty of readers and other writers will see themselves in your struggles and sympathise. Alternatively, if you've fallen into a research rabbit hole, consider sharing some of your findings with your readers.

To catch up with Shane, check out his Twitter.

NEXT WEEK: Writing Routines: Dana Fraedrich

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Prepare for a fun and informative chat, folks, because today, I'm talking to Ashlee Nicole Davis - narrator extraordinaire who's working on my Chaos of Esta Anderson series!
She has a lot of great tips on how to get started, what kind of teaching you may need/want and where to find it, and some other great do's and don't's besides! We had an absolute blast recording this chat.

And if you found it helpful and want more, also check out E74, where narrator Adriene Arce talked about her approach.

To catch up with Ashley check out her Facebook, her Instagram, and her TikTok.

NEXT WEEK: How to Focus on Writing with ADHD with Shane Douglas Keene

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To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

Make sure you have a pen and some paper ready, folks, because there's a lot of info in this one! Sam is no stranger to running anthologies or shared worlds and had a lot of knowledge to share.

To catch up with Sam check out her Facebook and her website.

NEXT WEEK: How to Narrate Audiobooks with Ashlee Nicole Davis

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To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

Saddle up, Sparrows, 'cause you're in for a treat this week! I had the great pleasure to chat with Beverley Lee and Nicole Eigener about their newest book baby and passion project extraordinaire: A Conclave of Crimson. Hear all about how they co-wrote this book, live, in GoogleDocs, how they broke the platform, and the ups and downs of such an undertaking (and, of course, of what dark surprises lay in wait for all those who dare turn the pages).

To catch up with Beverley, check out her Twitter, her Instagram, and her website.
To catch up with Nicole, check out her Twitter, her Instagram, and her website.

NEXT WEEK: How to set up a shared world with SK Gregory

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Welcome back, folks! This week, we have a HILARIOUS episode (no, really!) with Kyle A. Massa about how to write humour! Get ready to laugh, because we had a lot of fun with this chat.

To catch up with Kyle, check out his Twitter and his website.

NEXT WEEK: How to do a live writing collaboration in GoogleDocs with Beverley Lee and Nicole Eigener

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To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

Welcome back, Sparrows, friends, and bookworms, for Season 3!! *and the crowd goes wild*

We (read: I) have many exciting episodes lined up this season, which will take this podcast to just over 100 episodes (and we'll celebrate that with an epic three-episode series on writing magic systems!!) :O

To kick all that excitement off, I invited Sarah McKnight back, this time to chat about using NetGalley and BookSirens to get reviews. Grab a notebook, your favourite tea, and your beverage of choice and settle in, because there's a lot to discuss this season *high five*

To catch up with Sarah, check out her Twitter, her Instagram, her TikTok, and her Facebook page.

NEXT WEEK: How to write Humour with Kyle A. Massa

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To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

Season 3 will begin on July 3rd, with new episodes every Monday (and new video episodes every Friday before on Patreon).

Coming this season:

• How to Set Up a Shared World with SK Gregory
• How to Write Humour with Kyle A. Massa
• How to Do a Live Writing Collaboration with Beverley Lee and Nicole Eigener
• An epic 3-parter on Magic Systems with Andrew Wall
• NetGalley and BookSirens for Authors with Sarah McKnight
• How to Write with ADHD with Shane Douglas Keene

... and many more!

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To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

This is it, folks! The final episode of Season 2! To wrap up, Savanah James is here to talk about reader magnets and how to write the perfect one for your mailing list subscribers.

To find out more about Savanah, visit her website or her Facebook page.

The Writing Sparrow will return for Season 3. Date TBC. Be sure to subscribe so you don't miss out when we're back!

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To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

Welcome back for Part 2 of our introduction to writing magic systems! Today, Andrew and I dive deeper into his questionnaire to help you flesh out your own magic systems.

To catch up with Andrew, find him on his website, on Facebook, and on Instagram.

NEXT WEEK: Creating Magic Systems (Part 3) with Andrew Wall

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To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

This week I had the great pleasure to talk to Tammi Labrecque, Newsletter Ninja and author of, erm, Newsletter Ninja. We had such a great time talking about newsletters that we got cut off, but we've had a chat and Tammi will be back for Season 3 to finish what we started today.

To find out more about Tammi, visit her website or her Author Think Tank on Facebook.

Next week: How to Write a Great Reader Magnet with Savanah James

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To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

Today we're talking about graphic novels and how to create them. Imelda Wei Ding Lo aka FortunusGames joins me for this one with great insight into this path.

To find out more about Imelda, check out her Twitter or her own podcast.

Next week:  Newsletter 101 with Tammi Labrecque.

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To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

* HEADS UP: we now have a new home on Facebook! I'm deleting the page because I hate how pages work/don't work and have created a group instead. This is our new home: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thewritingsparrowpodcast *

Kirsten McNeill is back! This time, she joins me for a (fun) rant about the editing process. We're both editors, so this episode is part venting and part tips for working with your editor.

To find out more about Kirsten, check out her Instagram, her Facebook group, and her website.

Next week: How to Write and Publish a Graphic Novel with FortunusGames / Imelda Wei Ding Lo.

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To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

Welcome to the Writing Routines chat of the season! Astrid and I talked about the big questions such as Are you a plotter, pantser, or somewhere in between? ,  Do you write every day? ,  Where does your inspiration come from?,  What’s your beverage of choice?, and many more!

At the end of each episode, the writers recommend their favourite book on writing and share their advice for establishing a writing routine that works for you.

To find out more about Astrid, check out her YouTube, her Facebook, and her website.

Next week: A (Fun) Rant about Editing with Kirsten McNeill.

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To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

Welcome back, folks, for a chat on what I thought would be historical fiction but instead morphed into a fun discussion about historical fantasy! Katie Hayoz is back for this one with lots of great insights.

If, like me, historical fiction isn't really your thing but fantasy is, or if you want to know how to infuse your historical settings with more fantasy elements, then we've got you covered!

To find out more about Katie, check out her website, find her or Twitter, or follow her on Instagram.

Next week: Writing Routines | Astrid VJ.

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This week I welcome James Fahy back on my show! James had all of his books published the traditional way. While this podcast mostly talks to self-published authors, it's not the right path for everyone, so today James talks us through how he found his agent, and what happened next.

If you want to take the traditional route, this is the episode for you!

To find out more about James, check out his website or follow him on Instagram or on Twitter.

Next week: How to Write Historical Fantasy with Katie Hayoz.

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To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

Welcome back, folks, for an exciting chat about how to resurrect a dead book (and what that even means, anyway). Cara North joins me for this one!

Got a published book that isn't doing too well, or something from your backlist that's not getting any attention anymore? This is the episode for you.

(We may have shared the video on Patreon super early last year around Halloween, because the timing fit and the topic was too perfect not to.)

To find out more about Cara, check out her Twitter and her website.

Next week: How to find an Agent and Get Publish with James Fahy.

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To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

Welcome back, Sparrows! This week, Jo Holloway joins me for a chat about how we can find new readers on Facebook! Get a notebook ready, friends - Jo has loads of great tips to share.

You probably know that your readers are on social media somewhere, but how do you find them, and how do you engage with them in a way that'll make them want to buy your book? Find out in this episode how Jo aces this on Facebook.

As mentioned in the episode, these are the bookish groups she recommends:

YA Fantasy Addicts
YA Sci-Fi & Fantasy Addicts
Indie Fantasy Addicts
Fantasy ARC Readers

Your action step this week is to check out the above groups, find others in your genre, and join a few as a reader if this approach appeals to you.

To find out more about Jo, check out Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and her website.

Next week: How to Resurrect a Dead Book with Cara North.

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To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

LET SEASON 2 BEGIN

*throws confetti*

Welcome back, Sparrows, for Season 2 of The Writing Sparrow! In this first episode (or Episode 76, if you're counting the total), Sarah McKnight joins me for the light topic of social media warnings.

To find out more about Sarah, check out her Twitter and her website.

Next week: How to Find New Readers on Facebook with Jo Holloway.

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To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

Coming in Season 2:

• How to Write and Publish a Graphic Novel
• A Rant About Editing
• How to Find an Agent and Get Published
• How to Write Historical Fantasy
• Social Media Warnings
• How to Resurrect a Dead Book
• How to Find New Readers on Facebook

... and more!

Season 2 starts on January 2nd 2023 with a new episode every Monday... or on December 30th - with a new video the Fridays before! - for all Patreon supporters.

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To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

Welcome back, folks, to our 100th episode! *hands out cake and caffeine*
For this special milestone, I figured it was about time we talked about one of my favourite things: how to write a great, believable magic system! And because this is such a fun topic AND it's for E100 (and because Andrew and I love talking about it), we've decided to make this a 3-parter.

To catch up with Andrew, find him on his website, on Facebook, and on Instagram.

NEXT WEEK: Creating Magic Systems (Part 2) with Andrew Wall

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To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

The Writing Sparrow will take a break now. It will return, I just don't want to promise a date. This is a good time to subscribe to the show (completely free, if the word puts you off!) or follow the podcast at any of the links below. That way, you won't miss us when we're back.

Thank you for listening, writers and Sparrows! Speak soon.

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Kirsten McNeill joins me again for this week's episode to talk about how we can overcome fear on our writing journey, be that the fear of writing a book, of being read, of our books being disliked, etc.

This is a super-sized episode, and we hope you'll enjoy our pep talk!

Please note: The Writing Sparrow will take a break after this episode. It will return, I just don't want to promise a date. This is a good time to subscribe to the show (completely free, if the word puts you off!) or follow the podcast at any of the links below. That way, you won't miss us when we're back.

To find out more about Kirsten, check out her Instagram, her Twitter, and her website.

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To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

Today I have the great pleasure of welcoming Adriene Arce to my show! Adriene is my narrator for the Blood Wisp trilogy, and it was really great to talk about the process with her. It's a slightly longer episode, but we think it's worth every second. (but if you want an even longer chat, the Patreon Extended Edition is 2 1/2 hours long :O We couldn't shut up! Clearly, we both love this topic.)

To find out more about Adriene, check out her Instagram or her ACX profile.

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To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

Once a quarter, I talk to another writer about their writing routine. We answer questions such as Are you a plotter, pantser, or somewhere in between? ,  Do you write every day? ,  Where does your inspiration come from?,  What’s your beverage of choice?, and many more! At the end of each episode, the writers recommend their favourite book on writing and share their advice for establishing the right writing routine for you.

This quarter, I talked to Nicole Casale, a writer of all genres from Italy!

To find out more about Nicole, check out her Instagram, her TikTok, and her Facebook author page.

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To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

Welcome to my quarterly writing updates, goals, and podcast news! If this isn't why you're here, don't worry - it'll only happen four times a year. Hopefully, my process, goals, and achieved deadlines (as well as surprise challenges) will be interesting for you whether you're here as a writer or as one of my readers!
 
Listen to find out what I'm working on, what progress I've made on my WIPs, and what's coming up next in my writing and on this podcast.
 
And if you'd like to share your goals with me, too, go right ahead! Some of you have shared your goals in this episode, and it's wonderful to see you get involved <3 Let's hold one another accountable *high five*

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Today I'm talking to Aluko Deborah JB about every writer's greatest foe (besides burnout, self-doubt, etc): the rabbit hole of procrastination. Want to know how to beat procrastination and foster consistency instead? You've come to the right place.

Note: we sadly had technical issues when we were recording, so we apologise if this chat sounds a little rushed. We had a lot to cover and were aware of our time limit.

To find out more about Aluko, check out her website, her Instagram, her Twitter, and her own podcast RealityCore.

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To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

This week, I talked to Marisa Mohi about Author Website 101 - what kind of content you should have, how early on your writing path you should create one, your questions from social media, and if you even need a website in the first place.

To find out more about Marisa, check out her website, her Instagram, her Twitter, her TikTok, her Facebook, and her YouTube channel.

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To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

Sparrows, we're finally discussing one of my favourite subjects this week! Bekah Berge stopped by to talk about *drumroll* worldbuilding! We specifically discuss things like maps in fantasy novels (how much do you need to include?), magic systems, the flora and fauna of your world, worldbuilding in epic fantasy and in urban fantasy genres, series bibles, and all that fun stuff.

Prepare a notebook and a pen and get ready to take notes, because we had a blast talking about this!

To find out more about Bekah, check out her Instagram and her website.

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To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

Welcome to our second episode on book marketing! This time, Chloe Hodge joins me to discuss this most daunting of author tasks.

And if you missed it, Lyndsey Hall talked us through her strategy a few weeks ago in Episode 61!

To find out more about Chloe, check out her Instagram, her website, her TikTok, and her Facebook.

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To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

Welcome to one of my favourite chats of all time! In this week's episode, I talked to C E Hoffman about how to approach sensitive subjects in our writing. We discussed things like gender, spirituality, and the Shadow in Jungian psychology, so you're in for a fantastic episode.

The short answer is that it all comes down to respect.
The long answer is in this episode.

(and the even longer answer is on Patreon, where you can find the extended versions of all episodes! This one is 1 hour 40 minutes long.)

To find out more about C, check out their Twitter, their website, and their YouTube channel. C will also be launching their own podcast soon! Get an early glimpse of Scribbles & Spills.

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To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

For today's episode, Darke Conteur joined me for a very overdue chat about self-publishing! We discuss why we've both chosen this path and share some things we think you should know if it tempts you, too.

To catch up with Darke, visit her website, or find her on Twitter or on YouTube.

NEXT WEEK: Creating Magic Systems (Part 1) with Andrew Wall

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Come join The Writing Sparrow in its very own Facebook group!

To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

Once a quarter, I talk to another writer about their writing routine. We answer questions such as Are you a plotter, pantser, or somewhere in between? ,  Do you write every day? ,  Where does your inspiration come from?,  What’s your beverage of choice?, and many more! At the end of each episode, the writers recommend their favourite book on writing and share their advice for establishing the right writing routine for you.

This quarter, I talked to Kirsten McNeill, a writer, editor, and fellow podcaster! Her book recommendation is On Writing by Stephen King.

To find out more about Kirsten, check out her Instagram, her Twitter, and her website.

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Come join The Writing Sparrow in its very own Facebook group!

To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

Welcome to my quarterly writing updates, goals, and podcast news! If this isn't why you're here, don't worry - it'll only happen four times a year. Hopefully, my process, goals, and achieved deadlines (as well as surprise challenges) will be interesting for you whether you're here as a writer or as one of my readers!
 
Listen to find out what I'm working on, what progress I've made on my WIPs, and what's coming up next in my writing and on this podcast.
 
And if you'd like to share your goals with me, too, go right ahead! Some of you have shared your goals in this episode, and it's wonderful to see you get involved <3 Let's hold one another accountable *high five*

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To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

For this week's episode, R.S. Williams kindly agreed to come back to discuss Patreon for Authors! If you want to know what this platform does and how authors can use it to connect with their readers, this is the episode for you!

You can learn more about Rhianne and her books on her website, her Instagram, or support her directly via Patreon.

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Come join The Writing Sparrow in its very own Facebook group!

To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

Alice Ivyna joins me this week to talk about how to make your next book launch a success! She has a lot of information for you guys, so I recommend you get a notebook.

As promised in the episode, here is a summary of the steps she takes when she publishes a new book:

1.  Include a pre-order link to the sequel (if your book is part of a series) at the end of your book. If your book is a standalone, you can link to one of your other books. Don't have the next book ready just yet? You can put a temporary cover on Amazon and set the release date far enough into the future that you don't create a problem for yourself. Simply update the listing when you have a date and have announced the cover.
2. Do a cover, blurb, and/or title reveal 1-2 months before the book is out. This creates hype!
3. Send your book to your Advanced Reader Copy team to ensure early reviews (and more hype!)
4. Up to one week before publication, do a social media countdown with graphics, quotes, discounts on your other books - whatever you can think of to make it fun and engaging!

These steps may not be sufficient for you and your readers (remember that everyone is different), but they're a good place to start from which you can create your own strategy.

To find out more about Alice, check out her Instagram, her Facebook, and her website.

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Come join The Writing Sparrow in its very own Facebook group!

To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

This week I welcome romance author Lyra Thorsson onto my show! We discuss the differences between romance novels, erotic romance novels, and pure smut ;)

Her action step for those of you wanting to write one or all of the above holds true for any genre: read books like the ones you want to write, familiarise yourself with how other authors approach your subject, and then get writing yourself! It's fine to copy those other authors first until your find what works for you.

To find out more about Lyra, check out her Instagram, her Facebook, and her website. You can also support her directly on Patreon. Don't let the links to Dani Hoots confuse you - Lyra Thorsson is her pen name.

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Come join The Writing Sparrow in its very own Facebook group!

To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

In today's episode, marketer Lyndsey Hall chats about what's possibly the most daunting part of being an author: book marketing. She shares her tried-and-tested marketing techniques, tips, and lots of advice on how to market your book in free as well as paid ways.

Why not treat yourself to the Enchanted Waters anthology she's a part of? It's for charity!

To find out more about Lyndsey, check out her Instagram, her Facebook, and her website.

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Come join The Writing Sparrow in its very own Facebook group!

To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

Content warning: Please be advised that this episode mentions the author of a certain popular wizarding series as well as the books several times. Please also be advised that the word paedophile comes up once but is not discussed in detail beyond the mention. I would like to make it clear that this mention has absolutely nothing to do with my guest's baby.

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Once a quarter, I talk to another writer about their writing routine. We answer questions such as Are you a plotter, pantser, or somewhere in between? ,  Do you write every day? ,  Where does your inspiration come from?,  What’s your beverage of choice?, and many more! At the end of each episode, the writers recommend their favourite book on writing and share their advice for establishing the right writing routine for you.

This month, I talked to Tris, a writer and young mother who's juggling both like a pro.

Her advice to new mums is to not put any pressure on yourselves! You're learning to be a mum - cut yourself some slack and take time for yourself when you can.

Her book recommendation is On Writing by Stephen King. Don't forget to check out the library on my website for all book recommendations from these routine chats! Alternatively, check out my guests' fiction recommendations.

To find out more about Tris, check out her website.

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Come join The Writing Sparrow in its very own Facebook group!

To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

(Sooo, I'm here saving and scheduling this episode for Monday, and I notice I only have 58 previous episodes scheduled. This is because I had a moment many months ago and made a spot for '59: 27/12: Christmas Break' in my planner -.- Ignore me when I say this is E60. It's of course E59 *ahem*)

Welcome to my quarterly writing updates, goals, and podcast news! If this isn't why you're here, don't worry - it'll only happen four times a year. Hopefully, my process, goals, and achieved deadlines (as well as surprise challenges) will be interesting for you whether you're here as a writer or as one of my readers!
 
Listen to find out what I'm working on, what progress I've made on my WIPs, and what's coming up next in my writing and on this podcast.
 
And if you'd like to share your goals with me, too, go right ahead! Let's hold one another accountable *high five*

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Come join The Writing Sparrow in its very own Facebook group!

To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.

Today I have the great pleasure of talking to Faith Rivens about reading with intention. It's no secret that writers can learn a lot by reading--in fact, many writers swear by it and will tell you that you need to be a reader if you want to be a writer. In today's episode, Faith and I discuss how reading can improve your writing skills!

To find out more about Faith, check out her Twitter, her Instagram, and her website.

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Come join The Writing Sparrow in its very own Facebook group!

To find out more about Sarina and her books, visit her website, find her on Facebook, or connect with her (and the podcast!) on Discord.