The Unstoppable Power of Showing Up
I’m on author, speaker, and business school professor David Burkas’ mailing list. Burkas opened his first email of the New Year with the following sentence: “I’m not setting any goals for 2019.” It’s a bold statement, especially for someone like Burkas, a non-fiction author in the information sharing and teaching realm. Burkas’ email went on…
Barbara Kyle on How to Sell Half a Million Books — The Writing Coach 088
Welcome to The Writing Coach. On this podcast, I speak with the instructors, editors, coaches, and mentors who help writers and authors create their art, build their audience, and sell their work. In episode #88 of The Writing Coach podcast, I speak with Barbara Kyle. Barbara is the author of the acclaimed Thornleigh Saga, a…
I Found Some Time to Write Under the Couch Cushions
How to Find the Time to Write (Even if You Have a Full-time Job) is one of the most popular webinars I’ve offered over the years. The training is filled with tips and hacks for better time management and productivity. The hundreds of writers who have attended the training come away filled to the brim with…
The ‘Hazel & Katniss & Harry & Starr’ Interview
I’ve known Joe Lipsett longer than I’ve known my wife. He and I met in film school way back in the early 2000s, and we bonded over our mutual love of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and horror cinema. Every October, for over half a decade, we would go to theaters together to see the latest entry in…
Pantsers, Planners, Principles, and Tactics
Being a fiction author has got to be just about the only profession in the entire world where people honestly believe you can find success by making things up as you go along. These writers (often the same group who believe success is all about natural talent alone) declare themselves proud “pantsers.” Their confidence is propped-up by people in the…
Would you cut off a limb to get your book published?
My coaching rates went up this year, and they’re going to continue to go up in the foreseeable future. If you’re looking for a one-on-one writing coach with cheaper rates than me, you’re not going to have any problem finding one. And that doesn’t bother me in the least. I’ll tell you why in a…
List of Black Friday Deals for Writers
At the moment, I’m extremely comfortable with the rates at which I am offering my coaching services. I’m, therefore, not going to be deploying any crazy Black Friday discounts this year. That said, I totally understand what a rush it can be to find a product that fits your needs at a heavily discounted price. To that end,…
Guitar Solos and Writer’s Craft
In 2009, Guitar World magazine recognized Mike McCready’s guitar solo in the Pearl Jam song, “Alive,” as one of the 100 greatest guitar solos of all time. The solo is well worth a listen. Deep into the blanket-like rhythm and texture of the storytelling-rich song, McCready lets the music take over and out of him flows…
When the Writing Stops Being Fun
It’s November 19. If you’re participating in National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMO), you’re about to finish up your third week of writing. By this point, you have almost certainly experienced a dip in enthusiasm. I’ll bet those first two weeks were exciting. You were pounding out words and making progress. You were moving through Act I…
Michelle Cornish on Writing What You Know — The Writing Coach 082
Welcome to The Writing Coach. On this podcast, I speak with the instructors, editors, coaches, and mentors who help writers and authors create their art, build their audience, and sell their work. In episode #82 of The Writing Coach podcast, I speak with Michelle Cornish. Michelle is a mom, author, illustrator, and former accountant on a mission…
