Podcasts about 20booksto50k

The lost episode from the 2023 20BooksTo50K convention in Las Vegas! At said convention, Steve Diamond and Larry Correia sat down with Steve Beaulieu, co-founder of Aethon books to chat about starting and running a small publishing house. If you would like to join the ranks of our supporters, you can support this podcast with a small monthly donation to help sustain future episodes at: https://anchor.fm/writerdojo ____________________________________ *Residue*  by Steve Diamond (the revised, definitive Author's edition) is available now on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3smHCbQ (affiliate link) ____________________________________ "Word Mercenaries" (the WriterDojo theme) is by Craig Nybo https://craignybo.com/ --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/writerdojo/support

Judith Anderle, who, along with her husband, Michael, has built an indie publishing empire and created the 20BooksTo50K annual conference. In this interview, we discuss publishing, AI, and copyright law as it currently stands in January 2024.

Judith Anderle, who, along with her husband, Michael, has built an indie publishing empire and created the 20Booksto50K annual conference. In this interview, we discuss publishing, AI, and copyright law as it currently stands in January 2024.

Mark interviews award-winning, #1 bestselling fantasy author Todd Fahnestock about his journey through both traditional publishing and indie-publishing, focusing on the moments for learning, growth, and applying passion and persistence. Prior to the interview, Mark shares comments from recent episodes, a personal update, and a word about this episode's sponsor. Check out the WIDE FOR THE WIN community and resources. In their conversation, Mark and Todd talk about: Todd's first venture into writing back when he was 17 and in senior high school through a year-long IS (Independent Study) program Thoughts about how it has only been the past six years or so where Todd has really taken his writing seriously, and how things might have been different if he'd done that back in 2003 when signing his first traditional publishing contract How Todd had two big traditional publishing deals that turned into fantastic proven failures but how he attributes those flops into future successes The Heartstone Trilogy that was first published with big fanfare in 2003 from Harper Collins Parting amicably from being represented by Donald Maas  Selling The Wishing World to Tom Dohorty of Tor Books being one of the highlights of Todd's career Todd's pitch to the publisher that included being able to travel to 50 schools in order to promote this middle grade trilogy Managing to hit a Colorado best-seller list by visiting 52 different schools in the state of Colorado in the promotion of this book The concept that "success is the diploma, but failure is the classroom" How subjective many of the measurements and opportunities in publishing can be What isn't random is that readers that love what you do love what you do The various layers that writers need to break-through in terms of getting a book published The idea of thinking that just making a great product is our job as a writer, but recognizing that it isn't just a product - it's an entire experience The opportunity that authors have to make their product synonymous with their "personality" and "presentation" Going full-time as a writer in 2017 and hearing about the 20Booksto50K wave of rapid-release author success, but not being able to get on that wave The sad reality of earning $1400 in that first year, when his plans were to earn $25,000 in that first 12 months How Todd's incredibly supportive wife said something to him when he was haunted by the demons of this failed plan that helped turn things around for him The experience of changing his attitude when it came to being stuck at a table with other Christmas craft vendors and making the best of it How it is a ton of work, but the joy of knowing that it's something that is in his hands More than 90% of Todd's sales being from in person bookselling rather than online sales  due to leveraging his persona as a storyteller Todd's experience in 2021 of getting a double booth at Salt Lake City Comic Con Hitting $5000 in sales at 3 different cons in 2023 The approach of always talking about BOOK ONE by default when doing his sales pitch at the table A bit of a background on The Eldros Legacy The pitch Todd uses for The Eldros Legacy The "ten more pumps" water pump analogy from Jim Butcher Advice Todd would offer to other writers And more . . . After the interview, Mark reflects on a few specific points that came up in the conversation.   Links of Interest: Todd Fahnestock Website Eldros Legacy Episode 339 - Romancing The Writing Life With Bobby Hutchinson Mark's YouTube Channel Buy Mark a Coffee Patreon for Stark Reflections Best Book Ever Podcast Lovers Moon Podcast The Relaxed Author Buy eBook Direct Buy Audiobook Direct Publishing Pitfalls for Authors An Author's Guide to Working with Libraries & Bookstores Wide for the Win Mark's Canadian Werewolf Books This Time Around (Short Story) A Canadian Werewolf in New York Stowe Away (Novella) Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Lover's Moon Hex and the City The Canadian Mounted: A Trivia Guide to Planes, Trains and Automobiles Yippee Ki-Yay Motherf*cker: A Trivia Guide to Die Hard   Todd Fahnestock is an award-winning, #1 bestselling author of fantasy for all ages and winner of the New York Public Library's Books for the Teen Age Award. He is a founder of Eldros Legacy—a multi-author, shared-world epic fantasy series—two-time winner of the Colorado Authors League Award for Writing Excellence, and four-time finalist for the Colorado Book Award for Tower of the Four: The Champions Academy (2021), Khyven the Unkillable (2022), Lorelle of the Dark (2023), and Tower of the Four: The Dragon's War (2023). His passions are great stories and his quirky, fun-loving family. Visit Todd at toddfahnestock.com.     The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

On this episode, we're talking with sweet, clean romcom author Annah Conwell about the world of indie publishing, writing life, and her newest releases. Come give this spoiler free episode a listen and get some great sweet, clean romcom recs! Books Mentioned:  The Love Audit by Annah Conwell But He's My Grumpy Neighbor by Annah Conwell Junie B. Jones by Barbara Park The Poky Little Puppy by Janette Sebring Lowrey Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen First to Fall by Jenny B. Jones Get Started with Independent Publishing: https://www.facebook.com/groups/20Booksto50k/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/170375933609063/ https://www.facebook.com/groups/CreateIfWriting/  Connect with Annah: Website: ⁠https://www.annahconwell.com Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/authorannahconwell/ Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083333321233 Let's connect! Instagram: ⁠⁠http://instagram.com/faithandfables/⁠⁠ Facebook: ⁠⁠http://facebook.com/faithandfablespodcast

Welcome to a special solo bonus Cop Camp episode with Patrick O'DonnellCop camp will kick off with an informal get-together on May 31, 7:00 pm until we are done at The lobby bar located at the DoubleTree by Hilton Appleton Attendance is not mandatory, but I think it will be fun to get to get together and meet before classes start.June 1: The bus to the academy will leave around 8:45 am to the Fox Valley Public Safety Training Center where we will spend the bulk of our days. The morning will be spent on hands-on police training followed by catered lunch that will be provided as part of your conference fees. This morning routine will be the norm for the 2nd and 3rd as well.We will begin afternoon classes starting with our special guest, Honoree Corder.Honoree Corder, a publishing strategist, TEDx & keynote speaker, and author of over 50 books, including You Must Write a Book and You Must Market Your Book.We will end the day with Michael Anderle the founder of 20BooksTo50K®and LMBPN. June 2nd Our afternoon classes will start with Racine County Assistant District Attorney Sharon Reich. We will devote the rest of the afternoon to California Game Warden Lt. John Nores.. On June 3rd our first afternoon speaker will be Anne Schwartz! Our afternoon classes will end with my good friend, Det. Adam Richardson. June 4: 9:00 am – 12:00 pm (Optional) Debrief at the hotel. This will be your chance to ask questions and offer opinions of the conference.Hotel: The hotel is the DoubleTree by Hilton Appleton, 150 Nicolet Road Appleton, WI. 54914. The special rate of $99.00 a night plus taxes and fees, is good through the conference. In order to secure that rate, you must reserve your room before May 8, 2023. If you need to get there early or stay late, call the hotel at 920-735-9955, and ask for that rate for your extended or early days. Tell them you are with the Cops and Writers Cop Camp, and they should be able to honor that rate. If there are problems with that, call me at 414-213-6449. Tuition and Fees: Tuition is only $325.00 for Cop Camp 2023! This includes our incredible guest speakers, hands on police training, transportation to and from the hotel to the academy, catered lunches June 1-3, and a whole lot of police fun! Here is the Link to sign up for cop camp and the hotel registration https://www.premeditatedfiction.com/copcamp2023There is still a scholarship available for the tuition of $325.00. If you are interested in this opportunity, or if you have any other questions, email me at sarge@copsandwriters.com    Do you want to write crime stories that are accurate and believable, but lack first-hand experience in law enforcement? Join Cop Camp, the Cops and Writers Interactive Conference, and experience what real police officers and detectives do through hands-on activities this June 1st – the 4th at the Fox Valley police academy in Appleton, Wisconsin. Register now at premeditatedfiction.com/copcamp2023 and take your crime writing to the next level. Do you enjoy gritty, action-packed real-life police dramas to get your fill of blood, heartache, and cop humor, and maybe even a little romance?I have partnered up with Michael Anderle and we have released a new crime fiction series called “Brew City Blues.” If you're a fan of Hill Street Blues, Southland, or Bosch you're going to love Brew City Blues! Brew City Blues is now live! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BLR7FX27Support the show

Direct sales are a big deal this year and thankfully, there are some really awesome partnerships that indie authors can form. I have one such partner on the show this week! In today's podcast episode, I'm talking with Alex Smith from Book Vault, a print-on-demand distributor based in the UK. Book Vault does some pretty unique things for indie authors and we're discussing them all in this interview. So, if you've been wondering how to make direct sales work for you, wonder no more. Have a listen! Be sure to check out the show notes by going to https://authorrevolution.org/180

Last year, I went to the 20Books Vegas conference and one of the most inspiring talks that I attended was all about writing through adversity. Her speech touched my heartstrings and was the only talk that made me cry! So, of course, I had to bring her on to the show to talk to all of you! In today's podcast episode, I had the great privilege of speaking with bestselling urban fantasy author, Martha Carr! We talked about her diagnosis in 2010, how her PA Grace helps her be the amazing author she is, and even about her Kickstarter coming this May. You don't want to miss this one! Have a listen! Be sure to check out the show notes by going to https://authorrevolution.org/167.

20Books Vegas has come and gone and my brain is still a whirlwind regarding the entire experience. There was so much to see, so much experience, so much to learn... and then some! In today's podcast episode, I'm dishing out all the goods on the 2022 20Books Vegas Conference experience. I'm going to talk about my top 5 sessions (and maybe one bonus one!), as well as what I'd do differently next time around. Plus, you can get a little flavor for what it was like being in Las Vegas. Have a listen! Be sure to check out the show notes by going to https://authorrevolution.org/158.

Every author at one point or another has the opportunity to go to some big-deal conferences and signings. For me, I'm attending one such event next week when my husband, close friend, and I attend the largest indie author conference in the world. In today's podcast episode, I'm spilling the beans on how I'm *really* feeling about the upcoming 20Books Vegas Conference and dishing out 3 sanity-saving tips to focus on when you have big events like this to attend. Have a listen! Be sure to check out the show notes by going to https://authorrevolution.org/157.

Want to give your author biz a boost? The answer is simple: write a lot, and write what readers want. Sofia Aves is a mom of three, USA Today Bestselling romantic suspense author with over 25 titles and the marketing manager for the Romance Writers of Australia. In this episode of These Mums Write, she shares how she manages to get so many words written despite her busy mom schedule by writing by dictation. As well, she shares the key to her highly successful marketing strategy: knowing her readers. Connect with Sofia at her website, https://www.sofiaaves.com.  Resources mentioned: https://www.facebook.com/groups/20Booksto50k/about/ Connect with the These Mums Write community Join the These Mums Write Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/thesemumswrite/ Get freebie episode handouts by joining my newsletter: https://www.subscribepage.com/c1z8b4

These are common mistakes we see indie authors make when marketing their books and our ideas + insights on how you can reach more readers. We have a special focus on subscriptions for this episode, per usual :).Join the Subscriptions for Authors community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/subscriptionsforauthorsDon't miss out on the waitlist for Ream: https://ream.inkEPISODE OUTLINE:0:00 - 0:33 Introduction 0:33 - 1:56 Context for this Podcast 1:56 - 5:41 Mistake #1: Short-Term Marketing (aka Brand v.s. Performance Marketing)5:42 - 8:12 Using Social Media to Build Your Brand 8:13 - 12:30 Mistake #2: Pricing Your Book Like a Commodity 12:31 - 17:17 How LitRPG Authors Use Serialization + Subscriptions to Reach More Readers 17:18 - 19:19 Mistake #3: Not Getting Readers Before You Release 19:20 - 21:15 Using Serialization to “Test” Your Story 21:16 - 22:30 Mistake #4: Trying to Do Everything at Once 22:31 - 23:47 Writing to a Community, instead of Writing to Market 23:48 - 26:12 Mistake #5: Not Taking Advantage of Network Effects 26:13 - 27:53 Using Cumulative Advantage to Propel Your Author Business 27:55 - 29:00 Mistake #6: Jumping on Marketing Bandwagons 30:16 - 31:17 Sponsoring Reading Creators to Garner Sales 31:18 - 35:42 Mistake #7: Not Hyper-focusing on Read-through Rate 35:43 - 37:25 Mistake #8: Not Clearly Defining Your Brand for Readers 37:25 - 41:12 The Power of Aligning Your Values with Your Readers 41:13 - 44:43 Mistake #9: Not Nurturing Your Superfans 44:45 - 50:00 Mistake #10: Not Utilizing Multi-Media Marketing50:02 - 52:08 Each Co-Host Shares Their Takeaway from this Episode 52:09 - 55:16 The Future of Subscriptions fo AuthorsABOUT SUBSCRIPTIONS FOR AUTHORSWe are the premier community to learn about making money from subscriptions as an author.We have this weekly podcast, our Facebook Group with hundreds of fellow authors, and a newsletter where we are committed to having the best free educational resources and networking for authors looking to break into this exciting new publishing model.We are led by Emilia Rose (six figures a year on subscriptions and steamy romance author) and Michael Evans (sci-fi thriller author and newbie to subscriptions, but excited to learn).ABOUT REAM:Ream is a platform that helps authors make money with subscriptions. Think of us like Patreon built for fiction authors by fiction authors.And our mission is simple: to help more authors pursue their storytelling dreams full-time (and for those full-time to make even more money and have more control while doing so).The platform allows writers to build communities around their stories and charge a monthly fee that rewards their super fans with connection and access.You can join the waitlist for Ream and start making money from subscriptions on the only platform built by authors for authors: https://ream.inkLINKS REFERENCED IN PODCAST: YouTube Audiobooks FB Post: https://www.facebook.com/groups/20Booksto50k/permalink/4775087859264307/ Galaxy's Edge Jason Anspach: https://galaxysedge.us/

In today's episode of the Cops and Writers Podcast, I interview Michael Anderle and Craig Martelle. Michael Anderle started releasing books in November of 2015. Three in November, one in December, and one in January. By November of 2016, he was doing six figures a month in sales, and that December he started publishing others in collaboration with other authors. Over the last six years Michael's publishing company, LMBPN has published about 1,500 titles, 250 audiobooks (by them) with another 600 or so licensed, and about 170 foreign language translations in 7 languages. They have sold over 5,000,000 books and continue to release stories in multiple genres including paranormal, action-adventure, urban fantasy, fantasy, military science fiction, and space opera. Michael is the founder of 20booksto50K® Facebook author group which has over 60,000 members.Craig Martelle retired from the Marine Corps, spending time both as enlisted and as an officer. Then he went to law school and took his law degree in business consulting where he became a business diagnostics specialist and leadership coach. He retired from that at age 52 because he was away from home way too much. That is when Craig started his path to becoming a prolific bestselling author. Craig also runs the 20booksto50K® Facebook author group and the 20booksto50K® author conferences that are worldwide. The 20booksto50K® Vegas conference is the largest indie author conference in the world! In today's episode we discuss:·      How Craig and Michael started their bestselling author careers. ·      What “Outlaw Publishing” was and what their part was in it.·      How and why Michael started 20booksto50K®.·      The tips and tools they use to produce an extraordinary number of books each year.·      How and why Michael started his very successful publishing company, LMBPN.·      The future of 20booksto50K®. All of this and more on today's episode of the Cops and Writers podcast.Learn more about Michael Anderle and his books at LMBPN Publishing.Check out the 20booksto50K® Facebook group. Head on over to Craig Martelle's website to learn more about him and his awesome books!Listen to Craig Martelle on the Cops and Writers episode #9Enjoy the Cops and Writers book series.Please visit the Cops and Writers website.If you have a question for the sarge, hit him up at his email.Come join the fun at the Cops and Writers Facebook groupSupport the show (https://patreon.com/copsandwriters)

Judith Anderle, who along with her husband, Michael, has built an indie publishing empire and created the 20Booksto50K annual conference. We discuss a topic not covered before in the 3 years of this podcast: publishing contracts and publishing rights

Judith Anderle, who along with her husband, Michael, has built an indie publishing empire and created the 20Booksto50K annual conference. We discuss a topic not covered before in the 3 years of this podcast: publishing contracts and publishing rights

Judith Anderle, who along with her husband, Michael, has built an indie publishing empire and created the 20Booksto50K annual conference. We discuss a topic not covered before in the 3 years of this podcast: publishing contracts and publishing rights

Michael Anderle is a top 30 Bestselling Amazon Author and CEO of LMBPN Publishing. He has used what he learned from his first two decades reading science fiction and fantasy to segue into writing Urban Fantasy and Military Fiction in the next decade. We discuss his Kurtherian Gambit, and one of my favorite characters of fiction--Bethany Anne, along with how he has grown as an author and helped so many other authors along the way.

Michael Anderle is a top 30 Bestselling Amazon Author and CEO of LMBPN Publishing. He has used what he learned from his first two decades reading science fiction and fantasy to segue into writing Urban Fantasy and Military Fiction in the next decade. We discuss his Kurtherian Gambit, and one of my favorite characters of fiction--Bethany Anne, along with how he has grown as an author and helped so many other authors along the way.

Michael Anderle is a top 30 Bestselling Amazon Author and CEO of LMBPN Publishing. He has used what he learned from his first two decades reading science fiction and fantasy to segue into writing Urban Fantasy and Military Fiction in the next decade. We discuss his Kurtherian Gambit, and one of my favorite characters of fiction--Bethany Anne, along with how he has grown as an author and helped so many other authors along the way.

"Surface Pressure" really should be considered the Indie Author Anthem these days. We're all striving for success and reaching to attain what we can. However, the pressure is building and there's more to it than simply pumping out books as fast as humanly possible. In today's episode, we're gonna be talking about toxic productivity and why it's making life as a successful indie author so much harder than it needs to be. Click here to have a listen! Be sure to check out the show notes by going to authorrevolution.org/120.

Almost the entire KSM crew was in Las Vegas for the 20Booksto50k 2021 Writer's Conference, today we talk about take-aways, experiences, and why standing in bars is illegal. Hosts: Josh Hayes, Scott Moon, C. Steven Manley 00:00 Opening remarks -Discord server is up! https://discord.com/invite/t96CVRD -Keystroke Coffee is live! https://keystrokemedium.com/product/keystroke-coffee/ -Use Plottr! https://plottr.com?ref=190 07:47 Weekly update—Hedge Maze Edition Josh: Distracted by a story idea. Chuck: Still working on Jack Dark #2… 10:25 Main Event— LIVE! 20BookstoVegas 2021 Recap Show -Favorite things about the conference. -Talking to Larry Correia. -Scott enjoyed the military scifi and space opera panels. -Chuck's surprise trip to 20Books. -Chuck enjoyed Chris Fox's marketing panel, Scott's police procedural panel, and milSF panel. -‘Hand farts'! -Military Ethos v. Militaristic in milSF. -Baen books panel on sales for print v. ebooks and crossing the divide between ebook only readers and print only readers. -Thoughts on post-conference motivation. -Readers follow series, not authors. -Patreon vs. Newsletters. -The good thing about the conference is not having to keep Scott from signing up for everything. -The KSM podcast panel. -Getting energized by being at the conference with other writers. -Thoughts on the venue (Bally's) -Getting kicked out of a standing bar. -Scott and mixed drinks and Josh's hangover shuffle. 59:24 Closing remarks *** Coffee and Concepts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRuoHj6opw0 Writer's Journey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ydLaFFntB4Q Storytelling https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYRzwuQeK9Q Become a Medium today! https://keystrokemedium.com/mediums/ Don't forget to Like and Subscribe and get involved with the mayhem and shenanigans in the live chat! http://www.youtube.com/c/keystrokemedium If you have any thoughts or ideas for show topics or if you have authors you'd like to see on the show, let us know. Visit our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/KeystrokeMedium For all the latest and greatest KSM Gear, check out our store at: https://keystrokemedium.com/ksm-store/ Also, subscribe to Sci Fi Explorations for the best discounted and free books we come across through our contacts: http://www.scifiexplorations.com *** Keystroke Medium Anthologies Kingdoms of Iron and Stone - https://amzn.to/2GjbE6I Horizons Beyond - https://amzn.to/2SrJ6uX Farthest Reach – https://amzn.to/2UZINeo The Writing Dream – and How to Make it to Happily Ever After – Keystroke Medium's first non-fiction book. https://amzn.to/2UZINeo If you enjoy this podcast, please leave us a review and rate the show on iTunes, Podbean, Stitcher, or wherever else you found us!

When asked about the high-performing prolific authors, the first thing that comes to my mind is always the epic Facebook group, 20Booksto50K. Their success truly is the success of all indie authors and we, as a collective, are so lucky to have this group on our side. In today's episode, I had the privilege of speaking with Craig Martelle - prolific author master and 20Booksto50K co-creator. We talk about his own role as an indie author, how 20Books has evolved over the years, and touch on the incredible conference the group puts on each year. Have a listen! Be sure to check out the show notes by going to authorrevolution.org/111.

This episode is part of the Happy Campers Interview series. Since April 2020, Nicole Rivera has been hosting an online writing community intensive called the Happy Campers Club. Now Nicole is writing the Stop Writing Alone book about all of her experience with writing community, and wanted to the perspective from the members in the club. This is one interview toward that end.   Audrea Martin is a cozy mystery writer getting ready to release her debut novel Blue Blue Christmas. In this episode she discusses how she fell in love with cozy mystery, strove to find herself in the genre and then worked to create the stories she craved. She shares her experiences within writing community, in writing conferences, and her love of books on the craft that she has turned into a new venture with Amy Strong on their YouTube channel The Write Crowd.    Mentioned in this episode:   Audrea Martin's  Website https://audreajackmartin.com/ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/soveryaud/  YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpr-7kh4ySX7AQ3Y5WQNFVQ/featured  Clubhouse @soveryaud Communities mentioned  Crime Writers of Color https://www.crimewritersofcolor.com/ Sisters in Crime https://www.sistersincrime.org/  Conventions mentioned 20 Books To 50K  https://www.facebook.com/groups/20Booksto50k/about/  Bouchercon https://www.bouchercon.com/ Thrillerfest https://thrillerfest.com/ Writers Police Academy https://writerspoliceacademy.online/  Books mentioneed Jane Cleland MASTERING SUSPENSE https://bookshop.org/a/10928/9781599639673 Sara Rosette HOW TO OUTLINE A COZY MYSTERY https://bookshop.org/a/10928/9780998843155  Nina Harrington https://ninaharrington.com/the-prolific-author/ STORY HOARDER Substack (The new home for Nicole's writing): https://storyhoarder.substack.com Music for coffee break from freesound by lemoncreme https://freesound.org/people/Lemoncreme/sounds/186942/  Stop Writing Alone FB group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2205774733034348/ Stop Writing Alone Bookshop https://bookshop.org/shop/Stopwritingalone  NV Rivera YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpPlp1EVzQhDFPdGp5w2KoQ?view_as=subscriber  Stay connected to learn about all Stop Writing Alone stuff -- get on Nicole's email list: https://mailchi.mp/ff8df93e57dc/penpals  Buy Nicole a coffee (AKA support the podcast!) https://ko-fi.com/stopwritingalone   Places to connect to the STOP WRITING ALONE community and introduce yourself: Stop Writing Alone FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/stopwritingalone/ Join the Stop Writing Alone with Nicole Rivera FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2205774733034348/ Stop Writing Alone website: https://stopwritingalone.com/ Join the Stop Writing Alone email list: https://mailchi.mp/ff8df93e57dc/penpals  Stop Writing Alone Instagram account https://www.instagram.com/stopwritingalone/  Nicole's Twitter: https://twitter.com/nv_rivera  The Stop Writing Alone voice number (call to introduce yourself!): (646) 907-9607    When you find a group of people who lift you up on a daily basis, it is important to share their awesome. Here are links to the women in Nicole's Mastermind group (currently going by the name The Voxer Vixens!). Please support these women who do so much to support Nicole on a daily basis! Kim A. Flodin https://www.kelekilove.com/  Lisa Murray https://ihavedreamsdammit.com/ Claire Oldham West https://slimmingstories.podbean.com/ Johanna Jaquez-Peralta https://www.instagram.com/latina_livin_keto/ Emma Isaacs https://www.instagram.com/emmaisaacsdesign/   

The Gatecrashers discuss three different approaches to book-release marketing, as originally presented by Elana Johnson at the 20Booksto50k conference. Amanda Luedeke is literary agent and Vice President at MacGregor & Luedeke, where she has agented since 2009. Charis Crowe is a marketer and freelancer who spent nearly ten years at the gates of publishing before deciding to launch her own self-publishing career.

Bestselling author William Bernhardt discusses the latest news from the world of books, offers writing tips, and interviews Karen Grassle, author and actor (Ma Ingalls on Little House on the Prairie) about her new memoir, Bright Lights, Prairie Dust.Chapter 1: IntroductionCheck out the new Jesse Ulrich podcast, The Wheel of Pod. https://www.podpage.com/the-wheel-of-pod/Chapter 2: News1) Spotify is acquiring audiobook platform Findaway Voices;2) Written Word Media reveals its new findings about authors;3) 20Booksto50K presentations are available free on YouTube; and4) BookBub reveals what tropes and genres do best.Chapter 3: InterviewBernhardt interviews Karen Grassle about her extraordinary career and actor and author. Among other topics, she discusses:1) why she wrote this memoir;2) her writing process (no outline, many years); 3) the importance of writing groups and education;4) life on Little House on the Prairie, and5) Her new movie, Not to ForgetChapter 4: Parting WordsBernhardt has a new novel out, Exposed, Book 2 in the Splitsville legal thriller series, and a story in a new Christmas anthology, Christmas Tapestry. a collection of holiday tales written by authors who have series characters, featuring their series characters! Take a closer look at Exposed: https://amzn.to/3HWg1BrThe next episode of this podcast will be recorded on Dec 9 and will feature all six authors who contributed stories to Christmas Tapestry. It's gonna be a party!If you're writing or aspiring to write, join our Facebook Group, Red Sneaker Writers, so you can get daily updates. During the interview, Karen Grassle mentions her new movie, Not to Forget. Here are some links to locations you can stream the film:Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Not-Forget-Karen-Grassle/dp/B09M2J74TB/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=not+to+forget&qid=1637953082&s=instant-video&sr=1-1Apple TV: https://tv.apple.com/us/movie/not-to-forget/umc.cmc.2lh30lzgkt5c04dnk56foq3p8Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/movies/details/Not_to_Forget?id=e1saAxGmGWc.P&hl=en_US&gl=US

Charis discusses her main takeaways from the 20Booksto50k 2021 indie publishing conference in Vegas. Amanda Luedeke is literary agent and Vice President at MacGregor & Luedeke, where she has agented since 2009. Charis Crowe is a marketer and freelancer who spent nearly ten years at the gates of publishing before deciding to launch her own self-publishing career.  

New show's every week, ish, unless we don't have one, then it's a new show every other week, unless we're sick, then it's a new show every few weeks, but we're really, really, really, going to have one today. Probably. Hosts: Josh Hayes, Scott Moon, C. Steven Manley Special Guest: Steve Beaulieu/Jaime Castle 00:00 Opening remarks -Discord server is up! https://discord.com/invite/t96CVRD -Keystroke Coffee is live! https://keystrokemedium.com/product/keystroke-coffee/ -Use Plottr! https://plottr.com?ref=190 05:10 Weekly update—Don't Drop the Toilet Seat Edition Steve: Preparing to go to 20Booksto50k conference. Writing an epic fantasy novel with Andy Peloquin. Loves co-authoring. Adventures in Vegas last 20Books conference… Chuck: Wrapping up Jack Dark #2. Promises Steve to finish! Outlined book 3! Scott: Building a new house, writing a lot, wishing he had a beard comb. Josh: Finally has a series titled Weaponized instead of Savage Stars/Sentinel. Writing. Had a Baen interview on The Romanov Rescue, a military procedural, watched the new Dune movie. https://amzn.to/3bpSFoH 29:28 Main Event— LIVE! Writing Roundtable - October 2021 - Dune 2021, podcasting, AND SCOTT'S BIRTHDAY -Discussion on the new Dune movie. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1160419/ -Interpolation of story from immersion. -Immersion as the opposite of the infodump. -The importance of the medium for story (i.e. movie vs. novel) -Technical issues with the movie. -Missiles vs. bullets -The Weirding Way in 1984 Dune vs the novel and current film. -Atreyu vs. Atreides! -The strange ending of part 1, though it was the same stopping point in the novel. -The audio issues with the movie (soundtrack vs. dialogue). -The demand for science fiction. -The success of The Expanse https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3230854/ -Thoughts on Babylon 5 reboot. -Podcasting thoughts and ideas. -Aethon creating a game branch. -Recent Aethon requests for military science fiction/space opera. -What does Aethon look at for the market. -Looking at ‘stickiness' and things that make a top-selling book sell outside of promotions and author writing. -Write to market. -Balancing writing what you love vs. marketing. -Submit to Aethon (put KSM in the subject line) https://aethonbooks.com/submissions/ 1:08:20 Closing remarks *** Try out Rob McClellan's Mod Farm for your website building needs. Use the link for a KSM discount! https://modfarmdesign.com/keystroke/ Coffee and Concepts https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRuoHj6opw0 Keystroke Medium Live! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1qSwdjsN9Q Storytelling https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYRzwuQeK9Q Become a Medium today! https://keystrokemedium.com/mediums/ Don't forget to Like and Subscribe and get involved with the mayhem and shenanigans in the live chat! http://www.youtube.com/c/keystrokemedium If you have any thoughts or ideas for show topics or if you have authors you'd like to see on the show, let us know. Visit our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/KeystrokeMedium For all the latest and greatest KSM Gear, check out our store at: https://keystrokemedium.com/ksm-store/ Also, subscribe to Sci Fi Explorations for the best discounted and free books we come across through our contacts: http://www.scifiexplorations.com *** Keystroke Medium Anthologies Kingdoms of Iron and Stone - https://amzn.to/2GjbE6I Horizons Beyond - https://amzn.to/2SrJ6uX Farthest Reach – https://amzn.to/2UZINeo The Writing Dream – and How to Make it to Happily Ever After – Keystroke Medium's first non-fiction book. https://amzn.to/2UZINeo *** If you enjoy this podcast, please leave us a review and rate the show on iTunes, Podbean, Stitcher, or wherever else you found us!

This episode is part of the Happy Campers Interview series. Since April 2020, Nicole Rivera has been hosting an online writing community intensive called the Happy Campers Club. Now Nicole is writing the Stop Writing Alone book about all of her experience with writing community, and wanted to the perspective from the members in the club. This is one interview toward that end.   Amy Strong is the co-creator and co-host of the brand new YouTube channel and writing community called The Write Crowd. Along with Audrea Martin, Amy shares perspectives and insights about books for writers with writers. In this episode, Amy discusses this new venture, the books (yes, plural!) she's working on, as well as the various writing communities she is a part of and growing with.    Mentioned in this episode:   Amy Strong's The Write Crowd YouTube https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCpr-7kh4ySX7AQ3Y5WQNFVQ  website https://www.welcometothewritecrowd.com/  IG https://instagram.com/the_write_crowd?utm_medium=copy_link  20BooksTo50K https://www.facebook.com/groups/20Booksto50k/?ref=share  The 3-Day Novel Contest https://www.3daynovel.com  Heart Breathings with Sara Cannon https://heartbreathings.com  Kanab Conference https://kanabwritersconference.com/product/2021-kanab-writers-conference/  Jennifer Holderidge https://instagram.com/thecreativeharbor?utm_medium=copy_link  Music for coffee break from freesound by lemoncreme https://freesound.org/people/Lemoncreme/sounds/186942/  https://www.facebook.com/groups/2205774733034348/ Stop Writing Alone Bookshop https://bookshop.org/shop/Stopwritingalone  NV Rivera YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpPlp1EVzQhDFPdGp5w2KoQ?view_as=subscriber  Stay connected to learn about all Stop Writing Alone stuff -- get on Nicole's email list: https://mailchi.mp/ff8df93e57dc/penpals  Buy Nicole a coffee (AKA support the podcast!) https://ko-fi.com/stopwritingalone   Places to connect to the STOP WRITING ALONE community and introduce yourself: Stop Writing Alone FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/stopwritingalone/ Join the Stop Writing Alone with Nicole Rivera FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2205774733034348/ Stop Writing Alone website: https://stopwritingalone.com/ Join the Stop Writing Alone email list: https://mailchi.mp/ff8df93e57dc/penpals  Stop Writing Alone Instagram account https://www.instagram.com/stopwritingalone/  Nicole's Twitter: https://twitter.com/nv_rivera  The Stop Writing Alone voice number (call to introduce yourself!): (646) 907-9607    When you find a group of people who lift you up on a daily basis, it is important to share their awesome. Here are links to the women in Nicole's Mastermind group (currently going by the name The Voxer Vixens!). Please support these women who do so much to support Nicole on a daily basis! Kim A. Flodin https://www.kelekilove.com/  Lisa Murray https://ihavedreamsdammit.com/ Claire Oldham West https://slimmingstories.podbean.com/ Johanna Jaquez-Peralta https://www.instagram.com/latina_livin_keto/ Emma Isaacs https://www.instagram.com/emmaisaacsdesign/   

This episode is part of the Happy Campers Interview series. Since April 2020, Nicole Rivera has been hosting an online writing community intensive called the Happy Campers Club. Now Nicole is writing the Stop Writing Alone book about all of her experience with writing community, and wanted to the perspective from the members in the club. This is one interview toward that end. Jackie Dana author of THE FAVOR FAERIES and the creator of STORY CAULDRON shares her experiences with serialized storytelling, creating an author platform using Substack, and, of course, writing community. To Join Fall 2021 Happy Campers Club: https://mailchi.mp/2a02299ec7e6/85cs7uh6w7    Mentioned in this episode:   Jackie Dana's  Story Cauldron (Jackie Dana's Substack) https://storycauldron.substack.com website https://jackiedana.com IG https://www.instagram.com/cocteau32/ Twitter https://twitter.com/jadana17 20Booksto50K Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/20Booksto50k  First Followers YouTube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW8amMCVAJQ  To Join Fall 2021 Happy Campers Club: https://mailchi.mp/2a02299ec7e6/85cs7uh6w7  Music for coffee break from freesound by lemoncreme https://freesound.org/people/Lemoncreme/sounds/186942/  https://www.facebook.com/groups/2205774733034348/ Stop Writing Alone Bookshop https://bookshop.org/shop/Stopwritingalone  NV Rivera YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpPlp1EVzQhDFPdGp5w2KoQ?view_as=subscriber  Stay connected to learn about all Stop Writing Alone stuff -- get on Nicole's email list: https://mailchi.mp/ff8df93e57dc/penpals  Buy Nicole a coffee (AKA support the podcast!) https://ko-fi.com/stopwritingalone   Places to connect to the STOP WRITING ALONE community and introduce yourself: Stop Writing Alone FB Page: https://www.facebook.com/stopwritingalone/ Join the Stop Writing Alone with Nicole Rivera FB Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2205774733034348/ Stop Writing Alone website: https://stopwritingalone.com/ Join the Stop Writing Alone email list: https://mailchi.mp/ff8df93e57dc/penpals  Stop Writing Alone Instagram account https://www.instagram.com/stopwritingalone/  Nicole's Twitter: https://twitter.com/nv_rivera  The Stop Writing Alone voice number (call to introduce yourself!): (646) 907-9607    When you find a group of people who lift you up on a daily basis, it is important to share their awesome. Here are links to the women in Nicole's Mastermind group (currently going by the name The Voxer Vixens!). Please support these women who do so much to support Nicole on a daily basis! Kim A. Flodin https://www.kelekilove.com/  Lisa Murray https://ihavedreamsdammit.com/ Claire Oldham West https://slimmingstories.podbean.com/ Johanna Jaquez-Peralta https://www.instagram.com/latina_livin_keto/ Emma Isaacs https://www.instagram.com/emmaisaacsdesign/   

#authorgoals #newwritertips #writeabook New writers think about one thing: finishing their novel. But once that's done, it's time to think about your author goals and your author end game. What are your short term and long term goals beyond just writing more books? When you have goals--even if you change them-- it's a lot easier to make plans and strategize. In this episode I discuss possible author end games and 5 reasons why knowing yours will help you make better decisions. Great FB groups for those interested in earning a living as a writer. 20booksto50K ide for the Win Find all my book and social media links at: https://linktre.ee/AutumnnBardot Get new episodes delivered to your inbox at http://www.autumnbardot.com/newsletter/

Internationally multi-bestselling sci-fi/fantasy author Michael Anderle continues the magical adventures of How To Be A Badass Witch's spunky heroine Kera MacDonagh in HOW TO BE A BADASS VIGILANTE: BOOK ONE (LMBPN Publishing, February 10, 2021). Armed with snark, new spells, and badassery, the young vigilante enters into a high stakes battle of good vs. evil. This action-packed urban fantasy is sure to satisfy fans of the genre. Fed up with playing by the rules, recent university graduate/ex-cum laude/ex-soccer star Kera MacDonagh changed her life forever when she read How To Be A Badass Witch. Much to her surprise, the spells actually worked. Within the first few weeks of on-the-job training, Kera's new powers attracted all sorts of trouble. Now hunted as a magical vigilante, Kera stalks criminals in the darkness of Los Angeles while attempting to hide the signature of her supernatural powers. Kept safe by the trusting and kind Kim family, Kera decides to “come clean” to her boyfriend regardless of the consequences. With her world turned upside down, Kera struggles to balance her sanity. Will magic be enough to help her come out on top? She hopes so because the other way lies madness. MICHAEL ANDERLE has sold over 4,000,000 sci-fi/fantasy books worldwide either under his name or as a collaborator with other well-known authors. Anderle is the founder of LMBPN® (London, Milan, Barcelona, Paris, New York) Publishing, which publishes sci-fi/fantasy fiction by authors from USA, Australia, England, Canada, and various countries around the world. An “Amazon Top 100” ranked author, Anderle is popularly known as the creator of 20Booksto50K® on Facebook. He launched the group with the goal of sharing industry knowledge that helps independent authors to achieve their publishing goals. As a child growing up in Houston, Texas, USA, Anderle read books in the high fantasy and sword-and-sorcery genres and eventually developed a love of urban fantasy and sci-fi. At the age of 47, Anderle began writing full time and has since become a well-known author in the community. Michael Anderle resides in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. To learn more about Michael Anderle and LMBPN®, visit lmbpn.com. About the show: ► Website: http://www.ashsaidit.com ► Need Goli Gummies? https://go.goli.com/1loveash5 ► For $5 in ride credit, download the Lyft app using my referral link: https://www.lyft.com/ici/ASH584216 ►For discount Pangea Products: https://embracepangaea.grsm.io/ashsaiditmedia3226 ► Want the ‘coldest' water? https://thecoldestwater.com/?ref=ashleybrown12 ► Become A Podcast Legend: http://ashsaidit.podcastersmastery.zaxaa.com/s/6543767021305 ► Review Us: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ash-said-it/id1144197789 ► SUBSCRIBE HERE: http://www.youtube.com/c/AshSaidItSuwanee ► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/1loveash ► Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ ► Twitter: https://twitter.com/1loveAsh ► Blog: http://www.ashsaidit.com/blog ► Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/1LoveAsh/ ► Newsletter: manage1.com/subscribe?u=2a2ca3b799467f125b53863http://ashsaidit.us11.list-c8&id=a6f43cd472 #atlanta #ashsaidit #ashsaidthat #ashblogsit #ashsaidit® Ash Brown is a gifted American producer, blogger, speaker, media personality and event emcee. The blog on AshSaidit.com showcases exclusive event invites, product reviews and so much more. Her motivational podcast "Ash Said It Daily" is available on major media platforms such as iTunes, iHeart Radio & Google Play. This program has over half a million streams worldwide. She uses these mediums to motivate & encourage her audience in the most powerful way. She keeps it real!

Internationally multi-bestselling sci-fi/fantasy author Michael Anderle continues the magical adventures of How To Be A Badass Witch's spunky heroine Kera MacDonagh in HOW TO BE A BADASS VIGILANTE: BOOK ONE (LMBPN Publishing, February 10, 2021). Armed with snark, new spells, and badassery, the young vigilante enters into a high stakes battle of good vs. evil. This action-packed urban fantasy is sure to satisfy fans of the genre. Fed up with playing by the rules, recent university graduate/ex-cum laude/ex-soccer star Kera MacDonagh changed her life forever when she read How To Be A Badass Witch. Much to her surprise, the spells actually worked. Within the first few weeks of on-the-job training, Kera's new powers attracted all sorts of trouble. Now hunted as a magical vigilante, Kera stalks criminals in the darkness of Los Angeles while attempting to hide the signature of her supernatural powers. Kept safe by the trusting and kind Kim family, Kera decides to “come clean” to her boyfriend regardless of the consequences. With her world turned upside down, Kera struggles to balance her sanity. Will magic be enough to help her come out on top? She hopes so because the other way lies madness. MICHAEL ANDERLE has sold over 4,000,000 sci-fi/fantasy books worldwide either under his name or as a collaborator with other well-known authors. Anderle is the founder of LMBPN® (London, Milan, Barcelona, Paris, New York) Publishing, which publishes sci-fi/fantasy fiction by authors from USA, Australia, England, Canada, and various countries around the world. An “Amazon Top 100” ranked author, Anderle is popularly known as the creator of 20Booksto50K® on Facebook. He launched the group with the goal of sharing industry knowledge that helps independent authors to achieve their publishing goals. As a child growing up in Houston, Texas, USA, Anderle read books in the high fantasy and sword-and-sorcery genres and eventually developed a love of urban fantasy and sci-fi. At the age of 47, Anderle began writing full time and has since become a well-known author in the community. Michael Anderle resides in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA. To learn more about Michael Anderle and LMBPN®, visit lmbpn.com. About the show: ► Website: http://www.ashsaidit.com ► Need Goli Gummies? https://go.goli.com/1loveash5 ► For $5 in ride credit, download the Lyft app using my referral link: https://www.lyft.com/ici/ASH584216 ►For discount Pangea Products: https://embracepangaea.grsm.io/ashsaiditmedia3226 ► Want the ‘coldest' water? https://thecoldestwater.com/?ref=ashleybrown12 ► Become A Podcast Legend: http://ashsaidit.podcastersmastery.zaxaa.com/s/6543767021305 ► Review Us: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/ash-said-it/id1144197789 ► SUBSCRIBE HERE: http://www.youtube.com/c/AshSaidItSuwanee ► Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/1loveash ► Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ ► Twitter: https://twitter.com/1loveAsh ► Blog: http://www.ashsaidit.com/blog ► Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/1LoveAsh/ ► Newsletter: manage1.com/subscribe?u=2a2ca3b799467f125b53863http://ashsaidit.us11.list-c8&id=a6f43cd472 #atlanta #ashsaidit #ashsaidthat #ashblogsit #ashsaidit® Ash Brown is a gifted American producer, blogger, speaker, media personality and event emcee. The blog on AshSaidit.com showcases exclusive event invites, product reviews and so much more. Her motivational podcast "Ash Said It Daily" is available on major media platforms such as iTunes, iHeart Radio & Google Play. This program has over half a million streams worldwide. She uses these mediums to motivate & encourage her audience in the most powerful way. She keeps it real!

In this episode Mark interviews Judith and Michael Anderle of LMBPN Publishing. This episode's sponsor. You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update on the forthcoming release of Fear and Longing in Los Angeles and the ongoing work being done on Wide for the Win. He also talks about the benefits of PLR (Public Lending Right) programs.   In their conversation, Judith, Michael, and Mark talk about: How they each got started in the business of publishing Michael's first 90 days of writing and publishing Judith's background in the medical and pharmaceutical industry and how she made Michael create a profit/loss statement for the following year for LMBPN before she decided to step in and run the company How calculating the earnings of $7.50 per book per day led to the idea of the 20Booksto50K methodology, movement, and Facebook Group Judith's inkling for fashion and how that led to the company name LMBPN (London Madrid Barceloni Paris New York - the fashion capitals of the word) and how the complexity of the company name provided a "great, people will talk about it" essence The "Disruptive Imagination" tag line for LMBPN and the multiple pillars represented in the logo itself The generosity of spirit in working with authors directly at LMBPN as well as sharing with the larger author community Some of the international authors and employees of LMBPN who hail from all over the world How Michael and Judith have long operated not only within indie publishing circles, but also traditional publishing venues and international book fairs The recent acquisition of book industry veteran Robin Cutler as President of LMBPN Michael's recent health issues related to hypertension and other conditions The value of knowing yourself, and your nature, as well as understanding your strengths and weaknesses The unofficial "disrupting retirement" behavior of LMBPN How Judith never looks at a negotiation as a one-time business contract, but more about the benefit of the long-term relationship The OPUS-X project and the multi-layers of collaboration for this wide book launch Advice that Michael and Judith would give to the earlier versions of themselves when first getting into this business And more... After the interview Mark reflects on the ground-breaking changes that LMBPN is ushering in. He also thanks patrons of the podcast. Links of Interest LMBPN Publishing OPUS X Book One: Obsidian Detective Black History Month Organizations & Resources Findaway Voices Fear and Longing in Los Angeles Fright Nights, Big City Wide for the Win Wide Writer Survey Wide for the Win Submission Form Patreon for Stark Reflections LMBPN is the publishing company for the Kurtherian Gambit, Oriceran, Protected by the Damned and other Universes. In addition to Michael Anderle, they have have published in eBook, print, and audio format collaborations with Justin Sloan, Craig Martelle, TS Paul, CM Raymond, and LE Barbant, Paul C. Middleton, Amy Hopkins, Ell Leigh Clarke, PT Hylton, Candy Crum, Martha Carr, Sarah Boyce, A. L. Knorr, Sarah Knoffke, and many others.     The introductory, end, and bumper music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Live in 3... 2... 1! KEYSTROKE FEUD! In today's episode, Keystroke Medium hosts go head-to-head against the crew of 20Booksto50K(R) in a Family Feud frenzy of DOOM! We've gathered the answers of over 250 members of KSM and 20Books (which our players have never seen!) for the show. What kind of crazy answers did the audience come up with? Watch and see. Let the feud BEGIN!

Episode #47 This week I had so much fun talking to author Brian Meeks on how to sell your book on Amazon, we talked about things we know nothing about, telling great stories, living to 350 years old, and how important copywriting is when selling books, or anything really. Brian is a full-time author. He has 19 novels under his name and a pen name. He has 6 non-fiction titles, including Mastering Amazon Ads and Mastering Amazon Descriptions, which are the books that led to speaking at author conventions including Kevin J. Anderson's Superstars, and all of the 20BooksTo50K events. Brian has built two FB author groups with over 11,000 members. For six minutes of behind the scenes bonus material check out YouTube version: https://youtu.be/nU-UkK3Xk_I https://www.facebook.com/groups/MasteringAmazonDescriptions Mastering Amazon Descriptions: An Author's Guide: Copywriting for Authors: https://amzn.to/32QF31Y Music for all episodes by Jon Griffin. My YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCugOLERePPuD4nwtZO-Zwnw?view_as=subscriber My Instagram: @joelyshmoley and @slidesofjohn FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/wereyoustilltalking/ Twitter: @JoelAAlbrecht

This week Bryan is joined by Patrick O’Donnell’s and Jim Kukral! Bryan has a Book Description webinar this Thursday on the 5 mistakes authors most commonly make with their book descriptions, be sure to check that out. Check out Patrick’s website at the link provided. This week’s Super Charger Story Course Winner is Lisa M. Lilly. Thank you to our featured Patrons - Email Lists Made Easy for Writers and Bloggers, Kiss Kill, and The Sell Smarter Collection. Top Tips of the week include what to know about Kindle Daily Deals, how to find the perfect audiobook reader for you, and what Dave Chesson is sharing about Amazon categories. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include how much writers can work and still be considered freelance, who is interested in buying Simon & Schuster, why Amazon’s Audible Escape subscription service is being discontinued, why 20BooksTo50K indie conference is being cancelled, and what strategies you can learn to keep yourself sane as an author. Question of the Week: What are you going to do to connect with the people that you want to connect with this year via the internet since there are no in person events?

Dan Wood, Mark Lefebvre, and Craig Martelle all join the chat to talk about collaborative writing and Craig's work with 20 Books to 50K. //Draft2Digital is where you start your Indie Author Career//Looking for your path to self-publishing success? Draft2Digital is the leading ebook publisher and distributor. We’ll convert your manuscript, distribute it online, and support you the whole way, and we won’t charge you a dime. We take a cut of royalties on each sale you make through us, so we only make money when you make money!• Get started:  https://Draft2Digital.com Get insider info on indie author success from our blog.• Visit: https://Draft2Digital.com/blogTune in to our monthly livestreams and ask us anything!• D2D Live: https://D2DLive.comPromote your books with our Universal Book Links!• Books2Read: https://books2read.com//Get ahead of the Self-Publishing game with our Amazing Partners//Findaway Voices || Find a narrator, produce your audiobook, and distribute it to retailers worldwide, including Audible.com and Apple Books.• http://findawayvoices.com/d2dReedsy || Assemble your team of publishing professionals! Find editors, cover designers, marketing experts, ghostwriters and more.• https://reedsy.comBookBrush || Build graphics and video that help you market and promote your books.• https://bookbrush.com/d2d-mockups///Join the D2D Community Online//Facebook || https://facebook.com/draft2digitalTwitter || https://twitter.com/draft2digital

Sometimes as speculative fiction writers, we forget that in addition to creating fantastic and interesting worlds, we also need to ground our reader in that world. On this episode of LIVE! Josh, Scott, and Chuck discuss how to give your reader just enough realism, so they'll belive the unreal! ---   [00:00] Opening remarks—Dragon Award Nominations are open! Thundar the Barbarian! [06:00] Weekly update Chuck: About 4-5 days away from completing first Jack Dark #1. Internet woes and home improvement advice from Josh. Josh: Still working on Valor #3, short story for super secret project was accepted, and Coffee & Concepts with Walt tomorrow. Valor memes galore. Scott: Finishing Reaper #10 and moving into editing mode. [14:10] Main Event: Making the Unreal Real! -Imaginative concepts and ideas that can override the human and relatable in your story. -Grounding depends on timeline. Ex. Urban Fantasy just has magic added to the real world where far future science fiction has more changes and worlds. Example: Peter F. Hamilton’s works [link] Counter-Example: Brandon Sanderson’s steep learning curves in the Stormlight Archives [link] -Juxtaposition the familiar with the unfamiliar (Sanderson’s chickens) Example: Richard K. Morgan’s Altered Carbon series [link] -How to get there? Technology for science fiction. Example: Josh Haye’s Link in Valor series Example: Peter F. Hamilton’s cybersphere in Commonwealth Universe Example: Babylon 5 aliens [Vorlons and Shadows] -What about urban fantasy? Putting a price on the power. Less of a price for superheroes. Chuck Explains Pocket Dimensions in Dr. Strange. Example: Chuck’s Master of Hounds: The Pickman Files #1 [link] -Enlightening the reader through a story or skeptic to introduce to the unbelievable Example: Joe Abercrombie’s First Law Trilogy [link] -How do we get the believability? [31:00] Sponsor: Ralph Kern’s A Rain of Fire (The Great War #1) [link] [35:45] Main Event: Making the Unreal Real, Continued! -Using a Mary Sue or a rookie character to show the reader the unreal. -Portal fantasy where you bring someone from the real world directly into the unreal world. Example: George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire series with low magic and grounded in reality. [link] Example: Dan Simmon’s Hyperion Cantos [link] -Too much unreal may not stick with the reader. Example: Larry Niven’s Ringworld [link] Portal fiction example: Stephen King’s Dark Tower Series  [link] Example: Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere [link] Example: Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book [link] Example: Neil Gaiman’s American Gods/Anansi Boys [links] -Magical realism vs. Urban fantasy Example: Laura Esquivel’s Like Water for Chocolate [link] -20Booksto50K conference segue [58:50] Closing remarks   --- Become a Medium today! https://keystrokemedium.com/mediums/ Don't forget to Subscribe and get involved with the mayhem and shenanigans in the live chat! http://www.youtube.com/c/keystrokemedium If you have any thoughts or ideas for show topics or if you have authors you'd like to see on the show, let us know. Visit our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/KeystrokeMedium For all the latest and greatest KSM Gear, check out our store at: https://keystrokemedium.com/ksm-store/ Also, subscribe to Sci Fi Explorations for the best discounted and free books we come across through our contacts: http://www.scifiexplorations.com Keystroke Medium Anthologies      Kingdoms of Iron and Stone - https://amzn.to/2GjbE6I       Horizons Beyond - https://amzn.to/2SrJ6uX     Farthest Reach – https://amzn.to/2UZINeo The Writing Dream – and How to Make it to Happily Ever After – Keystroke Medium’s first non-fiction book. https://amzn.to/2UZINeo If you enjoy this podcast, please leave us a review and rate the show on iTunes, Podbean, Stitcher, or where ever else you found us!

Kayo and Jesse were two full-time Federal Employees saving a good portion of their paycheck and enjoying their dual income lifestyle. Listen in on how their strategies and plans for Financial Independence shifted once they found out they were having Twins! Links:  https://www.famvestor.com/040 Kindle Self Publishing: https://kdp.amazon.com/en_US/ Kayo's Book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07ZY88G1F https://www.facebook.com/groups/20Booksto50k/ https://www.youneedabudget.com/ The Wonder Weeks: https://amzn.to/2RB6A0A

Phew! I’m back from the 20Booksto50K conference in Las Vegas! The three days I spent there were an absolute blast. I met a lot of wonderful authors, made new friends, and learned some new things. And I felt very glamorous playing roulette and losing my (gasp!) Naturally, today’s episode is all about conferences! The episode… Read More »Why You Should Attend a Writers’ Conference: A Reflection on 20Booksto50K

So, why don't you have your audiobooks out yet?

I get this idiotic grin on my face...

When we start out as authors, it's all about that first book … but after book one, the sky's the limit in terms of what you can build in terms of a creative business. In today's show, I talk to Michael Anderle, well-known from the 20BooksTo50K group, about how he turned his book series into […] The post From Indie Author To Creative Empire With Michael Anderle first appeared on The Creative Penn.

Mark interviews bestselling science-fiction author Craig Martelle about his journey into and through writing, the 20Booksto50K™ group and conferences, and his new book Successful Indie Author Release Strategies. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update about his recent visit to Calgary, Alberta for the When Words Collide conference, where he sat on panels, did 1:1 author consultations, and gave a couple of presentations, including a new one on The 7 P's of Publishing Success based on his book of the same name. Mark then shares comments on Episode 88 from Michelle Norry and Tracy Arial, discusses the comments, and reminds them that they are now entered into a chance to win a signed copy of David Wind's book The Indie Writer's Handbook. (Contest is over end of day Friday August 16, 2019 and winners will be announced in Episode 91). He also thanks patrons of the show, and reminds them that they are all already entered in a chance to win the other one of two signed copies. This is one of the bonuses for patrons, which include the additional "Stark Reflections on other Podcasts" special episodes. Mark shares that he recently pushed out a special patron-only reflection on other podcasts for Episode 85 of The Career Author Podcast where hosts J. Thorn and Zach Bohannon talked about using pen names. Mark then shares a word from this episode's sponsor... You can learn more about how you can get your work distributed to retailers and library systems around the world at starkreflections.ca/Findaway. In their chat, Mark and Craig talk about: Craig's belief in working hard, putting in 12 to 14 hours a day for seven days a week Being close to the epicenter of the origin of Dungeons and Dragons and the influence that had on Craig's reading and creative mind The "Amateurs talk tactics and professionals talk logistics" philosophy from the Marine Corp that influences Craig's author business approach Applying a business consultant approach to writing and the 100,000 word first novel that Craig wrote that took 61 days The importance of practice Craig's experience selling the rights to his first book to a traditional publisher (an imprint of Simon & Schuster) How Craig uses data to help him make decisions, and how data that doesn't help a person make decisions isn't necessarily important data Why he put an editor on salary early in his career so that the waiting period on an editor was as short as possible The origin of the 20Booksto50K(TM) movement initiated by Michael Anderle and the in person writing conferences that Craig runs Why the 20Booksto50K Facebook group is so locked down in terms of comments/self-promotional posts, etc. How if you want to be carried that this business isn't for you How writing his non-fiction books is mostly Craig's way of saving himself a lot of time answering the same questions repeatedly Elements from Craig's book SUCCESSFUL INDIE AUTHOR RELEASE STRATEGIES, such as what is far more important than the volume of books you produce in a particular time period: consistency and establishing and keeping your promise to the reader The recent overseas conference plus writing retreat that Craig ran which went well above his initial expectations How this year's 20Booksto50K conference will have a significant number of live-streamed videos to the Facebook Group so that those authors unable to attend can benefit from it   After the interview, Mark talks about how Craig's experience playing Dungeons & Dragons reminded him of his own experience playing that game as a youth, and how it inspired the very first book he wrote at the age of 14. Mark reflects on the cartoon to text process he used when imagining the story, changing the main character's name from Conan to Aaron (in recognition of copyright), and the struggle to sit at the typewriter over his summer vacation as a young teen instead of being outside and playing. He reflects on how indie authors today can and often might release a book that isn't yet ready for prime time and what that impact can be; particularly in relation to a book he recently read. He is thankful that this first terribly written novel never saw the light of day because of when it was written. In the midst of reflecting on this trunk novel, he fondly remembers the first young woman to truly capture his heart, and the important role that she played as a creative spirit and fellow writer, in helping to shape and guide him into a writing life. He thinks about how there are people in your life who likely never come to learn just how much of a positive impact they have had on you. Mark then shares how listeners can win one of 4 copies of Craig's new book. Listeners can leave a comment or reflection on Episode 90 of the podcast at starkreflections.ca for a chance to win one or 2 copies. And all patrons will also be entered in a chance to win one of 2 other copies of the book. Entrants will be collected until Sept 1, 2019 and the winners will be announced in the next week's episode.   Links of Interest: Craig Martelle's Website 20Booksto50K™ Facebook Group 20 Books Vegas Craig's Book - Successful Indie Author Release Strategies Episode 88 - Indie Publishing, Not Self-Publishing with David Wind Findaway Voices Patreon for Stark Reflections The Career Author Podcast - Episode 85 - Using Pen Names Stephen Graham King (not that other guy) BOC (Blue Oyster Cult) Conan the Barbarian   The music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0    

Martha Carr is the Amazon bestselling author and co-author of over 100 Urban Fantasy titles, all created in the last 2-3 years. She is the co-creator of the Oriceran universe, a universe containing collaborations with: Sarah Noffke, A.L. Knorr, as well as last week's guest of the show, Michael Anderle, to name a few, creating titles which have dominated the top of the Amazon charts. Martha is also a regular speaker at many of the 20Booksto50k events across the world, a former New York journalist, a self-confessed geek, and spends her days dreaming of elves, witches, wizards and other magical worlds while hanging out with her two dogs, Lois Lane and Leela.In this episode we go deep into:How pets can help with your writingHow the Oriceran universe came to beHow Martha selects her collaboratorsHow to manage a story universeHow to correct course when mistakes are madeBeing authentic and managing the relationship with your fansThe importance of author notesCreative ways to engage your fansChoosing Facebook groups instead of pagesThe importance of seizing opportunities and saying ‘yes'Knowing your limitsWhy does Martha write?Giving back to the communityMartha answers questions from Patrons:Jon Cronshaw: If you were to start your writing career today, what would be the core things you would do to build up an audience and start selling books.Jenn Mitchell: What suggestions do you have around reader engagement for new authors trying to build their reader base?Jenn Mitchell: Do you have any advice for newer authors wanting to participate in anthologies – specifically: what to do and what not to do when approaching the gatekeeper in charge of the anthology.Find out more about Martha Carr:marthacarr.comLinks from the show:Oriceran websiteMartha Carr Fans Facebook groupThe Maggie Parker seriesThe Career Author podcastSpecial thanks to :Intro vocals: Persephone RoseShow theme: Karl HughesBecome a Patron of the show! Get exclusive bonus content, find your tribe, and get early access to all episodes.Thank you to my patrons:David HinesHarley ChristensenJon CronshawJenn Mitchell See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Michael Anderle is the Amazon bestselling author of over 27 series, 4 story universes, and 160 audio books. Of which all of these have been published by his independent publishing company, LMBPN, in the last 3 years. His leading series, 'The Kurtherian Gambit' houses almost 200 books, with collaborations from a multitude of bestselling and leading independent authors, and spans across several genres including; science-fiction, space opera, fantasy, and post-apocalyptia. His Facebook group, 20Booksto50K, is now one of the leading pages for independent writers to share knowledge and ask questions, with the group hosting over 32,000 members at the time of recording.On top of running a smash-house independent publishing company, Michael also finds time to appear and host at events and conferences across the globe, and is gracious enough to spare a small chunk of his very valuable time to join me on this podcast and answering a few of my own burning questions.In this episode we go deep into:How he manages such a fast-growing publishing companyThe difference between publishers and creatorsWhy you shouldn’t let having no editor slow you downMoving across genresReviews vs salesThe key things to look for when finding collaboratorsWhat exactly is an Australian death lizard?How to remain so grounded following a meteoric successThe future of independent publishing and traditional publishing housesThe value of the whale readerFinding out what you do best and finding others to support what you don'tWhy Michael doesn’t have a morning routineDistractions in Dan’s day with personal trainingWhat is the end game with LMBPN?Publishing across mediumsMichael answers questions from fansFind out more about Michael Anderle:www.lmbpn.comLinks from the show:https://www.facebook.com/groups/20Booksto50k/https://www.sourcebooks.com/https://fourhourworkweek.com/Michael’s previous interview on The Story StudioSpecial thanks to :Intro vocals: Persephone RoseShow theme: Karl HughesBecome a Patron of the show! Get exclusive bonus content, find your tribe, and get early access to all episodes.Thank you to my patrons of the show:David Hines See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

I've now written 20 x fiction books so it's onto book 21 ... and I'm off to 20BooksTo50k in Edinburgh!

I've now written 20 x fiction books so it's onto book 21 ... and I'm off to 20BooksTo50k in Edinburgh! --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/self-publishing-journeys/message

What is your opinion of Audible’s new audio to text feature? Bryan and Jim are looking for a great idea for the 300th show. Bryan shares some great author feedback and testimonials from Best Page Forward! Jim’s book Unskippable is currently available for 99 cents for a limited time. This week’s Happy Books Review Winner is Jon Evans. Thank you to our featured Patrons - Corruption of Identity, Hook's Daughter: The Untold Tale of a Pirate Princess, and Sales Success Stories: 60 Stories from 20 Top 1% Sales Professionals. The Top Tips of the week include how to recover from a failed book launch, why it’s so easy to waste money marketing your book, and what are the three essential questions every author must answer. The 5 News stories that matter most to indies this week include why teen writers are actually using ghostwriters, how Danielle Burton hit her first $1k month, what the royalty changes on Google Play mean for indie authors, how Aidy Aaward is making her 20BooksTo50k dreams come true, and why it sounds a lot like copyright infringement over at Audible.com. Question of the Week: Would having the text available during your audiobook listening improve your reader experience? Do you think that Audible has violated existing rights agreements by testing its new audio to text feature?

In this episode of The Indie Author Mentor, I go over the uploading process with Ingram Spark and KDP Print, as well as touching on the online stores, like Kobo and KDP (Amazon). I address pricing in various countries (even India).   Show Notes: Hello Indie Authors! This is Episode 14, and it's 6/5//2019 as I record this. Today I'm talking about uploading your files to printers and stores, plus pricing tips. But first a personal update: Revised the chapter on characters this morning in my How to Write a Novel or Memoir book. Met with my architectural team via GoToMeeting this morning and had some technical difficulties. Got me thinking about working from another country and what kind of challenges I might face. Just found out our couch won't be delivered for another two weeks. So, in the meantime, the living room TV watching experience isn't as comfy as it used to be. I'M READING: Just finished Craig Martelle's non-fiction book on Successful Indie Publishing, a great section in the back on running conferences. He does 20Booksto50K. Here's the link for that book: https://craigmartelle.com/books/become-a-successful-indie-author-work-toward-your-writing-dream/ Next, I'll start Wired for Joy as my non-fiction book. In fiction, I finished Cold Comfort Farm and started The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen. No NEW PATRONS this week, but I hope you'll consider becoming a patron and helping me reach my FIRST Patreon goal. To earn $125 in monthly income from Patreon. When that happens...extra bonus Q&A episode for Patrons only. Patreon.com/valerieihsan.  Main topic: uploading your files to distributors and stores, plus pricing tips.           https://craigmartelle.com/books/become-a-successful-indie-author-work-toward-your-writing-dream/

Confession: I'm going to talk about how to cut your wasted time in this post. As in, how you can STOP WASTING SO MUCH STINKING TIME. But I'm not great with some parts of this. I'll share exactly which ones, but I hope I'll give you some other perspectives on wasted time as well.  Last year (2018) I declared that it was the Year of the Emma Empire. I wanted to use the things I've learned over the years about marketing, email lists, and everything else to launch a fiction pen name and do amazing things. Happily, I reached my goal of having a $5k month of book sales by December 2018. (It was actually $6k in November!!) January isn't over yet, but I'm on track to blow my goal of $10k in a month of book sales out of the water already. Yes, I plan to talk more about this whole journey with you! (And yes, I'm grinning like an idiot and doing all the happy dances and completely disbelieving that I'm doing this.)  But for now, I want to focus in on how thinking about time helped me accomplish these goals. And it's probably not what you think! HOW TO CUT WASTED TIME Many people think first of time-tracking apps and the like when they think about how to identify and cut wasted time. For me, I start with a more big-picture view. It relates in some ways to another post and podcast episode where I talk about How to Cut Down on Your Business Expenses. When it comes to waste, it starts with ROI. People compare time and money, saying your time IS money. So think of it that way! Consider your time as an investment. Where are you investing AND seeing a return? Those places are where you want to continue investing and perhaps invest MORE time. As for cutting down on time, it's the flip side of that question. Where are you investing time and seeing NOTHING in return? Remember that the return doesn't just mean money. It could be that you have joy. Or more time. Here are the questions I posed in the post on cutting your business expenses with a few tweaks. Ask these questions about each recurring investment of your time:  Does it bring in money? Does it save me time or make more time? Does it bring me joy? Can I do without it? Does the amount of time spent bring forth a comparable result? These questions can help you determine the ROI for some of your activities. Because we aren't always the best judges of our time, I'll link to some great apps and ideas that members of my community suggested. WHERE TO SPEND YOUR TIME When I went to the 20Booksto50k writing conference in Vegas last fall, I kept hearing one thing again and again: double down on where you are finding success. I don't think that's the exact wording and it wasn't a theme of the conference, but it's what I heard and what I needed to hear. For my Emma Empire, I had planned to switch genres and launch a new pen name in early 2019. But seeing my income rise and then explode, I kept hearing that I needed to stick with what was working and keep my focus there. At LEAST for a little longer. In essence, I need to earn the stability and the time to shift my focus without a loss of my current trajectory. When you have something that's working well, double down. Drop what you need to drop to make that a priority. Stop chasing the butterflies and shiny objects. Stick with what works. That is very simplistic advice, but I know I need to remind myself of this. I know that it works. On a large and small scale. Thinking about this convinced me to keep writing sweet romance and not switch to YA spy novels. (Though I'm writing those in my "spare" time.) But in an even more focused way, when I realized that my billionaire books were outselling my beach novels, I shelved the other books (even ones I'd outlined) to double down on the series that was working well. And THAT'S how I'm breaking my goals into the new year. TOOLS TO IDENTIFY AND CUT WASTED TIME I confessed in the beginning that apps and the like are really not my thing. I know they are useful, but I can't make myself use them. Maybe I'll try in 2019. We'll see. But my community shared a few things that helped them focus their time. Rescue Time Roland Denzel from Eat Move Live 352 recommends this app, which helps you identify where you are spending time on your computer. He pays for the upgrade, which does fancy things like sends warnings when he has been doing time-wasting things and will allow him to block certain things to stay on task. Toggl Sarah Merchant from Work a Day Services uses this app to track how many hours she spends on tasks for herself and her clients. This one has a free and paid version as well. Atracker Community member Melody Hansen utilizes this for personal and client work to plug in where she spends her time. It helps break it down by category and sends you a report at the end of the month showing what you did where. F.lux Suzy Oakley likes F.lux, which is not a time-tracking app, but one that dims your computer screen based on the light you're in. She sets it to alert her and change the screen color when it's time to go to bed. Fresh Books When it comes to tracking time and expenses, Catherine Turner from Path to the Bestseller List uses Fresh Books to track her time, both billable and non-billable.   A non-app option I want to recommend is Amy Lynn Andrews' book, Tell Your Time. I have this bad boy for years and though it's been a while since I've read it, I love the practical and uplifting way Andrews handles this! The subtitle is How to Manage Your Schedule So You Can Live Free. That about sums it up. :) BREAKING DOWN THE STEPS When it comes to cutting your wasted time, it's a pretty simple process. Now you need to DO IT. Identify where you are actually spending time Identify the ROI of where you are spending your time (remember ROI is more than just income!) Cut out, adjust, schedule, delete, or whatever action you need to focus on the tasks that have ROI Sure, that SOUNDS simple. Now how about actually DOING the work? I'll say that this process hurts. It hurt me several times last year to set aside things like this podcast. (Which I might do again this year at some point.) I cut out A LOT of things. Some I missed. Some I didn't. Some I should cut and just am not doing it. This process doesn't always feel good. And, depending on your goals, you don't have to be so cutthroat. Maybe you have some areas where you just chill and those matter to your mental or emotional health or happiness, but might look like a waste on a time-tracker. My goals last year were laser focused and so were my cuts. If you aren't trying to reach a really tough goal, you can have a little more room for flex. Do you have particular apps or time-tracking tools to help you cut wasted time?

(from The Expanse, Season 2) Episode 004 - I take a look at my writing in 2018, accomplishments and changes. I wrote about 600k words, published five books, became an admin with 20Booksto50k and my daughter arrived. That's some stuff!  Books Mentioned in this episode: This is Marketing by Seth Godin The Revolt of the Public by Martin Gurri The Future of Violence by by Benjamin Wittes and Gabriella Blum The Inevitable by Kevin Kelly Perennial Seller by Ryan Holiday They Thought They Were Free by Milton Meyer The Book of Dust by Philip Pullman Numbercaste by Yudhanjaya Wijeratne Mother Night by Kurt Vonnegut Matterhorn by Karl Marlantes

Mark interviews author Gary Collins about the simple life, both the name of a series of books as well as the new life he enjoys after some very unique experiences that include military intelligence and Special Agent. Before the interview, Mark shares a personal update that involves flying to Vancouver for the annual CAPS (Canadian Association of Professional Speakers) Convention and then to Oklahoma City to spend some time with his colleagues at Draft2Digital. Mark then says a few words about this episode's sponsor, Findaway Voices . . . In their conversation, Mark and Gary talk about: Gary's long and circuitous approach into publishing, the great lessons learned and passions experienced along the way The concept of not just knowing how the sausage was made but actually being the sausage via his life as a government agent The early 40's burnout Gary experienced, which led to a new beginning and new passions that included health and fitness The valueable mentorship and tough love that Gary experienced from Steven Pressfield Gary's first experience in self-publishing where mistakes were made and more lessons were learned Books that were derived from trying to provide information to clients without having to repeat the same info over and over The purchase of twenty acres of land and building a house off the grid and the resulting influx of questions about it that led to another book The process of saving money for six months, then building for another six months, then working and saving money for the next period, in a repeated cycle How the sales of the book about the simple life and going off the grid attracted a distribution company The mistakes on Gary's path and how he didn't find his purpose, but his purpose found him How Gary doesn't rely on scheduling for his writing, but the disclipline involved when he actually sits down 20Booksto50K being the first writer conference that Gary has ever attended and the fortuitous break of being able to attend after being on the waiting list for the sold-out show Learning the importance of integrating oneself with other writers How Mark and Gary connected via the RUSH shirt that Gary had been wearing one day at 20Booksto50K The fact that Gary will go ahead and reach out to anyone without any fear because "what's the worst that can happen?" Gary's withdrawl from social media in the past year and his belief on how it can suck the life out of a person Advice on how to adapt the simple life methodology into one's life How a person's purpose can change over time, and the reality that the purpose doesn't have to be dramatic or enormous The importance of putting effort into the positive rather than into the negative After the interview, Mark reflects on the idea of "reaching out to anyone" and explores the possible risk along with the possible opportunity involved in that. Links of Interest: Gary's Website CAPS Findaway Voices Patreon for Stark Reflections Stark Reflections Survey   Gary Collins has a very interesting and unique background that includes military intelligence, Special Agent for the U.S. State Department Diplomatic Security Service, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Collins' background and expert knowledge brings a much-needed perspective to today's areas of simple living, health, nutrition, entrepreneurship, self-help and being more self-reliant. His website www.thesimplelifenow.com, and The Simple Life book series (his total lifestyle reboot), blows the lid off of conventional life and wellness expectations, and is considered essential for every person seeking a simpler, and happier life. Gary now lives off-the-grid part of the year in a remote area of NE Washington State, and the other part of year exploring in his travel trailer with his trusty black lab Barney. The music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

In this episode Mark interviews Phillip McCollum about an intriguing project of writing 52 stories in 52 weeks. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a word from the podcast's sponsor, Findaway Voices . . . . . . and then a personal update which includes a push-up challenge he participated in at the 20Booksto50K conference in Vegas. Michael Anderle instigated this challenge for a good cause, with the following companies each donating $150 to the cause LMBPN Publishing Kobo Draft2Digital BookFunnel Reedsy $750 USD was raised for two worthy charities in a push-up challenge between Mark and Christine Munroe from Kobo. Chrissy's chosen charity was Children's Book Bank and Mark's chosen charity was First Book Canada. Mark thanks the companies previously mentioned for their generosity to two great children's reading programs and then also thanks new Stark Reflections Patron, Katie Cross, for supporting the podcast via www.patreon.com/starkreflections. In the interview Phillip and Mark talk about: The genres that Phillip tends to write in most often How long Phillip has been writing Thoughts about NaNoWriMo and other similar "competitions" to help inspired writers to write Phillip's inspiration for the 52 stories in 52 weeks, which was derived from Ray Bradbury The discipline involved in undertaking such an endeavor on starting each week on Monday morning and posting the story by Sunday night The typical word count of the stories that Phillip wrote during this process The importance of being adaptable and recognizing that you might not always reach every single goal you set Plans that Phillip has for the stories which included 3 ebooks: 1 for writers (52 Stories in 52 Weeks) and 2 for readers (splitting them into two volumes of 26 stories: Fantastic Shorts Vol 1 and Vol 2) Feedback that Phillip has received on the notes added to the stories Forthcoming challenges that Phillip has in mind to keep challenging himself as a writer Things that Phillip learned about himself as a writer by taking this challenge After the interview, Mark talks about the importance of challenges that impose deadlines and require a writer to actually get their butt in the chair and their hands on the keyboard. He also reminds writers of the importance of the "fail to success" theory from Dean Wesley Smith that Phillip mentions. If you try to hit a certain word count, for example, and don't make it, instead of fretting about the missed words, focus on the words that have actually been written, or the parts of the goal that were actually accomplished.   Links of Interest: Phillip McCollum's website Phillip McCollum on Twitter Findaway Voices Draft2Digital Kobo Bookfunnel Reedsy NaNoWriMo Patreon for Stark Reflections Stark Reflections Survey   Phillip McCollum spent 52 weeks writing 52 short stories in an effort to prove to himself that he might be cut out for this writing thing after all. He hails from Southern California where he shares living quarters with his wife, son, an old cat, and young betta fish.   The music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Jo and Lindsay recorded early this week, since Lindsay is off to the 20Booksto50K conference (inspired by Michael Anderle, as Lindsay said in the show, but put together by Craig Martelle, which Lindsay should have said!). While Jeff was busy packing up his house to make his move to Phoenix permanent, Jo and Lindsay offered some tips on how to

Craig admins the 20booksto50k FB group, organizes live events for indie authors, and co-authors books with Michael Anderle. This episode is jam-packed with information that will help you make money with your books. Craig started writing just a few years ago, and is now an incredibly successful (6-figure+) indie author. Here are just a few of the things we touched on: Why Craig doesn’t just sit at home eating bonbons The wisdom of learning from other successful indie authors Why keeping track of data is so important to his author success The difference between writing as a hobby versus writing as a profession The value of keeping your word to your readers How to turn readers into superfans (tons of good info!!!) What genre alignment means and why you NEED to do it and more...

Craig admins the 20booksto50k FB group, organizes live events for indie authors, and co-authors books with Michael Anderle. This episode is jam-packed with information that will help you make money with your books. Craig started writing just a few years ago, and is now an incredibly successful (6-figure+) indie author. Here are just a few of the things we touched on:

In lucky episode 13, Mark interviews author T S Paul about not listening to people who told him he was “crazy” with the ideas he had for his writing plan. T S Paul (AKA, Scott) writes Science Fiction, Space Opera, Military, Cookbooks, and Paranormal Fiction. His books used to be exclusively available thru Amazon Kindle and Kindle Unlimited, but towards the tail end of 2017 he started to publish a number of his books wide to Kobo, iBooks, Nook and Google Play. This episode's Tongue Twister is sponsored by Findaway Voices. Mark attempts to do the tongue twisted in the voice of Brian's Mum from the Monty Python movie, LIFE OF BRIAN. The tongue twister source is from a 2013 MIT research document (USA Today Article: World's Toughest Tongue Twister - no kidding) In the interview, Mark and Scott discuss: The fact that TS Paul is not a pseudonym. It's his real name. The S is for Scott and the T stands for an undisclosed name. (Despite the fact that Mark tries to trick him into saying it) The fact that Scott doesn't have an author newsletter, nor has he worried about starting to build one, or a domain name for that matter. The majority of his relationship with his fans happen via his blogspot blog (tspaul.blogspot.com) and his Facebook Author page The fact that he has only been writing since February of 2016 and using the blog and Facebook page since then. (3500+ followers on Facebook – 300 to 600 hits a day on the blog) The “Wilson Wednesday” free short story that Scott released on his blog every week. (with 45 short stories posted there in 2016) The fact that he bundled the stories into single volume story collections [EDITORIAL NOTE: Scott uses the term “anthology” but I have always subscribed to the idea that an anthology is a curated collection of stories from multiple authors, so I'm inserting the term “collection” in place of “anthology”] – into two different ebook volumes for that time period The Jack Dalton Monster Hunter series he started in Feb of 2018 and the release methodology he uses: Each new book's release (about 10,000 words) is on the first of the month On the third Wed of that month, readers can read the entire book content on his blog for free (for a 24 hour period) The fact there is also a buy button on that post for those who'd rather just read the ePub or mobi version on the retailer of their choice. And the fact that there's a pre-order button for the next month's release in the series How Scott has heard the words “you're out of your mind” many times before The $1.99 price point he has used (which, historically, was considered a really poor price, possibly the WORST price for an eBook) – but it's important to remember that those studies were related to full sized books (ie, 40,000 to 150,000 words) rather than shorter works (most of Scott's ebooks are in the 10,000 word range) Sales for Book One (from Feb 2018) – of more than 1500 units Sales for Book Two (so far – mid March) are in the realm of a little over 500 copies Scott's background as a bookseller who previously worked at Waldenbooks How Scott managed to use targeted ads to build up his Facebook followers, which started off with boosting a post on his author page of a picture of his cat, Merlin (and targeting science fiction readers who loved cats) Scott's theory about Facebook ads, which doesn't include a direct ROI, but to keep the ads in front of people's faces (using the old 7 touches/7 views methodology of marketing) How Scott built a sales base for himself in the Netherlands on Kindle, building that market from 2 EUR a month to 50 EUR a month The reason why this new series Scott is publishing was published wide to all eBook retailers (Kindle, Kobo, iBooks, Nook and Google, etc) rather than exclusive to Amazon using the KDP Select exclusivity option, which is how he started publishing The reality that Scott is a six-figure author (in 2016 he earned $100,000 and in 2017 he earned a lot more than that), and so losing a couple of thousand dollars from not getting Kindle Unlimited reads wasn't a big deal to him Some of the real stats of Scott's sales which include the Athena Lee series earning about $2500 to $3000 per month on Kindle (18 titles) How, when he launched wide, he earned about $200 on Kobo in January 2018, but that, by Feb, he had earned $1000 and for March at the point of the interview (the 20th), he had earned $700 on Kobo Scott's cover designer, Heather Hamilton-Senter (http://www.bookcoverartistry.com/) and the fact that he has ordered 18 new covers for his new series How Scott went from being on partial disability, finding it difficult to find a job and being a whale reader and then moving on to becoming a writer based on a kick-in-the-pants he received from Michael Anderle (of 20Booksto50K fame) How the 1970s movie Smokey and the Bandit was part of the inspiration for Scott's latest marketing/publicity experiment: A van with a wrap that features artwork from his book covers The fact that Scott is a “modified pantser” and that his pre-ordered book covers and titles are the high level “outline” that he uses to write his stories   After the interview, Mark talks about how this conversation with Scott and a recent listen of a speech by Arnold Schwarzenegger came together to inspire him. He also introduces his new Patreon page for those interested in contributing monetary support to this podcast.   Links of Interest: T S Paul's Blog T S Paul's Facebook Page T S Paul Instagram T S Paul's Fergus The Unicorn's Facebook Page T S Paul's Fergus The Unicorn on Twitter Findaway Voices Arnold Schwarzenegger 6 Rules of Success (Abbreviated) Arnold Schwarzenegger 6 Rules of Success (Full Speech)  

Creator of The Kurtherian Gambit Series and 20BooksTo50k

Society of Authors event, InstaFreebie giveaways and 20BooksTo50k

Craig is very well-known as one of the key members of 20BooksTo50k

Meg Cowley was first interviewed in episode 3 of this podcast, in April 2016. At that time Meg was experiencing her biggest success in self-publishing having created a series aof adult colouring books which were selling very well. However, the bottom dropped out of that market and Meg had to so a very sharp pivot to set her writing career back on track. Prior to the breakkthrough with the adult colouring books, Meg had written two young-adult ‘sword and sorcery' novels and two illustrated children's books. She's now returned to writing fiction but is still using her artistic skills to generate an author income. Find Out More: Website: https://www.megcowley.co.uk/ Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Meg-Cowley/e/B00M6BQ0PA/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/megcowley/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/meg_cowley YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1NeaBtI2bInpE4NbP-hxAg 1) Me and Meg in Manchester when we attended Amazon Academy: 2) Meg's creative roadmap (Jan-April): http://blog.megcowley.com/2017/05/04/2017-creative-roadmap-january-april-progress/ 3) Meg's 2017 creative roadmap http://blog.megcowley.com/blog/2017/01/03/2017-creative-roadmap-my-2017-plans-for-success/ 4) Meg's reflection on 2016 http://blog.megcowley.com/blog/2016/12/31/reflections-on-2016/ 5) Meg's blog post on quitting her day-job: http://blog.megcowley.com/blog/2016/11/17/quitddj/ 6) Meg's 2 year milestone http://blog.megcowley.com/blog/2016/08/04/2yrmilestone/ 7) Michael Anderle: http://kurtherianbooks.com/ Also see 20BooksTo50k https://www.facebook.com/groups/781495321956934/ [Highly recommended!] Here are details of the London event: 8) MailerLite: https://self-publishing-journeys.com/ML [Recommended email marketing tool - my affiliate link] 9) Meg's book cover creation service: http://bookcovers.megcowley.com/ --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/self-publishing-journeys/message

Meg Cowley was first interviewed in episode 3 of this podcast, in April 2016. At that time Meg was experiencing her biggest success in self-publishing having created a series aof adult colouring books which were selling very well. However, the bottom dropped out of that market and Meg had to so a very sharp pivot to set her writing career back on track. Prior to the breakkthrough with the adult colouring books, Meg had written two young-adult ‘sword and sorcery' novels and two illustrated children's books. She's now returned to writing fiction but is still using her artistic skills to generate an author income. Find Out More: Website: https://www.megcowley.co.uk/ Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Meg-Cowley/e/B00M6BQ0PA/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/megcowley/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/meg_cowley YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC1NeaBtI2bInpE4NbP-hxAg 1) Me and Meg in Manchester when we attended Amazon Academy: 2) Meg's creative roadmap (Jan-April): http://blog.megcowley.com/2017/05/04/2017-creative-roadmap-january-april-progress/ 3) Meg's 2017 creative roadmap http://blog.megcowley.com/blog/2017/01/03/2017-creative-roadmap-my-2017-plans-for-success/ 4) Meg's reflection on 2016 http://blog.megcowley.com/blog/2016/12/31/reflections-on-2016/ 5) Meg's blog post on quitting her day-job: http://blog.megcowley.com/blog/2016/11/17/quitddj/ 6) Meg's 2 year milestone http://blog.megcowley.com/blog/2016/08/04/2yrmilestone/ 7) Michael Anderle: http://kurtherianbooks.com/ Also see 20BooksTo50k https://www.facebook.com/groups/781495321956934/ [Highly recommended!] Here are details of the London event: 8) MailerLite: https://self-publishing-journeys.com/ML [Recommended email marketing tool - my affiliate link] 9) Meg's book cover creation service: http://bookcovers.megcowley.com/

1) This week's writing progress: 2) 20BooksTo50k in London: http://20bookslondon.com/ I originally booked through Booking.com so I could cancel my rooms if I needed to (which I did!) [My referral link btw] Eventually I booked my room at the Travelodge in Egham which is just a short walk up the High Street to the venue and considerably cheaper: https://www.travelodge.co.uk/hotels/588/Egham-hotel 3) MailerLite - my current, preferred email marketing service: https://self-publishing-journeys.com/ML [My affiliate link] 4) Thrive Themes - great plugins for use with Wordpress websites: https://self-publishing-journeys.com/Thrive [My affiliate link] 5) Authors XP promotion website - well worth a try: https://self-publishing-journeys.com/Promos  [My affiliate link] 6) InstaFreebie: https://self-publishing-journeys.com/IF [My affiliate link]

1) This week's writing progress: 2) 20BooksTo50k in London: http://20bookslondon.com/ I originally booked through Booking.com so I could cancel my rooms if I needed to (which I did!) [My referral link btw] Eventually I booked my room at the Travelodge in Egham which is just a short walk up the High Street to the venue and considerably cheaper: https://www.travelodge.co.uk/hotels/588/Egham-hotel 3) MailerLite - my current, preferred email marketing service: https://self-publishing-journeys.com/ML [My affiliate link] 4) Thrive Themes - great plugins for use with Wordpress websites: https://self-publishing-journeys.com/Thrive [My affiliate link] 5) Authors XP promotion website - well worth a try: https://self-publishing-journeys.com/Promos  [My affiliate link] 6) InstaFreebie: https://self-publishing-journeys.com/IF [My affiliate link] --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/self-publishing-journeys/message

 Understanding Your Writing Goals.  (Show notes: huntingthemuse.com/podcast/4) Welcome to HuntingTheMuse.com's Creative Writing Podcast.Since last week's episode was so down-to-the-wire hectic, I tried to have a little more fun this time around. I hope the intro I made for the writing prompts doesn't bother anyone. It probably won't be a regular thing. I'm actually feeling a bit silly for including it now. Haha! If you cannot see the audio controls, your browser does not support the audio element. My week was pretty busy, but I still managed to get some writing in, about 3,000 words on 9, plus other bits of writing here and there, which is great! We went to see the animals at the Dallas zoo and it was a scorcher out! Still, we got to enjoy some time in the kids area and even got to play some Pokémon Go with the older kiddoes. Other than that, we did a whole lot of walking.Writing updates:Chlorophyllium 9 is now down from all markets. I pulled it from KDP today and switched my old short stories back to KDP Select. I didn't mention this in the podcast audio, but you can now read those stories for free if you have Kindle Unlimited. What I noticed when I took those short stories wide was that ALL sales died.I'm currently debating whether I should do a fresh release of Chlorophyllium 9 when I have Final Hope completely written. There are several reasons for me considering this. It would dump the 7 reviews I have, but I'll gain new release status in exchange. There have also been a lot of growing pains associated with how the story has grown since it was first published. I go into these a bit more in the audio of the podcast.Not subscribed to the podcast? Get it now!Along with this week's podcast topic, I'm taking a look at my goals. I'm challenging myself to write faster. Things I've considered include viewing my writing time as if I were taking on a part-time job. Would that help me give myself permission to write? (See Episode 3)Podcast News:Just a quick reminder, please consider joining the Hunting the Muse Creative Writing Podcast group on Facebook. I envision this as a place where we can foster creative writing discussions and you can post your questions or suggest topics to be covered in future episodes. You can post links or snippets of your writing that stemmed from a podcast writing prompt.This Week's Topic: Understanding Your Writing GoalsFirst things first, your goals belong to you!You don't need to make someone else's goals your own. You are on a special journey. Sometimes it makes sense to evaluate what your goals are. Just make sure you're setting goals that align with what you really want.It's been said that "Comparison is the death of joy." I think that saying could also be, "Comparison is the death of art."What do your writing goals look like? Do they include a specific word count? Do you want to write short stories or novels? Do you write to achieve relaxation? Do you just want to develop your hobby, without concern for economic factors? Is this a potential career for you, or are you in it for supplemental income?Resources and groups:It can be helpful to seek out resources and groups that align with your goals. Maybe for you, that might include listening to this podcast. (If so, I'm honored.)I have joined a few Facebook groups and forums for writing. Of course, not all of them have worked out. When they don't, I silently exit stage right.20 Books to 50kI recently saw a suggested, closed group on Facebook called: 20BooksTo50K. I decided to check it out and requested membership. Easy enough. Worst case, I figured I'd lurk for a while and then make a silent exit.I have since learned more about the group, and the story is great for a few different reasons. Since I joined, I've listened to several podcasts that touch on this 20 Books to 50K concept. Most of these were older podcast episodes (from a few months back) that I was finally catching up on. Throughout this process, I uncovered more details about the group's origin.Michael AnderleMichael Anderle has a story. As I understand it, he started publishing his books on Amazon in early 2016 because he wanted to encourage his son to pursue his own writing efforts. (If Dad can do it, so can you! And hey, I can sympathize with that as a father of 5!)To his surprise, his first book launched and started pulling in around $7.50 a day. Soon after that, he visited Cabo San Lucas with his wife and learned that the cost of living would be very reasonable if he chose to retire there vs. where he currently lives. He was so romanced by the beach, the water, and the atmosphere that he did some basic, presumptive math.If one book was able to get him about $7.50 a day, he could potentially retire at just over 50K/yr if he wrote 20 books. It must have sounded reasonable, so he got to work and planned to be there within two years!Of course, a lot of people scoffed at this. Some said it wasn't art. Some insinuated he might be a fraud.Michael had something interesting to say in response.Only my readers get to vote as to whether I'm meeting expectations. (I'm probably paraphrasing that to some degree.)So I looked on Amazon to see what the readers had to say. All of his books appear to be very well reviewed with high marks. These are some dedicated fans!Michael Anderle understands his goals.Joanna PennJoanna Penn has a great podcast! You can find it at www.thecreativepenn.com ('that's Penn with a double-N!') Joanna has been a juggernaut of positivity in the writing and self-publishing arena for years. Her podcast is personable and enlightening.I listened to her (July 19th) episode this weekend while I was out mowing the lawn, and Joanna talked about goals. Not just writing goals, now mind you, but life goals as well.She just completed her Race to the Stones -- a 100 kilometer trek that took her 2 days to complete! She said the second day was tough, and it really sounded brutal, but she pushed through and persevered.You see, Joanna is a very goal-oriented individual. Though, if you asked her, she'd say she is goal-orientated. (I love her accent. She's very fun to listen to and her attitude is great as well!) She understands that, even though she's naturally goal-oriented, it's important to enjoy the story. As someone who is also very goal-oriented, this is very inspirational to me.If you have a chance, please do check out Joanna's podcast.What do Michael and Joanna Have in Common?They aren't afraid to challenge normal conventions of what is or is not possible. Michael has proven he can publish a very well-reviewed book per month.You know, maybe I could challenge myself to write a bit faster?Likewise, someone might think, "I could never walk 100 kilometers in two days, that's insane!"Yet Joanna did it. Maybe with the right training and gear, that's something "I" could do as well.The Pitfall:Here's where it gets hard. When setting goals for yourself, make sure your focus is on the journey, not just the outcome. Don't fall in love with someone else's results. Dreamers are especially susceptible to becoming Destination Addicts.Don't become a Destination Addict!!!Enjoy the Journey.Gather a support group, if it will help. This could be other people with similar goals. Don't give up when things get tough because, more than likely, things will get tough.My Goals:I want to write great stories. You know, I've invested a lot in my IT career, probably way more than I needed to. I would love to be able to make a shift at some point to where I can write full time and produce podcasts that help fill a need for others.I want to help other writers achieve their goals and I want to let them know they aren't along. Other writers, like me, understand their struggle.Am I Successful?That's a hard question to answer. A better question might be: Am I happy with where I am right now? To that I would answer, "Yes." I think I can be proud of where I am and how far I've come.You see, I self-published my first short story on Amazon probably over 5 years ago now. There's a lot I could be ashamed of when you consider my goals. Look at all that wasted time. Look at what a fiasco Chlorophyllium 9 was. Why do I even bother calling myself a writer when my actions don't live up to my dreams?Perspective.How you see yourself, and whether you believe you can meet your goals, depends on your perspective. Instead of looking at the last five years and the growing list of writers who have launched their writing careers while I sat on the sidelines:I should examine my personal success stories.What have I learned?What can I do better?Are there any parts of my writing process that should be examined and tweaked?How Can You Help?Let me know if you found this episode helpful. Hit me up on Twitter @BradyFrost or on my Author Page on Facebook.I'm currently looking into Patreon, but I don't want to spend too much time trying to build another page or resource when that time is better spent on my writing and developing the podcast beyond its infancy.For now, if you find this podcast helpful or enjoyable, the best way you can support me is to share it with like-minded folks.Tell Me About Your Goals.Share your goals on the Facebook Hunting the Muse Creative Writing Podcast group. Or send me a tweet on Twitter @BradyFrost with the hash tag #HuntingTheMuse. What you'll find below is a series of creative writing prompts to help get you through your week. There are no rules as to how you should use them, but I recommend taking your muse's hand; wherever she may lead you. Whether you find yourself writing a descriptive scene or dialogue, in first-person or third, a poem or prose, or anything else (even if it seems entirely unrelated to the prompt), you have won. Happy writing, and may you find success in hunting your muse this week.  1. Breaking All the RulesAs a life-long fan of horror movies, you’ve subscribed to a certain set of rules that have always served to keep you out of trouble. The rules are simple enough:Never read a book of waking the dead or summoning a demon out loud. In fact, just leave those books alone.Don’t make fun of things you don’t understand.Under no circumstances should you ever take anything from the dead.And never, ever, stray from a beaten path, especially when you’ve been warned not to.These fundamental guidelines are put to the ultimate test one scorching afternoon when you’re out on a walk with an old friend at a local park. A strange object catches your eye and, against your better judgment, you feel powerless to do anything but investigate. Bonus: Make your character break all the rules. 2. A Captive AudienceYou’ve just arrived at an obligatory gathering, and within a few short moments, you’ve already found several faces who might benefit if an unfortunate “accident” took you out of the picture for good. After a few uneventful hours, you decide to make the best of it and try to enjoy yourself.Of course, as things like this usually go, that’s exactly the point when you notice something strange. The other guests around you are beginning to look drowsy. This isn’t the usual high-brow boredom you’re used to. When they begin to slip, one by one, into a deep slumber, there’s no denying that you’re being singled out. It’s abundantly clear that someone has gone to great lengths to acquire a private audience with you. After watching the last hold-out topple over and begin to snore, you gather your senses and head for the exit. It’s locked. And now you’re the perfect captive audience. Why would someone go to this much effort? Who are they and what do they want? 3. Another Cup of JoeIt’s late at night and you’re sitting all alone at the bar of Racquel’s, a near-empty diner . It’s been a long night and you could use some good hometown cooking without much fuss. Lucky enough for you, Racquel’s is open late and the staff don’t ask many questions. You’re just about to prompt the man behind the counter for another cup of joe when the bell on the door behind you chimes as it swings open. You glance back casually but are surprised when one of the newcomers seems to recognize what you really are. While none of their companions seem to be able to see through the veil, this could cause some unwanted complications with your evening plans. 4. DistractionsA group of people bring randomness to the word by coordinating appearances in the background of live news feeds.It all started with a scuba diver climbing out of a water fountain during a piece on city hall. The next big thing was a skydiver dressed in a utility company uniform landing and then climbing into a sewer access point behind the newscaster in a related piece about the city upgrading the utility infrastructure in the years ahead. Each new iteration seems to be ramping up the sheer, brazen craziness of it all. Just last night during live coverage outside the governor’s mansion, regarding a special budget approval session, a man who was engulfed in theatrical flames was “saved” by clowns spraying fire-retardant foam out of seltzer bottles. When the gig was up, all the performers piled into a disproportionately small car and sped off while the woman performing the interview stood, shocked into silence by the sudden outburst of activity. With fear of copycat hijinks popping up around the world, a special investigator has been put on the case. Is this just a desperate attempt by one of the networks to hike up ratings that got out of hand, is it some amateur college art project, or is there something bigger at play here? 5. A Letter in TimeYou get home after a long day at work. You’re ready for the day to be over, but it seems like fate has different plans. When you check the mail, you find a very strange looking letter. It is addressed to you, in your own handwriting, but you don’t remember ever having written such a thing. Perplexed, you take the envelope inside and open it. Enclosed is a hastily written note and a small key.Either someone is playing an elaborate hoax, or some other version of you is trying to warn you about events to come. The handwriting gets progressively worse, perhaps frantic with desperation, as the letter goes on. When you turn to the second page, you find what looks to be a few droplets of dried blood, a coded warning, and one last instruction. 6. Good Morning, SunshineYou wake up in someone else’s bed in a room you don’t recognize. You haven’t been restrained and there isn’t any evidence of a struggle. After snooping around for a while, you realize you’re the only one home. No matter how hard you try to remember, you have no recollection of how you ended up in this strange house.At this point you figure you have two options, you can either cut your losses and high-tail it out of there before whoever lives in the house gets home, or you could stay and investigate. If you choose to stay and look for clues, you might unearth valuable information to help you figure out what caused the loss of both time and memories, but risk encountering a less-than-hospitable host. 7. The Legend of the Sleeping Prince (Or Princess)Some say the royal family was cursed. Never has anyone seen a young prince (or princess) with such a sour face. The king’s advisors all predicted that the child would one day grow into a more pleasing disposition but, despite their optimism, the young man/woman never learned to smile. Nor had laughter ever escaped their lips.Distraught with the idea that their son/daughter would never know true happiness, the royal family have released an edict to the citizenry. To anyone who could manage to make their beloved child smile and laugh, they would grant a special gift, their progeny’s hand in marriage, knighthood (with lands and servants equivalent to the rank), or more bags of gold than the strongest man could carry. Naturally, the kingdom is abuzz with the news as comers from all across the region gather and prepare to put on their best shows. I hope you've enjoyed this week's episode and creative writing prompts. Please consider supporting this effort by signing up for my newsletter.  #mc_embed_signup{background:#fff; clear:left; font:14px Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif; } /* Add your own MailChimp form style overrides in your site stylesheet or in this style block. We recommend moving this block and the preceding CSS link to the HEAD of your HTML file. */ Join my monthly newsletter for writers and get more helpful content, encouragement, and more!* indicates requiredEmail Address * First Name Last Name Email Format htmltext Powered by MailChimp (function($) {window.fnames = new Array(); window.ftypes = new Array();fnames[0]='EMAIL';ftypes[0]='email';fnames[1]='FNAME';ftypes[1]='text';fnames[2]='LNAME';ftypes[2]='text';}(jQuery));var $mcj = jQuery.noConflict(true); If you enjoyed this feed, please stop by my blog! www.HuntingTheMuse.com

A thousand years of effort to keep the Unknown World hidden is unraveling and the Patriarch is tired. He needs to find someone to take over. His search leads him to Bethany Anne. Unknown, untested and untried she sets out to accomplish the impossible while forging a new future. One that no one knew was in danger. And she does it with an attitude that will make you stand up and cheer! They say a dress can make a women, but in this case, the dress is Death, and Death Becomes Her very well indeed.

A thousand years of effort to keep the Unknown World hidden is unraveling and the Patriarch is tired. He needs to find someone to take over. His search leads him to Bethany Anne. Unknown, untested and untried she sets out to accomplish the impossible while forging a new future. One that no one knew was in danger. And she does it with an attitude that will make you stand up and cheer! They say a dress can make a women, but in this case, the dress is Death, and Death Becomes Her very well indeed.

A thousand years of effort to keep the Unknown World hidden is unraveling and the Patriarch is tired. He needs to find someone to take over. His search leads him to Bethany Anne. Unknown, untested and untried she sets out to accomplish the impossible while forging a new future. One that no one knew was in danger. And she does it with an attitude that will make you stand up and cheer! They say a dress can make a women, but in this case, the dress is Death, and Death Becomes Her very well indeed.