The new home for Mur Lafferty's work
Listeners of Ditch Diggers that love the show mention: writing, writers, real, love, like, listen, great, ditch diggers, matt and mur.
The Ditch Diggers podcast is an absolute gem for aspiring authors and creatives looking to navigate the business side of their craft. Hosted by Matt Wallace and Mur Lafferty, this podcast offers insightful, hilarious, and personal discussions that provide a much-needed dose of reality in the world of writing and publishing. It is a source of grounding amidst the pendulum swing between defiant dreaming and crushing despair that many aspiring authors experience.
One of the best aspects of The Ditch Diggers podcast is its refreshing realness. Matt and Mur bring their industry expertise to the table while remaining down-to-earth and relatable. They share their own struggles, successes, and lessons learned throughout their careers, giving listeners a genuine look into what it takes to create and maintain a writing career. Their authenticity is both inspiring and encouraging.
Another standout aspect of this podcast is the entertaining dynamic between Matt and Mur. They are lots of fun to listen to as they engage in lively discussions, share anecdotes, and offer valuable advice. Their chemistry creates an enjoyable listening experience that keeps you coming back for more. Furthermore, their deep knowledge of the industry shines through in their conversations, making each episode informative and engaging.
As for potential drawbacks, some listeners might find the language used in this podcast to be too explicit or not suitable for all audiences. While it adds to the authenticity of the hosts' discussions, it may be off-putting for those who prefer a more family-friendly approach. However, for those willing to overlook or embrace the occasional NSFW language, there are valuable insights waiting to be discovered.
In conclusion, The Ditch Diggers podcast is an invaluable resource for anyone looking to delve into the business side of writing or creativity as a whole. Matt Wallace and Mur Lafferty provide a realistic perspective on building a creative career while offering encouragement along the way. With their witty banter and industry expertise, they have created an insightful platform that helps aspiring authors navigate the often challenging and uncertain world of publishing. Whether you're a writer looking to make it into a business or simply curious about the business side of creativity, The Ditch Diggers podcast is a must-listen.
"If you want to make money, you have to think about it like a job."- Mur Transcript (This post went live for supporters on June 26, 2024. If you want early, ad-free, and sometimes expanded episodes, support at Patreon or Substack!) Welcome back to Ditch Diggers! In this episode, we kick things off with a fresh start and a new co-host. The mighty Mur Lafferty is joined by the fabulous Ursula Vernon (aka T. Kingfisher) as they dive into the nitty-gritty of the writing business. Ursula shares her personal journey of overcoming cancer and getting back into the writing groove, while Mur talks about the realities of making deadlines and the business side of writing. They also discuss the recent Hugo Awards controversy and the implications for authors involved. Highlights include: - Transition to Ursula as the new co-host - Ursula's health update and return to writing - The Hugo Awards controversy and its impact - Backing up your work and the Google Drive debacle - The pros and cons of attending conventions Links: Ursula Vernon/T. Kingfisher Mur Lafferty Hugo Awards Legends and Lattes Babel by RF Kuang Supernova Con Devo Spice Backblaze JoCo Cruise FenCon RavenCon NASFiC World Science Fiction Society Robert's Rules of Order Evergreen Links: Mur on Focusmate! Mur on Twitter, Instagram, Youtube Newsletter, The Hot Mic Support via Patreon! Or Substack! Theme song by Devo Spice (check here for all mentioned books) Support Local Book Stores! Ditch Diggers credits:theme song by Devo Spice, art by Numbers Ninja, site hosted by Libsyn (or Patreon). June 28, 2024 | Season 10 Ep 1 | murverse.com "Ursula Vernon Takes Over New Beginnings and No More Cancer." by Mur Lafferty and Ursula Vernon is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 4.0
This was recorded back in July, but time and things and travel got away with me. Actually what happened was the fact that I can't spread podcast production across more than one day. If I do, I will forget it needs to be finished. It's not great spending 4+ hours to produce and upload 2 shows, but if I don't, one will fall by the wayside. ADHD brain for the win. We will be back in september, hopefully with lots of amazing ditch digging. August 10, 2023 | Season 9 Ep 9 | murverse.com Copyright 2023, Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace | CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License
Streamed live, July 10, 2023 Below are some affiliate links that support indie bookstores and may benefit me financially with no cost to you. S9 Ep8 Horny chaotic god energy is what we're all about in today's Ditch Diggers, "Data Wonking with Podmother Gail Carriger" where Gail joins us to talk about sifting through data in self publishing. It is some heady stuff, and we discuss tying your self worth to "bad" data and more! Gail Carriger: 30:30 (ish): My sense of failure will kick in when a reader says I love Gail Carriger. And I didn't know she had a new book out, that's when I feel like I failed at my job. I am an author, that's the one job I had is to make sure that people who liked me can read my new books, right? That's it. Transcript Let's Get Weedy Twitter doesn't kiss well When you have a new book out, your main job is to make sure your existing fans know. We
S9 Ep7 Recorded live on Twitch! Mur's agent Seth Fishman joins us to take your questions, and we fill up an hour FAST. Full transcript available! Seth Fishman: ...the industry is right now, where editors are just, they just have, they're just too busy. There's just not enough people working in publishing. So it's harder for agents to do to sell books is really what we're saying. There's a number of times that were like, were you passing because of this, you don't want to put that like, work into it or whatever. But you know, what the people pass for all sorts of reasons, we get the books into pretty great shape, before we send them out. And I mean, we try to, and if an editor is passing, for those reasons, they're what they're really probably saying is more along the lines of developing of an author versus, like editing an author. Transcript Links Seth's books Seth's agency, The Gernert Company Matt's site Mur on Focusmate! Mur on Twitter, Instagram, Youtube Newsletter, The Hot Mic Support via Patreon! Theme song by Devo Spice (check here for all mentioned books) June 21, 2023 | Season 9 Ep 7 | murverse.com Copyright 2022, Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace | CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License
Streamed live, June 13, 2023 Below are some affiliate links that support indie bookstores and may benefit me financially with no cost to you. S9 Ep6 It's our 1001st episode (not really) and Matt is here to launch the final book in the Savage Rebellion trilogy, and it's a very honest episode. Serious Ditch Digging here, y'all. He doesn't hold back. It's publishing, warts and all. Links to Savage Crowns and other books below! Full transcript available! Matt Wallace: I was like, what if I did 'the Wire' as an epic fantasy? That was my other thought when I started it. So my mother says there are strong women characters, there are, Thank you, mom. And I was raised, but I was raised by a strong woman who's definitely a character. Transcript (I wanted to do an annotated transcript like the other two podcasts, but frankly, the others are already taking up so much time I can't do three transcripts, annotate all three, record the podcasts, AND write books.) Links Matt's site Mur on Focusmate! Mur on Twitter, Instagram, Youtube Newsletter, The Hot Mic Support via Patreon! Theme song by Devo Spice (check here for book links) June 13 2023 | Season 9 Ep 6 | murverse.com Copyright 2022, Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace | CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License
Matt and Mur welcome Premee Mohamed, multiple award winning author of No One Will Come Back for Us. We talk about chickens, sea cucumbers, conventions and anxiety, and there's a hair flip in there, but you can only see it if you get the video on Patreon. Links Premee Mohamed Matt's site Mur on Focusmate! Mur on Twitter, Instagram, Youtube Newsletter, The Hot Mic Support via Patreon! Theme song by Devo Spice May 15, 2023 | Season 9 Ep 5 | murverse.com | Copyright 2022, Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace | CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License
Streamed live, April 3, 2023 S9 Ep4 Matt and Mur welcome Fonda Lee, multiple award winning author of Untethered Sky. Fonda talks Patreon, starting something new after a very successful series, and more! Links Fonda Lee Matt's site Mur on Focusmate! Mur on Twitter, Instagram, Youtube Newsletter, The Hot Mic Support via Patreon! Theme song by Devo Spice April 3, 2023 | Season 9 Ep 4 | murverse.com Copyright 2022, Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace | CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License
S9 Ep3 Matt and Mur welcome Mary Robinette Kowal, podcaster, puppeteer, former SFWA president, audiobook narrator, and Hugo Award winning writer. Mary Robinette has had blog posts helping out debut authors, so we decided to pick her brain for a few more pieces of advice, from how to run a kaffeklatch to how to write something cute into your book that isn't insufferable. Links Mary Robinette Kowal Writing Excuses Matt's site Mur on Focusmate! Mur on Twitter, Instagram, Youtube Newsletter, The Hot Mic Support via Patreon! Theme song by Devo Spice March 13, 2023 | Season 9 Ep 3 | murverse.com Copyright 2022, Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace | CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License
Streamed live, February 27, 2022 S.9 Ep.2 I'm joined at the last minute by Valerie Valdes, my co-editor at Escape Pod! We talk about the whole AI thing and look to shed some light on the current kerfuffle. Links Valerie Valdes Fault Tolerance Escape Pod Matt's site Mur on Focusmate! Mur on Twitter, Instagram, Youtube Newsletter, The Hot Mic Support via Patreon! Theme song by Devo Spice February 27, 2023 | Season 9 Ep 2 | murverse.com Copyright 2022, Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace | CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License
S9 Ep1 Streamed live, February 6, 2022 - next livestream is Feb 27, 2023 How do we, the little guys, handle things like strikes and other uncomfortable news? HarperCollins strike news Tom Monteleone news from File 770 "Missing Stair" concept Links Matt's site Mur on Focusmate! Mur on Twitter, Instagram, Youtube Newsletter, The Hot Mic Support via Patreon! Theme song by Devo Spice February 6, 2023 | Season 9 Ep 1 | murverse.com Copyright 2022, Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace | CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License
S8 Ep22 Streamed live, December 12, 2022 Matt joins us to close down the year and send seasonal greetings! Links Mur on Focusmate! Mur on Twitter, Instagram, Youtube Newsletter, The Hot Mic Support via Patreon! John Anealio on Bandcamp I Should Be Writing tea blends Support local book stores! Station Eternity, Six Wakes, Solo: A Star Wars Story: Expanded Edition and more! Get signed books from my friendly local store, Flyleaf Books! Support Local Book Stores! Station Eternity (The Midsolar Murders Book 1), Six Wakes, Solo: A Star Wars Story: Expanded Edition and more! Savage Legion, Supervillain's Guide to Being a Fat Kid and more! December 12, 2022 | Season 8 Ep 22 | murverse.com Copyright 2022, Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace | CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License
Yep, I'm still behind in posting the final episodes for 2022! Here you go! S8 Ep21 Streamed live, December 5, 2022 Matt can't make this episode, so Mur handles it herself! Links Mur on Focusmate! Mur on Twitter, Instagram, Youtube Newsletter, The Hot Mic Support via Patreon! John Anealio on Bandcamp I Should Be Writing tea blends Support local book stores! Station Eternity, Six Wakes, Solo: A Star Wars Story: Expanded Edition and more! Get signed books from my friendly local store, Flyleaf Books! Support Local Book Stores! Station Eternity (The Midsolar Murders Book 1), Six Wakes, Solo: A Star Wars Story: Expanded Edition and more! Savage Legion, Supervillain's Guide to Being a Fat Kid and more! December 5, 2022 | Season 8 Ep 21 | murverse.com Copyright 2022, Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace | CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License
Streamed live, October 24, 2022. I was thrilled to have Veronica Roth of Divergent and Chosen Ones fame to come talk about her new book, Poster Girl, and what the business has taught her in her career! Links Mur on Focusmate! Mur on Twitter, Instagram, Youtube Newsletter, The Hot Mic Support via Patreon! John Anealio on Bandcamp I Should Be Writing tea blends Support local book stores! Station Eternity, Six Wakes, Solo: A Star Wars Story: Expanded Edition and more! OR Get signed books from my friendly local store, Flyleaf Books! Twitch schedule Oct. 31-Nov 3 (Eastern time): M 4:30p,: Ditch Diggers After Dark with Kameron Hurley T 3:00pm: I Should Be Writing NaNoWriMo Launch Day! W Gaming streams canceled for November until I get my schedule sorted out Th 3:00pm: I Should Be Writing - live write? Chat? Who knows? October 17, 2022 | Season 8 Ep 20 | murverse.com Copyright 2022, Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace | CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License
Matt had a family emergency so Ursula stepped in to talk about the gross topic of grooming, and whether any one person has the power to make or break your career. Links Mur on Focusmate! Mur on Twitter, Instagram, Youtube Newsletter, The Hot Mic Support via Patreon! John Anealio on Bandcamp I Should Be Writing tea blends Support local book stores! Station Eternity, Six Wakes, Solo: A Star Wars Story: Expanded Edition and more! OR Get signed books from my friendly local store, Flyleaf Books! Twitch schedule Oct. 17-Oct 21 (Eastern time): M 12:00p,: Ditch Diggers with Ursula Vernon T 3:00pm: I Should Be Writing with Eden Robins W 3:00pm: Gaming TBD Th 3:00pm: I Should Be Writing with Jule Selbo October 10, 2022 | Season 8 Ep 19 | murverse.com Copyright 2022, Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace | CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License
Station Eternity is out! Cherie Priest and Chuck Wendig come on the show to celebrate with me! Links Mur on Focusmate! Mur on Twitter, Instagram, Youtube Newsletter, The Hot Mic Support via Patreon! John Anealio on Bandcamp I Should Be Writing tea blends Support local book stores! Station Eternity, Six Wakes, Solo: A Star Wars Story: Expanded Edition and more! OR Get signed books from my friendly local store, Flyleaf Books! Twitch schedule Oct. 17-Oct 21 (Eastern time): M 12:00p,: Ditch Diggers with Ursula Vernon T 3:00pm: I Should Be Writing with Eden Robins W 3:00pm: Gaming TBD Th 3:00pm: I Should Be Writing with Jule Selbo October 3, 2022 | Season 8 Ep 18 | murverse.com Copyright 2022, Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace | CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License
Streamed live, September 26, 2022. Mur has a book coming out! And it's hard to think about anything else. Matt's taking a well-earned break from writing novels. Links Preorder Station Eternity! Mur on Twitter, Youtube, website Matt on Twitter, YouTube, website Matt's merch! Mur's merch! Support via Patreon Twitch schedule for September (Eastern time): Sept 29 3:00pm: I Should Be Writing with Oct 1 7:00pm: Station Eternity LIVE! Mini Audio Drama performance on Twitch! All times EDT September 26, 2022 | Season 8 Ep 17 | murverse.com Copyright 2022, Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace | CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License
Streamed live, September 23, 2022. Kameron Hurley is guest host today, and we are talking with Margaret Dunlap about the enigma that is Hollywood, money, and how you keep going when so few projects actually get to the screen. Links Preorder Station Eternity! Mur on Twitter, Youtube, website Matt on Twitter, YouTube, website Matt's merch! Mur's merch! Support via Patreon Twitch schedule for September (Eastern time): Sept 29 3:00pm: I Should Be Writing with Oct 1 7:00pm: Station Eternity LIVE! Mini Audio Drama performance on Twitch! All times EDT
S8 Ep15 It's Post-WorldCon, and Mur and Matt have stuff to talk about regarding short stories and short story markets. Matt has new merch! September 5, 2022 | Season 8 Ep 15 | murverse.com Copyright 2022, Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace | CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License
S8 Ep14 Kameron and Mur aren't bitter at all. But we do mention Nick Mamatas' Starve Better. Kameron Hurley's site August 22, 2022 | Season 8 Ep 14 | murverse.com Copyright 2022, Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace | CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License
Matt returns. This wasn't supposed to be a "buck up little camper" pep talk for Mur, but it turned out to be. But mostly, we talk about the importance of different things to focus on as a freelancer. August 15, 2022 | Season 8 Ep 13 | murverse.com Copyright 2022, Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace | CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License
S8 Ep12 Streamed live, August 8, 2022. Monopolies are bad, we all know that, and yet the "Big Six" publishers are eating each other, dwindling down, and claiming it's in the authors' best interest. We call shenanigans. Links Alasdair Stuart, and his Hugo-nominated fanzine, The Full Lid Mur on Twitter, Youtube, website Matt on Twitter, YouTube, website Support via Patreon Twitch schedule for August: Monday 12pm: Ditch Diggers Tuesday 3pm: I Should Be Writing Wednesday 3pm: Gaming TBD Thursday 3pm: I Should Be Writing Thursday 8pm: Arsenic and Old Dice, A Brindlewood Bay Livestream August 8, 2022 | Season 8 Ep 12 | murverse.com Copyright 2022, Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace | CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License
S8 Ep11 Streamed live, July 18, 2022. So there's talk of a writing reality show. No really. So we talk about that and all the things that could go wrong with it. (And how we're dying to watch the train wreck) Links Kameron Hurley Mur on Twitter, Youtube, website Matt on Twitter, YouTube, website Support via Patreon Twitch schedule for July: 25th Monday 12pm: Special Birthday Stream! 26th Tuesday 3pm: I Should Be Writing 27th Wednesday 3pm:Gaming TBD 28th Thursday 3pm: I Should Be Writing All times EDT July 18 2022 | Season 8 Ep 11 | murverse.com Copyright 2022, Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace | CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License
S8 Ep10 Streamed live, July 11, 2022. Y'all have asked for it, and I deliver! My former agent Jen Udden joins us live to answer questions (since she isn't an agent anymore but she still has all that knowledge.) Links Jennifer Udden's podcast Shipping and Handling Mur on Twitter, Youtube, website Matt on Twitter, YouTube, website Support via Patreon Twitch schedule for July: 25th Monday 12pm: Special Birthday Stream! 26th Tuesday 3pm: I Should Be Writing 27th Wednesday 3pm: Gaming TBD 28th Thursday 3pm: I Should Be Writing All times EDT July 11, 2022 | Season 8 Ep 10 | murverse.com Copyright 2022, Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace | CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License
S8 Ep9 Streamed live, May, 2022. Whoops, I told you I needed a break this past spring. I never got this out to folks. Recorded mid-may I believe. Links Ursula Vernon Mur on Twitter, Youtube, website Matt on Twitter, YouTube, website Support via Patreon Twitch schedule for July 11-15: 11th Monday 12pm: Ditch Diggers with Ursula Vernon 12th Tuesday 3pm: I Should Be Writing 13th Wednesday 3pm: Thousand Year Old Vampire Solo RPG 14th Thursday 3pm: I Should Be Writing All times EDT May something, 2022 | Season 8 Ep 9 | murverse.com Copyright 2022, Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace | CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License
S8 Ep8 Streamed live, July 5, 2022. I'm joined by Grant Baciocco and we talk about video and TikTok and how to know what kind of content to make, if you're digging ditches! Links Toiley on TikTok, Youtube, Twitch The Toiley's Christmas Album Mur on Twitter, Youtube, website Matt on Twitter, YouTube, website Support via Patreon Twitch schedule for July 11-15: 11th Monday 12pm: Ditch Diggers with Ursula Vernon 12th Tuesday 3pm: I Should Be Writing 13th Wednesday 3pm: Thousand Year Old Vampire Solo RPG 14th Thursday 3pm: I Should Be Writing All times EDT July 5, 2022 | Season 8 Ep 8 | murverse.com Copyright 2022, Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace | CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License
Streamed live, May 23, 2022. I'm joined by Gwenda Bond, and we talk about writing at the beach and what we hope to get accomplished this week! Links Gwenda Bond and her new book, The Date From Hell Mur on Twitter, Youtube, Mastodon Matt on Twitter, YouTube, website Support via Patreon or Ko-Fi! May 23, 2022 | Season 8 Ep 7 | murverse.com Copyright 2022, Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace | CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License
I'm joined by Alasdair Stuart and we talk about burnout and how it's hurting writers as well as publishing at large. But we manage to find some hope within! Links Trade Industry Facing Burnout Mur on Twitter, Youtube, Mastodon Matt on Twitter, YouTube, website Support via Patreon or Ko-Fi! Twitch schedule for May: 16th Mon: 12:00pm Ditch Diggers with Matt Wallace 17th Tues: 3:00pm I Should Be Writing 19th Wed: CANCELED FOR MAY 20th Thurs: 3:00pm I Should Be Writing 23rd Mon: 4:30pm Ditch Diggers with ??? (Live from writing retreat at the beach!) 24th Tues: 3:00pm I Should Be Writing (Live from writing retreat at the beach!) 26th Thurs: 3:00pm I Should Be Writing (Live from writing retreat at the beach!) 30th Mon: CANCELED - VACATION 31 Tues: CANCELED - VACATION All times EDT May 9, 2022 | Season 8 Ep 6 | murverse.com Copyright 2022, Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace | CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License
I talk about Imposter Syndrome and how it can mess with my career, and then Matt and I discuss book banning and censorship as our politicians attack libraries. Check Links for what you can do to help. Links American Civil Liberties Union and Free Speech Comic Book Legal Defense Fund Brooklyn Library Mur on Twitter, Youtube, Mastodon Matt on Twitter, YouTube, website Support via Patreon or Ko-Fi! Twitch schedule for week of May 9: Mon: 4:30pm Ditch Diggers with Alasdair Stuart Tues: 3:00pm I Should Be Writing Wed: 3:00pm Gaming Thurs: 3:00pm NO STREAM May 2, 2022 | Season 8 Ep 5 | murverse.com Copyright 2022, Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace | CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License
Please note the audio is terrible. I did what I could. See if you can fast forward through me and just listen to Kameron! Kameron Hurley is back playing Proxy Matt and we talk social media again! *l*n M*sk got himself a new toy, so we start discussing what else we can do as authors who need to use social media. (I'm on Mastodon now!) Links Mur on Twitter, Youtube, Mastodon Matt on Twitter, YouTube, website Support via Patreon or Ko-Fi! Twitch schedule for week of May 9: Mon: 4:30pm Ditch Diggers with Alasdair Stuart Tues: 3:00pm I Should Be Writing Wed: 3:00pm Gaming Thurs: 3:00pm NO STREAM April 25, 2022 | Season 8 Ep 4 | murverse.com Copyright 2022, Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace | CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License
Matt and I discuss how some Kickstarter have made millions, and smaller magazines are shutting down. Links Mur on Twitter, Youtube Matt on Twitter, YouTube, website Support via Patreon or Ko-Fi! Twitch schedule for April 18-30: Mon: Ditch Diggers with Matt Wallace 12pm Tues: ISBW 3pm Wed: Gaming (Inscription) 3pm Thurs: ISBW 3pm Sat: Spoilers Club: One for All 6pm April 18, 2022 | Season 8 Ep 3 | murverse.com Copyright 2022, Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace | CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License
Streamed live, April 11, 2022. Ursula was recently asked "what's selling right now?" and we discuss that and why we HATE that question. Next week: Matt is back! Links Mur on Twitter, Youtube Matt on Twitter, YouTube, website Ursula on Twitter, website Support via Patreon or Ko-Fi! April 11, 2022 | Season 8 Ep 2 | murverse.com Copyright 2022, Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace | CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License
Streamed live, April 4, 2022. Matt and I have fun talking about publishing, and catching up for the last several months. Next week: Ursula Vernon co-hosts. Links Mur on Twitter, Youtube Matt on Twitter, YouTube, Website Support via Patreon or Ko-Fi! Twitch schedule for April 18-30: Mon: Ditch Diggers with Matt Wallace 12pm Tues: ISBW 3pm Wed: Gaming (Inscription) 3pm Thurs: ISBW 3pm Sat: Spoilers Club: One for All 6pm All times EDT April 4, 2022 | Season 8 Ep 1 | murverse.com Copyright 2022, Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace | CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 License
Ursula joins me and we talk about body organs and just how important they are to a writing career. We reference this debacle. HEY check out my Speakeasy class on NaNoWriMo coming up on October 12, 8pm EDT! Twitch schedule for week of Oct 10 Mon: 1pm Gaming (Dream Daddy) Tues: 3pm- I Should Be Writing Wed: 5pm Gaming (TBD) Thurs: 3pm- I Should Be Writing
Yup, we're talking, a little late, about the YA Ratings debacle, but through the lens of dead white guy John Milton. Yeah, he was a cranky old man, writer of super long Bible fanfic, and helped with regicide a little bit, but he also was a strong anti-censorship advocate. Which, considering you could lose your head for writing something offensive, was pretty damn brave. My Milton professor made anything sound good. He was so excited about Milton that he made us excited. And Aeropagitica has stuck with me, even if the attention span to re-read it has not.
Mur and Matt welcome back the Godmother of Ditch Diggers herself, Gail Carriger! Gail wanted to talk about what happens when you're a pro and your books don't sell. What avenues do we have? Gail's books Mur's GODMAKER race No streaming the week of September 20
I had some last minute changes come up, but the awesome authors Ursula Vernon and Diana Rowland ended up calling in and hanging out to talk about the tools we use in our careers, from Scrivener to assistants.
Matt and Mur return to Discord instead of Twitch, since we were taking a day off Twitch in solidarity with the streamers getting harassed on the platform. New Twitch schedule for our live episodes! Tune in on Wednesdays at 11am Eastern Time! September 1, 2021 | Ditch Diggers Season 7 | murverse.comCopyright 2021, Mur Lafferty and Matt Wallace | BY-NC-ND 3.5 License
The day was kind of a perfect storm for crap, so it ended up with me and the dogs and my phone, streaming from the basement. To quote Stuart Smalley, "This was not my best show." But I did it! Matt is back this week! Not sure if it's live or not since creators aren't using Twitch on Wednesday this week, but we might go live on Discord just for y'all. I need to talk to him about it.
Another scam publisher has reared its ugly head, so we talk about that, and exactly how you can tell if someone is scamming you. (Hint- it has to do with the flow of cash.) Welcome back, Matt! New Twitch schedule for our live episodes! Tune in on Wednesdays at 11am Eastern Time!
Alasdair comes by to help out, wearing his Matt Wallace t-shirt and changing the name of the show to Dirt Butlers! I'm taking a break from Twitch- my week has gotten incredibly stressful, and then I'm going on vacation on Thursday, so it's best if I don't force it and stress myself out more. I'll return on Wednesday, August 4!
Mike Underwood, writer and marketer extraordinaire, returns to talk about post-pandemic publishing and where we find ourselves now. Twitch Schedule for week of July 12-24 M. 1pm Chatting, gaming, anything goes T. 1pm Ditch Diggers with Alasdair Stuart T. 3pm ISBW with Tobias Buckell W. 4pm Gaming Th. 1pm ISBW
Ursula Vernon, aka T. Kingfisher (the winner of the Andre Norton Nebula for YA and the Locus Award for YA) joins us to talk Ditch Digging, Wizards and Baking*, and, uh, a lot of other things. Awards. Cover Art. Juggling many projects for hybrid publishing. Wizards Guide to Defensive Baking audiobook And Then There Were (N-One) by Sarah Pinsker Vellum Productivity Alchemy Draft2Digital Atticus * affiliate link
At last, we have Kameron Hurley back to talk about the much-needed social media discussion! While nowhere near perfect, various social media services do have settings that you can tweak to protect yourself from trolls. We go over some, compare block and mute, and then we talk about World of Warcraft.
My old Bookburners co-author and friend Margaret Dunlap comes aboard to talk about the state of Hollywood, how she got into scriptwriting, and how in the world they have so much damn money to throw around.
Hugo-finalist fan writer, nonfic writer, and fiction writer Alasdair Stuart joins us again to talk about some recent news in SF including the Nebula Awards! Are you watching Ditch Diggers on Twitch? Why not? Next live episode is Thursday (6.24) with Kameron Hurley coming back to try her hand at being Matt! Join us at 5pm EDT.
Ursula joins us from her lovely back yard, and we hope to not be rained out.
Kameron is back with more talk of ditch digging!
I'm joined this week by editor and author SB Divya to talk about Covid, being a debut during a pandemic, and other fun things! Are you watching Ditch Diggers on Twitch? Why not? Next live episode is Wednesday (6.2) with Ursula Vernon (T. Kingfisher) joining us at 1pm EDT.
Matt is very angry with me for having a real president on the show, but he's not here, so screw him. I invite the former SFWA president, amazing writer, and excellent teacher Cat Rambo to come hang out with me and talk ditches.
Matt is still gone, but has sent us a bloody fang as proof of live. Don't ask me, I don't control the boy. Alasdair Stuart, co-owner of Escape Artists, four time Hugo Finalist (this year alone!), writer of fiction and nonfiction, and good friend joins us this week to talk about a nonfiction writing life and transitioning to a writing life. Are you watching Ditch Diggers on Twitch? Why not? This Wednesday we have Cat Rambo at 1pm EDT.
Kameron Hurley joins Mur to talk about all the things people just expect you to know when you get to a certain level of authordom. We talk Guest of Honor stuff, readings, talks, agents, and more! Check out Kameron online!
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