Writer Craft Podcast: Recent Episodes

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Episode 190 of the podcast and it's June 11, 2025 as we record this.

Main Topic: Embrace the Chaos and Boredom of Summer

Up to 48% off your first subscription or 20% off one time purchases with code

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You can claim it at: https://magicmind.com/VALERIE20

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PATREON:

Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in our work offline and here in the podcast.

Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan for books, writing instruction, coaching, and planning. Also, the Planner Plays and Monthly Reflections are always free for all members on my Patreon page. But I don't list them as Public", so click correct tier for updated links, dates, and cancellations. I just put up a new schedule last week for the upcoming months.

Go to Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre.

Segment 1 (Announcements/Author Updates):

• (Valerie):

• • Aligned Author: A bespoke book coaching journey for soul-led experts, creatives, and writers ready to channel their life's work into a living, breathing legacy.) I created Aligned Author to provide a sacred space for authors to truly understand what has been holding them back, to learn how to merge the soul with the ego, to live and create in that duality, and to discover their own super powers.

• (Erick): Shadow Signals for sale now; preplanning for the summer, "screw around" days on the river, finishing energy on the little things before they fall through the cracks

• What are you reading?

• Valerie:

• How to Read a Book (Monica Wood)
• (Not ready to give up on them, but struggling to finish them:) Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman; The Year of the Puppy (Alexandra Horowitz) ; The Teller of Small Fortunes Julie Leong
• Erick: A Wounded Deer Leaps Highest (Charlie J. Stephens) ; the Shivers series on audio (short horror); Strange Pictures (mystery)

• Segment 2 (Resources/Tips/Tidbits):

• Tidbit #1: • Tidbit #2:

Segment 3 (Main Topic): Chaos of summer is real

And don't forget:

Go to valerieihsan.com to schedule a free consultation to see if Aligned Author is right for you.

Get 48% off the Magic Mind :

https://magicmind.com/VALERIE20 and use Valerie20 at checkout.

#magicmind #mentalwealth #mentalperformance

Next episode:

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan (Find Passion Planner discount codes here.)

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Patreons:

https://patreon.com/valerieihsan

https://patreon.com/strangeairmysteries

Tools:

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

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Using Unconventional Thinking to Tackle Creative Blocks with guest David Carson

Up to 48% off your first subscription or 20% off one time purchases with code

VALERIE20 at checkout

You can claim it at: https://magicmind.com/VALERIE20

#magicmind #mentalwealth #mentalperformance

PATREON:

Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in our work offline and here in the podcast.

Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan for books, writing instruction, coaching, and planning. Also, the Planner Plays and Monthly Reflections are always free for all members on my Patreon page. But I don't list them as Public", so click correct tier for updated links, dates, and cancellations. I just put up a new schedule last week for the upcoming months.

Go to Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre.

Segment 1 (Announcements/Author Updates):

• (Valerie): catching up from being in Florida. Book club. Cleaned my son's kitchen, dog training started, email past retreat participants to personally invite them to the new coaching program.
• • Aligned Author: A bespoke book coaching journey for soul-led experts, creatives, and writers ready to channel their life's work into a living, breathing legacy.) I created Aligned Author to provide a sacred space for authors to truly understand what has been holding them back, to learn how to merge the soul with the ego, to live and create in that duality, and to discover their own super powers.

• • Creating a new freebie for my mailing list and patrons (patrons always get everything 1st, even before the mailing list subscribers). It's a three-part micro masterclass on story structure, character arc, and universal truth stmt/theme

• (Erick): Shadow Signals for sale now; publishing anthology soon; updating back

• Fake My Run for Strava; Much Music (from Canada); Fuse (MTV competitor)

What are you reading?

• Valerie:
• How to Read a Book (Monica Wood)
• (Not ready to give up on them, but struggling to finish them:) Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman; The Year of the Puppy (Alexandra Horowitz) ; The Teller of Small Fortunes Julie Leong
• Erick: A Wounded Deer Leaps Highest (Charlie J. Stephens)
• David: 831 Stories (Comedic Timing) The Case Against Reality (Donald Hoffman) The Weirdest People in the World; N+1 (The Pirates of Ayahuasca: That Shaman Stole My Personality)

• • Segment 2 (Resources/Tips/Tidbits):

• Tidbit #1: • Tidbit #2:

Segment 3 (Main Topic): Using Unconventional Thinking to Tackle Creative Blocks

David Carson is an entrepreneur and marketing innovator whose groundbreaking companies and products have impacted millions worldwide. Renowned for his expertise in creative thinking, Carson has collaborated with global giants like American Express, Nike, Coca-Cola, and IKEA, as well as cutting-edge advertising agencies including Mother and Ogilvy. His unconventional approach has not only shaped iconic brands but also challenged traditional notions of problem-solving in business and beyond.

Dumb-Thinking makes you smarter. "Smart" prevents the creative thinking. Strive to have "dumb ideas."

Exercises to teach brain to think of dumb ideas: ways to think

Example: George Castanza Model (Do the Opposite of Everything you typically do)

How develop that curiosity?

Creation: What if? To follow the curiosity. It may seem absurd, but go deeper. Make it worse.

Improv (Yes, And for collaborating)

Use Chat GPT as a collaborator. It wants to be "smart," to make them "illogical": what is a commonality between extreme ideas, or create a new idea from two opposite things.

Colab Culture. If it's weird enough, it gets me curious. Lean in.

Example: Make it Worse (to create new things, learned how to NOT do it, shake up brain)

When start projects, start with mental models first, what you've written isn't that precious, too afraid to change it.

Test the dumb idea with feedback. What's the fastest way to test? Tik-tok, open mic, writing group, social media ads, reddit,

Dumbify: summer

Podcast: Dumbify (dumb ideas that have changed culture)

The Weird and the Eerie

Mask under a mask as a plot device.

Sign up for David's Newsletter: Dumbify (David-carson.com)

Look for the podcast next month or two, and the book this summer.

And don't forget:

Go to valerieihsan.com to schedule a free consultation to see if Aligned Author is right for you.

Get 48% off the Magic Mind :

https://magicmind.com/VALERIE20 and use Valerie20 at checkout.

#magicmind #mentalwealth #mentalperformance

Next episode:

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan (Find Passion Planner discount codes here.)

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Patreons:

https://patreon.com/valerieihsan

https://patreon.com/strangeairmysteries

Tools:

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

View Details

Up to 48% off your first subscription or 20% off one time purchases with code

VALERIE20 at checkout

You can claim it at: https://magicmind.com/VALERIE20

#magicmind #mentalwealth #mentalperformance

PATREON:

Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in our work offline and here in the podcast.

Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan for books, writing instruction, coaching, and planning. Also, the Planner Plays and Monthly Reflections are always free for all members on my Patreon page. But I don't list them as Public", so click correct tier for updated links, dates, and cancellations. I just put up a new schedule last week for the upcoming months.

Go to Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre.

Segment 1 (Announcements/Author Updates):

• (Valerie): worked on Structure and Spark . It's been great getting back into writing again. I didn't understand that burnout was stopping me before. I want to do a bit more journaling on who my ideal reader in for this book. It's for new writers writing fiction? Or for a spiritual entrepreneur ready to scale their business even higher and wider and write a book for their audience. More than a Book as Business Card; more of a calling to share everything they know on their subject.
• (V) I dabbled in a trunk novel looking for writing samples and examples for Structure book.
• (V) updating my website copy and shopping cart; refining my 1:1 book coaching offer (called Aligned Author: A bespoke book coaching journey for soul-led experts, creatives, and writers ready to channel their life's work into a living, breathing legacy.), I created Aligned Author to provide a sacred space for authors to truly understand what has been holding them back, to learn how to merge the soul with the ego, to live and create in that duality, and to discover their own super powers. and created a FABULOUS VIP package for it too. I hope someone gets in there and invests in themselves in this way because it would be so fun to work with someone in that close proximity for the year really.
• Creating a new freebie for my mailing list and patrons (patrons always get everything 1st, even before the mailing list subscribers). It's a three-part micro masterclass on story structure, character arc, and universal truth stet/theme
• got back from Florida last night

• thinking about IG content, showing up more on my stories there, and thinking of different ways to reach my target audience/ideal client avatar.

• (Erick): Shadow Signals for sale now.

What are you reading?

• Valerie: finished The Three Lives of Cate Kay (Kate Fagan) and The Amalfi Curse (Sarah Penner) and The Paris Novel (Ruth Reichl) and now reading Sisters of Sweetwater Fury (Kinley Bryan)
• (Not ready to give up on them, but struggling to finish them:) Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman; The Year of the Puppy (Alexandra Horowitz) ; The Teller of Small Fortunes Julie Leong
• Erick:

• • Segment 2 (Resources/Tips/Tidbits):

• Tidbit #1: • Tidbit #2:

Segment 3 (Main Topic): What is Book Coaching?

"In the 19th century, editors worked closely with authors over long periods, helping them shape their narratives and stay accountable to the work. As publishing has evolved—splintering into traditional, hybrid, and self-publishing models—this kind of deep, sustained editorial relationship has become rare within publishing houses. Enter the book coach: part developmental editor, part strategist, part mentor. Much like the editors of the past, a modern book coach helps the writer clarify their vision, navigate doubts, refine structure and voice, and bring the book to completion—often walking with them from blank page to published work. In this way, the book coach is not just a modern convenience, but a revival of an old, sacred role."

And don't forget: Get 48% off the Magic Mind :

https://magicmind.com/VALERIE20 and use Valerie20 at checkout.

#magicmind #mentalwealth #mentalperformance

Next episode:

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan (Find Passion Planner discount codes here.)

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Patreons:

https://patreon.com/valerieihsan

https://patreon.com/strangeairmysteries

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Main Topic: Anti-Hustle Culture with guests Rachel May and Emily Golden, book coaches and editors at Golden May Editing, and podcast hosts of the Story Magic podcast.

Up to 48% off your first subscription or 20% off one time purchases with code

VALERIE20 at checkout

You can claim it at: https://magicmind.com/VALERIE20

#magicmind #mentalwealth #mentalperformance

PATREON:

Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in our work offline and here in the podcast.

Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan for books, writing instruction, coaching, and planning. Go to Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre.

Segment 1 (Announcements/Author Updates):

• (Valerie): revamped website
• Emily: ARC just came in "Crimson Tide: Up in Molten Lights", 20K in to new book;

• Rachel: revising third book is slower than planned.

• (Erick): Preorder up for Shadow Signals , front and back matter done

What are you reading?

• Valerie: How To Be Old: Lessons in Living Boldly from the Accidental Icon (Lyn Slater)
• (Not ready to give up on them, but struggling to finish them:) Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman; The Year of the Puppy (Alexandra Horowitz) ; The Teller of Small Fortunes Julie Leong
• Erick:
• Mr. Mercedes (Stephen King), The Autopsy: Best Weird Stories of Michael Shea, (Daniel Clowes) Patience
• Rachel: Cassie Mint's new book, Wild Peak; the stack is waiting

• Emily: Assistant to the Villain (Hannah Nicole Maehrer)

• Segment 2 (Resources/Tips/Tidbits):

• Tidbit #1: • Tidbit #2:

Segment 3 (Main Topic): Years ago, in the days before COVID, they met on Twitter through the #WritingCommunity hashtag. As fantasy writers, they immediately hit it off through beta reading each other’s work, which evolved into critique partnering, and then a mutual fascination with writing craft. They became obsessed with learning a) how stories worked, and b) how writers’ mindsets could help or harm their progress. Together they dove head first into book coaching and editing training, which ultimately resulted in Golden May. Please welcome Rachel and Emily.

Value is based in what you produce = hustle culture

Pitfalls of hunger to create and make an impact on world.

Make money, make a lot, make it fast

Sustainable success comes from the opposite place

Mindset is more important, untangle perfectionism and hustle culture

Generational/societal = capitalism ranked over all; "You are only valuable and worthy if you make money."

You can't rest because ...

If you do more, you make more money. We aren't machines. Burnout. Less effective. Care for yourself so you CAN work.

Mindset breeds shame is what drives the hustle culture .

Anti-hustle is about separating mindset from the "norm."

What did you do to separate and feel worthy?

1. Come down to earth: what are the stakes? Writing is not life/death situation. If I don't ..., then I'm not worthy and I'm gonna die. (Start reframe it)

2. Awareness. Hustle culture. Learn the opposite. (Amy McNee - We Need Your Art) Ask where these thoughts are coming from? Follow the threads. Reparenting inner child. Catch the thoughts in the moment. What's my programming? 1st thought: programming, 2nd thought: what I really believe. Talking to coworkers and family about "letting them down."

3. Join a community interested in anti-hustle. Reframe daily.

4. Devon Price "Laziness Does Not Exist", "Burnout" (Nagaski sisters)

5. Affirmations

6. What is your brain trying to tell you?

Rest is a learned thing. The Power of Ritual (Casper ter Kuile)

We all rest differently.

The tenants of anti-hustle culture:

Worth is not tied to our output.

Your success isn't determined by someone else's standards.

Body and Brain deserve rest.

"I don't have time to learn how to rest." Learned how to be productive in your body.

tenaciouswriting.com

goldenmayediting.com

Story magic podcast

IG @tenaciouswriting

And don't forget: Get 48% off the Magic Mind :

https://magicmind.com/VALERIE20 and use Valerie20 at checkout.

#magicmind #mentalwealth #mentalperformance

Next episode:

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan (Find Passion Planner discount codes here.)

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Patreons:

https://patreon.com/valerieihsan

https://patreon.com/strangeairmysteries

Tools:

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

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Main Topic: Elements of a Nonfiction Book (Starts at 16:55)

Up to 48% off your first subscription or 20% off one time purchases with code

VALERIE20 at checkout

You can claim it at: https://magicmind.com/VALERIE20

#magicmind #mentalwealth #mentalperformance

PATREON:

Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in our work offline and here in the podcast.

Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan for books, writing instruction, coaching, and planning. Go to Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre.

Segment 1 (Announcements/Author Updates):

• (Valerie): learning IG Stories from @tidalbaymedia (Kat), updated passport, new Chiro, monthly reflection, carport, now buy print

• (Erick): Preorder up for Shadow Signals , ARCS out in the morning, back/front matter to write, re-release Witness accounts with new fresh content, experiment with going Wide on the print

What are you reading?

• Valerie: How To Be Old: Lessons in Living Boldly from the Accidental Icon (Lyn Slater)
• (Not ready to give up on them, but struggling to finish them:) Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman; The Year of the Puppy (Alexandra Horowitz) ; The Teller of Small Fortunes Julie Leong
• Erick:
• Mr. Mercedes (Stephen King),

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Main Topic: 3 arcs in every book (begins at 15:31)

Up to 48% off your first subscription or 20% off one time purchases with code

VALERIE20 at checkout

You can claim it at: https://magicmind.com/VALERIE20

#magicmind #mentalwealth #mentalperformance

PATREON:

Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in our work offline and here in the podcast.

Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan for books, writing instruction, coaching, and planning. Go to Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre.

Segment 1 (Announcements/Author Updates):

• (Valerie): writing How to Write a Novel (ask ChatGPT for new title), homework from the business coach, thinking about content creation and refining my book coaching offer; back pain

• (Erick): Trunk "shopping" for summer work = Witness accounts. Book a retreat for world-building. Preorder up for Shadow Signals (cover from Miblart)

What are you reading?

• Valerie: The Stars and Their Light (Olivia Hawker)
• (Not ready to give up on them, but struggling to finish them:) Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman; The Year of the Puppy (Alexandra Horowitz) ; The Teller of Small Fortunes Julie Leong
• Erick:

• Mr. Mercedes (Stephen King), Somna (gn) (Becky Cloonan)

• Segment 2 (Resources/Tips/Tidbits):

• Tidbit #1: • Tidbit #2:

Segment 3 (Main Topic):

The Three Narrative Arcs (Bill Kenower)

The Physical Arc (Story arc, plot, what happens in the book)

Character/Emotional arc (how the character changes)

Intentional Arc (Thematic arc)

Narrative arc (how the story is told)

If problems with character (flat, 2 dimensional, "Just didn't connect with them"):

Add inner dialogue for tension and character motivation;

Make sure your emotional arc is solid. (Character + Flaw + Death of Flaw at end = Character/Emotional Arc)

And don't forget: Get 48% off the Magic Mind :

https://magicmind.com/VALERIE20 and use Valerie20 at checkout.

#magicmind #mentalwealth #mentalperformance

Next episode:

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan (Find Passion Planner discount codes here.)

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

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Main Topic: The Confidence Paradox with guest Angus Nelson

Up to 48% off your first subscription or 20% off one time purchases with code

VALERIE20 at checkout

You can claim it at: https://magicmind.com/VALERIE20

#magicmind #mentalwealth #mentalperformance

PATREON:

Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in our work offline and here in the podcast.

Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan for books, writing instruction, coaching, and planning. Go to Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre.

Segment 1 (Announcements/Author Updates):

• (Valerie): writing, gardening, homework from the business coach

• Angus: daughter just moved to Portugal a block away

• (Erick) Writing new novella. Great client meetings. Preorder up for Shadow Signals (cover from Miblart)

What are you reading?

• Valerie: Shadow Signals (Erick Mertz) The Stars and Their Light (Olivia Hawker)
• (Not ready to give up on them, but struggling to finish them:) Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman; The Year of the Puppy (Alexandra Horowitz) ; The Teller of Small Fortunes Julie Leong
• Erick:
• Houses of the Unholy (gn) Tender is the Flesh (horror) (Agustina Bazterrica)

• (Angus:) The Art of Possibility (Rosemund Zander and Benjamin Zander)

• Segment 2 (Resources/Tips/Tidbits):

• Tidbit #1: automated email sequences

• Tidbit #2: Notes App (writing)
• Angus's tips: use AI to write; helped me see perspectives I couldn't see. Prompt it to be a bestselling NY Times editor. What would you say about this passage? (Jeff Goins was his book coach.)

Segment 3 (Main Topic):

Confidence Paradox

Waiting for something. If I was only more ... confident.

What if I just believe in myself?

The book will write you. Rising to a different level.

Let your power be seen.

Stories we tell ourselves.

1. Inputs: What are you listening to? (News, sports, agitation, layoffs) We are in failure mode, scarcity mindset, all the time. Affects how I see myself. Living by default vs. intentionally decoupling self from negative stimuli.

2. Change the environment. Give yourself the permission to be the self I want to be. Letting go. What are you holding on to from the past?

TODAY = The Only Day Actually Yours

Go from limitation to possibility.

We tell ourselves changing will take a long time and be really hard. But that's just a story. "It doesn't matter." What matters is I choose to be this.

10x is easier than 2x (Book rec by Dan Sullivan and Dr. Benjamin Hardy)

Burnout based on story: not worthy, don't have what it takes.

Need for external validation.

Self love/ self grace (Reset days, cheat days, every phase of growth requires altering mindset)

5-8 weeks for transformations

3 month sprints alter the narrative, upgrade iOS in brain.

Methodology:

Experience the feeling you want to become.

Powerful motherfucker.

Culture of perpetual failure.

Embodiment:

Just Be Free.

Let me do me.

Angusnelson.com

Free mini course: Message him the word "Activated" and he'll send it to you.

And don't forget: Get 48% off the Magic Mind :

https://magicmind.com/VALERIE20 and use Valerie20 at checkout.

#magicmind #mentalwealth #mentalperformance

Next episode:

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan (Find Passion Planner discount codes here.)

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Patreons:

https://patreon.com/valerieihsan

https://patreon.com/strangeairmysteries

Tools:

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

View Details

Up to 48% off your first subscription or 20% off one time purchases with code

VALERIE20 at checkout

You can claim it at: https://magicmind.com/VALERIE20

#magicmind #mentalwealth #mentalperformance

PATREON:

Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in our work offline and here in the podcast.

Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan for books, writing instruction, coaching, and planning. Go to Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre.

Segment 1 (Announcements/Author Updates):

• (Valerie) taxes are done,

• (Erick) taxes are done! Preorder up for Shadow Signals (cover from Miblart)

What are you reading?

• Valerie: In the Dream House (Carmen Maria Machado) Broken Open (Martha Gies) Shadow Signals (Erick Mertz)
• (Not ready to give up on them, but struggling to finish them:) Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman; The Year of the Puppy (Alexandra Horowitz) ; The Teller of Small Fortunes Julie Leong

• Erick: (Claytemple Media podcast; (Laird Barron) The Imago Sequence and Other Stories

• Segment 2 (Resources/Tips/Tidbits):

• Tidbit #1: ChatGPT for not-writing ways; (tape defect 2 second warble)

• Tidbit #2:
• Segment 3 (Mindset-Craft-Biz Check):

Segment 4 (Main Topic):

Listen to people talking as an exercise

Great first lines (Oh, that where this fits..)

What I want to say is:

My name used to be:

For learning a new skill:

Free writing/journaling/morning pages

And don't forget: Get 48% off the Magic Mind :

https://magicmind.com/VALERIE20 and use Valerie20 at checkout.

#magicmind #mentalwealth #mentalperformance

Next episode: Angus Nelson on burnout and confidence

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan (Find Passion Planner discount codes here.)

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Patreons:

https://patreon.com/valerieihsan

https://patreon.com/strangeairmysteries

Tools:

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

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Main Topic: Starting a Ghostwriting Business

Up to 48% off your first subscription or 20% off one time purchases with code

VALERIE20 at checkout

You can claim it at: https://magicmind.com/VALERIE20

#magicmind #mentalwealth #mentalperformance

PATREON:

Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in our work offline and here in the podcast.

Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan for books, writing instruction, coaching, and planning. Go to Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre.

Segment 1 (Announcements/Author Updates):

• (Valerie) got my cover back!, started working with a business coach again, had a great time teaching at Wordcrafters in Eugene, client work

• (Erick) writing, client work, interviewing,

What are you reading?

• Valerie: In the Dream House (Carmen Maria Machado) Broken Open (Martha Gies)
• (Not ready to give up on them, but struggling to finish them:) Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman; The Year of the Puppy (Alexandra Horowitz) ; The Teller of Small Fortunes Julie Leong

• Erick: The Woman in the Dunes (Kobo Abe) (anime horror)

• Segment 2 (Resources/Tips/Tidbits):

• Tidbit #1:

• Tidbit #2:
• Segment 3 (Mindset-Craft-Biz Check):

Segment 4 (Main Topic):

Process as client vs starting own business

Finished manuscript according to client requirements with no credit.

Beginning is client approaches you, defines the project, educate client about your service, get the vibe from first contact/discovery call, talk money early on, decide on price, sign contract, pay on benchmarks: signed contract, outline, completed project. "Do you feel like you could talk to me about ...?" Provide referrals from other clients instead of work samples. Roughly $1/word.

Where does my own writing fit into this? (First question to ask self if considering starting a ghost writing biz.)

Have to say yes early on to establish yourself. Even jobs you don't want to do.

Mindset: How do you write something that you don't want to write? State your boundaries early on.

Voice: recorded conversations helps with knowing how to write. Listen to the person talk. Explain there is going to be a translation. Does it feel like you when you read it? Might not be your exact words.

Manuscript based on agreed upon outline, but you'll find 25% that you'll want to change.

Network, mentor, website, sub-contracting is a great way to start. Figure out what your ghost genre is. Probably not yours. Harder to treat as a product, because you HAVE to be efficient.

Learning the business as you go and juggle process.

Find resources/communities, join them with skepticism. A lot of people on forums bring a bunch of b.s. Learn to read between the lines.

Skills: flexible and confident (more of self than of writing)

And don't forget: Get 48% off the Magic Mind :

https://magicmind.com/VALERIE20 and use Valerie20 at checkout.

#magicmind #mentalwealth #mentalperformance

Next episode:

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan (Find Passion Planner discount codes here.)

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Patreons:

https://patreon.com/valerieihsan

https://patreon.com/strangeairmysteries

Tools:

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

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Main Topic: Autoficiton: Letting Go at Launch Time with guest H.H. Rune (main topic starts at 16:06)

Up to 48% off your first subscription or 20% off one time purchases with code

VALERIE20 at checkout

You can claim it at: https://magicmind.com/VALERIE20

#magicmind #mentalwealth #mentalperformance

PATREON:

Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in our work offline and here in the podcast.

Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan for books, writing instruction, coaching, and planning. Go to Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre.

Segment 1 (Announcements/Author Updates):

• (Valerie) Unlock the Heart of Your Memoir (Wordcrafters)

• (Erick)

What are you reading?

• Valerie: In the Dream House (Carmen Maria Machado) The Girl from the Grand Hotel (Camille Aubray)
• (Not ready to give up on them, but struggling to finish them:) Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman; The Year of the Puppy (Alexandra Horowitz) ; The Teller of Small Fortunes Julie Leong
• The Voice of Knowledge (Don Miguel Ruiz), Spiritual Growth (Sanaya Roman); Psychic Witch (Mat Auryn)

• Erick:

• Segment 2 (Resources/Tips/Tidbits):

• Tidbit #1:

• Tidbit #2:
• Segment 3 (Mindset-Craft-Biz Check):

Segment 4 (Main Topic): (starts at 16:06)

H.H. Rune’s series blends fiction along with parts of her own life into a literary social experiment of a set of traveling books that are sent out to strangers with a mission of finding their way back to her. Her first two books in the Extraordinary Life Seeker series- Find Me, Book One- She believed in the Kindness of Strangers and Find Me, Book Two- She’d find out what she was made of- are available now. To further accentuate her request that her readers pass along the books as part of the story, her Limited Edition-Trackable versions have been spotted all over the U.S. as well as Canada, England, Ireland and Iceland. Find Me, Book Three will be out early 2025.

Notes from my conversation with H:

No names in book (use Mr. Fun).

Not a character assassination. Instead, my responses to lessons learned from my experiences.

20 limited editions of each novel. Send to friends and they dispersed them. Sent also to Booktalkers and did a Goodreads giveaway. QR code in front of book sends them to fill out google form, "tracking" the book's location in the world, and--ideally--getting them to post a picture. Software mapped out the Google form responses.

Considers her work Autofiction.

Upcoming events for H:

May: Reading at White Oak Books in Vancouver, WA.

July: Signing at Northwest Book Fair (19 Officer's Row Vancouver WA)

Just started using Skylight Social with handle: @hhrune.bsky.social

Website: hhrune.com

And don't forget: Get 48% off the Magic Mind :

https://magicmind.com/VALERIE20 and use Valerie20 at checkout.

#magicmind #mentalwealth #mentalperformance

Next episode:

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan (Find Passion Planner discount codes here.)

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Patreons:

https://patreon.com/valerieihsan

https://patreon.com/strangeairmysteries

Tools:

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

View Details

Bromance: How Dumb & Dumber and When Harry Met Sally are the Same Screenplay (21:42)

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PATREON:

Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in our work offline and here in the podcast.

Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan for books, writing instruction, coaching, and planning. Go to Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre.

Segment 1 (Announcements/Author Updates):

• Unlocking the Hearth of Your Memoir (Wordcrafters)

• Aligned Author: A Workshop in Intuitive Planning and Strategy (last weekend on Anderson Island)

• (Erick) Spring Break, busy, marketing, When can I slot in phone calls?, less writing

What are you reading?

• Valerie: In the Dream House (Carmen Maria Machado) The Girl from the Grand Hotel (Camille Aubray)
• (Not ready to give up on them, but struggling to finish them:) Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman; The Year of the Puppy (Alexandra Horowitz) ; The Teller of Small Fortunes Julie Leong

• Erick: Stephen Brust's The Book of Jhereg (Vlad Taltos)

• Segment 2 (Resources/Tips/Tidbits):

• Tidbit #1: simplyscripts.com to read screenplays (not the bound screenplays in bookstores); Drew's Script-o-Rama; Scott Myers' Go Into the Story (Read scripts you've watched before and ones you haven't.)

• Tidbit #2:
• Segment 3 (Mindset-Craft-Biz Check):

Segment 4 (Main Topic):

Romcom 90-100 pages

Same beats in every story (might take longer to reach the beat.)

Buddy comedies and romantic comedies reach beats at the same time.

1) Characters always odd couple. (Internal push/pull.) Emotional bonding early on.

D&Dumber (Harry and Lloyd)

WHMS (Harry and Sally)

2) Meet Cute (sparks the long term relationship/Will they survive as friends? Will they/Won't they tension at beginning of the movie--by page 5 (within 5-8 minutes) when the theme of the story is stated.

3) Page 12 is where story diverges and real problem starts. 12-25 emotional bonding is depicted. Quirky side characters introduced (opposite of main characters).

4) Page 25 is start of Act II. (25-30 central theme is tested. Page 30-55 Fun and Games, tested in fun ways (with minimal risk)

5) Midpoint (something happens and fun and games has more risk, stakes are different). Now antics are pointed towards each other. (Pages 55-70)

6) Page 75 (the dark night of the soul sequence starts here) characters hit rock bottom, how do the characters deal with it.

7) Ending (emotional payoff and repair what's broken).

And don't forget: Get 48% off the Magic Mind :

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Next episode: Guest H.H. Rune on Letting Your Story Go Out into the World.

View Details

Main Topic: 5 Rules of Screen-Writing (starts at 18:23)

Up to 48% off your first subscription or 20% off one time purchases with code

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You can claim it at: https://magicmind.com/VALERIE20

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PATREON:

Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in our work offline and here in the podcast.

Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan for books, writing instruction, coaching, and planning. Go to Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre.

Segment 1 (Announcements/Author Updates):

• (Valerie) movement (getting back into it); client work; work/life balance nonexistent (talked with Ali)
• Aligned Author: A Workshop in Intuitive Planning and Strategy

"Using strategic principles, core values, and your desired feelings as a guide, you can create goals that feel good to pursue. Aligned Embodied Action is an intuitive and authentic way to approach goal-setting and strategic planning.

Join life coach and author Valerie Ihsan for this experiential, full-day workshop packed with hands-on exercises, practical tips, valuable resources, and live coaching opportunities.

By the end of the day, you’ll walk away with a personalized action plan—clear, aligned, and ready to implement—so you can take your next steps with confidence."

Use this link to register for the workshop: https://link.clover.com/urlshortener/L9cSGN

• (Erick) finishing client work, tabled own work for the moment, revamped Patreon (join Erick's mailing list to vote on the new series name)

What are you reading?

• Valerie: In the Dream House (Carmen Maria Machado) You Will Find Your People: How to Make Meaningful Friendships as an Adult (Lane Moore)
• • (Not ready to give up on them, but struggling to finish them:) Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman; The Year of the Puppy (Alexandra Horowitz) ; The Teller of Small Fortunes Julie Leong

• Erick: Mort Terry Pratchett; Tsuge graphic novel (The Man Without Talent; ... Flowers)

• Segment 2 (Resources/Tips/Tidbits):

• Tidbit #1: Graphite pencil (type of mechanical pencil)

• Tidbit #2:
• Segment 3 (Mindset-Craft-Biz Check):

Segment 4 (Main Topic):

• Simple medium portraying sound and describing action.
• Slug line (interior, office, morning)
• Action (Erick sits at his computer, talking into a microphone, recording a podcast.)
• Character (ERICK: dialogue)
• Action (Erick removes his earbuds, the meeting ends)

• 3 kinds of screenplays
• On Spec: rough draft/outline
• Producer changes it to Shooting screenplay (adds relevance and his "stamp" on it, adds over-shoulder camera angle, etc)
• Production draft (cuts, fades)

**

1- only write what you can see or is relevant to action. (No thoughts.)

2 - never direct on the page of a spec script. (The art is to plant the seed of what you want.)

3 - one page = one minute of screen time (approximate); no action or dialogue no longer than 3 lines

4 - arrive late and leave early; start a beat before the action and end on motion

5 - All rules can be broken. (Big sin directing on the the page.)

And don't forget: Get 48% off the Magic Mind :

https://magicmind.com/VALERIE20 and use Valerie20 at checkout.

#magicmind #mentalwealth #mentalperformance

Next episode: Marco Gamboa "Using Stories

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Patreons:

https://patreon.com/valerieihsan

https://patreon.com/strangeairmysteries

Tools:

Passion Planner: https://passionplanner.rfrl.co/e86j8 (affiliate link) Discount Code: VALERIE184

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

View Details

Segment 1 (Announcements/Author Updates):

• (Valerie) decluttering, pitching conferences, starting new projects
• Aligned Author: A Workshop in Intuitive Planning and Strategy

"Using strategic principles, core values, and your desired feelings as a guide, you can create goals that feel good to pursue. Aligned Embodied Action is an intuitive and authentic way to approach goal-setting and strategic planning.

Join life coach and author Valerie Ihsan for this experiential, full-day workshop packed with hands-on exercises, practical tips, valuable resources, and live coaching opportunities.

By the end of the day, you’ll walk away with a personalized action plan—clear, aligned, and ready to implement—so you can take your next steps with confidence."

Use this link to register for the workshop: https://link.clover.com/urlshortener/L9cSGN

• (Erick) client work, reorganizing my life around ghost-writing, new clients and project management coming up, process re-structuring.

What are you reading?

• Valerie: In the Dream House (Carmen Maria Machado) You Will Find Your People: How to Make Meaningful Friendships as an Adult (Lane Moore)
• • (Not ready to give up on them, but struggling to finish them:) Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman; The Year of the Puppy (Alexandra Horowitz) ; The Teller of Small Fortunes Julie Leong

• Erick: Mort Terry Pratchett

• Segment 2 (Resources/Tips/Tidbits):

• Tidbit #1: comfortable chair for your office

• Tidbit #2: Human Design chart; It'll validate so much about yourself!
• Segment 3 (Mindset-Craft-Biz Check):

Segment 4 (Main Topic):

Writing communities look different from one to another. There's: Writing friends, Critique group, Service Trade Friends, Organizations, Conferences, Writing groups, Colleagues you can chat with at meetings that understand the writing life (don't discount this!).

I'm a writer. We all have something in common.

Stay in contact

Do I want to make this MY community?

Like-mindedness.

Compatibility, flexibility, fits my value system.

And don't forget: Get 48% off the Magic Mind :

https://magicmind.com/VALERIE20 and use Valerie20 at checkout.

#magicmind #mentalwealth #mentalperformance

Next episode:

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Patreons:

https://patreon.com/valerieihsan

https://patreon.com/strangeairmysteries

Tools:

Passion Planner: https://passionplanner.rfrl.co/e86j8 (affiliate link) Discount Code: VALERIE184

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

Resources:

"How to write an eavesdropping scene" on Erick's blog

Reading Critique Group for Writers FB Group (Jennie Komp's group)

3 Bird View FB page (Jennie Komp's business page)

Author XP (marketing for authors) (bi-monthly promotions)

Raven Publicity (publicity for authors)

The Shades of Orange (Rachel, Book Blogger on YouTube) for book recommendations SF/Fantasy/Horror

Contact Erick for business-starting advice or building a website.

Contact Valerie for author coaching.

Thomas Umstattd Jr, at Novel Marketing Podcast. Ep255: How to Create an Email Onboarding Drip Campaign

Russell P. Nohelty and Monica Leonelle's book, Get Your Book Selling on Kickstarter.

Balance meditation app.

• Story Rubric version 1.1 and podcast episode.
• Three Story Method worksheet

Book Recs for writing/creativity/business:

• Fast-Draft Your Memoir (Rachael Herron)

Thinking in Pictures (John Sayles)

Poemcrazy (Susan Goldsmith Wooldridge)

The Art of Dramatic Writing (Lajos Egri)

On Writing (Stephen King)

A Swim in a Pond in the Rain (George Saunders)

Save the Cat! (Blake Snyder)

Writing in Restaurants (David Mamet)

Notable Mention: Story Engineering (Larry Brooks), Running Down a Dream: Your Road Map to Winning Creative Battles (Tim Grahl); Story Hypothesis (J.P. Rindfleisch IX); Three Story Method (J.Thorn and Zach Bohannon); The Anatomy of a Best Seller (Sacha Black)

View Details

Main Topic: Favorite Writing Craft Books (starts at 13:02)

Up to 48% off your first subscription or 20% off one time purchases with code

VALERIE20 at checkout

You can claim it at: https://magicmind.com/VALERIE20

#magicmind #mentalwealth #mentalperformance

PATREON:

Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in our work offline and here in the podcast.

Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan for books, writing instruction, coaching, and planning. Go to Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre.

Segment 1 (Announcements/Author Updates):

• (Valerie) decluttering, pitching conferences, catching up with emails!
• (Erick) client work, reorganizing my life around ghost-writing

What are you reading?

• Valerie: Start Thinking Rich by Brad Klontz and Adrian Brambila; The Turn of the Key (Ruth Ware)
• • (Not ready to give up on them, but struggling to finish them:) Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman; The Year of the Puppy (Alexandra Horowitz) ; The Teller of Small Fortunes Julie Leong

• Erick: The Boy from the Woods (Harlan Coben); looking for cozy fantasy next

• Segment 2 (Resources/Tips/Tidbits):

• Tidbit #1: Moon Lists: Questions and Rituals for Self-Reflection, a Guided Journal by Leigh Patterson

• Tidbit #2:
• Segment 3 (Mindset-Craft-Biz Check):

Segment 4 (Main Topic): Starts at 13:02.

Fast-Draft Your Memoir (Rachael Herron)

Thinking in Pictures (John Sayles)

Poemcrazy (Susan Goldsmith Wooldridge)

The Art of Dramatic Writing (Lajos Egri)

On Writing (Stephen King)

A Swim in a Pond in the Rain (George Saunders)

Save the Cat! (Blake Snyder)

Writing in Restaurants (David Mamet)

Notable Mention: Story Engineering (Larry Brooks), Running Down a Dream: Your Road Map to Winning Creative Battles (Tim Grahl); Story Hypothesis (J.P. Rindfleisch IX); Three Story Method (J.Thorn and Zach Bohannon); The Anatomy of a Best Seller (Sacha Black)

And don't forget: Get 48% off the Magic Mind :

https://magicmind.com/VALERIE20 and use Valerie20 at checkout.

#magicmind #mentalwealth #mentalperformance

Next episode:

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Patreons:

https://patreon.com/valerieihsan

https://patreon.com/strangeairmysteries

Tools:

Passion Planner: https://passionplanner.rfrl.co/e86j8 (affiliate link) Discount Code: VALERIE184

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

View Details

Main Topic: How to Revive Old Project (What About That Trunk Novel?) (at 23:36)

Up to 48% off your first subscription or 20% off one time purchases with code

VALERIE20 at checkout

You can claim it at: https://magicmind.com/VALERIE20

#magicmind #mentalwealth #mentalperformance

PATREON:

Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in our work offline and here in the podcast.

Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan for books, writing instruction, coaching, and planning. Go to Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre.

Segment 1 (Announcements/Author Updates):

• back from Costa Rica; setting a challenge to do something towards the Costa Rica move every day for 30 days. (Valerie)
• reengage Patreon, looking at old short stories and rewriting them (Erick)

What are you reading?

• Valerie: Start Thinking Rich by Brad Klontz and Adrian Brambila
• (Not ready to give up on them, but struggling to finish them:) Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman; The Year of the Puppy (Alexandra Horowitz) ; The Teller of Small Fortunes Julie Leong

• Erick: Thirty-Three Cecils (Everett De Morier)

• Segment 2 (Resources/Tips/Tidbits):

• Tidbit #1: Finding good music to write with/to.

• Tidbit #2:
• Segment 3 (Mindset-Craft-Biz Check):

Segment 4 (Main Topic):

Why did this go in the trunk in the first place?

Stay aware of what's in the trunk.

Pull out the story and re-read it. Remember what I liked about it. Start the rewrite process.

What I don't like about it.

Dog walk to think. Reinvigorate it. Don't open the trunk without intention of finishing it.

Not a failed manuscript; it's an unrealized idea.

And don't forget: Get 48% off the Magic Mind :

https://magicmind.com/VALERIE20 and use Valerie20 at checkout.

#magicmind #mentalwealth #mentalperformance

Next episode:

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Patreons:

https://patreon.com/valerieihsan

https://patreon.com/strangeairmysteries

Tools:

Passion Planner: https://passionplanner.rfrl.co/e86j8 (affiliate link) Discount Code: VALERIE184

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

View Details

Main Topic: Problem Solving in Your Novel (and your life!)

Get 45% off the Magic Mind bundle with with my link:

https://magicmind.com/VALERIEJAN

#magicmind #mentalwealth #mentalperformance

PATREON:

Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in our work offline and here in the podcast.

Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan for books, writing instruction, coaching, and planning. Go to Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre.

Segment 1 (Announcements/Author Updates):

• started thinking about decluttering on a serious level - starting with my office (Valerie)
• writing, finishing things (multiple manuscripts), balancing work and work. ;-) (Erick)

What are you reading?

• Valerie: Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman; The Year of the Puppy (Alexandra Horowitz) ; Once There Were Wolves Charlotte McConaghy; The Teller of Small Fortunes Julie Leong
• The Desire Map (Danielle LaPorte) Start Thinking Rich by Brad Klontz and Adrian Brambila

• Erick: Hampton Heights by Dan Kois; The Eyre Affair Jasper Fforde; The Boy From the Woods Harlan Coben

• Segment 2 (Resources/Tips/Tidbits):

• Tidbit #1: Otter.io FABULOUS. Transcription software. $60/year.

• Tidbit #2: Wheel of Life. Rank your categories. Friends and Family, Significant Other, Personal Growth, Fun and Leisure, Home Environment, Career, Money, Health. Understand what areas need improvement, what areas are being neglected, and start to create balance. What can be worked on next? What needs to happen for the number to increase?
• Tidbit #3: Mental Wealth vs Mental Health. (SAD, anxiety, etc) Almost every book I read now talks about sleep as being the #1 thing for overall health. Wake up every day at same time. (Josh's ADHD/insomnia story). I'm trying it. But changing my time to later. You know I've been taking that Magic Mind performance shot (still am). I was reading a little bit more about their company--they ship internationally so I'll be able to get it in CR.--and they've got these pillars of mental wealth: Sleep. Diet. Exercise. Stress Management. Exogenous Compounds (something created outside of the body): antibiotics, herbal supplements, cigarette smoke, diet, wildfire smoke, etc.I'm doing a lot of work already in most of the pillars .... But sleep. The last thing I work on is listed first.
• Magic Mind has a new mental wealth challenge going on their website, and they've packaged up their mental performance shots (which I'm still drinking in the morning with my coffee and happy lite), along with (for the first time) Sleep Shots. And I've got a link for 45% off in the show notes, of course. So yeah. Sleep. That's one of my 2025 resolutions. And my tidbit. Also, I may be weird, but I don't like naps. So I've really got to get my sleep in order.
• Segment 3 (Mindset-Craft-Biz Check):

Segment 4 (Main Topic): Problem Solving in Your Novel (and your life!)

GROW: Goals, Resources, Obstacles, Way Forward (Use Tarot for this too!)

(author and for character)

1. Something is not right here. Skill to develop. "In service of the story."

2. GROW method.

3. Take the character out of the problem spots in the novel. It's me (the author). "Why are we here? Why did I bring us to this scene?" Transitions and staging. (What is happening between the scenes that I want the reader to know that I'm not writing?)

4. Character Motivation. Mini motivations in service to the bigger motivation.

5. Master class in long term story: Breaking Bad.

And don't forget: Get 45% off the Magic Mind bundle with with my link:

https://magicmind.com/VALERIEJAN

#magicmind #mentalwealth #mentalperformance

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

View Details

Main Topic: End of Year Review

Mental Performance Shot: MagicMind.com/Valerie20 for 20% off one purchase, or up to 48% off monthly subscription. Use code VALERIE20 at checkout.

PATREON:

Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in our work offline and here in the podcast.

Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan for books, writing instruction, coaching, and planning. Go to Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre.

Segment 1 (Announcements/Author Updates):

• Bookstore work, Ali's oral surgery, helping son. (Valerie)
• working/writing (Erick)

What are you reading?

• Valerie: Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman; The Year of the Puppy (Alexandra Horowitz) ;
• The Desire Map (Danielle LaPorte) Start Thinking Rich by Brad Klontz and Adrian Brambila

• Erick: Hampton Heights by Dan Kois

• Segment 2 (Resources/Tips/Tidbits):

• Tidbit #1: hidden organizations; Wordcrafters; Astoria Writers Guild; Read the newsletters! See what others are doing.

• Tidbit #2: Still loving the Magic Mind. Buying a subscription today. So, if you want to try it out, I have a discount code for you. It's for 20% off a one-time purchase, or they have a subscription service, and the code is good for 48% off that. You can go to MagicMind.com/Valerie20 and use the code VALERIE20 to check it out. I'll put the link in the show notes.

Segment 3 (Mindset-Craft-Biz Check):

Segment 4 (Main Topic):

Next episode:

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Patreons:

https://patreon.com/valerieihsan

https://patreon.com/strangeairmysteries

Tools:

Passion Planner: https://passionplanner.rfrl.co/e86j8 (affiliate link) Discount Code: VALERIE184

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

View Details

Main Topic: Self-Doubt

Mental Performance Shot: MagicMind.com/Valerie20 for 20% off one purchase, or up to 48% off monthly subscription. Use code VALERIE20 at checkout.

PATREON:

Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in our work offline and here in the podcast.

Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan for books, writing instruction, coaching, and planning. Go to Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre.

Embracing mistakes and self-doubt. Accept they are real, most accomplished people have it and figure out how to work through it.

Where does it show up? When the world is moving too fast (v) Doing routine things (e) (fear of unexpected unexpectedly happening)

What works: Training? Reframing?

Elizabeth Gilbert (Big Magic) talks about allowing fear in the car with you, but not allowing it to drive.

Tips:

Getting over it is an illusion. Get over it in the moment instead. (On the way to a client, think about seeing a friend. And maybe they are feeling self-doubt. You aren't alone.)

"Please help me to say the thing they need to hear."

Is the job description creating the self-doubt?

Talk to self-doubt out loud.

Next episode:

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Patreons:

https://patreon.com/valerieihsan

https://patreon.com/strangeairmysteries

Tools:

Passion Planner: https://passionplanner.rfrl.co/e86j8 (affiliate link) Discount Code: VALERIE184

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

View Details

Main Topic: Pricing for Author Services (starts at 16:33)

PATREON:

Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in our work offline and here in the podcast.

Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan for books, writing instruction, coaching, and planning. Go to Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre.

Segment 1 (Announcements/Author Updates):

• EMBODY (fit and intuitive) on Patreon. (Valerie)
• writing new short stories from Ghost Story Weekend inspiration (Erick) (got feedback from the participants; all loved it.)
• tying up loose endings (finishing energy at the end of the year); clean slate for my birthday. (Erick) Jan 23rd
• re-thinking Patreon (Erick)

What are you reading?

• Valerie: Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman; The Year of the Puppy (Alexandra Horowitz); A Happy Pocketful of Money (David Cameron Gikandi) The Ministry of Time by Kaliane Bradley; Be Ready When Luck Happens Ina Garten

• Erick: The October Country (Ray Bradbury)(Shout out to local bookstore: Parallel Worlds; NE Portland, OR); Flight of Icarus (Stranger Things prequel book)(Caitlin Schneiderhan) Tom Clancy: Shadow State

• Segment 2 (Resources/Tips/Tidbits):

• Tidbit #1: Brandon McNulty YouTube channel (craft of writing and story)

• Tidbit #2: talking with a friend

Segment 3 (Mindset-Craft-Biz Check):

Segment 4 (Main Topic): Pricing

Epiphany on pricing (E) What we charge for service.

Gig pricing. Are you a fit? What's the work going to be? What charge for project? How much am I (cost) to pay for this?

"What is your budget for this?"

The Dance:

Components of pricing:

Standard pricing:

"Dynamic" pricing (sliding scale in head):

Base line $1/word $7.50/pg.

Standard jobs don't exist.

Editorial rates linked out.

Write in contact: opt-out cause, renegotiate prices.

Rapport, base line (and how much flex on it), build in protection to self.

AI clause in contract?

The scope of work is this:..... If the scope changes during the course of project, we shall renegotiate the contract (including pricing).

Learn how to talk about money and value yourself.

Review each project. Ideal? What went wrong? Did more work than I got paid for?

Interview client when done for testimonials (social proof is enormous).

Next episode:

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Patreons:

https://patreon.com/valerieihsan

https://patreon.com/strangeairmysteries

Tools:

Passion Planner: https://passionplanner.rfrl.co/e86j8 (affiliate link) Discount Code: VALERIE184

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

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Hello Writers and Crafters!

I'm Valerie Ihsan, And I'm Erick Mertz, and this is Episode 171 of the podcast and it's November 20, 2024 as we record this.

Main Topic:

PATREON:

Thank you to new patron Elizabeth Amber from Anchorage, Alaska. THANKS! I appreciate you.

Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in our work offline and here in the podcast.

Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan for books, writing instruction, coaching, and planning. Go to Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre.

Segment 1 (Announcements/Author Updates):

• (Accidental Stranger Book 2 out) Print out NOW! On Amazon.
• https://wordcrafters.org/unlock-the-heart-of-your-memoir/ (Valerie's teaching a class in Eugene, Oregon on Saturday, December 7, 2024; 10am-5pm.)
• EMBODY (fit and intuitive) on Patreon. (Valerie)
• writing new short stories from Ghost Story Weekend inspiration (Erick) (got feedback from the participants; all loved it.)
• tying up loose endings (finishing energy at the end of the year); clean slate for my birthday. (Erick)
• re-thinking Patreon (Erick)

What are you reading?

• Valerie: Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman; The Year of the Puppy (Alexandra Horowitz); A Happy Pocketful of Money (David Cameron Gikandi)

• Erick: The October Country (Ray Bradbury)(Shout out to local bookstore: Parallel Worlds; NE Portland, OR); Flight of Icarus (Stranger Things prequel book)(Caitlin Schneiderhan)

• Segment 2 (Resources/Tips/Tidbits):

• Tidbit #1: Jane Friedman's newsletter The Hot Sheet, amazing information (fundamental)

• Tidbit #2:

Segment 3 (Mindset-Craft-Biz Check):

Segment 4 (Main Topic):

Start with a character, What's your story? (Valerie)

archetypes intrigue/attrack me and do something different than before. (Erick)

theme early on (V);

why this character, why now (E); element of surprise makes it interesting (E); be open to surprise; fully plot out after the brainstorming. Create a structure and continue to pants through it. Invent a thing on the way to something else. Plotting isn't boring. Defy the plot points. If char reacts to a stale moments, it's because you are stale and bored. When stuck (process changes), a day-to-day thing: toss it out if you are rewriting it too much. What are the necessary elements? Straight-forward way. "The scene actually begins here." If it's content and not story, it has to go. Keep changing the container as you right. Know the beats before you sit down. (Erick)

Next episode:

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Patreons:

https://patreon.com/valerieihsan

https://patreon.com/strangeairmysteries

Tools:

Passion Planner: https://passionplanner.rfrl.co/e86j8 (affiliate link) Discount Code: VALERIE184

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

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Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in our work offline and here in the podcast.

Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan for books, writing instruction, coaching, and planning. Go to Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre.

Segment 1 (Announcements/Author Updates):

• (Accidental Stranger Book 2 out) Print out NOW! On Amazon.
• Write in the Harbor (Erick teaching.) (Valerie will be at Write in the Harbor in Gig Harbor, WA this year, too!
• back from Ghost Story Weekend in Rainbow, OR. (Erick)
• https://wordcrafters.org/unlock-the-heart-of-your-memoir/ (Valerie's teaching a class in Eugene, Oregon on Saturday, December 7, 2024; 10am-5pm.)
• EMBODY (fit and intuitive) on Patreon.
• writing new short stories from Ghost Story Weekend inspiration (Erick)
• re-thinking Patreon (Erick)
• (Anne) first book published in April (She Writes Press); next book on September 2025; writing third book; social media IG went viral just from showing off apartment. Tip: do videos/reels.

What are you reading?

• Valerie: Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman; The Year of the Puppy (Alexandra Horowitz) Roland Rogers isn't Dead Yet (Samantha Allen); A Happy Pocketful of Money (David Cameron Gikandi)
• Erick: The October Country (Ray Bradbury) The Great When (Alan Moore) (Shout out to local bookstore: Parallel Worlds; NE Portland, OR); Safe Enough (Lee Child)
• Anne: The Wedding People (Alison Espach); I Hope This Finds You Well (Natalie Sue)

• Segment 2 (Resources/Tips/Tidbits):

• Tidbit #1:

• Tidbit #2:

Segment 3 (Mindset-Craft-Biz Check):

Segment 4 (Main Topic):

Anne Abel

Anne Abel’s story about unwittingly rescuing an aggressive dog, Milo, won a Moth StorySLAM in New York City. She has won two additional Moth StorySLAMs in Chicago. Her credentials include an MFA from The New School for Social Research, an MBA from the University of Chicago, and a BS in chemical engineering from Tufts University. She has freelanced for Lilith; Philadelphia Daily News; The Jewish Exponent; Philadelphia Weekly, Main Line Life and Main Line Today, and formerly wrote a weekly column, “The Homefront,” for Main Line Welcomat. She also taught English and creative writing at the Community College of Philadelphia. Anne lives in New York City with her husband, Andy, and their three rescue dogs, Ryan, Megan, and Chase. She grew up outside Boston, MA.

Suffered from depression and writers block, and start telling stories is what saved her. Following Bruce Springsteen's tour for the structure.

Started writing stories through emails for hours a day.

Storytelling open mic. Worked on seven minute story. 7 minute story framework. MOTH is 5 minutes.

Don't question what comes out.

Positive immediate feedback.

Use story beats. Outline.

Tell myself the story over and over. (Absolute key points.) (Tell them what they don't expect.)

Everyone sees art in a different way.

If Bruce Springsteen was saying, "How do we get through the day?" maybe I can do this.

Australia changed the trajectory of my life.

Blinded by the Light. (Movie about a British-Pakastani teen who discovers Bruce Springsteen's music.)

A lot of courage and connection. The courage led to the connectivity.

"I live outside my comfort zone."

She tried and she tried and she tried. (For my tombstone.)

"I don't let fear stop me."

"What's the worst? Just do it."

anneabelauthor.com (Listen to a couple of Anne's stories from the MOTHSlam.)

Next episode:

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Patreons:

https://patreon.com/valerieihsan

https://patreon.com/strangeairmysteries

Tools:

Passion Planner: https://passionplanner.rfrl.co/e86j8 (affiliate link) Discount Code: VALERIE184

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

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Main Topic: Writing as a Black Woman in the Speculative Fiction World (Main Topic starts at 28:00.)

PATREON:

Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in our work offline and here in the podcast.

Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan for books, writing instruction, coaching, and planning. Go to Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre.

Segment 1 (Announcements/Author Updates):

• (Accidental Stranger Book 2 out) Print out NOW! On Amazon.
• Write in the Harbor (Erick teaching.) (Valerie will be at Write in the Harbor in Gig Harbor, WA this year, too!
• back from Ghost Story Weekend in Rainbow, OR. (Erick)
• https://wordcrafters.org/unlock-the-heart-of-your-memoir/ (Valerie's teaching a class in Eugene, Oregon on Saturday, December 7, 2024; 10am-5pm.)
• EMBODY (fit and intuitive) on Patreon.
• Michele: teaching at NC Writers Network Conference "Bending Reality" (Keynotes: art and creativity unifies and grounds us; What is your Zone of Genius? Create a keynote talk from there.) Book rec: The Big Leap (Hendricks); teaching "Afro-Futurism and the Black Imaginary" class

What are you reading?

• Valerie: Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman; The Year of the Puppy (Alexandra Horowitz) Roland Rogers isn't Dead Yet (Samantha Allen); A Happy Pocketful of Money (David Cameron Gikandi)
• Erick: The October Country (Ray Bradbury) The Great When (Alan Moore) (Shout out to local bookstore: Parallel Worlds; NE Portland, OR)

• Michele: Nalo Hopkinson (Jamaica Ginger and Other Concoctions); How to Be Old (Lyn Slater)

• Segment 2 (Resources/Tips/Tidbits):

• Tidbit #1: Invite the Random into your Storytelling. (Roll the dice.)

Tidbit #2: Eat fries before dinner.

Segment 3 (Mindset-Craft-Biz Check):

Segment 4 (Main Topic):

Dr. Michele Tracy Berger is a professor, an award-winning writer, a creativity coach and a pug-lover. Her main love is writing speculative fiction, though she also is known to write poetry and creative nonfiction, too.

1. Spec fiction definition: ideas that are outside the regular laws of the universe; Margaret Atwood (feminist author used ); sci fi, fantasy, paranormal, horror. Toni Morrison's Beloved is a ghost story (literary). Horror is a feeling (also a genre) (elevated horror, social horror). In social horror, Creatives of Color now write systems of power as the monster in the basement.

2. What challenges do you face? Meet reader's expectations; gatekeepers have changed; a decade of rejections for Doll Seed story; understanding African American literary history (more space now, public ready now for more interesting characters); black women were absent or monstrous in horror media from the 70s and 80s, now there's interest in a rebalance, and an appetite for complex characters, indie pubbing lead the way for this. Trad pub catching up.

"This May Hurt a Bit" (horror podcast)

1. Marketing through this lens: finding a press that resonates with you, being authentic and consistent, IG Live, learning as you go, embrace the work of marketer, watch documentary of Jackie Collins (Lady Boss: The Jackie Collins Story) and Harlan Ellison (Dreams with Sharp Teeth: A Film About a GrandMaster), writers have always had to think about how people find them.

Aunt Lute Press: mood board with intersection of empowered female characters, black readers of spec fiction, how to think about ideal reader ("If you like Octavia Butler, Kelly Link, AND Dean Koontz, you'll love Michele Tracy Berger").

Start with a character, then construct the story and follow the character through. Think about audience in the submission process.

1. Author services:

Write affirmations. Neutral to positive self-talk for writers as a pattern interruptor.

Coaching creatives for 15 years. The Creative Tickle. "Tickle your genius awake."

Specialize in writers interested in mindset work. Online classes. Group coaching.

"More Joy on the Path."

"See the joy in the process."

Next episode:

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Patreons:

https://patreon.com/valerieihsan

https://patreon.com/strangeairmysteries

Tools:

Passion Planner: https://passionplanner.rfrl.co/e86j8 (affiliate link) Discount Code: VALERIE184

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

Resources:

"How to write an eavesdropping scene" on Erick's blog

Reading Critique Group for Writers FB Group (Jennie Komp's group)

3 Bird View FB page (Jennie Komp's business page)

Author XP (marketing for authors) (bi-monthly promotions)

Raven Publicity (publicity for authors)

The Shades of Orange (Rachel, Book Blogger on YouTube) for book recommendations SF/Fantasy/Horror

Contact Erick for business-starting advice or building a website.

Contact Valerie for author coaching.

Thomas Umstattd Jr, at Novel Marketing Podcast. Ep255: How to Create an Email Onboarding Drip Campaign

Russell P. Nohelty and Monica Leonelle's book, Get Your Book Selling on Kickstarter.

Balance meditation app.

• Story Rubric version 1.1 and podcast episode.
• Three Story Method worksheet

Book Recs for writing/creativity/business:

• Thinking in Pictures by John Sayles

• Take Off Your Pants: Outline Your Books for Faster, Better Writing by Libbie Hawker

• Story Hypothesis: A Writer's Guide to Crafting Resonating Stories by JP Rindfleisch IX
• Fast-Draft Your Memoir: Write Your Life Story in 45 Hours by Rachael Herron
• Three Story Method: Foundations in Fiction by J.Thorn and Zach Bohannon
• The Anatomy of a Best Seller by Sacha Black
• Slow Productivity by Cal Newport

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Segment 1 (Announcements/Author Updates):

• (Accidental Stranger Book 2 out) Print out NOW! On Amazon.
• Write in the Harbor (Erick teaching.) (Valerie will be at Write in the Harbor in Gig Harbor, WA this year, too!
• Host of Ghost Story Weekend for Wordcrafters. (Erick)
• print books going forward. wrapping up writing projects, PB out on the 15th of Accidental Stranger (plus prequel), finishing another book in Melville series "Signal Shadow" (Erick)
• https://wordcrafters.org/unlock-the-heart-of-your-memoir/ (Valerie's teaching a class in Eugene, Oregon on Saturday, December 7, 2024; 10am-5pm.)

What are you reading?

• Valerie: Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman; The Year of the Puppy (Alexandra Horowitz)

• Erick: The October Country (Ray Bradbury) The Great When (Alan Moore) (Shout out to local bookstore: Parallel Worlds; NE Portland, OR)

• Segment 2 (Resources/Tips/Tidbits):

• Tidbit #1: Knowing Your Boundaries in Your Work (Erick(

Tidbit #2: Exercise Gives You Energy (Valerie)

Segment 3 (Mindset-Craft-Biz Check):

Segment 4 (Main Topic): Foster Curiosity:

*moment of inspiration comes

what do you do when you get the idea?

don't memorialize the idea too fast (set in stone), instead, live with it. See how long I can tease it out.

Practice keeping the idea flowing. Live in the possible for as long as I can. Gather the what ifs.

Then download the ideas. Lose some of the ideas, but learned to trust the leaves that fall off.

Learn by playing. See yourself in the story and feel bigger.

Usually happens when not at home.

Next episode: Guest Michelle Berger Tracy on Being a Black Woman in the Speculative Fiction

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Patreons:

https://patreon.com/valerieihsan

https://patreon.com/strangeairmysteries

Tools:

Passion Planner: https://passionplanner.rfrl.co/e86j8 (affiliate link) Discount Code: VALERIE184

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

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Segment 1 (Announcements/Author Updates):

• (Accidental Stranger Book 2 out) Print out NOW! On Amazon.
• Write in the Harbor (Erick teaching.) (Valerie will be at Write in the Harbor in Gig Harbor, WA this year, too!
• Host of Ghost Story Weekend for Wordcrafters. (Erick)
• print books going forward. wrapping up writing projects, PB out on the 15th of Accidental Stranger (plus prequel), finishing another book in Melville series "Signal Shadow" (Erick)
• met my client deadline, squeezed in some self-care, worked an extra shift at the bookstore, a lot of social time with my son and various friends (catching up), used ChatGPT4yo to help with a workshop description I needed to turn in--their name is Echo, signed up for a 14-day trial Class Pass and signed up for something almost every day. I'm both excited and dreading it. (Valerie)

What are you reading?

• Valerie: Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman; The Book of Witching (CJ Cooke)

• Erick: The October Country (Ray Bradbury) The Great When (Alan Moore)

• Segment 2 (Resources/Tips/Tidbits):

• Tidbit #1: Squibler (AI for Writers); tool for outline ideas, for plot holes, idea generator, lets you save things in files.

Tidbit #2: If you aren't an early adopter (I'm not?), then start using A.I. as you need it. We're all creative. We can find creative ways of using it in our business. Starting using it with Pro-Writing Aid (affiliate link in the show notes), or using the free version of ChatGPT to get copywriting done. Like book blurbs, ad copy, workshop descriptions, sometimes you can even get a book summary if it's an older book. Finding book comps. My A.I. Assistant is super nice.

Segment 3 (Mindset-Craft-Biz Check):

Segment 4 (Main Topic): Starts at 19:14 on the video.

Next episode:

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Patreons:

https://patreon.com/valerieihsan

https://patreon.com/strangeairmysteries

Tools:

Passion Planner: https://passionplanner.rfrl.co/e86j8 (affiliate link) Discount Code: VALERIE184

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

View Details

Segment 1 (Announcements/Author Updates):

• (Accidental Stranger Book 2 out)
• Write in the Harbor (Erick teaching.) (Valerie will be at Write in the Harbor in Gig Harbor, WA this year, too!
• Host of Ghost Story Weekend for Wordcrafters. (Erick)
• wrapping up writing projects, PB out on the 15th of Accidental Stranger (plus prequel), finishing another book in Melville series "Signal Shadow" (Erick)
• client work (Valerie)

What are you reading?

• Valerie: Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman; The Life Impossible (Matt Haig) The Book of Witching (CJ Cooke)

• Erick: The Color of Magic (Terry Pratchett) The October Country (Ray Bradbury)

• Segment 2 (Resources/Tips/Tidbits):

• Tidbit #1: Locus magazine (sci/fi and fantasy) FANTASTIC

Tidbit #2: Query Manager (filtering, but not totally accurate--check the agent's website)

Segment 3 (Mindset-Craft-Biz Check): A previous guest said Erick and I reminded her of being on a morning radio show. I brought up the sitcom "Community," with the "Troy and Abed in the morning" tagline, and CRICKETS. Ha! Here's what I mean: https://images.app.goo.gl/rG9fff2Xko9PSAQMA

Segment 4 (Main Topic): Starts at 20:40

Can nudge an agent about submission after 6-8 weeks.

Why are you going?

Networking, learning something, building relationships, clients, creating community, make fans, building confidence,

"If you plant bulbs today, you get flowers in May."

Why don't they reach out?

Conference Buddy

Set Boundaries for yourself, and be aware of other's boundaries.

Need for brevity in questions, pitches, and elevator pitches.

Next episode:

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Patreons:

https://patreon.com/valerieihsan

https://patreon.com/strangeairmysteries

Tools:

Passion Planner: https://passionplanner.rfrl.co/e86j8 (affiliate link) Discount Code: VALERIE184

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

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Main Topic: Jeanne Blasberg, Story Retellings (starts at 21:39 on video)

PATREON:

Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in our work offline and here in the podcast.

Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan for books, writing instruction, coaching, and planning. Go to Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre.

Segment 1 (Announcements/Author Updates):

• (Accidental Stranger Book 2 out)
• SWWC and Write in the Harbor (Erick teaching.) (Valerie will be at Write in the Harbor in Gig Harbor, WA this year, too! And also speaking at Alaska Writers Guild conference in Anchorage in October.)
• Host of Ghost Story Weekend for Wordcrafters. (Erick)
• writing, working on print version of Accidental Stranger, rewriting next Strange Air novel, client biz. (Erick)
• client work, getting ready for conference next weekend. (Valerie)

What are you reading?

• Valerie: Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman; The Horse (Willy Vlautin); We Should All Be Millionaires: A Woman's Guide to Earning More, Building Wealth, and Gaining Economic Power (Rachel Rodgers)
• Erick: The United States of Cryptids: A Tour of American Myths and Monsters (J.W. Ocker)

Jeanne Blasberg's reads:

Land Rich, Cash Poor: My Family's Hope and the Untold History of the Disappearing American Farmer (Brian Reisinger)

Entitlement (Rumaan Alam)

• Segment 2 (Resources/Tips/Tidbits):

• Tidbit #1: Six-Week Writing From Your Body workshop (author Anna Willman)--starts September 28 -- $40 per session or discounted rate for all six. They always work with individuals to make their workshops accessible to all. Focusinginternational.org Writing from your body FII workshop

Tidbit #2: Squibler (new writing organizer); Knowing what your boundaries are is key. I get to say what I do.

Tidbit #3: Chris Frizzell (Frizz Lit) Book club of the classic, chapter by chapter, funny host

Segment 3 (Mindset-Craft-Biz Check):

Segment 4 (Main Topic): Jeanne Blasberg is an award-winning and bestselling author and essayist. Her novel The Nine (SWP 2019) was honored with the 2019 Foreword Indies Gold Award in Thriller & Suspense and the Gold Medal and Juror’s Choice in the 2019 National Indie Excellence Awards. Eden (SWP 2017), her debut, won the Benjamin Franklin Silver Award for Best New Voice in Fiction and was a finalist for the Sarton Women’s Book Award for Historical Fiction. Her forthcoming novel, Daughter of a Promise (SWP, April 2, 2024) is a modern retelling of the legend of David and Bathsheba, completing the thematic trilogy she began with Eden and The Nine.

Jeanne cochairs the board of the Boston Book Festival and serves on the Executive Committee of GrubStreet, one of the country’s preeminent creative writing centers. Jeanne was named a Southampton Writer’s Conference BookEnds Fellow in April 2021. She reviews contemporary fiction for the New York Journal of Books, When not in New England, she splits her time between Park City, UT, and growing organic vegetables in Verona, Wisconsin.

Jeanne Blasberg

Daughter of a Promise

Retellings: def -- not side story (that's its own genre) -- have the events from the original tellings (same or parallel); reimagined in different setting; make things contemporary and relevant. Not a 'diss' on the original. Opportunity to retell is a fun journey for reader and author. Plots are familiar (off-beat romance, forbidden relationship, etc), can insert or end story at a different point. In conversation with other works.

Only so many plots, we process our lives with story. Not derivative.

Our human struggle has really never changed. The setting has, but universal truths haven't. As a species, have we really made much progress?

Take plot, make modern day, explore the relationships.

Do the research of retellings (all) already written first. Find what hasn't been said. Why are you telling this version? What questions exist? Why are you driven to write about it?

Follow your why's? What story has you still thinking about it? Follow your curiosity. This is the ultimate fan fiction. What are you obsessed with?

What are you wanting to say with this retelling?

"Inspired by" -- have permission to make these stories our own.

Insert our own thoughts and conversation with this art.

Art evolves this way. Museums hold many variations of the Virgin Mary. For instance.

License to play with it.

What about exposing yourself to the "scholars" and experts response?

Interest and curiosity is the response. Tip: Don't feel like anything is out of bounds for you. Just do it well. You are allowed to do it. If it lights you up, I think you should do it.

If you've triggered someone, clearly you've done it right.

@jeanneblasbergauthor

Constantly Curating on Substack (writing and farming)

Sonic Branding (link TBD)

Next episode:

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Patreons:

https://patreon.com/valerieihsan

https://patreon.com/strangeairmysteries

Tools:

Passion Planner: https://passionplanner.rfrl.co/e86j8 (affiliate link) Discount Code: VALERIE184

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

Resources:

"How to write an eavesdropping scene" on Erick's blog

Reading Critique Group for Writers FB Group (Jennie Komp's group)

3 Bird View FB page (Jennie Komp's business page)

Author XP (marketing for authors) (bi-monthly promotions)

Raven Publicity (publicity for authors)

The Shades of Orange (Rachel, Book Blogger on YouTube) for book recommendations SF/Fantasy/Horror

Contact Erick for business-starting advice or building a website.

Contact Valerie for author coaching.

Thomas Umstattd Jr, at Novel Marketing Podcast. Ep255: How to Create an Email Onboarding Drip Campaign

Russell P. Nohelty and Monica Leonelle's book, Get Your Book Selling on Kickstarter.

Balance meditation app.

• Story Rubric version 1.1 and podcast episode.
• Three Story Method worksheet

Book Recs for writing/creativity/business:

• Thinking in Pictures by John Sayles

• Take Off Your Pants: Outline Your Books for Faster, Better Writing by Libbie Hawker

• Story Hypothesis: A Writer's Guide to Crafting Resonating Stories by JP Rindfleisch IX
• Fast-Draft Your Memoir: Write Your Life Story in 45 Hours by Rachael Herron
• Three Story Method: Foundations in Fiction by J.Thorn and Zach Bohannon
• The Anatomy of a Best Seller by Sacha Black
• Slow Productivity by Cal Newport

View Details

Main Topic: Welcome to Season 5

PATREON:

Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in our work offline and here in the podcast.

Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan for books, writing instruction, coaching, and planning. Go to Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre.

Segment 1 (Announcements/Author Updates):

• Three Story Method: Writing How-To Books out now.
• Focus and Finish: Goal-Setting and Strategic Planning for Writers (First in Series; out now.)
• Black Springs Saga Book 1 out now (it's the prequel) 99 cents (Accidental Stranger Book 2 preorder this coming week)
• SWWC and Write in the Harbor (Erick teaching.) (Valerie will be at Write in the Harbor in Gig Harbor, WA this year, too! And also speaking at Alaska Writers Guild conference in Anchorage in October.)
• Host of Ghost Story Weekend for Wordcrafters. (Erick)
• submitting stories, client biz, new ad campaign. Working on next novel. (Erick)
• finishing 2024 retreat (Valerie)
• upcoming: courses, new novel (Valerie)

What are you reading?

• Valerie: Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman; The Horse (Willy Vlautin) The Universe Has Your Back (Gabrielle Bernstein)
• Erick: The Tusks of Extinction (Ray Nayler), The Glass Hotel (Emily St. John Mandel)

• Segment 2 (Resources/Tips/Tidbits):

• Tidbit #1: Six-Week Writing From Your Body workshop (author Anna Willman)--starts September 28 -- $40 per session or discounted rate for all six. They always work with individuals to make their workshops accessible to all. Focusinginternational.org There is a free introductory workshop (one hour) on Saturday, September 14 at 7:00 a.m. pacific Writing from your body FII workshop

Tidbit #2: Open rate and engagement rate on mailing list is more important than the size of the mailing list.

Segment 3 (Mindset-Craft-Biz Check):

Segment 4 (Main Topic):

Next episode: Jeanne Blasberg on Story Retellings

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Patreons:

https://patreon.com/valerieihsan

https://patreon.com/strangeairmysteries

Tools:

Passion Planner: https://passionplanner.rfrl.co/e86j8 (affiliate link) Discount Code: VALERIE184

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

Resources:

"How to write an eavesdropping scene" on Erick's blog

Reading Critique Group for Writers FB Group (Jennie Komp's group)

3 Bird View FB page (Jennie Komp's business page)

Author XP (marketing for authors) (bi-monthly promotions)

Raven Publicity (publicity for authors)

The Shades of Orange (Rachel, Book Blogger on YouTube) for book recommendations SF/Fantasy/Horror

Contact Erick for business-starting advice or building a website.

Contact Valerie for author coaching.

Thomas Umstattd Jr, at Novel Marketing Podcast. Ep255: How to Create an Email Onboarding Drip Campaign

Russell P. Nohelty and Monica Leonelle's book, Get Your Book Selling on Kickstarter.

Balance meditation app.

• Story Rubric version 1.1 and podcast episode.
• Three Story Method worksheet

Book Recs for writing/creativity/business:

• Thinking in Pictures by John Sayles

• Take Off Your Pants: Outline Your Books for Faster, Better Writing by Libbie Hawker

• Story Hypothesis: A Writer's Guide to Crafting Resonating Stories by JP Rindfleisch IX
• Fast-Draft Your Memoir: Write Your Life Story in 45 Hours by Rachael Herron
• Three Story Method: Foundations in Fiction by J.Thorn and Zach Bohannon
• The Anatomy of a Best Seller by Sacha Black
• Slow Productivity by Cal Newport

View Details

Announcements:

• 2024 Writer Craft Writing Retreat and Workshop registration open; https://valerieihsan.com/retreat (Day Passes $400) I've got four spaces left. I have decided that because of the Costa Rica move next year, I will NOT be having a retreat in 2025. So, if you've been on the fence, NOW is the time to make the decision to purchase a ticket for this month.
• Part of my Burnout Recovery Series on Patreon now includes the addition of The Artist's Way. I'll be hosting a "Creative Cluster" via Zoom, starting Aug 8, (tomorrow!) Thursday, 10am-noon Pacific. It's a 12 week program only for my patrons, so go over and pick out any of the tiers. You'd need to attend live for how the sharing and caring is done, and there will not be replays. Instead, for those that can't attend live, I'll be posting in the Patron Community about my growth and inviting you to share yours in the comments. What's your experience with The Artist's Way?
• Three Story Method: Writing How-To Books out now.
• Focus and Finish: Goal-Setting and Strategic Planning for Writers (First in Series; out now.)
• Black Springs Saga Book 1 out now (it's the prequel) 99 cents (Accidental Stranger Book 2 preorder this coming week)
• SWWC and Write in the Harbor (Erick teaching.) (Valerie will be at Write on the Sound in Gig Harbor, WA this year, too! And also speaking at Alaska Writers Guild conference in Anchorage in October.)
• Host of Ghost Story Weekend for Wordcrafters. (Erick)

Author Update:

Erick:

• Valerie:
• getting ready for the retreat

• Working with my Burnout Recovery plan; Updates through my Patreon page.

• I'm reading: Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman and Welcome to the Hyunam-Dong Bookshop by Huang Bo-Reum.

• Just finished:

• A Certain Kind of Starlight by Heather Webber.

• Thunder Song by Sasha taqŵšeblu LaPointe

• The Entire Sky by Joe Wilkins

Erick:

Becky is reading: Annie Ernaux's "A Woman's Story" and "A Man's Place"

Notes:

Main Topic starts at: 11:42

Becky Ellis is a Timberwolf Pup. The

daughter of a highly decorated

World War II combat sergeant, she

is a veteran of a war fought at home. She earned a BA

in English Literature at UC Berkeley and has over

twenty years of experience in the publishing industry.

She teaches writing in Portland, Oregon, where she

lives, plays, and has raised three daughters. Little

Avalanches is her debut memoir. https://instagram.com/beckyellisauthor

Won Rubery Book Award 2024.

1. Did you yoga or write first? Yoga came first. Part of the process of getting into my body. Writers live in our heads. Yoga kept me body aware. Start feel yourself. Accesses to feel your feelings. Access internal world in more embodied way. Bad Acting = Facial Expressions. Get on the Body. Get off the face. Exercise: close eyes and feel everything.

2. How did writing impact your healing? Transformational impact as a person. Understanding my father, saw them separate from me. See myself for the first time. Writing from the child's perspective. A lot of inner-child work. Consciously explore my own reasons for doing what. Study of the self = memoir. Putting your characters IN the story. Concrete sensory details. Have access to that place.

3. Talk a little about the fears memoirists have around writing about their family. Any tips or guidelines? And how does that feed into breaking cycles of silence and secret-keeping?

So important to get the stories on the page. Be a Just God on the page. Give everyone their reasons for doing what they did. Take a step back, and ask Why they did it. Shifts out of victimhood. People want to be seen and felt. Everyone was totally fine with it. Take time to figure out why they did it.

1. Your media kit mentions Trauma Bounce (bouncing back from the trauma). What should we be on the lookout for when writing and getting retriggered? Spent half the time crying. Strategies: therapy while writing, yoga, find safety where you can.

Exercise for memoirists: Highlight all the exposition. Get rid of all the the exposition and repetition. You can thread it back in afterwards.

5 How can wisdom come through action? Show it in the character arc, actions at end of story different than at the beginning.

So many objects in rough drafts. Use them for metaphor. Don't mine your life, mine your page.

Positive side to trauma. Try and try and try. "If you quit, you'll die." Train to survive. Feel so powerful in the end.

Writing to be in service to the reader. What are we in service to? The reader. What psychological practice can we share with the reader?

Structure of book to manipulating reader's emotions.

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

View Details

Announcements:

• 2024 Writer Craft Writing Retreat and Workshop registration open; https://valerieihsan.com/retreat (Day Passes $400) I've got four spaces left.

• Burnout Recovery Series on Patreon, and part of my recovery is the addition of The Artist's Way. I'll be hosting a creative cluster via Zoom, starting Aug 8, Thursday, 10am-noon Pacific. It's a 12 week program, AND a bonus cluster meeting next week on the 1st to go over the intro and basic tools. Only for my patrons, so go over and pick out a tier. You'd need to attend live for how the sharing and caring is done, and there will not be replays. Instead, for those that can't attend live, I'll be posting in the Patron Community about my growth and inviting you to share yours in the comments. What's your experience with The Artist's Way?

• I'm reading: Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman. And A Certain Kind of Starlight by Heather Webber.

• Thunder Song by Sasha taqŵšeblu LaPointe

• The Entire Sky by Joe Wilkins

View Details

PATREON:

Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in our work offline and here in the podcast.

Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan for books, writing instruction, coaching, and planning. Go to Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre.

Announcements:

• 2024 Writer Craft Writing Retreat and Workshop registration open; https://valerieihsan.com/retreat (Day Passes $400)
• Three Story Method: Writing How-To Books out now.
• Focus and Finish: Goal-Setting and Strategic Planning for Writers (First in Series; out now.)
• Black Springs Saga Book 1 out now (it's the prequel) 99 cents (Accidental Stranger Book 2 preorder this coming week)
• SWWC and Write in the Harbor (Erick teaching.) (Valerie will be at Write in the Harbor this year, too!)
• Host of Ghost Story Weekend for Wordcrafters. (Erick)

Author Update:

Erick:

• Valerie:
• back much better (still stiff) and knee improving, but slow; seeing the need to focus on my health needs (physical and mental)
• speaking Alaska Writers Guild conference in Anchorage in October and Write on the Sound in Gig Harbor, WA in November.

• Working with my Burnout Recovery plan; Updates through my Patreon page.

• I'm reading:

• (Gina's Reads) "But Everyone Feels This Way" Paige Layle - memoir on autism diagnosis; "Quit" Annie Duke

• Thunder Song by Sasha taqŵšeblu LaPointe

• The Entire Sky by Joe Wilkins

Erick:

Notes:

Main Topic starts at 17:25.

https://ginasoldano.com/author-spotlight-valerie-ihsan/ (Valerie's Author Spotlight feature on Gina's blog)

Getting to the Heart of Why We Write (Gina's podcast)

The Curious Compassionate (marketing podcast for children's books) with currated booklist

Nia's Rescue Box (50% of profits go to Colorado Food Rescue)

Food Rescue U.S. (national)

Noise cancelling headphones

Writing short

Organized folders in Google and date every document (DATETitle.docx)

Type with thumbs.

Know what project I'm working on.

Think about it first (a lot).

Leave the sentence open (notes for rest of scene).

Prefer writing memoir or essays and middle-grade fantasy (faves), but picture books are easy right now for those stolen moments.

Writing in multiple genres not a choice. Have stories and ideas in brain. Have to get them out. Direction of energy is career and curiosity led. Focusing on picture book and middle grade (rather than memoir and novels) right now.

Would like to be more focused in my direction: querying and direct submissions.

Drafting emails and query moments during the screaming moments. Admin on laptop at couch.

Things that work for me:

Grace. Bullet journaling. Lists on post-it notes, less stressful to move the list than rewriting the list on a new day.

Daydreaming and stickers.

The Practice by Seth Godin (Your work needs to rhyme with itself.)

Ginasoldano.com

Podcast, all the socials, IG @gina.soldano, Substack, (check out new Core Connected Marketing/Substack)

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Patreons:

https://patreon.com/valerieihsan

https://patreon.com/strangeairmysteries

Tools:

Passion Planner: https://passionplanner.rfrl.co/e86j8 (affiliate link) Discount Code: VALERIE150

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

Resources:

"How to write an eavesdropping scene" on Erick's blog

Reading Critique Group for Writers FB Group (Jennie Komp's group)

3 Bird View FB page (Jennie Komp's business page)

Author XP (marketing for authors) (bi-monthly promotions)

Raven Publicity (publicity for authors)

The Shades of Orange (Rachel, Book Blogger on YouTube) for book recommendations SF/Fantasy/Horror

Contact Erick for business-starting advice or building a website.

Contact Valerie for author coaching.

Thomas Umstattd Jr, at Novel Marketing Podcast. Ep255: How to Create an Email Onboarding Drip Campaign

Russell P. Nohelty and Monica Leonelle's book, Get Your Book Selling on Kickstarter.

Balance meditation app.

• Story Rubric version 1.1 and podcast episode.
• Three Story Method worksheet

Book Recs for writing/creativity/business:

• Thinking in Pictures by John Sayles

• Take Off Your Pants: Outline Your Books for Faster, Better Writing by Libbie Hawker

• Story Hypothesis: A Writer's Guide to Crafting Resonating Stories by JP Rindfleisch IX
• Fast-Draft Your Memoir: Write Your Life Story in 45 Hours by Rachael Herron
• Three Story Method: Foundations in Fiction by J.Thorn and Zach Bohannon
• The Anatomy of a Best Seller by Sacha Black
• Slow Productivity by Cal Newport

View Details

Listener comment: suggestion to timestamp if the video is about a specific thing (Main Topic starts at 24:58)

Announcements:

• PNW inspired horror caretakerpress@gmail.com; Submissions closed. Reading stories now.
• 2024 Writer Craft Writing Retreat and Workshop registration open; https://valerieihsan.com/retreat (Day Passes $400)
• Three Story Method: Writing How-To Books out now.
• Focus and Finish: Goal-Setting and Strategic Planning for Writers (First in Series; out now.)
• Black Springs Saga Book 1 out now (it's the prequel) 99 cents (Accidental Stranger Book 2 preorder this coming week)
• SWWC and Write in the Harbor (Erick teaching.) (Valerie will be at Write in the Harbor this year, too!)
• Host of Ghost Story Weekend for Wordcrafters. (Erick)
• featured on KBOO radio (link coming soon)

Author Update:

Erick:

• launched new book series (Black Springs Saga)
• writing and client work
• list of short stories for the summer
• Valerie:
• back much better (still stiff) and knee improving, but slow (ultrasound tomorrow); seeing the need to focus on my health needs (physical and mental)
• speaking Alaska Writers Guild conference in Anchorage in October and Write on the Sound in Gig Harbor, WA in November.

• Working with my Burnout Recovery plan; Updates through my Patreon page.

• I'm reading:

• Thunder Song by Sasha taqŵšeblu LaPointe

• In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware
• The Manor House Governess by C.A. Castle

Erick:

• Cold Victory by Karl Marlantes
• You Like it Darker Stephen King
• Anders Fager "Grandma's Journey" Swedish Cults (HP Lovecraft on acid)

Notes:

Imagery can be intimidating if you think it has to be beautiful, flowery, lurid, prose. Think more realistic expectations.

It's a tool. Imagery as tone setting. Character interacting with environment. Relevant to the action. More vivid images.

Use concrete sensory images to "explain" feelings.

Get unique with imagery. Use different senses besides visual.

Layer senses. Work in reverse in heightened scenes (tactile first?). Maximize effect. Cinematic thing. Sound cue, reaction cue, visual cue.

Cliches come from not having a grasp of a moment or character when use simile. Remember to use character's POV, not yours. Metaphor is more powerful than simile, often. Imagery progresses from simile to metaphor (personal style choice), character development. Using the old comparisons to make sense of the new thing, but as they continue exploring the new, it becomes more metaphor than simile.

The movie in my head will always be different than the reader's movie.

Set up imagery so the reader is allowed to watch their own movie.

Co-create with your reader.

Find the balance. Fresh but familiar.

Imagery can be (should be?) intentional. Happy accidents. ;-) What's new and unique? How can I riff on that?

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

View Details

Main Topic: Discovery Writing with KimBoo York

PATREON:

Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in our work offline and here in the podcast.

Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan for books, writing instruction, coaching, and planning. Go to Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre.

Announcements:

• PNW inspired horror caretakerpress@gmail.com; Submissions closed. Reading stories now.
• Garden Home Community Library Writers Series "Self Publishing Success" June 25 gardenhomelibrary.org
• 2024 Writer Craft Writing Retreat and Workshop registration open; https://valerieihsan.com/retreat (Day Passes $400)
• Three Story Method: Writing How-To Books out now.
• Focus and Finish: Goal-Setting and Strategic Planning for Writers (First in Series)
• Focus and Finish Group Coaching Cohort
• Black Springs Saga Book 1 out now (it's the prequel) 99 cents (Accidental Stranger Book 2 preorder this coming week)

Author Update:

Erick:

• launched new book series (Black Springs Saga)
• June 21st, Importance of Telling Your Story. 90.7 FM KBOO Erick 9am-10am
• frustrated with the stories coming in (writers are not listening to submission requirements)
• Valerie:
• injured, humping along
• speaking Alaska Writers Guild conference in October

• Moose's Tooth Pizza (Erick recommends I eat there.)

• I'm reading:

• Thunder Song by Sasha taqŵšeblu LaPointe

Erick:

• Cold Victory by Karl Marlantes

KimBoo York is reading: Nirvana in Fire (English translation) (This is the graphic novel/manga version.)

Notes:

Writing fan fiction helped [KimBoo] come into her own voice and writing process.

Discovery writing is a technique.

Leaning into your curiosity.

Writing into the Dark (Dean Wesley Smith)

Can intuitive writers use it?

Dear Writer, Are you intuitive? Becca Syme.

Instinct comes in.

Study and practice = intuition

Discovery writers lean on intuition heavily. New writers may have a hard time with discovery writing until they practice.

After one million words, you will discover your writing style.

Discovery writing as improve "Yes And" -- leaning on knowledge.

Not free association writing. Writing into your curiosity (guard rails, not stream of consciousness). Going on the journey with the character.

Don't get stuck on what "should" happen. Just follow the curve as it goes around.

Start small. Practice.

Discovery writing before the page (Erick).

Write out of order.

Reverse story beats, reverse outline.

How can you use this in nonfiction or blog posts and essays?

YES. A different process.

Nonfiction: Start with the introduction. Choose sentences to pull out as a section header. Move things around in manuscript for flow. Writing it out is what helps her (KimBoo) understand the organization.

First draft or second is not the finished product.

Do this with your marketing! Take two days to do it and stay curious.

Stay curious until it's done.

Purposely leave holes so readers will be curious and explore.

Plug: houseofyork.info

By the Seat of Your Pants: Secrets of Discovery Writing

One Million Words Club on Discord (productivity, mindset)

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Writer Craft Facebook Group

Valerie’s Services: https://valerieihsan.com

Valerie’s Author Site: https://valerieihsanauthor.com

Valerie’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

Erick’s Services: https://erickmertzwriting.com

Erick’s free book on Ghostwriting: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/cexki4kp5n

Erick’s Author Site: https://erickmertzauthor.com

Erick’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

Patreons:

https://patreon.com/valerieihsan

https://patreon.com/strangeairmysteries

Tools:

Passion Planner: https://passionplanner.rfrl.co/e86j8 (affiliate link) Discount Code: VALERIE150

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

Resources:

"How to write an eavesdropping scene" on Erick's blog

Reading Critique Group for Writers FB Group (Jennie Komp's group)

3 Bird View FB page (Jennie Komp's business page)

Author XP (marketing for authors) (bi-monthly promotions)

Raven Publicity (publicity for authors)

The Shades of Orange (Rachel, Book Blogger on YouTube) for book recommendations SF/Fantasy/Horror

Contact Erick for business-starting advice or building a website.

Contact Valerie for author coaching.

Thomas Umstattd Jr, at Novel Marketing Podcast. Ep255: How to Create an Email Onboarding Drip Campaign

Russell P. Nohelty and Monica Leonelle's book, Get Your Book Selling on Kickstarter.

Balance meditation app.

• Story Rubric version 1.1 and podcast episode.
• Three Story Method worksheet

Book Recs for writing/creativity/business:

Thinking in Pictures by John Sayles

• Take Off Your Pants: Outline Your Books for Faster, Better Writing by Libbie Hawker
• Story Hypothesis: A Writer's Guide to Crafting Resonating Stories by JP Rindfleisch IX
• Fast-Draft Your Memoir: Write Your Life Story in 45 Hours by Rachael Herron
• Three Story Method: Foundations in Fiction by J.Thorn and Zach Bohannon
• The Anatomy of a Best Seller by Sacha Black
• Slow Productivity by Cal Newport

View Details

Main Topic: Using Tropes to Avoid Writer's Block

PATREON:

Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in our work offline and here in the podcast.

Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan for books, writing instruction, coaching, and planning. Go to Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre.

Announcements:

• PNW inspired horror caretakerpress@gmail.com; Submissions closed.
• Garden Home Community Library Writers Series "Self Publishing Success" June 25 gardenhomelibrary.org
• 2024 Writer Craft Writing Retreat and Workshop registration open; https://valerieihsan.com/retreat
• Three Story Method: Writing How-To Books out now.
• Focus and Finish: Goal-Setting and Strategic Planning for Writers (First in Series)
• Exploring Imagery in Creative Nonfiction
• Black Springs Saga Book 1 out now (it's the prequel) 99 cents

Author Update:

Erick:

• launched new book series (Black Springs Saga)
• Valerie:

• new class good (planning on repurposing the content)

• I'm reading:

• Crow Talk by Eileen Garvin

• Thunder Song by Sasha taqŵšeblu LaPointe

Erick:

• The Manitou by Graham Masterton

Notes:

Use the tropes to get started.

The obligatory scenes are already outlined for you.

You can definitely make it your own. It's not cheating.

Read in your genre. Understand the tropes in your genre. (Deconstruct books you love so you can learn to write that way. Read: The Anatomy of a Best Seller by Sacha Black.

Make an Id List to discover your favorite tropes.

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Writer Craft Facebook Group

Valerie’s Services: https://valerieihsan.com

Valerie’s Author Site: https://valerieihsanauthor.com

Valerie’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

Erick’s Services: https://erickmertzwriting.com

Erick’s free book on Ghostwriting: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/cexki4kp5n

Erick’s Author Site: https://erickmertzauthor.com

Erick’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

Patreons:

https://patreon.com/valerieihsan

https://patreon.com/strangeairmysteries

Tools:

Passion Planner: https://passionplanner.rfrl.co/e86j8 (affiliate link) Discount Code: VALERIE150

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

Resources:

"How to write an eavesdropping scene" on Erick's blog

Reading Critique Group for Writers FB Group (Jennie Komp's group)

3 Bird View FB page (Jennie Komp's business page)

Author XP (marketing for authors) (bi-monthly promotions)

Raven Publicity (publicity for authors)

The Shades of Orange (Rachel, Book Blogger on YouTube) for book recommendations SF/Fantasy/Horror

Contact Erick for business-starting advice or building a website.

Contact Valerie for author coaching.

Thomas Umstattd Jr, at Novel Marketing Podcast. Ep255: How to Create an Email Onboarding Drip Campaign

Russell P. Nohelty and Monica Leonelle's book, Get Your Book Selling on Kickstarter.

Balance meditation app.

• Story Rubric version 1.1 and podcast episode.
• Three Story Method worksheet

Book Recs for writing/creativity/business:

Thinking in Pictures by John Sayles

• Take Off Your Pants: Outline Your Books for Faster, Better Writing by Libbie Hawker
• Story Hypothesis: A Writer's Guide to Crafting Resonating Stories by JP Rindfleisch IX
• Fast-Draft Your Memoir: Write Your Life Story in 45 Hours by Rachael Herron
• Three Story Method: Foundations in Fiction by J.Thorn and Zach Bohannon
• The Anatomy of a Best Seller by Sacha Black
• Slow Productivity by Cal Newport

View Details

PATREON:

Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in our work offline and here in the podcast.

Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan for books, writing instruction, coaching, and planning. Go to Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre.

Announcements:

• PNW inspired horror caretakerpress@gmail.com; Submissions open until stories filled, or May 31st.
• 2024 Writer Craft Writing Retreat and Workshop registration open; https://valerieihsan.com/retreat
• Three Story Method: Writing How-To Books out now.
• Focus and Finish: Goal-Setting and Strategic Planning for Writers (First in Series)
• Exploring Imagery in Creative Nonfiction
• Submissions class June 25th in Portland area. Link TBA. (Taught by Erick.)

Patron comment:

Comments/email from listeners:

Questions from listeners:

Author Update:

Erick:

• prepping for new class

• launched new book series (Black Springs Saga)

• went camping with son (Cub Scouts)
• writing new story (TV pilot) (using as a sample for ghostwriting website)
• Valerie:
• started teaching new class
• mastermind helping me make some decisions
• getting ready for LeslieSophia
• changing website to streamline and point to coach

• I'm reading:

• Crow Talk by Eileen Garvin

• Thunder Song by Sasha taqŵšeblu LaPointe

Erick:

• Werewolf anthology
• Ten Things I Learned from Bill Porter by Shelly Brady
• HT to Survive a Garden Gnome Attack by Chuck Sambuchino
• Homicide (GN based on The Wire) by David Simon
• One Tough Mother by Gert Boyle

Notes:

Single use content is labor intensive.

Blog --> YT video, marketing material on various sites, podcast talking points.

Podcast episode --> YT video, social media, newsletter, public newsletter.

Think about the purpose of the work you do. Harmonious message. Expert in field.

Different video lengths serve different scenarios for your audience.

Takes more than one time before they click on your content and engage with you.

Look at HOW to use it, and where.

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Writer Craft Facebook Group

Valerie’s Services: https://valerieihsan.com

Valerie’s Author Site: https://valerieihsanauthor.com

Valerie’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

Erick’s Services: https://erickmertzwriting.com

Erick’s free book on Ghostwriting: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/cexki4kp5n

Erick’s Author Site: https://erickmertzauthor.com

Erick’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

Patreons:

https://patreon.com/valerieihsan

https://patreon.com/strangeairmysteries

Tools:

Passion Planner: https://passionplanner.rfrl.co/e86j8 (affiliate link) Discount Code: VALERIE150

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

Resources:

"How to write an eavesdropping scene" on Erick's blog

Reading Critique Group for Writers FB Group (Jennie Komp's group)

3 Bird View FB page (Jennie Komp's business page)

Author XP (marketing for authors) (bi-monthly promotions)

Raven Publicity (publicity for authors)

The Shades of Orange (Rachel, Book Blogger on YouTube) for book recommendations SF/Fantasy/Horror

Contact Erick for business-starting advice or building a website.

Contact Valerie for author coaching.

Thomas Umstattd Jr, at Novel Marketing Podcast. Ep255: How to Create an Email Onboarding Drip Campaign

Russell P. Nohelty and Monica Leonelle's book, Get Your Book Selling on Kickstarter.

Balance meditation app.

• Story Rubric version 1.1 and podcast episode.
• Three Story Method worksheet

Book Recs for writing/creativity/business:

Thinking in Pictures by John Sayles

• Take Off Your Pants: Outline Your Books for Faster, Better Writing by Libbie Hawker
• Story Hypothesis: A Writer's Guide to Crafting Resonating Stories by JP Rindfleisch IX
• Fast-Draft Your Memoir: Write Your Life Story in 45 Hours by Rachael Herron
• Three Story Method: Foundations in Fiction by J.Thorn and Zach Bohannon

View Details

Main Topic: Author A.B. Herron on writing cross-genre with dyslexia

Amanda is passionate about discussing the realities of being an indie author while being dyslexic, straddling the fantasy and romance genres, the importance of highlighting sex positivity in our society, and the impact her background in anatomy and zoology has on her magic systems and world building.

PATREON:

Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in our work offline and here in the podcast.

Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan for books, writing instruction, coaching, and planning. Go to Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre.

Announcements:

• PNW inspired horror caretakerpress@gmail.com; Submissions open until stories filled. Starting to read May 1st.
• 2024 Writer Craft Writing Retreat and Workshop registration open; https://valerieihsan.com/retreat
• Three Story Method: Writing How-To Books out now.
• Focus and Finish: Goal-Setting and Strategic Planning for Writers (First in Series)
• Exploring Imagery in Creative Nonfiction

Patron comment:

Comments/email from listeners:

Questions from listeners:

Author Update:

Erick:

• Valerie:
• sick last week
• wrote lesson plans in bed

• I'm reading:

• Crow Talk by Eileen Garvin

• Thunder Song by Sasha taqŵšeblu LaPointe
• Slow Productivity by Cal Newport

Amanda is reading comfort books right now: Arrows of the Queen series.

Scent of the Missing: Love and Partnership with a Search-and-Rescue Dog by Susannah Charleson

Erick:

Notes:

A.B. Heron is a dyslexic author residing in the Pacific Northwest. She works full time, writes in the cracks between responsibilities, and plays with dogs because she just can’t help herself. For more insights into what make her fantasy stories flourish, follow her on Instagram @a.b.herron or check out her website www.abherron.com

Tip: If you have a Barnes and Noble near you, walk in and say you are a local indie author and ask if they are doing author signing.

Writes adult urban fantasy, romantasy, paranormal romance. Elemental World Series (two books now, third coming this year, 5 total in series).

Dyslexia was a barrier to being a writer only emotionally. Looked for strong technical editors. Spelling and word choice are struggles. Name recall is hard.

Showed original work to trusted people, started getting positive responses, showed little bits at a time. "I can write, just not spell. The distinction was powerful for me. I am smart." Not barriers; just work arounds. Used a small press that didn't keep the rights. They help you make a book. Luminare Press.

Vellum dyslexia font choice: 1 in 5 people with dyslexia, fonts don't make it easier to read for all people. Font doesn't slow Amanda down. Ask your readers if they want a paperback with a font designed for dyslexic readers.

Need magic systems to make sense with science background. Looking at the anatomy of humans and canines. Build physical laws into magic systems. How water or energy works, conservation of matter. HOW does it work?

Wished she'd maybe finished writing series before publishing.

Learn as you go. IG book community very supportive. Tripped into publishing.

Abherron.com

Instagram a.b.herron

Books available at Amazon and Barnes and Noble

Coffee Fueled Stories Podcast, Ep with A.B. Herron

Amanda is signing at Hot and Steamy Romance Writers in Portland '24 event.

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

View Details

Announcements:

• PNW inspired horror caretakerpress@gmail.com; Submissions open until stories filled. Starting to read May 1st.
• 2024 Writer Craft Writing Retreat and Workshop registration open; https://valerieihsan.com/retreat
• Three Story Method: Writing How-To Books out now.
• Focus and Finish: Goal-Setting and Strategic Planning for Writers (First in Series)

Author Update:

Valerie:

• adopted a new dog "Buddy 'Keif' Nelson"
• Monthly Reflection tonight, or this weekend at the latest (if you are a patron and want to do it with me, let me know)
• just coming out of Q1+ funk and catching up on visiting with friends and self-care, so my tasks in the last week have been skewed towards personal/not business: haircut, birthday party, meditation, journaling, appointments with my life coach, yoga, introducing Usha to new doggy friend, fancy brunches, attending a new mastermind group I'm in, hot tub soaks, lunch out with a friend, and taking our new dog to the vet. And the next few days will be the same: catching up with friends, seeing my dad and step-mom, taking my son out to dinner, Chiro, yoga, the gym.
• starting work at the bookstore again part time starting next week.

I'm reading:

• beta read manuscript
• The Thursday Murder Club by Richard Osman
• Thunder Song by Sasha taqŵšeblu LaPointe

Notes:

I read from the Foreward and Step One of new permafree book Focus and Finish: Goal-Setting and Strategic Planning for Writers.

**

Foreward

I’m a not-so-closet list-lover. Some of you may not like lists. Some of you might have tried list-making in the past and found it didn’t work for you. But even if you are not a list-lover, you will find usefulness and value from this book and the exercises and resources in it.

I think we’ve all had the experience at one point in our lives where we’ve woken up and discovered that what we are doing is not what we want to do and, in fact, was someone else's idea all along. Maybe that was the job that your dad wanted you to have, or maybe it's the parenting style that your partner wants you to use, or maybe it's the vacation that your friend wants you to go on. Maybe none of those things held interest for you—or went against a core belief, even—yet you somehow made yourself believe you wanted them and you trapped yourself into doing them.

For instance, if you have been saying out loud all your life that you wanted to be a lawyer, and you went to law school, and you took the bar exam, and you passed the bar, and now you’re working in a law firm, and you're doing the hours, and you say to yourself (and you say to everyone else), “I’ve always wanted to be a lawyer, and now I'm a lawyer. Isn't that great?” but underneath all that, you discovered at some point that, actually, you never really wanted to be a lawyer. What you wanted to be was a scuba dive instructor. If that is your passion and you can find a way to make a living doing scuba, then why are you a lawyer?

This book will help you identify your dreams and plan for a future of success doing the things that are truly important to you.

Happy Planning!

Valerie

Step One

The system I’m about to show you is one I do at least twice a year, because I know myself. And I know that I get caught up in the zeitgeist. I get caught up in the excitement that other people have about their businesses and I think, “I can do that, too!”

For instance, all my life, one of my dream jobs was to own a bookstore. And then, some years ago, I was offered the chance to buy, very inexpensively, a little bookstore. My breath quickened. My heart rate accelerated. Whoa. This was my dream. Here it was, handed right to me. It would be so easy to do—the way it was set up, the finances and the inventory and the space, and even the internship, basically.

I thought about it for weeks.

The reason she wanted to give up the bookstore was because she wanted to put more time into her own writing, which should've been a red flag from the very start, but I was still hooked into that old dream of owning my own bookstore.

I sought the advice of my best friend.

“If you were already making money as a published author, would you want to own a bookstore?" she asked.

“No,” I said. I didn't even have to think about it. The word just blurted out all by itself.

"Then there's your answer,” she said.

"Oh."

And I didn't have to think about it anymore.

Continually checking in with yourself and writing out your passions, writing out your dreams, is what's going to help you achieve them later on. Not just in the goal setting, in the strategizing and planning around it, but in acknowledging that this is your dream and you want to work towards it. Whatever it is—scuba diving, traveling, becoming a mailperson. Training dogs.

It can be anything. It can be work-related or can be personal. Maybe you just want to learn Russian because it's a gorgeous language. It would just be for fun. Do it.

Dream it. Write a goal around it. And do it.

Ideals change. Intentions change. It’s natural. So, twice a year, I use this system to make sure I’m living the life I want, reaching for the goals that will fulfill my dreams.

There are two ways to go about doing this process, arguably a third, and on first glance it’s going to be a big giant wishlist. But for you non-list-lovers, think of them as bullet points. Or mind-mapping.

Option one is to go about these exercises wearing the Business Owner Hat. If you are a small-business owner, freelancer, or writer/teacher/artist, and you want to get a head start on your business plan, this could be a good option for you. You’ll be planning and goal-setting with only your business or art in mind.

Option two is to mix it all up: personal, spiritual, business, home/yard. If you work at home, all these areas merge anyway—to some degree—and feed into one another.

Option three is great if you are a linear thinker or you like to think in categories. Option three is really option one, over and over again. (i.e. personal goals/wishes, then business goals/wishes, then home/yard goals/wishes.)

Choose one and go with it. If you choose option one and you veer off in the middle of it, no worries. The exercises all work the same. It’s your mindset that can change as needed.

Option two is my personal preference, but what usually happens for me is I do option two and then shift to option three. And what I mean by that is when I first start making my list of dreams, goals, and wishes, I dump everything in—reaching out to all aspects of my existence. My personal life, my spiritual life, my business life, my health projects, my gardening goals. And then at the end, when I feel like there's nothing left to put on the list, I reach back and look at the categories in my mind, starting with my business.

Is there anything in my business world that I’m leaving out? Is there anything that I haven't given myself permission to say out loud on the page? Is there anything that I'm too embarrassed, afraid, or irritated to mention on this list? And I write it down. And then I go to the next category. Is there anything that I'm forgetting about gardening that I want to put on this list? Et cetera.

Okay, let's get started.

Get yourself situated where you can be comfortable – and that could mean sprawling on the floor with markers, or at a bar stool with sharpened pencils, or lounging in a chair by the fire with a laptop. You need something to write with and something to write on, and probably a tasty beverage close by.

Once you're situated, think about whether you are going to focus on a specific area in your life right now, or let it fly and write down anything that comes to mind. If you decide that you just want to concentrate, for example, on your business goals, you could do that. Again, I prefer to lump it all in to one. I find that one feeds into the other and, because I'm self-employed, sometimes it's hard to segregate anything out.

Step 1

Take as long as you need to write down anything and everything you want. This is the place to let go. No one will see this. Write down all the things. Think magic wand. Think No Barriers—financial, time, reality. This is the Dreaming Page.

If you could do anything, if you could be anything, if you could have anything, what would it be? Maybe think of the Dreaming Page as your ideal life. What’s on the page? What’s in the dream life?

Your “bullet points” don't have to be huge grandiose things, like Go to China—although that could be one of them. It can also be Paint the Shelf in the Bathroom Turquoise.

Big dreams and little dreams. Write it all down.

There may be a slight concern that, unleashed, this might turn into an eighty-two page To Do list. Don't worry too much about that, because if that's what ends up happening for you, I have another exercise at the end of Step Three that will fix it. So for right now, in any category in your life, or in every category in your life, write down the things that—if there were nothing standing in the way—you’d want to do, be, see, have, or experience.

Tips/Resources:

• For this exercise, you can use any kind of notebook, but since I’m a Passion Planner nerd, I like using the Passion Planner Road Map found in physical Passion Planners (or on passionplanner.com—affiliate link—under their downloads) as a template.

• I prefer to write on a notepad first and transfer the information over to my planner with better penmanship, and after I’m clearer about my goals.

• If you need more structure, you can set a timer and brainstorm for a specified length of time.

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Writer Craft Facebook Group

Valerie’s Services: https://valerieihsan.com

Valerie’s Author Site: https://valerieihsanauthor.com

Valerie’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

Erick’s Services: https://erickmertzwriting.com

Erick’s free book on Ghostwriting: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/cexki4kp5n

Erick’s Author Site: https://erickmertzauthor.com

Erick’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

Patreons:

https://patreon.com/valerieihsan

https://patreon.com/strangeairmysteries

Tools:

Passion Planner: https://passionplanner.rfrl.co/e86j8 (affiliate link) Discount Code: VALERIE150

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

Resources:

"How to write an eavesdropping scene" on Erick's blog

Reading Critique Group for Writers FB Group (Jennie Komp's group)

3 Bird View FB page (Jennie Komp's business page)

Author XP (marketing for authors) (bi-monthly promotions)

Raven Publicity (publicity for authors)

The Shades of Orange (Rachel, Book Blogger on YouTube) for book recommendations SF/Fantasy/Horror

Contact Erick for business-starting advice or building a website.

Contact Valerie for author coaching.

Thomas Umstattd Jr, at Novel Marketing Podcast. Ep255: How to Create an Email Onboarding Drip Campaign

Russell P. Nohelty and Monica Leonelle's book, Get Your Book Selling on Kickstarter.

Balance meditation app.

• Story Rubric version 1.1 and podcast episode.
• Three Story Method worksheet

Book Recs for writing/creativity/business:

Thinking in Pictures by John Sayles

• Take Off Your Pants: Outline Your Books for Faster, Better Writing by Libbie Hawker
• Story Hypothesis: A Writer's Guide to Crafting Resonating Stories by JP Rindfleisch IX
• Fast-Draft Your Memoir: Write Your Life Story in 45 Hours by Rachael Herron
• Three Story Method: Foundations in Fiction by J.Thorn and Zach Bohannon

View Details

Announcements:

• PNW inspired horror caretakerpress@gmail.com; Submissions open until stories filled. Starting to read May 1st.
• 2024 Writer Craft Writing Retreat and Workshop registration open; https://valerieihsan.com/retreat
• Three Story Method: Writing How-To Books out now.
• Focus and Finish: Goal-Setting and Strategic Planning for Writers (First in Series)

Author Update:

Erick:

• building landing pages for ads (for testing)
• Dead Still presale price 99 cents
• Revision of Book Two in new series finished (this weekend)
• Pikes Peak Writing Conference in Colorado Springs, CO

• using content from conferences for social media clips

• Valerie:

• new printer (printed out all the things)
• published a permafree book (first in series)
• Book two is half written from repurposed content

I'm reading:

• beta read manuscript
• Thunder Song by Sasha taqŵšeblu LaPointe

Erick:

The Institute Stephen King

Notes:

First Lines--book, chapters, scenes; sets the stage, POV, entice the reader away from other distractions, vary the opening lines within a book to prevent boredom; repetitive, stylistic elements only sometimes work.

Openings--protag's needs and wants

Hooks-- into the story, seducing; narrative voice; themes; settings; odd or curious, "First lines are invitations." - Stephen King; what kind of party is your book?

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Writer Craft Facebook Group

Valerie’s Services: https://valerieihsan.com

Valerie’s Author Site: https://valerieihsanauthor.com

Valerie’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

Erick’s Services: https://erickmertzwriting.com

Erick’s free book on Ghostwriting: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/cexki4kp5n

Erick’s Author Site: https://erickmertzauthor.com

Erick’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

Patreons:

https://patreon.com/valerieihsan

https://patreon.com/strangeairmysteries

Tools:

Passion Planner: https://passionplanner.rfrl.co/e86j8 (affiliate link) Discount Code: VALERIE150

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

Resources:

"How to write an eavesdropping scene" on Erick's blog

Reading Critique Group for Writers FB Group (Jennie Komp's group)

3 Bird View FB page (Jennie Komp's business page)

Author XP (marketing for authors) (bi-monthly promotions)

Raven Publicity (publicity for authors)

The Shades of Orange (Rachel, Book Blogger on YouTube) for book recommendations SF/Fantasy/Horror

Contact Erick for business-starting advice or building a website.

Contact Valerie for author coaching.

Thomas Umstattd Jr, at Novel Marketing Podcast. Ep255: How to Create an Email Onboarding Drip Campaign

Russell P. Nohelty and Monica Leonelle's book, Get Your Book Selling on Kickstarter.

Balance meditation app.

• Story Rubric version 1.1 and podcast episode.
• Three Story Method worksheet

Book Recs for writing/creativity/business:

Thinking in Pictures by John Sayles

• Take Off Your Pants: Outline Your Books for Faster, Better Writing by Libbie Hawker
• Story Hypothesis: A Writer's Guide to Crafting Resonating Stories by JP Rindfleisch IX
• Fast-Draft Your Memoir: Write Your Life Story in 45 Hours by Rachael Herron
• Three Story Method: Foundations in Fiction by J.Thorn and Zach Bohannon

View Details

Main Topic: Writing Through Chronic Illness, with guest Kathie Giorgio

KATHIE GIORGIO is the author of a total of fifteen books: eight novels, two story collections, an essay collection, and four poetry collections. She’s been nominated for the Pushcart Prize in fiction and poetry and awarded the Outstanding Achievement Award from the Wisconsin Library Association, the Silver Pen Award for Literary Excellence, the Pencraft Award for Literary Excellence, and the Eric Hoffer Award In Fiction. Her poem “Light” won runner-up in the 2021 Rosebud Magazine Poetry Prize, and her work has also been incorporated into many visual art and musical events. Kathie is the director and founder of AllWriters’ Workplace & Workshop LLC, an international creative writing studio. She lives with her husband, mystery writer Michael Giorgio, their daughter Olivia, a cat named Oliver, and an eccentric dog named Ursula after Ursula Le Guin in Waukesha, Wisconsin. Three of her adult children, Christopher, Andy, and Olivia, live close by, along with her solo granddaughter, Maya Mae. One adult child has wandered off to Louisiana and lives among the mathematicians and alligators.

PATREON:

Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in our work offline and here in the podcast.

Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan for books, writing instruction, coaching, and planning. Go to Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre.

Announcements:

• PNW inspired horror caretakerpress@gmail.com; Submissions open until stories filled. Starting to read May 1st.
• 2024 Writer Craft Writing Retreat and Workshop registration open; https://valerieihsan.com/retreat
• Three Story Method: Writing How-To Books out now.

Author Update:

Erick:

• Web design changes,
• Dead Still ARCs out now
• Revision of Book Three in new series happening

Valerie:

• adopted a new dog (foster fail)
• got cover for new book yesterday, uploading this week, permafree ebook, first in series
  • Focus and Finish: Goal-Setting and Strategic Planning for Writers

Valerie's reading:

Worthy

Dead Still ARC

Erick:

The Institute Stephen King

Kathie:

How to Be Eaten (Maria Adelmann)

Show Notes:

One moment of happiness a day on FB for a year. (Today's Moment of Happiness Despite the News)

Throw away idea that writers write 8 hrs a day.; write for half hour day.

Write when you can, use your time.

Lean towards fiction. Put your situation on another character's shoulders; if the character gets through it, so can you. A path to follow.

Writing is a life saver.

Go through it, roll with the punches.

motivation (my students keep me accountable to write; walk my talk/role model; what if I die? Gotta finish the book)

How to get inspired when super stressed: accept it's dry, (don't panic, remember your successes); hear something that captures attention; always listening; never give up playing, don't go for logic.

KathieGiorgio.org, FB, IG

Allwritersworkshop.com

Self care for the caregiver: learning on the run. (piano lessons, writing is a passion but job so writing not self care, start back to the gym, Nintendo.)

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Writer Craft Facebook Group

Valerie’s Services: https://valerieihsan.com

Valerie’s Author Site: https://valerieihsanauthor.com

Valerie’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

Erick’s Services: https://erickmertzwriting.com

Erick’s free book on Ghostwriting: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/cexki4kp5n

Erick’s Author Site: https://erickmertzauthor.com

Erick’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

Patreons:

https://patreon.com/valerieihsan

https://patreon.com/strangeairmysteries

Tools:

Passion Planner: https://passionplanner.rfrl.co/e86j8 (affiliate link) Discount Code: VALERIE150

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

Resources:

"How to write an eavesdropping scene" on Erick's blog

Reading Critique Group for Writers FB Group (Jennie Komp's group)

3 Bird View FB page (Jennie Komp's business page)

Author XP (marketing for authors) (bi-monthly promotions)

Raven Publicity (publicity for authors)

The Shades of Orange (Rachel, Book Blogger on YouTube) for book recommendations SF/Fantasy/Horror

Contact Erick for business-starting advice or building a website.

Contact Valerie for author coaching.

Thomas Umstattd Jr, at Novel Marketing Podcast. Ep255: How to Create an Email Onboarding Drip Campaign

Russell P. Nohelty and Monica Leonelle's book, Get Your Book Selling on Kickstarter.

Balance meditation app.

• Story Rubric version 1.1 and podcast episode.
• Three Story Method worksheet

Book Recs for writing/creativity/business:

Thinking in Pictures by John Sayles

• Take Off Your Pants: Outline Your Books for Faster, Better Writing by Libbie Hawker
• Story Hypothesis: A Writer's Guide to Crafting Resonating Stories by JP Rindfleisch IX
• Fast-Draft Your Memoir: Write Your Life Story in 45 Hours by Rachael Herron
• Three Story Method: Foundations in Fiction by J.Thorn and Zach Bohannon

View Details

Announcements:

• Registration is open for the 2024 Writer Craft Writing Retreat and Workshop in Marcola, Oregon. At this point, there is only three private tickets left and three shared tickets. We'll likely sell out again. ValerieIhsan.com/retreat for more info.
• New book out for writers: Three Story Method: Writing How-To Books by Valerie Ihsan, J. Thorn, and Miranda Weingartner

• Erick is publishing an anthology; call for submissions for Back in the Ground (horror inspired by PNW); https://caretakerpress.org

• UPDATE:

• Valerie:

• goal: create workshops for retreat, create the lesson plans for upcoming class, create memoir checklist, finish taxes
• son's birthday
• have a couple more conferences to pitch

• Tax Start this week! (find time in between meetings, the gym, and my son)

• Erick:

• roadtrip gave me two short story ideas and wrote them

• inspired by the anthology submissions

Just finished:

I'M READING: Worthy: How to Believe You Are Enough and Transform Your Life by Jamie Kern Lima

Up Next:

The Creative Act by Rick Rubin

• Erick's Reading:

Monica by Daniel Clowes (graphic novel)

• Show Notes:

How do you explore, or understand, the world and your own values in the books and stories you write?

"I love this weird stuff. How can I use this?"

If you explore this, you'll engage yourself.

The magic is I unconsciously know there is a lot to learn.

Connect the dots of inciting incident to the relationship

When the themes come up, now I know how to steer this (know where we are going). (Starts out unconsciously.)

Engaging with the mystery. Making sense of relationships.

Stories that won't let me go are the ones that I learn from.

No original stories but that's a propellent. Where you go with the trope is up to you.

Open to the magic. "It doesn't start at the end."

• Next Episode: Kathy Giorgio (writing with a chronic illness)
• Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Writer Craft Facebook Group

Valerie’s Services: https://valerieihsan.com

Valerie’s Author Site: https://valerieihsanauthor.com

Valerie’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

Erick’s Services: https://erickmertzwriting.com

Erick’s free book on Ghostwriting: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/cexki4kp5n

Erick’s Author Site: https://erickmertzauthor.com

Erick’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

Patreons:

https://patreon.com/valerieihsan

https://patreon.com/strangeairmysteries

Tools:

Passion Planner: https://passionplanner.rfrl.co/e86j8 (affiliate link) Discount Code: VALERIE150

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

Resources:

"How to write an eavesdropping scene" on Erick's blog

Reading Critique Group for Writers FB Group (Jennie Komp's group)

3 Bird View FB page (Jennie Komp's business page)

Author XP (marketing for authors) (bi-monthly promotions)

Raven Publicity (publicity for authors)

The Shades of Orange (Rachel, Book Blogger on YouTube) for book recommendations SF/Fantasy/Horror

Contact Erick for business-starting advice or building a website.

Contact Valerie for author coaching.

Thomas Umstattd Jr, at Novel Marketing Podcast. Ep255: How to Create an Email Onboarding Drip Campaign

Russell P. Nohelty and Monica Leonelle's book, Get Your Book Selling on Kickstarter.

Balance meditation app.

• Story Rubric version 1.1 and podcast episode.
• Three Story Method worksheet

Book Recs for writing/creativity/business:

Thinking in Pictures by John Sayles

• Take Off Your Pants: Outline Your Books for Faster, Better Writing by Libbie Hawker
• Story Hypothesis: A Writer's Guide to Crafting Resonating Stories by JP Rindfleisch IX
• Fast-Draft Your Memoir: Write Your Life Story in 45 Hours by Rachael Herron
• Three Story Method: Foundations in Fiction by J.Thorn and Zach Bohannon

View Details

Announcements:

• Registration is open for the 2024 Writer Craft Writing Retreat and Workshop in Marcola, Oregon. At this point, there is only three private tickets left and three shared tickets. We'll likely sell out again. ValerieIhsan.com/retreat for more info.
• New book out for writers: Three Story Method: Writing How-To Books by Valerie Ihsan, J. Thorn, and Miranda Weingartner

• Erick is publishing an anthology; call for submissions for Back in the Ground (horror inspired by PNW); https://caretakerpress.org

• UPDATE:

• Valerie:

• started re-reading Goal-Setting and Strategic Planning for Writers (Focus and Finish series, Book 1), need to make some decisions (ebook and a workbook, audio book)(free audio book?) = Loss Leader/permafree
• bought the cover from 100covers.com but need to order the service now
• have a couple more conferences to pitch

• Tax Start this week! (find time in between meetings, the gym, and my son)

• Erick:

• week off with the family
• meeting with a digital marketer today to promote the author services part of his business (have pla
• launching a new series (Season in the Bush); first book Dead Still going to betas soon.

Just finished:

I'M READING: Worthy: How to Believe You Are Enough and Transform Your Life by Jamie Kern Lima

Up Next:

The Creative Act by Rick Rubin

• Erick's Reading:

Study for Obedience by Sarah Bernstein

The Bachman Books (Stephen King)

Ring Shout P Djèlí Clark

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Writer Craft Facebook Group

Valerie’s Services: https://valerieihsan.com

Valerie’s Author Site: https://valerieihsanauthor.com

Valerie’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

Erick’s Services: https://erickmertzwriting.com

Erick’s free book on Ghostwriting: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/cexki4kp5n

Erick’s Author Site: https://erickmertzauthor.com

Erick’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

Patreons:

https://patreon.com/valerieihsan

https://patreon.com/strangeairmysteries

Tools:

Passion Planner: https://passionplanner.rfrl.co/e86j8 (affiliate link) Discount Code: VALERIE150

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

Resources:

"How to write an eavesdropping scene" on Erick's blog

Reading Critique Group for Writers FB Group (Jennie Komp's group)

3 Bird View FB page (Jennie Komp's business page)

Author XP (marketing for authors) (bi-monthly promotions)

Raven Publicity (publicity for authors)

The Shades of Orange (Rachel, Book Blogger on YouTube) for book recommendations SF/Fantasy/Horror

Contact Erick for business-starting advice or building a website.

Contact Valerie for author coaching.

Thomas Umstattd Jr, at Novel Marketing Podcast. Ep255: How to Create an Email Onboarding Drip Campaign

Russell P. Nohelty and Monica Leonelle's book, Get Your Book Selling on Kickstarter.

Balance meditation app.

• Story Rubric version 1.1 and podcast episode.
• Three Story Method worksheet

Book Recs for writing/creativity/business:

Thinking in Pictures by John Sayles

• Take Off Your Pants: Outline Your Books for Faster, Better Writing by Libbie Hawker
• Story Hypothesis: A Writer's Guide to Crafting Resonating Stories by JP Rindfleisch IX
• Fast-Draft Your Memoir: Write Your Life Story in 45 Hours by Rachael Herron
• Three Story Method: Foundations in Fiction by J.Thorn and Zach Bohannon

View Details

Announcements:

• Registration is open for the 2024 Writer Craft Writing Retreat and Workshop in Marcola, Oregon. At this point, there is only four private tickets left and three shared tickets. We'll likely sell out again. ValerieIhsan.com/retreat for more info.

• Erick is publishing an anthology; call for submissions (horror inspired by PNW); https://caretakerpress.org

• UPDATE:

• Valerie:

• 50th birthday
• Calendly vs Acuity (I have both!) ;-(
• New book out for writers: Three Story Method: Writing How-To Books by Valerie Ihsan, J. Thorn, and Miranda Weingartner
• started re-reading Goal-Setting and Strategic Planning for Writers (Focus and Finish series, Book 1), need to make some decisions (ebook and a workbook, audio book)(free audio book?) = Loss Leader/permafree
• hire out workbook formatting (scrivener not the best with this; please prove me wrong)
• bought the cover from 100covers.com but need to order the service now
• have a couple more conferences to pitch

• Tax Start this week! (find time in between meetings, the gym, and my son)

• Erick:

Just finished: The Book Keeper by Sarah Painter

I'M READING: Worthy: How to Believe You Are Enough and Transform Your Life by Jamie Kern Lima

Up Next:

The Creative Act by Rick Rubin

• Erick's Reading:

The Bachman Books (Stephen King)

Ring Shout P Djèlí Clark

• Show Notes:
• Rec Book List for creative writing:
• Take Off Your Pants: Outline Your Books for Faster, Better Writing by Libbie Hawker
• Story Hypothesis: A Writer's Guide to Crafting Resonating Stories by JP Rindfleisch IX
• Fast-Draft Your Memoir: Write Your Life Story in 45 Hours by Rachael Herron
• Three Story Method: Foundations in Fiction by J.Thorn and Zach Bohannon
• Other mentions:
• Story Rubric version 1.1 and podcast episode.

• Three Story Method worksheet

• Next Episode: Erick will be back

• Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Writer Craft Facebook Group

Valerie’s Services: https://valerieihsan.com

Valerie’s Author Site: https://valerieihsanauthor.com

Valerie’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

Erick’s Services: https://erickmertzwriting.com

Erick’s free book on Ghostwriting: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/cexki4kp5n

Erick’s Author Site: https://erickmertzauthor.com

Erick’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

Patreons:

https://patreon.com/valerieihsan

https://patreon.com/strangeairmysteries

Tools:

Passion Planner: https://passionplanner.rfrl.co/e86j8 (affiliate link) Discount Code: VALERIE150

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

Resources:

"How to write an eavesdropping scene" on Erick's blog

Reading Critique Group for Writers FB Group (Jennie Komp's group)

3 Bird View FB page (Jennie Komp's business page)

Author XP (marketing for authors) (bi-monthly promotions)

Raven Publicity (publicity for authors)

The Shades of Orange (Rachel, Book Blogger on YouTube) for book recommendations SF/Fantasy/Horror

Contact Erick for business-starting advice or building a website.

Contact Valerie for author coaching.

Thomas Umstattd Jr, at Novel Marketing Podcast. Ep255: How to Create an Email Onboarding Drip Campaign

Russell P. Nohelty and Monica Leonelle's book, Get Your Book Selling on Kickstarter.

Balance meditation app.

Book Recs for writing/creativity/business:

Thinking in Pictures by John Sayles

View Details

Announcements:

• Registration is open for the 2024 Writer Craft Writing Retreat and Workshop in Marcola, Oregon. At this point, there is only four private tickets left and three shared tickets. We'll likely sell out again. ValerieIhsan.com/retreat for more info.

• Erick is publishing an anthology; call for submissions (horror inspired by PNW); https://caretakerpress.org

• UPDATE:

• Valerie:

• New book out for writers: Three Story Method: Writing How-To Books by Valerie Ihsan, J. Thorn, and Miranda Weingartner

• Erick:

• working with marketer (digital); an analysis of web presence has a LOT of tasks to do (do this when you've been in the market--author services--for a while and have some idea of where you lack before hiring the analysis.)

Just finished: The Ward Witch by Sarah Painter

I'M READING:

The Book Keeper by Sarah Painter

Up Next:

The Creative Act by Rick Rubin

• Erick's Reading:

The Bachman Books (Stephen King)

Ring Shout P Djèlí Clark

• Show Notes:
• KDP is always changing.
• In marketing main series, put lead magnet as permafree on Amazon (instead of using Book Funnel to get people on mailing lists).
• 1. New cover
• 1. 99 cents on amazon
• 1. Barnes and Noble free
• 1. Let amazon know for the price match
• 1. No marketing to it. But naturally 100 downloads from organic reach. Led to sell through to rest of series. A+. Plus led to multiple reviews to all the books.
• Permafree method still works.
• Next step: running ads to permafree and amping up the sell-through.
• Virtual Voice on Amazon/KDP (in KDP profile opt in to Beta testing).
• Ease of use is great. Have an audio book at a click of button.
• Cost of narrator and editor (local guy) = ~$2200
• Two different versions of the audio book? Narrated by Virtual Voice vs Narrated by the author.
• Can we proof the audio files? Am I "locked in" to this audio?

• We do outgrow things. We can pivot.

• Next Episode: solo show "Bringing Your Manuscript from Boring to BadAss."

• Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Writer Craft Facebook Group

Valerie’s Services: https://valerieihsan.com

Valerie’s Author Site: https://valerieihsanauthor.com

Valerie’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

Erick’s Services: https://erickmertzwriting.com

Erick’s free book on Ghostwriting: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/cexki4kp5n

Erick’s Author Site: https://erickmertzauthor.com

Erick’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

Patreons:

https://patreon.com/valerieihsan

https://patreon.com/strangeairmysteries

Tools:

Passion Planner: https://passionplanner.rfrl.co/e86j8 (affiliate link) Discount Code: VALERIE150

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

Resources:

"How to write an eavesdropping scene" on Erick's blog

Reading Critique Group for Writers FB Group (Jennie Komp's group)

3 Bird View FB page (Jennie Komp's business page)

Author XP (marketing for authors) (bi-monthly promotions)

Raven Publicity (publicity for authors)

The Shades of Orange (Rachel, Book Blogger on YouTube) for book recommendations SF/Fantasy/Horror

Contact Erick for business-starting advice or building a website.

Contact Valerie for author coaching.

Thomas Umstattd Jr, at Novel Marketing Podcast. Ep255: How to Create an Email Onboarding Drip Campaign

Russell P. Nohelty and Monica Leonelle's book, Get Your Book Selling on Kickstarter.

Balance meditation app.

Book Recs for writing/creativity/business:

Thinking in Pictures by John Sayles

View Details

Announcements:

• Registration is open for the 2024 Writer Craft Writing Retreat and Workshop in Marcola, Oregon. At this point, there is only four private tickets left and three shared tickets. We'll likely sell out again. ValerieIhsan.com/retreat for more info.

• UPDATE:

• Valerie:

• affirmations

• 15 mins/day of writing to my audience (new affirmation: This is how I create joy and change people's lives.)

• Erick:

• Book 1 in new series coming out this month
• new anthology out with co-producer (caretaker.org)

Just finished: Eat Smarter by Shawn Stevenson

I'M READING:

The Ward Witch by Sarah Painter

Spill Simmer Falter Wither by Sara Baume

What's a Poor Girl to Do?: Prostitution in Mid-Nineteenth Century America by Elizabeth A. Topping

Up Next:

The Creative Act by Rick Rubin

• Erick's Reading:
• Lost Places by Sarah Pinsker

Full Dark No Stars by Stephen King (novellas)

Ring Shout P Djèlí Clark

• Show Notes:

Who do you know?

Look for listings to submit. Google search calls for submissions for topics/genres.

Anthologies vs journal

Doing is a great way of attracting readers and colleagues.

What you like and don't in the genre (you'll get a wide variety within the genre) -- pick a sub-genre.

What formats do you want?

What's in and What's out?

Best case scenario process.

Budget

See the stages.

Get the cover to promote the call of submissions. (Add names later; have an agreement with cover designer)

Send out call.

Start reading once enough stories in the hopper; don't have to accept all these.

Marketing: IG lives to promote

Accept simultaneous submissions; accept as they go.

Caretaker Press (caretakerpress.org)

• Next Episode: Writing During Prolonged Illness with author Kathie Giorgio (business without loans)

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Writer Craft Facebook Group

Valerie’s Services: https://valerieihsan.com

Valerie’s Author Site: https://valerieihsanauthor.com

Valerie’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

Erick’s Services: https://erickmertzwriting.com

Erick’s free book on Ghostwriting: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/cexki4kp5n

Erick’s Author Site: https://erickmertzauthor.com

Erick’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

Patreons:

https://patreon.com/valerieihsan

https://patreon.com/strangeairmysteries

Tools:

Passion Planner: https://passionplanner.rfrl.co/e86j8 (affiliate link) Discount Code: VALERIE150

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

Resources:

"How to write an eavesdropping scene" on Erick's blog

Reading Critique Group for Writers FB Group (Jennie Komp's group)

3 Bird View FB page (Jennie Komp's business page)

Author XP (marketing for authors) (bi-monthly promotions)

Raven Publicity (publicity for authors)

The Shades of Orange (Rachel, Book Blogger on YouTube) for book recommendations SF/Fantasy/Horror

Contact Erick for business-starting advice or building a website.

Contact Valerie for author coaching.

Thomas Umstattd Jr, at Novel Marketing Podcast. Ep255: How to Create an Email Onboarding Drip Campaign

Russell P. Nohelty and Monica Leonelle's book, Get Your Book Selling on Kickstarter.

Balance meditation app.

View Details

Hello Writers and Crafters!

I'm Valerie Ihsan, And I'm Erick Mertz, and this is Episode 147 of the podcast and it's March 6, 2024 as we record this.

Main Topic: Reset Buttons and Pivoting for Authors

PATREON:

Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in our work offline and here in the podcast.

Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan for books, writing instruction, coaching, and planning. Go to Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre

Patron comment:

Comments/email from listeners:

Questions from listeners:

Announcements:

• Registration is open for the 2024 Writer Craft Writing Retreat and Workshop in Marcola, Oregon. At this point, there is only four private tickets left and three shared tickets. We'll likely sell out again. ValerieIhsan.com/retreat for more info.

• UPDATE:

• Valerie:

• Erick:

Just finished:

I'M READING: Spill Simmer Falter Wither by Sara Baume

What's a Poor Girl to Do?: Prostitution in Mid-Nineteenth Century America by Elizabeth A. Topping

The Book of Awakening by Mark Nepo

Up Next:

The Creative Act by Rick Rubin

• Erick's Reading:

• Lost Places by Sarah Pinsker

• Show Notes:

You can't always take both paths. Choosing becomes more important as we age.

"There's a different way to do this." (Message from the universe)

How do I pivot from this to this?

Identification of other way (journey begins)

Take time to process. You aren't cheating or doing a disservice to the readers. Acknowledging limiting beliefs. How do I take the next growth step?

Asking What if? often helps to challenge the limiting belief. (QTP. Question the Premise. Becca Syme.)

Getting past the what if is the next step. (Yes, I can do this.)

Research next step. Forgive yourself for not knowing.

"I've never tried this. Please help me." (Try it for 6-9 months)

We have permission to explore.

Reflection.

Remembering by adding, you aren't removing. It's not all or nothing.

• Next Episode:

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

View Details

Hello Writers and Crafters!

I'm Valerie Ihsan, And I'm Erick Mertz, and this is Episode 146 of the podcast and it's February 14, 2024 as we record this. Happy Valentine's Day!

Main Topic: How to Maintain Your Business During Crisis

PATREON:

Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in our work offline and here in the podcast.

This podcast is sponsored by our patrons at Patreon.com/valerieihsan. Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan.

Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre

Comments/email from listeners:

Questions from listeners:

Announcements:

• Go to valerieihsan.com/retreat for info on this year's writing retreat in August.
• Reading in Eugene, OR on March 8th (Friday). I'm in a new anthology by Tsunami Press with my essay "Eye Contact." •
• Stay tuned for new series stuff from Erick.

UPDATE:

• Valerie:
• in Turkey; mother-in-law in ICU for the last week; no change for the last two days Sound Effect

• https://wordcrafters.org/nonfiction-imagery/ class on Wednesdays starting in May 15th for six weeks "Exploring Imagery Through the Senses in Creative Nonfiction" hybrid class (virtual and in person)

• Erick:

• finishing up new series stuff while rewriting novel in Strange Air
• period piece (30s and 40s), paranormal baseball season -- releasing short pieces based on baseball season calendar; baseball scout is main protagonist

Just finished:

Glucose Revolution by Jessie Inchauspé

Jane and the Man of the Cloth by Stephanie Barron

I'M READING:

Up Next:

The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton

• Erick's Reading:
• The Devil Himself

• Dollar Sign on the Muscle

• Show Notes:

• Grief and brain fog are exhausting. Do what you can to stay inspired and maintain motivation, but above all: Be kind to yourself and be self-aware.

Next Episode:

Resources:

Thinking in Pictures by John Sayles

"How to write an eavesdropping scene" on Erick's blog

Reading Critique Group for Writers FB Group (Jennie Komp's group)

3 Bird View FB page (Jennie Kemp's business page)

Author XP (marketing for authors) (bi-monthly promotions)

Raven Publicity (publicity for authors)

The Shades of Orange (Rachel, Book Blogger on YouTube) for book recommendations SF/Fantasy/Horror

Contact Erick for business-starting advice or building a website.

Contact Valerie for author coaching.

Other Resources:

Thomas Umstattd Jr, at Novel Marketing Podcast. Ep255: How to Create an Email Onboarding Drip Campaign

Russell P. Nohelty and Monica Leonelle's book, Get Your Book Selling on Kickstarter.

Valerie's new day book for the year 2023 is: Meditations from the Mat: Daily Reflections on the Path of Yoga by Rolf Gates.

I've published our 2022 Book List on the website: valerieihsan.com/podcast-news

The Author Life Community

Passion Planner: https://passionplanner.rfrl.co/e86j8 (affiliate link) Discount Code: VALERIE407

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Writer Craft Facebook Group

Valerie’s Services: https://valerieihsan.com

Valerie’s Author Site: https://valerieihsanauthor.com

Valerie’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

Erick’s Services: https://erickmertzwriting.com

Erick’s free book on Ghostwriting: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/cexki4kp5n

Erick’s Author Site: https://erickmertzauthor.com

Erick’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

Patreons:

https://patreon.com/valerieihsan

https://patreon.com/strangeairmysteries

View Details

Hello Writers and Crafters!

I'm Valerie Ihsan, And I'm Erick Mertz, and this is Episode 145 of the podcast and it's January 31, 2024 as we record this.

Main Topic: Using Your Local Library as an Author Resource

PATREON:

Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in our work offline and here in the podcast.

Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan for books, writing instruction, coaching, and planning. Go to Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre

Patron comment:

Comments/email from listeners:

Questions from listeners:

Announcements:

• Registration is open for the 2024 Writer Craft Writing Retreat and Workshop in Marcola, Oregon. At this point, there is only four private tickets left and three shared tickets. We'll likely sell out again. ValerieIhsan.com/retreat for more info.

• UPDATE:

• Valerie:

• getting ready for Turkey trip
• updating website slowly
• pitch conferences from Turkey

• new name for my coaching program for authors: Aligned Author (haven't decided whether to do it as a 12 week program for $1499, or just list it as $500/mo (tell me which you'd like, email)

• Erick:

• writing a lot (40K goal - blew past that)
• recovering reader magnet
• relaunching author marketing ideas (ads? New covers?)
• Analysis: cost, versatility, marketing, immediate ROI not likely, transparent with what they are doing

Just finished:

I'M READING: Spill Simmer Falter Wither by Sara Baume

What's a Poor Girl to Do?: Prostitution in Mid-Nineteenth Century America by Elizabeth A. Topping

The Book of Awakening by Mark Nepo

Up Next:

The Creative Act by Rick Rubin Redefine Life for Yourself: How to Stop Chasing Money and Finally Live Your Life's Purpose by Patrice Washington

• Erick's Reading:

A Prayer for the Crown Shy

Killing Floor by Lee Child

• Show Notes:

Saves us money. Only place (one of few) to go where there is no expectation of spending money.

Places to sit.

Free wifi.

Work away from home.

Quiet space.

Hub for education.

Free talks. (To give or receive.)

Writers groups/book clubs.

Utilize the research department.

Local historical info available.

Research what books look like (read first chapter of ten books in your genre).

If you want your books in libraries, ISBN and Ingram Spark, Book Vault, not just Amazon.

People watching space (people are reading!)

Writer residency

Ask them to get local authors' books in.

Pay your library fines.

• Next Episode: solo episodes or a two week break -- come back and see! ;-)

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Writer Craft Facebook Group

Valerie’s Services: https://valerieihsan.com

Valerie’s Author Site: https://valerieihsanauthor.com

Valerie’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

Erick’s Services: https://erickmertzwriting.com

Erick’s free book on Ghostwriting: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/cexki4kp5n

Erick’s Author Site: https://erickmertzauthor.com

Erick’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

Patreons:

https://patreon.com/valerieihsan

https://patreon.com/strangeairmysteries

Tools:

Passion Planner: https://passionplanner.rfrl.co/e86j8 (affiliate link) Discount Code: VALERIE150

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

View Details

Announcements:

• Registration is open for the 2024 Writer Craft Writing Retreat and Workshop in Marcola, Oregon. At this point, there is only four private tickets left and three shared tickets. We'll likely sell out again. ValerieIhsan.com/retreat for more info.

• UPDATE:

• Valerie:

• meditation: Balance app
• updating website slowly

• pitch conferences (Accountability for Authors)(What could I teach?)

• Erick:

• ice storm cabin fever
• novella in Strange Air series on 2nd draft
• still developing second series; plotting from beginning to end
• Happy Birthday! (48)

Just finished: Ma and Me by Putsata Reang

I'M READING:

What's a Poor Girl to Do?: Prostitution in Mid-Nineteenth Century America by Elizabeth A. Topping

Praying with Jane Eyre by Vanessa Zoltan

The Book of Awakening by Mark Nepo

Up Next:

The Creative Act by Rick Rubin

• Erick's Reading:

A Prayer for the Crown Shy

Anna's reading:

Dortmuder novels (Donald Westlake)

• Show Notes:

Bio: Anna Willman has been a certified Focusing Trainer since 1982. She has a Master’s degree in International Studies from Claremont Graduate School and a Master’s in Comparative Politics from Columbia University. She was a Fulbright Scholar in Zagreb, Yugoslavia, in 1971 and 1972. She retired in 2008 after fourteen years as director of the Confidence Clinic, a Focusing-oriented community wellness program for women. Since retirement she has written extensively about the program’s history, its philosophy and practice, and its outcomes. She has also written and published six novels and a humorous short story about disappointed expectations.

Our bodies hold our experiences in its cells. You feel your emotions in your body. (Pain, etc.)

It starts like meditation, but with focusing you create an inner space and listen to Self and garner wisdom from it.

Shift = noticing how to carry my experience of past trauma TODAY.

It's always healing. The shift that happens is a big sigh of relief. Because now you know. A Knowing. A Clarity.

A way to heal and understand yourself better.

Your characters also (as they become more and more real) have past experiences that they feel in their bodies.

• Select a character (problem, won't do what I want, motivation issues, or discomfort with the character).
• Slow down and relax, feel your chair, your feet, aware of body, notice rhythm of your breathing, ...
• Bring your character into your body, see if you can sense your character's discomfort in a situation. Can you feel your character's body? Do they notice what they are feeling? Any physical discomfort?
• Sit with the experience. How is your character physically feeling it? Where is it? What is the quality of the sensation--lethargic, energetic, restless? Does it have a color? Soft, hard, loose, tight? What words can you use to describe it?
• When you have a strong sense of it, how does your character respond to it? If it is painful, how do they escape it? Hide from it? Run away? Whimper? What is their normal response? Do they have to respond out of their ordinary? Is this a normal response to them or brand new?
• Given nature of your plot, pause and write down the words about how character is feeling, etc. How aware are they showing their feeling? Show not tell. Write what they do. Is there an awakening for them? How do they act afterwards?
• Sit with your char, let your body feel your char's body, write down everything (even if it doesn't make sense), ask "What else?" Listen with compassion and curiosity. You want to understand. Not judging. If you do, your character will clam up on you.

If I let characters do what they want to do, instead of plotting it, they get where I want them to be regardless, usually. (Anna)

Use when you have limited actionable responses for characters. Deepen the char, improve the writing, character's interact with each other is more Real.

Use this to develop metaphors.

Loose Ends (novel Anna wrote with the serial killer character)

Kaleidoscope (novel Anna wrote about focusing and D.I.D.) (Whole Body Focusing.)

Anna's Amazon page with all her titles.

Focusing Initiatives International: webinars (check for any workshops Anna does).

• Next Episode: How to Use Your Local Library as an Author Resource

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Writer Craft Facebook Group

Valerie’s Services: https://valerieihsan.com

Valerie’s Author Site: https://valerieihsanauthor.com

Valerie’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

Erick’s Services: https://erickmertzwriting.com

Erick’s free book on Ghostwriting: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/cexki4kp5n

Erick’s Author Site: https://erickmertzauthor.com

Erick’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

Patreons:

https://patreon.com/valerieihsan

https://patreon.com/strangeairmysteries

Tools:

Passion Planner: https://passionplanner.rfrl.co/e86j8 (affiliate link) Discount Code: VALERIE150

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

Resources:

"How to write an eavesdropping scene" on Erick's blog

Reading Critique Group for Writers FB Group (Jennie Komp's group)

3 Bird View FB page (Jennie Kemp's business page)

Author XP (marketing for authors) (bi-monthly promotions)

Raven Publicity (publicity for authors)

The Shades of Orange (Rachel, Book Blogger on YouTube) for book recommendations SF/Fantasy/Horror

Contact Erick for business-starting advice or building a website.

Contact Valerie for author coaching.

Thomas Umstattd Jr, at Novel Marketing Podcast. Ep255: How to Create an Email Onboarding Drip Campaign

Russell P. Nohelty and Monica Leonelle's book, Get Your Book Selling on Kickstarter.

Balance meditation app.

Book Recs for writing/creativity/business:

Thinking in Pictures by John Sayles

Some of the Books We've Read This Year:

Nejishiki Yoshiharu (Erick)

Ma and Me by Putsana Reang (Valerie)

The Weird and Eerie

Children of Ruin

View Details

Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in our work offline and here in the podcast.

Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan for books, writing instruction, coaching, and planning. Go to Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre.

Announcements:

• Registration is open for the 2024 Writer Craft Writing Retreat and Workshop in Marcola, Oregon. At this point, there is only four private tickets left and three shared tickets. We'll likely sell out again. ValerieIhsan.com/retreat for more info.
• I'll be doing a reading this Saturday at Tsunami Books in Eugene Oregon at 5 p.m. for the new anthology, and there will be a wine reception afterward, hosted by Tsunami Press. Order wherever books are sold.
• My new Focus and Finish Group Coaching cohort starts next week. We'll meet most Tuesdays through March at 4 p.m. Pacific. It's discounted to $333 this week. You can go to ValerieIhsan.com/shopping to purchase.
• Season of the Shadow up now! (Erick's new title.)

• UPDATE:

• Valerie:

• meeting with co-writers next week
• follow the feeling; Aligned Action are my 2024 buzz words.

• updating website slowly

• Erick:

• new series work: mapped out first three books
• have cover for print book now

I'M READING: What's a Poor Girl to Do?: Prostitution in Mid-Nineteenth Century America by Elizabeth A. Topping and Ma and Me by Putsana Reang

Praying with Jane Eyre by Vanessa Zoltan

• Erick's Reading:

The Weird and Eerie

Children of Ruin

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Writer Craft Facebook Group

Valerie’s Services: https://valerieihsan.com

Valerie’s Author Site: https://valerieihsanauthor.com

Valerie’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

Erick’s Services: https://erickmertzwriting.com

Erick’s free book on Ghostwriting: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/cexki4kp5n

Erick’s Author Site: https://erickmertzauthor.com

Erick’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

Resources:

Thinking in Pictures by John Sayles

"How to write an eavesdropping scene" on Erick's blog

Reading Critique Group for Writers FB Group (Jennie Komp's group)

3 Bird View FB page (Jennie Kemp's business page)

Author XP (marketing for authors) (bi-monthly promotions)

Raven Publicity (publicity for authors)

The Shades of Orange (Rachel, Book Blogger on YouTube) for book recommendations SF/Fantasy/Horror

Contact Erick for business-starting advice or building a website.

Contact Valerie for author coaching.

Other Resources:

Thomas Umstattd Jr, at Novel Marketing Podcast. Ep255: How to Create an Email Onboarding Drip Campaign

Russell P. Nohelty and Monica Leonelle's book, Get Your Book Selling on Kickstarter.

Passion Planner: https://passionplanner.rfrl.co/e86j8 (affiliate link) Discount Code: VALERIE150

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

View Details

Announcements:

• Early Bird registration is open for the 2024 Writer Craft Writing Retreat. At this point, there is only four private tickets left and three shared tickets. We'll likely sell out again. ValerieIhsan.com/retreat for more info.
• I'm in a new anthology by Tsunami Press with my essay "Eye Contact." It's in stores now; order wherever books are sold.
• Season of the Shadow up now! (Erick's new title.)

• UPDATE:

• Valerie:

• meeting with co-writers in Jan
• follow the feeling; Aligned Action are my 2024 buzz words.

• reflection

• Erick:

• new series work: mapped out first three books
• written reader magnet for new series

Just finished:

I'M READING: What's a Poor Girl to Do?: Prostitution in Mid-Nineteenth Century America by Elizabeth A. Topping and Ma and Me by Putsana Reang

Praying with Jane Eyre by Vanessa Zoltan

The Book of Awakening by Mark Nepo

Up Next:

Soiled Doves: Prostitution in the the Early West by Anne Seagraves

Frog Music by Emma Donoghue

Harness: A Systemic Approach: Guaranteed to Revolutionize Your Coaching by Tess Cope

• Erick's Reading:

Nejishiki Yoshiharu

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Writer Craft Facebook Group

Valerie’s Services: https://valerieihsan.com

Valerie’s Author Site: https://valerieihsanauthor.com

Valerie’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

Erick’s Services: https://erickmertzwriting.com

Erick’s free book on Ghostwriting: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/cexki4kp5n

Erick’s Author Site: https://erickmertzauthor.com

Erick’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

View Details

Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in our work offline and here in the podcast.

Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan for books, writing instruction, coaching, and planning. Go to Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre

Announcements:

• Early Bird registration is open for the 2024 Writer Craft Writing Retreat. At this point, there is only four private tickets left and three shared tickets. We'll likely sell out again. ValerieIhsan.com/retreat for more info. EARLY BIRD $899 0r $128.45/mo for seven months. (Early Bird Registration is open from November 1-December 31, 2023. Monthly payment option ends December 31, 2023.)
• I'm in a new anthology by Tsunami Press with my essay "Eye Contact." It's in stores now; order wherever books are sold.
• Season of the Shadow up now! (Erick's new title.)

• UPDATE:

• Valerie:

• meeting with co-writers in Jan

• follow the feeling; Aligned Action are my 2024 buzz words.

• Erick:

• new series work
• written reader magnet for new series
• day planner arrived!

Just finished:

I'M READING: What's a Poor Girl to Do?: Prostitution in Mid-Nineteenth Century America by Elizabeth A. Topping and Ma and Me by Putsana Reang

Catching the Big Fish by David Lynch

Up Next:

Soiled Doves: Prostitution in the the Early West by Anne Seagraves

Frog Music by Emma Donoghue

Harness: A Systemic Approach: Guaranteed to Revolutionize Your Coaching by Tess Cope

• Erick's Reading:

Widowmaker by Paul Doiron

The Last Ronin (TMNT)

How to Sell a Haunted House

The Ultimate Werewolf Collection

The Lover by Rebecca Sacks (Lynne's read)

• Show Notes:

Lynne Golodner writes emotional novels with compelling Jewish characters who are determined to fill their lives with passion, purpose and love. Her first novel, Woman of Valor, joins a body of work that includes two poetry collections and six nonfiction books, including Hide and Seek: Jewish Women and Hair Covering and The Flavors of Faith: Holy Breads. Lynne is a writing coach, marketing entrepreneur and host of the Make Meaning Podcast, and her creative nonfiction has been published around the world. With a BA from University of Michigan and an MFA from Goddard College, Lynne is the mother of four and lives in Huntington Woods, Michigan, with her husband, Dan.

Writes nonfiction to make sense of life.

Fiction is imagination; some pulled from lived experience, but not intended. In future, addressing world events in fiction.

Always thinking about something, what it means to me, where will this take me? Do research for the creative essays. Write essays for self, show to critique partners, then submit.

2022 = 12 essays published

2023 = publishing and marketing Woman of Valor

Explore a topic, process old past events, idea file (lists of where I've been, who did I know, how was this formative?)

Read a bunch, make lists of experiences with extreme emotions, places you've been; research elevates the pieces.

Author brand: strong jewish women (risky), narrowing focus strengthens the brand.

Promote: lead writers retreats (sept mackinaw island, no cars) (2024 in Redwoods in Cali) writing in am and activities in pm. More info at lynnegolodner.com

https://www.yourtango.com/self/climbing-dog-mountain-after-divorce-grueling-hike-easiest-thing-could-do (Dog Mountain essay)

• Next Episode: 2023 Review

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Writer Craft Facebook Group

Valerie’s Services: https://valerieihsan.com

Valerie’s Author Site: https://valerieihsanauthor.com

Valerie’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

Erick’s Services: https://erickmertzwriting.com

Erick’s free book on Ghostwriting: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/cexki4kp5n

Erick’s Author Site: https://erickmertzauthor.com

Erick’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

View Details

Thank you to new patrons Lily Fouts and Leslie Hall and Meyari McFarland. Welcome!

Also, the winner of the Goody Bag drawing is Kathleen Kendricks. Congratulations! You've already been contacted. And to the patrons who signed up in November, I'll be sending out the stickers and calendars, your postcards, and the Goody Bag contents this month. I need to wait for the printing of the wall calendars first. I'll make an announcement on the Patreon page to let you know when they ship out. Thank you so much for making my first Patreon campaign so much fun. I think I might do this every year. :-)

Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in our work offline and here in the podcast.

This podcast is sponsored by our patrons at Patreon.com/valerieihsan.

Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan for books, writing instruction, coaching, and planning. Go to

Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre

Patron comment:

Comments/email from listeners:

Questions from listeners:

Announcements:

• Early Bird registration is open for the 2024 Writer Craft Writing Retreat. At this point, there is only four private tickets left and three shared tickets. We'll likely sell out again.
• I'm in a new anthology by Tsunami Press with my essay "Eye Contact." It's in stores now. You can order at http://www.tsunamibooks.org/shop/pre-order-tsunami-press-first-anthology with free shipping in the U.S. or order wherever books are sold.
• Season of the Shadow up now! (Erick's new title.)

• UPDATE:

• Valerie:

• finishing up life coaching training

• Thinking about my next campaign for new clients, and the bonus material I'll put together for that.

• Erick:

• 48.484K words in Nanowrimo book, taking some unexpected turns; been a great experience.
• wrote a Nano book (now a new series!); working on Book 3 of NEW series
• print edition of new book
• newsletter hygiene
• cover designs

Just finished:

I'M READING: What's a Poor Girl to Do?: Prostitution in Mid-Nineteenth Century America by Elizabeth A. Topping and Ma and Me by Putsana Reang

Catching the Big Fish by David Lynch

Up Next:

Soiled Doves: Prostitution in the the Early West by Anne Seagraves

Frog Music by Emma Donoghue

Harness: A Systemic Approach: Guaranteed to Revolutionize Your Coaching by Tess Cope

• Erick's Reading:

Widowmaker by Paul Doiron

The Last Ronin (TMNT)

• Show Notes:

Erick surprises me with a question that I have to answer on the spot!

• Next Episode: Lynne Golodner on Mining Life for Story

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Writer Craft Facebook Group

Valerie’s Services: https://valerieihsan.com

Valerie’s Author Site: https://valerieihsanauthor.com

Valerie’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

Erick’s Services: https://erickmertzwriting.com

Erick’s free book on Ghostwriting: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/cexki4kp5n

Erick’s Author Site: https://erickmertzauthor.com

Erick’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

View Details

Thank you to new patron Kathleen Kendrick. Welcome!

She will get the limited edition sticker and entry to the drawing for the Goody bag that includes a 2024 Passion Planner and coaching with me, along with a couple of other fun things. PLUS, a wall calendar I designed.

Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in our work offline and here in the podcast.

This podcast is sponsored by our patrons at Patreon.com/valerieihsan.

Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan for books, writing instruction, coaching, and planning. Go to

Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre

Announcements:

• Early Bird registration is open for the 2024 Writer Craft Writing Retreat. At this point, there is only four private tickets left and three shared tickets. We'll likely sell out again.
• I'm in a new anthology by Tsunami Press with my essay "Eye Contact." It's in stores now. You can order at http://www.tsunamibooks.org/shop/pre-order-tsunami-press-first-anthology with free shipping in the U.S. or order wherever books are sold.
• Season of the Shadow up now! (Erick's new title.)

UPDATES:

Valerie:

• doing more life coaching training
• Thinking about my next campaign for new clients, and the bonus material I'll put together for that.
• finishing up a course I bought in the summer Show the Fuck Up (on branding).

Erick:

• 48.484K words in Nanowrimo book, taking some unexpected turns; been a great experience.

I'M READING:

Just finished: Quit Like a Millionaire: No Gimmicks, Luck, or Trust Fund Required by Kristy Shen and Bryce Leung

Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

Catching the Big Fish by David Lynch

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

Up Next:

Ma and Me by Putsana Reang

Harness: A Systemic Approach: Guaranteed to Revolutionize Your Coaching by Tess Cope

Erick's Reading:

All the Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby

Show Notes:

• Limiting beliefs limits the action steps to success.
• Perhaps we use our ideals to create them. When you name them, it gives them power.
• "I'm not good at basketball." "I'm not a morning person." "I can't write short."Add a "yet" to help turn it around. Train your brain to believe whatever.
• Reframe
• What's the goal?

View Details

Thank you to new patron Chad Boyer. Welcome! He will get the limited edition sticker and entry to the drawing for the Goody bag that includes a 2024 Passion Planner and coaching with me, along with a couple of other fun things. PLUS, a wall calendar I designed.

Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in our work offline and here in the podcast.

This podcast is sponsored by our patrons at Patreon.com/valerieihsan. Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan.

Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre

Patron comment: I figured it was time to put my money where my ears were since I listen to you and Erick each week.

Announcements:

• Early Bird registration is now for the 2024 Writer Craft Writing Retreat, at this point, there is only four private tickets left and three shared tickets. We'll likely sell out again.
• I'm in a new anthology by Tsunami Press with my essay "Eye Contact." It's in stores now. You can order at http://www.tsunamibooks.org/shop/pre-order-tsunami-press-first-anthology with free shipping in the U.S. or order wherever books are sold.
• Preorder of Season of the Shadow up now. (Erick's new title.) Nov 30th.
• I'm really excited about the new tiers. I've added some really special things to the benefits. And if you sign up for a patron tier, you get a limited edition large vinyl sticker with the quote:

As well as a 2024 wall calendar I designed with photos I've taken in my travels this year and of my dogs ('cuz who doesn't love a cute doggy picture), and entry into a drawing for a Goody Bag with a 2024 Passion Planner (red Year of the Dragon, weekly, Monday start), some stickers and pens, and 30 minutes of life or business coaching from me.

UPDATE:

• Valerie:
• doing more life coaching training
• Thinking about my next campaign for new clients, and the bonus material I'll put together for that.
• finishing up a course I bought in the summer Show the Fuck Up (on branding).
• woodcrafters.org class tomorrow.
• cleaning up the back end of Patreon.
• Nanowrimo in November is becoming more of a RebalWriMo for me.

• going to an Altin Gün concert in Portland on Friday--staying with our friend Josh

• Erick:

• 24,800K words in Nanowrimo book, taking some unexpected turns

I'M READING:

Whiskey in a Teacup: What Growing Up in the South Taught Me About Life, Love, and Baking Biscuits by Reece Witherspoon

Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

Catching the Big Fish by David Lynch

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

• Erick's Reading:

Fiends in the Furrow (anthology)

The Singer's Gun by Emily St. John Mandel

https://www.oldgodsofappalachia.com podcast

Show Notes:

• Use the Writer Beware services!
• If you've been approached, that's a red flag. And companies asking for money, that's a red flag.
• Making relationships may help you.
• Talk with the contractor whom you are hiring.
• Know the parts and why they are important, research different prices, make a choice, learn what you need to learn, shop, hire.

View Details

Thanks to current patrons Leah Joy Espinoza and Michelle Coleman who have edited their memberships to one of the new tiers. They will both get the limited edition sticker and entry to the drawing for the Goody bag that includes a 2024 Passion Planner and coaching with me, along with a couple of other fun things.

Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in our work offline and here in the podcast.

This podcast is sponsored by our patrons at Patreon.com/valerieihsan. Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan.

Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre

Patron comment: Both were great sessions! Thank you!!!

Announcements:

• Early Bird registration is now for the 2024 Writer Craft Writing Retreat, at this point, there is only five private tickets left and three shared tickets. We'll likely sell out again.
• I'm in a new anthology by Tsunami Press with my essay "Eye Contact." It's in stores now. You can order at http://www.tsunamibooks.org/shop/pre-order-tsunami-press-first-anthology with free shipping in the U.S. or order wherever books are sold.
• Preorder of Season of the Shadow up now. (Erick's new title.) Nov 30th.

I'M READING:

Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

Catching the Big Fish by David Lynch

Starling House by Alix E. Harrow

Harness: A Systemic Approach: Guaranteed to Revolutionize Your Coaching by Tess Cope

Up Next: What's a Poor Girl to Do?: Prostitution in Mid-Nineteenth Century America by Elizabeth A. Topping

Soiled Doves: Prostitution in the the Early West by Anne Seagraves

Frog Music by Emma Donoghue

Ma and Me by Putsana Reang

• Erick's Reading:

Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak

The Singer's Gun by Emily St. John Mandel

https://www.oldgodsofappalachia.com podcast

KimBoo is reading:

History of the Book (nonfiction), Master and Commander (audiobook), Family Secrets (podcast)

SHOW NOTES:

Find KimBoo on Ream and her website, House of York.

1000-2000 words per episode/installment (but doesn't matter) post one a week or every two weeks

5000-10000 once a month up to six months

Find a rhythm.

Hard things about serial writing (beware list): don't forget the long story arc (at least lurking in the background)

Process: release in installments (as a consumer it's exciting)

Go back the long arc in revision. What part does this season meet in the long arc?

Story beats

Serial expectations

Commitment: you can wrap it up and rush the ending if you need to--as long as know the long arc. (Maybe even within 2-5 episodes)

novel=season

The Wandering Inn (longest(?) running serial)

Spreadsheet breaks down long arcs and season arcs. Link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1E6I6Z4TwKgVtUTaid28J2ng_tSxU0HjauV9OievkcTE/edit?usp=sharing

Name of book coming out: By the Seat of Your Pants: Using the Discovery Writing Technique (in January 2024)

Unstoppable Storyteller (current nonfiction available from KimBoo York)

Tip: Character Motivation (ask the bigger question, what's the critical thing that drives the story's long arc)

What makes a story exciting? Analyzing what makes a good long writing series (television, multiple seasons with structure, story arcs are nested = key) long story arc (hero's journey), season arc nested and have own structure (three act structure) when season ends, the long story is not resolved. Installment arcs (like a chapter in a book); cliff hangers are not necessary if you've done a good job with the long arc. When one ends, marry it up with a long arc beat.

Lord of the Rings classic (side quests)

Transmigrated Teri on Ream (but some on Substack).

The Queen's Eiry is being serialized right now. (On Wattpad, romance)

A serial story designed to be very long and complex. A different format.

Different consumers of art: little bit vs big chunks

Hit multiple markets.

Serial fiction prior to Vella? LiveJournal, Archive of our Own, (for fan fiction)

Options now: Radish, Ream, Patreon, Vella, etc.

View Details

Thanks to new patron Leah Joy Espinoza!

Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in our work offline and here in the podcast.

This podcast is sponsored by our patrons at Patreon.com/valerieihsan. Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan.

Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre

Patron comment: Both were great sessions! Thank you!!!

Announcements:

• Early Bird registration is now for the 2024 Writer Craft Writing Retreat, at this point, there is only five private tickets left and three shared tickets. We'll likely sell out again.
• I'm in a new anthology by Tsunami Press with my essay "Eye Contact." It's coming out next week. I'm told the books will be in the store November 9th. You can preorder at http://www.tsunamibooks.org/shop/pre-order-tsunami-press-first-anthology
• Preorder of Season of the Shadow up now. (Erick's new title.) Nov 30th.
• New patronage tiers are out TODAY at Patreon.com/valerieihsan. I'm really excited about the new tiers. I've added some really special things to the benefits. And if you sign up for a patron tier, you get a limited edition large vinyl sticker with the quote:

Patron announcement:

UPDATE:

• Valerie:
• getting ready for the conference, launched the new Patreon tiers and released the summer retreat tickets today
• woodcrafters.org class on November 16th. (Need one more person to sign up for that. It's in-person and also online

• Nanowrimo in November (Erick is too!)

• Erick:

• prepping to send out ARCS
• house closed on Monday

Just finished: The Stranger Upstairs by Lisa M. Matlin

I'M READING:

Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware

Catching the Big Fish by David Lynch

Indelible by Laurie Buchanan

Harness: A Systemic Approach: Guaranteed to Revolutionize Your Coaching by Tess Cope

Up Next: What's a Poor Girl to Do?: Prostitution in Mid-Nineteenth Century America by Elizabeth A. Topping

Soiled Doves: Prostitution in the the Early West by Anne Seagraves

Frog Music by Emma Donoghue

• Erick's Reading:

Hidden Pictures by Jason Rekulak

View Details

Announcements:

• EARLY access to the Early Bird registration is now, so if want early access for sold out tickets, become a patron this month.
• I'm in a new anthology by Tsunami Press with my essay "Eye Contact." You can preorder at http://www.tsunamibooks.org/shop/pre-order-tsunami-press-first-anthology Due out the beginning of October 2023.
• Preorder of Season of the Shadow up now. (Erick's new title.) Nov 16th.
• Erick speaking at Pike's Peak Writing Conference in Colorado Springs in April 2024.

Patron announcement:

UPDATE:

• Valerie:
• home from Florida yesterday: saw my mom and my sister and bro-in-law and all the nieces and nephews.
• speaking at another conference in a week: Write in the Harbor.
• woodcrafters.org class on November 16th.

• Nanowrimo in November (Erick is too!)

• Erick:

• prepping to send out ARCS
• finish the closing of the house sale
• going to Florida tomorrow to see family

Just finished: The Stranger Upstairs by Lisa M. Matlin

I'M READING: beta read and client work, plus:

Catching the Big Fish by David Lynch

Indelible by Laurie Buchanan

Harness: A Systemic Approach: Guaranteed to Revolutionize Your Coaching by Tess Cope

Up Next: What's a Poor Girl to Do?: Prostitution in Mid-Nineteenth Century America by Elizabeth A. Topping

Soiled Doves: Prostitution in the the Early West by Anne Seagraves

Frog Music by Emma Donoghue

The Ocean at the End of the Lane by Neil Gaiman

• Erick's Reading:

Jo Nesbo's The Night House

S.A. Cosby's All the Sinners Bleed (Blacktop Wasteland)

The Singer's Gun Emily St John Mandel

Children of Ruin Adrian Tchaikovsky

• Show Notes:
• Making decisions in your business all day long, every day.
• High level: how to spend my ad budget, what should I write next?
• Lower level: when to think about things, what to wear to a conference, when to check emails

How to make decisions:

Is there even a "problem" here? (What problem does this impulse suppposedly address?)

Identify the goal first.

Shut it off or put it in the queue.

Hierarchy of steps, assigning decisions.

Separate questions from ones I answer and ones I ask someone else.

Minimize trouble. Three columns: I know how to do this and I'm not going to pay for, don't have skill for this and I'm going to pay for it, I'm okay with this but could someone else do it better? (Am I going to hire, or learn, how am I going to handle this?)

Obstacles to making decisions: overwhelm, FOMO, paralysis analysis, not having enough info, tired, thinking time, biological needs, over-emphasizing the things we enjoy and am good at (as opposed to the other stuff), distraction, perfectionism.

Failure is not trying.

Having a clear objective. What is most important thing here? (Because we outgrow goals eventually.)

View Details

I'M READING: beta read and client work, plus:

Catching the Big Fish by David Lynch

Indelible by Laurie Buchanan

Harness: A Systemic Approach: Guaranteed to Revolutionize Your Coaching by Tess Cope

Up Next: What's a Poor Girl to Do?: Prostitution in Mid-Nineteenth Century America by Elizabeth A. Topping

Soiled Doves: Prostitution in the the Early West by Anne Seagraves

Frog Music by Emma Donoghue

• Erick's Reading:

Ultimate Werewolf Collection

The Singer's Gun Emily St John Mandel

Children of Ruin Adrian Tchaikovsky

• Show Notes:
• Part of a tradition; spoken broadcast
• Content marketing; you have to enjoy; you have to choose
• Becomes a Backlist
• Erick's Regular Listens: sound opinions, novel marketing podcast, locked on blazers, baseball today, elder sign, skeptoid, strange studies of strange stories, the rusty quill, white vault, BBC Lovecraft

Listen while cooking, cleaning, walking, driving, working out.

If the topic is interesting or the guest is interesting, listen.

Mark it as played, if not.

Completist mentality not relevant today.

Have somewhat replaced craft books.

Want to be: Relevant, useful, entertaining.

View Details

Announcements:

• EARLY access to the Early Bird registration is now, so if want early access for sold out tickets, become a patron this month.
• I'm in a new anthology by Tsunami Press with my essay "Eye Contact." You can preorder at http://www.tsunamibooks.org/shop/pre-order-tsunami-press-first-anthology Due out the beginning of October 2023.
• Preorder of Season of the Shadow up now. (Erick's new title.) Nov 16th.
• Erick speaking at Pike's Peak Writing Conference in Colorado Springs in April 2024.

UPDATE:

• Valerie:
• speaking at another conference next month
• Becca Syme's 30 for 30 this month

• Nanowrimo in November (Erick is too!)

• Erick:

• working on little things; short stories, etc

I'M READING: beta read

Slammerkin by Emma Donoghue

Harness: A Systemic Approach: Guaranteed to Revolutionize Your Coaching by Tess Cope

Up Next: What's a Poor Girl to Do?: Prostitution in Mid-Nineteenth Century America by Elizabeth A. Topping

Soiled Doves: Prostitution in the the Early West by Anne Seagraves

Frog Music by Emma Donoghue

• Erick's Reading:

• The Most Expensive Mistress in Jefferson County by James Misko

• Show Notes:

Backlist are books previously published, still in print, for at least a year.

Helps with discoverability.

Not running on new releases all the time, but backlist props that all up.

Promote backlist books when not publishing.

Keeps people interested while they are waiting for the next book.

Keeps those titles alive, so when talking to fans about the books, you still know the sizzle of those books.

In it for the long haul; tap into the love of the backlist.

In book launch mode: use amazon free days for promo Book 1 and 2 before 3 comes out. To move them into the series after reading free book 0.

Talk about elements of older books (if you liked those, you'll love the new book).

Use backlist as a conversation starter.

Even with stand alone. If you liked xx, I've also written yyy.

Use old books to talk about the new books.

Opportunity to develop new story elements (looking at older books to see what else you can explore).

Fan service. Expanding on backlist. Going wider as well as longer.

Instead of marketing with ads, fan service to grow your audience.

All books equally important, no barrier to purchase.

Finding fans, less about marketing to the world and more marketing to your tribe.

Manufacture your own promo and free days, if you are wide.

Audiobooks, Large Print edition, Workbook ... incrementally or all at once.

It's your process. Own it. Use it the way makes sense

View Details

PATREON:

Thanks to Jo Bartlett for increasing their patronage tier. We so appreciate you. And they've chosen the benefits tier that includes retreat tickets and monthly coaching, so WELCOME. We'll have so much fun.

ALSO, Welcome to new patrons Nora Coutis Hanson, Michelle Coleman, and Mason Tufts.

And Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in our work offline and here in the podcast.

This podcast is sponsored by our patrons at Patreon.com/valerieihsan. For as low as a $1/mo, you can get a postcard from me, a shout out on the podcast, and we can make announcements for you on air. At other tiers, the benefits increase--free books, accountability Zoom calls, scene analysis, mastermind calls, and even free Writer Craft retreat tickets. Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan.

Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre

Comments/email from listeners: Great episode! :) Exactly what I needed. (From Jo Bartlett, a patron, re: Ep128: Accountability Buddies and Masterminds.)

Questions from listeners:

Announcements:

• EARLY access to the Early Bird registration is now, so if want early access for sold out tickets, become a patron this month.
• I'm in a new anthology by Tsunami Press with my essay "Eye Contact." You can preorder at http://www.tsunamibooks.org/shop/pre-order-tsunami-press-first-anthology Due out the beginning of October 2023.
• Preorder of Season of the Shadow up now. (Erick's new title.) Nov 16th.

Patron announcement:

UPDATE:

• Valerie:
• speaking at conference this weekend
• Becca Syme's 30 for 30 this month

• Nanowrimo in November (Erick is too!)

• Erick:

• working on little things; short stories, etc
• mostly moved in; need to unpack now

Just finished:

I'M READING: beta read

Slammerkin by Emma Donoghue

Harness: A Systemic Approach: Guaranteed to Revolutionize Your Coaching by Tess Cope

Up Next: What's a Poor Girl to Do?: Prostitution in Mid-Nineteenth Century America by Elizabeth A. Topping

Soiled Doves: Prostitution in the the Early West by Anne Seagraves

Frog Music by Emma Donoghue

• Erick's Reading:
• BearTown by Fredrick Backman
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles graphic novels series

Tom Lake by Ann Patchett (brilliant with characterization, story within a story, three sisters)

• Show Notes:

Mary Carroll Moore is a bestselling and award-winning author of 14 books in 3 genres, including thePEN/Faulkner-and Lambda Literary Awards nominated young adult novel, Qualities of Light, the prequel to A Woman's Guide to Search & Rescue. She received her MFA from Goddard College and has taught throughout the US and abroad at various writing schools and universities since 1998. Her writing-craft book, Your Book Starts Here, won the New Hampshire Literary Awards “Reader’s Choice” award. Before moving into fiction, she worked as a chef, a cooking-school owner, a cookbook author, and a syndicated columnist for the Los Angeles Times. Her first cookbook won a JuliaChild/IACP award. Over two hundred of her essays, stories, and articles have appeared in magazines and literary journals. She lives in New Hampshire with her family.

Storyboarding for Novelists idea.

Snippets = islands; Work on islands for 30K words, then create structure map, W method (Joseph Campbell)

Warm up is first four chapters (Mary)

Title exercise: find fifteen titles on the internet that you like, and why you like them, and then make your own list of fifteen titles.

Kirkus Review is paid promotion.

Independent Book Review

Publisher's Weekly

Book List

Newsletter on Substack.

IG Blogger tour. (Bookstagrammer)

Google Bookstagram Tour Guide

Cover Reveal.

Everything is online now.

Podcast and social media.

Preorder October 24th; audio book out now.

Literary Thriller.

Go-to meal: curry, Thai food, Indian food, southeast Asian

Julia Cameron's Walking in This World

Marycarrollmoore.com

#1000wordsofsummer (Jami Attenberg)

Next Episode: How to Use Your Backlist

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Announcements:

• Early registration for the 2024 retreat opens November 1 for the public, but EARLY access to the Early Bird registration is Oct 1 (next month) so if want early access for sold out tickets, become a patron this month.
• I'm in a new anthology by Tsunami Press with my essay "Eye Contact." You can preorder at http://www.tsunamibooks.org/shop/pre-order-tsunami-press-first-anthology Due out the beginning of October 2023.
• Preorder of Season of the Shadow up now. (Erick's new title.)

I'M READING: beta read

The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry

Harness: A Systemic Approach: Guaranteed to Revolutionize Your Coaching by Tess Cope

Up Next: Slammerkin by Emma Donoghue

Erick's Reading:

BearTown by Fredrick Backman

Show Notes:

A hook grabs attention and pulls a reader in. It can also be the premise or setting. Should be on the first page--third page at the maximum. It's the story promise, and causes a curiosity to know more and turn the pages.

First chapter should have many questions raised, but answer only one (or two?) at end of the first chapter. (Tex Thompson)

First lines vs hook: (The 1st line could be considered the beginning of the hook.)

Write one true sentence and then another... (Hemingway)

Start with the best line.

What does my book have? How quickly, succinctly, mysteriously can I start my novel?

Film writing: Why now? Why this scene now?

What are the elements of the story that are different? Know what's unique about your story.

First line file [put in brackets]

Hook file (story ideas)

What If? = premise

Know the tropes of your genre so that you can subvert it and put a unique spin on it.

Either have to be first, different, or best. (In business.)

As a writer, there are plenty of options to be different.

Titles: either first idea or the 50th.

Next Episode: How to Use Your Backlist

View Details

Announcements:

• Early registration for the 2024 retreat opens November 1 for the public, but EARLY access to the Early Bird registration is Oct 1 (next month) so if want early access for sold out tickets, become a patron this month.
• I'm in a new anthology by Tsunami Press with my essay "Eye Contact." You can preorder at http://www.tsunamibooks.org/shop/pre-order-tsunami-press-first-anthology Due out the beginning of October 2023.
• Preorder of Season of the Shadow up now. (Erick's new title.)

Patron announcement:

UPDATE:

• Valerie:

• floors and bee-sting.

• Erick:

• rewrite is done
• mostly moved in; need to unpack now

Just finished:

I'M READING: beta read

The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry

Harness: A Systemic Approach: Guaranteed to Revolutionize Your Coaching by Tess Cope

Erick's Reading:

• In the Woods by Tana French

Show Notes:

Writing conference--

Networking, meeting new author friends

Education

Conference Cycle

In person = accidental knowledge

Volunteering at conferences, see things behind the scene (the business of conferences/writing industry)

"Easy" to pitch to:

Cedar Mills Writers Group (Conference) Beaverton, Oregon;

North Woods Writers Conference, Minnesota

Strategy: pick a region, go state by state in Google Search + writing conference; make a spreadsheet.

Find the conference director: contact with query letter; ask them for help getting into the circuit=email exchange.

Even a no is okay.

"What does your audience need?"

Conferences gain momentum: idea to date on calendar to push through to the end.

Pitch in January for late summer conferences;

Three month hangover after conferences;

They might call you back after speaking once.

Payment: from none (line item on resume), to honorarium, to travel and lodging. Tax deductible trip. Conference attendance thrown in.

After awhile, start weighing which ones are more lucrative and only pitch to them.

Every conference wants the info a different way: if using Submittable, you can copy and paste your answers in; "If you need a panel seat filled, I'll fill it."

View Details

Announcements:

• Group Coaching Sept 12- $500 for 3-months (works out to $165/mo and my 1:1 weekly coaching is $500, so you can see the price difference there) Go to valerieihsan.com/shopping DISCOUNT: podcast (10% off)
• Early registration for the 2024 retreat opens November 1 for the public, but EARLY access to the Early Bird registration is Oct 1 (next month) so if want early access for sold out tickets, become a patron this month.
• I'm in a new anthology by Tsunami Press with my essay "Eye Contact." You can preorder at http://www.tsunamibooks.org/shop/pre-order-tsunami-press-first-anthology Due out the beginning of October 2023.
• Preorder of Season of the Shadow up now. (Erick's new title.)

I'M READING:

The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry

Harness: A Systemic Approach: Guaranteed to Revolutionize Your Coaching by Tess Cope

Erick's Reading:

In the Woods by Tana French

Parable of the Sower (Zach Jeffries)

Show Notes:

Zachary Jeffries hails from the southeastern United Sates where his first jobs were lawn mower, pizza cook, and stable hand. His overactive imagination and love for reading led to to various routes of storytelling through improv, screenwriting, and the Chicago theatre scene. After working under a myriad of names, Jeffries now writes contemporary Young Adult fantasy brimming with tropes, humor, and action. Along with The Unseen Curse and Angel of Fate, Jeffries also publishes middle grade books under the pen name Z Jeffries. You can read books from either pseudonym by signing up at ZJeffries.com.

Romantasy: high fantasy with romantic story

K-letics says paranormal romance trending down; fantasy romance trending up

Host TikTok Live every week, Mondays @JeffriesBooks 9:30 p.m. Eastern

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater

Holly Black books

Writers group started every meeting with a ten minute writing prompt. Didn't like it. Didn't want to put words into something else besides WIP. Caused self-doubt. Moved. Started new group. New prompts: seed for current WIP--fits any projects. Look at your WIP with new lens. Started giving Nanowrimo talks with writing prompts.

#Zprompt (TikTok) neurodivergent folks appreciate these prompts because of hyper focus engaging in a traditional writing prompt.

Zach's newsletters have writing prompts at the end.

Book is based on prompts per story elements.

Can use the book prompts for drafting or editing.

Sometimes you don't have writing momentum. Strategy: step back and focus on something different (character relationships; plot on auto-pilot) How the character hides a secret, for instance.

Visual media's focus of the camera is interesting.

Someone asked for THE BOOK.

Boredom is good.

Think about one aspect that is different from the movie you just watched. (CopLand fave movie.)

Neuro-divergent writer as a long-time critique partner, gives great feedback. Used autistic and ADHD beta readers for this book.

Re-organizing the ebook with hyper-links in order to make the prompts accessible throughout the book, in multiple elements. (Making it easier to jump around the book.)

Found the audience for something in an organic way.

Catching the Big Fish by David Lynch (follow the idea)

Can you use this prompting to decide if a story idea has legs? If you love the story, the story prompts can help. Story development exercise at back of book. Help with outlining.

More books are coming.

Book on preorder now. (Wide.) Break Through to "The End": Practical Writing Prompts to Elevate Your Work-in-Progress Scene-by-Scene by Zach Jeffries

ZJeffries.com

Urban fantasy with sweet romance: The Unseen Curse

Angel of God's End by Zachary Jeffries (preorder)

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Announcements:

• Group Coaching Sept 12- $500 for 3-months (works out to $165/mo and my 1:1 weekly coaching is $500, so you can see the price difference there) Go to valerieihsan.com/shopping DISCOUNT: podcast (10% off)
• Early registration for the 2024 retreat opens November 1 for the public, but EARLY access to the Early Bird registration is Oct 1 (next month) so if want early access for sold out tickets, become a patron this month.
• I'm in a new anthology by Tsunami Press with my essay "Eye Contact." You can preorder at http://www.tsunamibooks.org/shop/pre-order-tsunami-press-first-anthology Due out the beginning of October 2023.

I'M READING:

The Essex Serpent by Sarah Perry

Erick's Reading:

• Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine, July-August 2023 "Bridges"

Show Notes:

Mastermind groups, accountability groups, networking groups all benefit you because you have community, camaraderie, hive mind--plus the added drive to finish your projects because you have to report back to the people in your group.

Creative thinking about my (Erick's) business:

The minute you know what you are doing, you've stopped growing, talking with other people keeps you curious

Next Episode: Writing Prompts for Neurodivergent People (interview)

Zachary Jeffries hails from the southeastern United Sates where his first jobs were lawn mower, pizza cook, and stable hand. His overactive imagination and love for reading led to to various routes of storytelling through improv, screenwriting, and the Chicago theatre scene. After working under a myriad of names, Jeffries now writes contemporary Young Adult fantasy brimming with tropes, humor, and action. Along with The Unseen Curse and Angel of Fate, Jeffries also publishes middle grade books under the pen name Z Jeffries. You can read books from either pseudonym by signing up at ZJeffries.com.

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PATREON:

Welcome back, Jo Bartlett! And Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in us and in the podcast.

This podcast is sponsored by our patrons at Patreon.com/valerieihsan. For as low as a $1/mo, you can get a postcard from me, a shout out on the podcast, and we can make announcements for you on air. At other tiers, the benefits increase--free books, accountability Zoom calls, scene analysis, mastermind calls, and even free Writer Craft retreat tickets. Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan.

Patreon.com/strangeairstories for short stories in the paranormal mystery genre

Announcements:

• Group Coaching Sept 12- $500 for 3-months (works out to $165/mo and my 1:1 weekly coaching is $500, so you can see the price difference there) Go to valerieihsan.com/shopping DISCOUNT: podcast (10% off)

UPDATE:

• Valerie: master class at Southwest Washington Writers Conference next week,
• reflooring/packing in the next two weeks
• retreat was AWESOME; good feedback on the workshops; new novel idea!
• Erick: moving, finishing re-write with next novel, working raw (new scenes)--chaos is inspirational; Sept/Oct launch, finish short stories, write outside series, master class teaching in Alaska next month, next pitch Pike's Peak Writing Conference

I'M READING:

Lucky Red by Claudia Cravens

• Erick's Reading:
• Never Split the Difference by Chris Voss (technique of hostage negotiation and how to process conflict verbally); Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel; Camp Slaughter by Sergio Gomez

Show Notes:

Anchors: Taking a walk with my dog and exploring the neighborhood, Introverted morning time; Permission to write the idea down (Erick); reading a book on the couch under a blanket with a hot cup of something. (Valerie)

If running a business, go ahead and check emails (Erick); Valerie only looks for fires or new clients with questions.

What's the first thing you do when you come back from chaos? journaling; low expectations (soft landings), little things that take no brain power; look at the new situation to find the joy in it.

Knowing energy level. Don't do hard stuff at 50% capacity.

Soft landing the week upon reentry.

Sunday to set up the week (evening time: post weekly blog and plan for the week, and then every Thursday to check-in to make a new plan to finish the work before the weekend.

View Details

Announcements:

Shared Lodging ticket [AND a private ticket] just opened up for the retreat for a woman-identified person wanting to share a tipi with two twin beds. $650 for all food and lodging, coaching, instruction, and retreat time.

Group Coaching Sept 12- Dec 12 $500 for 3-months (works out to $165/mo and my 1:1 weekly coaching is $500, so you can see the price difference there) Go to valerieihsan.com/shopping

Books:

Just finished: Rich as Fuck by Amanda Frances, A Most Agreeable Murder by Julia Seales, and

Eliza Starts a Rumor by Jane Rosen

I'M READING:

Wildwood Magic by Willa Reece, I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi, and At the Coffee Shop of Curiosities by Heather Webber.

Erick's Reading:

Roni Stinger's Fuzzy (Rewind or Die series)

The Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton

On Fire Island by Jane Rosen

Duma Key by Stephen King

The Ophelia Killer by Valerie Geary

Rick Rubin The Creative Act: A Way of Being

Stella Maris by Cormac McCarthy

Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

Show Notes:

Content: books, posts, podcast, blog, videos (inspiration, tutorials), website copy, ad copy

This is where marketing is going.

Personal videos. We buy from people we know.

Anything you can do is a viable option to connection with authors, everything requires time, effort, promoting.

Be authentic.

The time to start is now.

Get past the awkwardness.

Your audience doesn't know that you are learning in public.

Honesty is disarming. Use empathy and understanding in business. People want to help. That connects you to your audience.

Holding out the hand of perfection.

Dear World, Here's Me.

Write to Someone. (Everyone is not your core audience.)

It's not dead unless it's dead to you.

View Details

Announcements:

Shared Lodging ticket [AND a private ticket] just opened up for the retreat for a woman-identified person wanting to share a tipi with two twin beds. $650 for all food and lodging, coaching, instruction, and retreat time.

Group Coaching Sept 12- Dec 12 $500 for 3-months (works out to $165/mo and my 1:1 weekly coaching is $500, so you can see the price difference there) Go to valerieihsan.com/shopping

BOOKS:

I'M READING:

Just finished: Rich as Fuck by Amanda Frances, A Most Agreeable Murder by Julia Seales, and Eliza Starts a Rumor by Jane Rosen

Wildwood Magic by Willa Reece and I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi and At the Coffee Shop of Curiosities by Heather Webber

Erick's Reading:

Roni Stinger's Fuzzy (Rewind or Die series)

The Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton

On Fire Island by Jane Rosen

Duma Key by Stephen King

The Ophelia Killer by Valerie Geary

Rick Rubin The Creative Act: A Way of Being

Stella Maris by Cormac McCarthy

Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

Show Notes:

Know what your ROI is. Do the math. Are you breaking even? Are you making any money on the ad?

Book 1: loss leader, Book 2-4 can run ads

Lose money on purpose for mailing list growth.

Ads are like gambling. Only use $ you can lose.

Ads for services. Google Ads for business. (Organic traffic as well as new ad traffic.)

Cost per click (long term ads) based on criteria. 30 cents may be the norm, depending. Erick does $10/day. Looking for a lower click rate. Give google keywords. Target the right audience and decide when to run the ads. Drive down the cost per click (goal) by finding the sweet spot with the keywords--like with your books on Amazon.

Niche keywords can cross over with bigger keywords. Can start with $5/day or $2/day for a week, see how they perform and then add a keyword or change the interest, etc. Eventually they plateau.

3 or 4 hours/week at first; 3 ads just running, check every morning to see organic vs paid traffic; paying to have someone run, tweak, and report on the ads

Ask established authors. Don't hire a big firm.

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Writer Craft Facebook Group

View Details

Show Notes:

Jane's local bookstore: McNally Jackson, Seaport location

May release: On Fire Island On Fire Island Spotify playlist

Her first book was translated in ten languages

Sold first screenplay (optioned three times; never made the film)

Fired from own idea (reworked it 10 times)

Eliza Starts A Rumor optioned by NBC (someone else is writing T.V. show)

Nine Women One Dress (novels get made into movies faster than screenplays do); has been optioned twice.

On Fire Island was a script first and then novel.

"Novice" = when you write a screenplay and add descriptions of place and characters; that's some else's job.

Phoebe Cates (Kevin Kline's wife) is first reader

Wants to try write stage play.

One book a year, so it'll have to wait. Writing books is best thing to do during a writer's strike.

"Chat GPT didn't go to fat camp." (Favorite picket sign.)

Crafting the perfect sentence feels really good. It's fun to write a metaphor.

It's my own, as opposed to the screenplay which isn't yours anymore.

Chaos creates a distraction lets me think.

Write first rough with noise.

Editing needs quiet. (For the polish.)

Start early morning (no minutia) can do for hours. Use the clear mind.

Map out the story on notecards but then don't look at them again.

Woman's life falls apart trope (Seven Summer Weekends takes place back on Fire Island.)

Map out the story on notecards but then don't look at them again.

Woman's life falls apart trope (Seven Summer Weekends takes place back on Fire Island.)

View Details

Announcements:

Shared Lodging ticket [AND a private ticket] just opened up for the retreat for a woman-identified person wanting to share a tipi with two twin beds. $650 for all food and lodging, coaching, instruction, and retreat time. [$900 for the private ticket.]

Group Coaching Sept 12- Dec 12 $500 for 3-months (works out to $165/mo and my 1:1 weekly coaching is $500, so you can see the price difference there) Go to valerieihsan.com/shopping

Just finished: Rich as Fuck by Amanda Frances and listening to A Most Agreeable Murder by Julia Seales.

I'M READING:

Wildwood Magic by Willa Reece and I Will Teach You to Be Rich by Ramit Sethi

• Erick's Reading:
• Roni Stinger's Fuzzy (Rewind or Die series)
• The Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton

Show Notes:

(Hard things for Memoirists)

• Making the truth interesting,
• thinking of/understanding that a book is a tool in the publishing industry (reaching audience) Who are they talking to? Marketing can get in the way.
• reliving, (self-care when writing hard stuff) (seek a therapist if needed for re-traumatization)
• getting it right (idea of One Truth that gets in the way); OH! It's really about ...
• separating self from the character. (In order to receive feedback.)

View Details

Announcements:

Another Shared Lodging ticket just opened up for the retreat for a woman-identified person wanting to share a tipi with two twin beds. $650 for all food and lodging, coaching, instruction, and retreat time.

(Alumni offered a scholarship for a retreat ticket -- so if you'd like to apply for the scholarship, please email me and let me know what you are working on and why you'd like to come to the retreat.)

• (Focused Fan $50/mo includes one group mastermind call/month + weekly 1:1 15-minute accountability calls and emails + monthly scene analysis.)
• Group Coaching Sept 12- Dec 12 $500 for 3-months (works out to $165/mo and my 1:1 weekly coaching is $500, so you can see the price difference there) Go to valerieihsan.com/shopping

Show Notes:

Creative constraints and the mindset of a career author (long term) plus writing--get to quality through quantity--will get you to Professional Writer status.

Separate inner writer and editor; Getting words on the page gets you better; "Publish and ship."~ Seth Godin

Knowing clear line helps: I write this character even when I'm trying not to write that way. What are you obsessed about? The most authentic voice. Tight window of what that is. What keeps you up at night? Write what you know is theme. Plot is research.

Try voices until you find your own, stripping away not yours,

Planning to write for the rest of the life. Shift your habits based on lifestyle, always surprised by not outlining. Devise creative systems that can work for a lifetime.

What is your system?

Three things a day-- progressive things and maintenance things.

Notecards, outline, title, organize

100 horror hooks, narrow down ten, poll, pick, brainstorm put look to tentpoles of other films, put creative spin.

Story forge method

Separate own projects vs client work: every day is a war to write your own stuff; create windows of working on own stuff; get up early to do the three things and then stop if I want to.

Little promises to yourself stack and get you in direction of who you want to be. 0-1 is the struggle and will take longer than you think, but then you're there. Where you want to be.

Prolific means (process oriented) do this forever no matter what.

Focus on time, not words.

Know process.

Creative Principles Podcast and YouTube channel

@brockswinson on instagram and YouTube.

Give away 100K books on https://brockswinson.com

Daredevil Society documentary

Books:

Just finished: Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Kline and The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

I'M READING: Rich as Fuck by Amanda Frances and listening to A Most Agreeable Murder by Julia Seales.

Erick's Reading:

Rick Rubin The Creative Act: A Way of Being

Stella Maris by Cormac McCarthy

Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett

Brock is reading Russel Brunson's Dotcom Secrets and

Rich Cohen's The Fish That Ate the Whale: The Life and Times of America's Banana King

View Details

Announcements:

Another Shared Lodging ticket just opened up for the retreat for a woman-identified person wanting to share a tipi with two twin beds. $650 for all food and lodging, coaching, instruction, and retreat time.

(Alumni offered a scholarship for a retreat ticket -- so if you'd like to apply for the scholarship, please email me and let me know what you are working on and why you'd like to come to the retreat.)

• (Focused Fan $50/mo includes one group mastermind call/month + weekly 1:1 15-minute accountability calls and emails + monthly scene analysis.)
• Group Coaching Sept 12- Dec 12 $500 for 3-months (works out to $165/mo and my 1:1 weekly coaching is $500, so you can see the price difference there) Go to valerieihsan.com/shopping

Show Notes:

Creative constraints and the mindset of a career author (long term) plus writing--get to quality through quantity--will get you to Professional Writer status.

Separate inner writer and editor; Getting words on the page gets you better; "Publish and ship."~ Seth Godin

Knowing clear line helps: I write this character even when I'm trying not to write that way. What are you obsessed about? The most authentic voice. Tight window of what that is. What keeps you up at night? Write what you know is theme. Plot is research.

Try voices until you find your own, stripping away not yours,

Planning to write for the rest of the life. Shift your habits based on lifestyle, always surprised by not outlining. Devise creative systems that can work for a lifetime.

What is your system?

Three things a day-- progressive things and maintenance things.

Notecards, outline, title, organize

100 horror hooks, narrow down ten, poll, pick, brainstorm but look to tentpoles of other films, put creative spin.

Story forge method

Separate own projects vs client work: every day is a war to write your own stuff; create windows of working on own stuff; get up early to do the three things and then stop if I want to.

Little promises to yourself stack and get you in direction of who you want to be. 0-1 is the struggle and will take longer than you think, but then you're there. Where you want to be.

Prolific means (process oriented) do this forever no matter what.

Focus on time, not words.

Know process.

Creative Principles Podcast and YouTube channel

@brockswinson on instagram and YouTube.

Give away 100K books on https://brockswinson.com

Daredevil Society documentary

Books:

Just finished: Under the Whispering Door by T.J. Kline and The Hazel Wood by Melissa Albert

I'M READING: Rich as Fuck by Amanda Frances and listening to A Most Agreeable Murder by Julia Seales.

Erick's Reading:

Rick Rubin The Creative Act: A Way of Being

Stella Maris by Cormac McCarthy

Series of Unfortunate Events by Lemony Snicket

Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett

Brock is reading Russel Brunson's Dotcom Secrets and

Rich Cohen's The Fish That Ate the Whale: The Life and Times of America's Banana King

View Details

Show Notes:

• "reading, writing, and 'rithmitic"
• read a lot, in different genres, but especially in your own (to capture common tropes, obligatory scenes, and reader expectations)
• write a lot. Even if no one sees it. Even if it isn't specifically about your project.

• put in the time, the numbers.

• developing taste by reading

• developing voice: word choice, tonality, themes, The Anatomy of a Bestseller by Sacha Black
• developing craft and style:  follow twists and turns
• Thinking in Pictures by John Sayles
• The Art of Dramatic Writing
• The Triggering Town by Richard Hugo
• Be around creative people.
• Writing in Restaurants by David Mamet
• people watching and eavesdropping

Next Episode: Talking with Brock Swinson, host of Creative Principles Podcast, and author of Ink by the Barrel.

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Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Writer Craft Facebook Group

Show Notes:

Use the advice of editor to improve your writing--not only in the manuscript, but overall (as a writer).

Developmental editor (or Story Analysis or Diagnostic)/use when you are new to writing (Books 1-4?) or when started to write in a new genre./Can trade services with another author, or start a First Readers Book Club. They are fun.

Line (copy) editor/use every time!/Can trade, use beta readers, and/or use software like ProWritingAid. 

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

Proofreader/you'll get 1 star reviews for typos!/can trade or use software.

Next Episode: How to Get Better at Your Craft

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Announcements:

• free 7-day trial of my Mary Poppins Fan tier on Patreon. Regularly 15/mo https://patreon.com/valerieihsan.
• I've started a new book and will be rolling out the chapters as I write them on Patreon. Early Access; Feedback encouraged. Watch me write a book in real time.
• shared lodging ticket; $650; Go to valerieihsan.com/shopping
• Focused Fan $50/mo includes one group mastermind call/month + weekly 1:1 15-minute accountability calls and emails + monthly scene analysis.
• Group Coaching Sept 12- Dec 12 $500 for 3-months ($165/mo)

Patron announcement:

UPDATE:

• Valerie: Patreon, podcast, emails, weekly planning
• Erick: website re-launched erickmertzwriting.com

Jeff Elkins' new book launches July 1st: The Dialogue Doctor Will See You Now

Jeff's latest read:

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas

Just finished:

I'M READING: Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston

Bones Would Rain from the Sky: Deepening Our Relationships With Dogs by Suzanne Clothier;

Wabi Sabi: Japanese Wisdom for a Perfectly Imperfect Life by Beth Kempton.

Up Next: Instant Karma by Marissa Meyer

• Erick's Reading:

Rick Rubin The Creative Act: A Way of Being

The Passenger by Cormac McCarthy

Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

Cascade by Craig Davidson (stories)

Show Notes:

Jeff Elkins is a writer, podcaster, theologian, and writing coach. He’s the author of eleven novels including Inside Outside and the Adventures of Watkins and Howe Detective Series. He helps writers engage with readers by teaching them to write better dialogue as the Dialogue Doctor podcast. He talks about life after the evangelical church on the We Just Came for the Tacos Podcast. He has a BA in Religion from Baylor University and an MDiv from Truett Seminary. He lives with his wife and five kids north of Baltimore, Maryland.

7 components: exchanges, segments, scenes, utterances, vocalizations, body language, dialogue tags

Scenes (emotional movement); Segments (portions of the conversation within the scene); Exchanges (char participate in the conversation--character voice); Utterances (char's participation)

Touch on the reaction of char, even if not verbal, or they get lost in the fog and the reader forgets the char is there (pulls them out of the book). Don't skip a char for more than two segments.

How do I use this in memoir?

(Resource: Michael Lewis (nf writer))

Get someone's vocalization in the segments. (Inner dialogue counts) exchanges create energy in the text. Rapid back and forth.

Powerful narrative voice tells story in a reflective (authentic and vulnerable) way, but use scenes whenever possible.

Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey. Voice example.

Handmaid's Tale (fictional memoir) doesn't feel dialog-lite.

Vocalizations (what comes out of their mouth)(absence of vocalizations count too)

Body language shapes the vocalizations.

Dialogue tags: they are for I.D.; what they do/embellish; shape the vocalization (put said at end, readers ignore; at beginning, it slows them down; in middle of sentence, creates pauses for the reader to imagine the scene.)

Char Voice: words, topics, body lang, construction of utterances (punctuation, length, how often participate in conversation)

Plotters: think about personality of char, how do you want the reader to describe character? Plan out main character's voice before you start writing. What kind of body language will they have? What does this personality sound like?

Jeff Elkins: dialoguedoctor.com; courses and community

Ep#53: Dialogue Doctor Jeff Elkins Interview from 2/1/2022.

Next Episode: Different Types of Editing and Budget Alternatives

Resources:

Thinking in Pictures by John Sayles

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Announcements:

• free 7-day trial of my Mary Poppins Fan tier on Patreon. Regularly 15/mo https://patreon.com/valerieihsan.
• I've started a new book and will be rolling out the chapters as I write them on Patreon. Early Access; Feedback encouraged. Watch me write a book in real time.
• shared lodging ticket; $650; Go to valerieihsan.com/shopping
• Focused Fan $50/mo includes one group mastermind call/month + weekly 1:1 15-minute accountability calls and emails + monthly scene analysis.
• Group Coaching Sept 12- Dec 12 $500 for 3-months ($165/mo)

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Announcements:

• free 7-day trial of my Mary Poppins Fan tier on Patreon. Regularly 15/mo https://patreon.com/valerieihsan.
• I've started a new book and will be rolling out the chapters as I write them on Patreon. Early Access; Feedback encouraged. Watch me write a book in real time.
• shared lodging ticket; $650; Go to valerieihsan.com/shopping

UPDATE:

• been thinking about my work at home schedule,
• wondering about how to lean into me and how to create memorable and valuable working relationships with my coaching clients,
• couple of author dates scheduled.
• Prepping for my husband's 50th birthday party this weekend.
• Monthly reflections will record for my patrons.
• Set my goals for June, and
• started a new book.

I'M READING: London's Number One Dog-Walking Agency: A Memoir by Kate MacDougall

Show Notes:

If you want the slide deck, email us at writercraftpodcast@gmail.com and I'll send them to you. Or, you can watch the video on our YT channel @writercraftpodcast.

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Show Notes:

After you've created the foundation, there is a time when it is advantageous to spread out and reach another audience.

You're in a silo, but there's another one right next to you! Other authors are looking for ways to do this, too.

Some of these work better for selling books or getting reviews, and some work better for increasing your mailing list size.

Newsletter Swaps:

1. (BEST) Organic swap with an author you know (in your a genre).

2. Find other authors to do this with on FB Groups (i.e. Mystery Authors)

3. Book Funnel, Author XP, Story Origin (set up author profile)= put the call out for a newsletter swap. Look for exclusivity, if you can. (Link to whatever your freebie is... permafree, sale, reader magnet.) (Erick looks at this weekly to see what swaps are available right then.)

Group Promos:

1. Baseline for building a mailing list, effective for getting numbers, but not for quality subscribers. Erick does 3 times a month.

2. Look at the other books in the promotion. Will this fit with my audience?

3. Clean mailing list every six months. But most will unsubscribe on their own.

Bundles:

1. Very similar to group promos.

2. Less control for the reader. They get added to a load of other newsletters automatically. (Erick does it every quarter.) (700+ subscribers but open rate low.)

3. Costs $.

Blog Swaps:

1. For non-fiction.

2. Guest blog (link to website).

3. Google likes "back links." (Credibility in the algorithms.)

Not really the same as ideas above, but adjacent, is paid ads on someone else's list:

Instead of buying someone's mailing list (not cool anymore), you can buy a SPOT on someone's list. (BookBub, Bargain Books, Free Booksy, Fussy Librarian.) Works better for advertising one book as opposed to getting an email address.

10% of promotors DON'T promote. Your reputation matters. Promote your promos, or you won't be allowed in other group promotions.

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

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Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Announcements: free 7-day trial of my Mary Poppins Fan tier on Patreon. Regularly 15/mo https://patreon.com/valerieihsan

• UPDATE:

• Valerie: I've been creating a Creator Profile in Convertkit's Creator Network (in beta). If you want to check it out and see if it'll increase your newsletter subscribes, here is a link: https://convertkit.com/features/creator-network?ref_id=69de0590ae (affiliate)

• Erick:

Writing stories

Just finished: Seeking Fortune Elsewhere: Stories by Sindya Bhanoo; Manifest Your HEA: Get Unstuck and Create Your Happily Ever After by Heather Hildenbrand, The Final Girl Support Group by Grady Hendrix

I'M READING:

Three Story Method: Cowriting with ChatGPT by J Thorn

; The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab;

Bones Would Rain from the Sky: Deepening Our Relationships With Dogs by Suzanne Clothier;

Wabi Sabi: Japanese Wisdom for a Perfectly Imperfect Life by Beth Kempton.

Up Next:

• Erick's Reading:

Just Kids by Patti Smith

Show Notes:

• Clearly place the reader in their own world (ordinary world). Spend time in the ordinary world with the reader so that they feel heard and seen.
• Write to your ideal customer. Lean in to who you are to find your people.
• Make sure that your solution is appropriate for the style of book/article you are writing. Are readers looking for actionable steps to take at the end? Or a more general mindset to have going forward?

Next Episode: Marketing With Other Authors

Resources:

"How to write an eavesdropping scene" on Erick's blog

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Show Notes:

No single path to author success. No prescription.

1. Having idea

2. Writing it down so RAS (Reticular Activating System) can work.Write it Down, Make it Happen by Henriette Anne Klauser

3. Visualize what you want, with senses.

4. Be careful what you wish for, but also, be prepared to receive what you've asked for in a different way.

5. Trust the process and that the "muscle" will get stronger.

6. "I am on the side of the solution." -Erick Mertz

"There are plenty of answers. Just because you haven't thought of them yet doesn't mean they don't exist." -from Manifesting Your HEA by Heather Hildenbrand

"You can't achieve a goal by only changing your behaviors. You have to change your identity." -from Manifesting Your HEA by Heather Hildenbrand. (Manifest Your HEA: Get Unstuck and Create Your Happily Ever After by Heather Hildenbrand (Heal, Embody, Allow))

Changes to behavior and then changing the identity, or the other way around. Both might work. "Believe until you Become" comes to mind.

1. Practice allowing. How can you do that? Faith and trust in the process. Letting go and stepping aside for the Universe (or your brain) to show you where the gold is.

Next Episode: Clearly Defined Problem and Solution in Non-Fiction Books

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

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Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Show Notes:

Use the story rubric at https://valerieihsan.com . It's great for objectively identifying areas that need development and using a shared vocabulary with your critique partners.

Receiving feedback requires open mind, growth mindset, willingness to hear the feedback, and being specific about the kind of feedback you want/need.

Giving feedback requires being constructive and using vocabulary that specifies the area that needs development. Saying, "I just didn't get it" isn't helpful, and could actually be harmful.

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Show Notes:

Use the Rubric (available at valerieihsan.com for free) after drafting to have shared vocabulary to use with your critique partners and editors. And for self-editing. Find the parts that need work and study them as needed. (Read craft books on that subject, or listen to podcasts.)

If a reader says:

• "I just don't seem to connect with the character," work on inner dialogue, and character motivation (needs and wants).
• "The character seemed flat. She didn't change at all," work on the character arc by giving her a potentially life-altering flaw at the beginning of the book, and a big global choice at the end of the book where she can kill her flaw.
• "The ending was just 'Meh',", beef up the global choice (it needs to be a Best Bad Choice or an Irreconcilable Good Choice, and related to the character flaw), and make sure you've got a theme--take away message, the 'point' of the story, or what you are saying about the world.
• "I kept waiting for the story to 'start'," make sure the character's needs/wants are clear from the very beginning. That's what tells the reader, "OK, now the story really starts. We're going to see how he gets the thing he wants." Plus, make sure you've got a good hook to keep them engaged until your character reveals his needs/wants.
• "It was boring. I just couldn't get into it," means that probably you are doing more Telling than Showing and you can fix that with more inner dialogue and concrete sensory details. 70% of communication is non-verbal. When "in scene" (as opposed to a reflexive thinking segment between action), only write what the "camera" can see or hear. What does disdain look like? What does fear sound like in a voice?

All of this takes honesty with self and a healthy inner-analyst; What does you book need? What are your weaknesses?

Next Episode: How to Give and Receive Feedback in Critique Groups

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

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Writer's Block is a real thing, but I believe it is a symptom of something else. Whether it is procrastination, the story is broken, or you are trying to write to market and it's "just not you," there are ways to break through the writer's block and get you back to the page.

**

Show Notes:

When Can Writer's Block Hit?

• Manuscript is broken

• Procrastination

• Fear

• Not ready to write

• Do I have room right now in my life to write this?

• Situational block

• Burnt out

• Forcing a process that is not your own

Tools:

• Toss it and write a new story

• Start another writing project to switch back and forth to

• Address the "energy" you need for the project; Maybe you're stopping because you've hit the hard/boring part

• Find a way that feeds the story (fill creative well)

• Space and environment are important

• Retreat

• Coaching

Next Episode: What's Wrong With My Story?

Find Us:

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

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Show Notes:

How do you start? FOMO creates stress. How do I do all of it?

Marching order:

1. Real estate (website--build your house);

2. Put up content: review books, talk about movies, response videos to current shows, try to get people to your site main purpose; non-fiction authors write to topic (keywords--what are people actually searching for by using Google Keyword Planner),

2.5. Build a content plan/strategy quarterly;

1. Advertising you don't own, but that's the next step.

The more organic (without ads), long-tail (rose bush cultivating in Pacific Northwest), and evergreen (Rose Cultivation Basics) the content is the healthier your property is. Google looks at authority overtime. Start with bigger topics. Then work into more niche (long-tail) topics. Google rewards video content because they own YouTube. Make sure you use meta data and keywords in the description box. (#authormarketing) Embed video in the blog post. And use meta data again.

Blog post: Video, description 300 words minimum, link to audio feed.

Nutshell: Knowing market, what market wants, build from there in a realm you own (and enjoy). Building authority. (Be you and be genuine.) Model after your own searching habits. 5 to 1 principle: give readers five things to every 1 sales pitch.

I'M READING:

The Music Shop by Rachel Joyce;

Bones Would Rain from the Sky: Deepening Our Relationships With Dogs by Suzanne Clothier;

Wabi Sabi: Japanese Wisdom for a Perfectly Imperfect Life by Beth Kempton.

Erick's Reading:

• Hyperion by Dan Simmons
• 1 Last Betrayal by Valerie Brooks

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Hello Writers and Crafters!

I'm Valerie Ihsan, And I'm Erick Mertz, and this is Episode 109 of the podcast and it's April 5, 2023 as we record this.

Main Topic: SEO (Part 2 in our Marketing That You Own series)

PATREON:

No new patrons this week. Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in us and in the podcast.

This podcast is sponsored by our patrons at Patreon.com/valerieihsan. For as low as a $1/mo, you can get a postcard from me, a shout out on the podcast, and we can make announcements for you on air. At other tiers, the benefits increase--free books, accountability Zoom calls, scene analysis, mastermind calls, and even free Writer Craft retreat tickets. Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan.

Patreon.com/strangeairstories for paranormal mysteries short stories

Comments: email from listener:

Questions from listeners:

Announcements:

• 1) Next Group Coaching cohort is starting soon! On sale now for $333. April 11- June 7 weekly; Tuesdays 2:00 p.m. (day and time negotiated by cohort)

UPDATE:

• Valerie: quarterly check-in and not monthly check-in felt weird; lots of knitting!; compiling a master list of business tasks so that I can prioritize them.
• Erick: getting to finished points on two books, (accidental rapid release later this year)

Just finished: The Writing Retreat by Julia Bartz

I'M READING: The Blackhorse by Carole Johnstone ; Bones Would Rain from the Sky: Deepening Our Relationships With Dogs by Suzanne Clothier; Wabi Sabi: Japanese Wisdom for a Perfectly Imperfect Life by Beth Kempton.

Up Next: audiobook library pick. I want to finish this sweater!

• Erick's Reading:
• The Wendigo by Algernon Blackwood
• Hyperion by Dan Simmons

Show Notes:

Make sure you have Google Analytics on website at the very least.

Search Engine = Google; Google scans All Pages On The Internet; Which page is most likely to help the searcher?

When building a page (blog, site, YT) you are optimizing that content so that Google can find it. Tailor the content for that purpose--to rise to the top of those search results.

Website = newspaper (Erick analogy.)

Write blog topics based on google search terms. (What's a hot search term right now?)

Tailor your content to the broad topic (called long tail search term) and create content based on each smaller keyword.

YOST plug-in gives you red/green lights on each page, and tells you where to naturally put your keywords.

Google crawls your site to look for new content. Goal: to rank for multiple relevant keywords. After two dozen pages of targeted content, you'll be pushed up in the searches. This marketing strategy is part of SEO. (Or maybe the other way around?)

Erick works on this quarterly and weekly. Every quarter he looks for trending search terms and plans a quarter of blog post topics; and writes one each week for his blog.

Also, thinking about how to narrow the search terms. "Ghost writer" becomes "best ghost writer for hire in Portland Oregon."

This works especially well for writers that provide author services and non-fiction authors, but what about fiction writers?

Fiction: what are your competitive keywords? Take the low hanging fruit. Be the best small fish.

"Mystery author" (competitive), "Oregon City author" is less competitive than "Portland author."

It's about branding. If "Books about haunted towns" is the search term, write a blog post on "Top Ten Haunted Towns."

You can look at SEO like choosing amazon keywords and categories for your book. Amazon book page is same as a website page in terms of content for Google to search.

Site age does factor in to the Google ranking.

Start SEO habit today, don't go back to fix old blog posts. Republishing blogs does count as new content, though.

Next Steps:

1. Install Google Analytics on your website.

2. Install Yost on your website.

3. Brainstorm for search terms. What do you want to rank for in six months? (Think highest paying job.)

4. Take each term and put it in AdWords or Keyword Planner, and it will give you fifty other terms that fit, and rank them.

5. Start with lowest competitive terms. (What does it cost to run an ad on that word?) And write a blog post on that.

Alternate topics.

It all starts with content. (There are further strategies that come beyond the page, but you need content first. This can be: blog post; pictures can have keywords, too (meta tagging); video descriptions.

Tools to use for SEO, domain analysis, and keywords: Google Analytics, Google Ad Words, Yoast, Moz.

Talk to Erick about it. Email him to start a conversation. He can help you get started.

SEO Consultants are expensive. There's a lot you can do BEFORE you hire one.

Semrush, The HOTH

Resources:

Reading Critique Group for Writers FB Group (Jennie Komp's group)

3 Bird View FB page (Jennie Kemp's business page)

Author XP (marketing for authors) (bi-monthly promotions)

Raven Publicity (publicity for authors)

The Shades of Orange (Rachel, Book Blogger on YouTube) for book recommendations SF/Fantasy/Horror

Contact Erick for business-starting advice or building a website.

Contact Valerie for author coaching.

Other Resources:

Thomas Umstattd Jr, at Novel Marketing Podcast. Ep255: How to Create an Email Onboarding Drip Campaign

Russell P. Nohelty and Monica Leonelle's book, Get Your Book Selling on Kickstarter.

Valerie's new day book for the year 2023 is: Meditations from the Mat: Daily Reflections on the Path of Yoga by Rolf Gates.

I've published our 2022 Book List on the website: valerieihsan.com/podcast-news

The Author Life Community

Passion Planner: https://passionplanner.rfrl.co/e86j8 (affiliate link) Discount Code: VALERIE188

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

Find Us:

Writer Craft Facebook Group

Valerie’s Services: https://valerieihsan.com

Valerie’s Author Site: https://valerieihsanauthor.com

Valerie’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

Valerie's Linktree: https://linktr.ee/valerieihsan

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Erick’s Services: https://erickmertzwriting.com

Erick’s free book on Ghostwriting: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/cexki4kp5n

Erick’s Author Site: https://erickmertzauthor.com

Erick’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

Patreons:

https://patreon.com/valerieihsan

https://patreon.com/strangeairmysteries

View Details

Hello Writers and Crafters!

I'm Valerie Ihsan, And I'm Erick Mertz, and this is Episode 108 of the podcast and it's March 28, 2023 as we record this.

Main Topic: Website Basics

PATREON:

No new patrons this week. Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in us and in the podcast.

This podcast is sponsored by our patrons at Patreon.com/valerieihsan. For as low as a $1/mo, you can get a postcard from me, a shout out on the podcast, and we can make announcements for you on air. At other tiers, the benefits increase--free books, accountability Zoom calls, scene analysis, mastermind calls, and even free Writer Craft retreat tickets. Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan.

Patreon.com/strangeairstories for paranormal mysteries short stories

Comments: email from listener:

Questions from listeners:

Announcements:

• 1) Next Group Coaching cohort is starting soon! On sale now for $333. April 11- June 7 weekly; Tuesdays 2:00 p.m. (day and time negotiated by cohort)

UPDATE:

• Valerie: Coaching and birthday stuff
• Erick: website re-do

Just finished: Pilgrimage by J.F. Penn and Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan and The Secrets of Hartwood Hall by Katie Lumsden.

I'M READING: The Blackhorse by Carole Johnstone ; Bones Would Rain from the Sky: Deepening Our Relationships With Dogs by Suzanne Clothier; Wabi Sabi: Japanese Wisdom for a Perfectly Imperfect Life by Beth Kempton.

Up Next:

• Erick's Reading: Fairy Tale by Stephen King; anthologies from mom Dr Who 50th anniversary edition; Dispatches from Anarres

Show Notes:

Website (own your home; renting is risky): URLs that are you.

Sitemap shows navigational flow

Above the fold: mailing list signup and reader magnet

Pages: About/Philosophy, Coaching, Editing, Podcast/News, Shopping, Retreat, Contact Me, Testimonials

Home page: tag line/branding; About; Books; Categories of Books; Blog (can be gallery of images, podcast, video blog, showcase); reading lists, featured on... ;

#1purpose: Mailing list capture

#2 purpose: keep people there as long as possible

#3 purpose: convert to a customer

Model after authors in your genre (how to depict self, branding); and in your journey (like, one book or a step ahead of where you are)

Buy URL (claim domain name) ~$100 for two years

Get hosting (GoDaddy, BlueHost, HostGator, Squarespace)

The bigger the website, the more complex the build.

Resources:

Reading Critique Group for Writers FB Group

3 Bird View FB page

Author XP (marketing for authors) (bi-monthly promotions)

Raven Publicity (publicity for authors)

The Shades of Orange (Rachel, Book Blogger on YouTube) for book recommendations SF/Fantasy/Horror

Contact Erick for business-starting advice or building a website.

Contact Valerie for coaching for help writing your book.

Other Resources:

Thomas Umstattd Jr, at Novel Marketing Podcast. Ep255: How to Create an Email Onboarding Drip Campaign

Russell P. Nohelty and Monica Leonelle's book, Get Your Book Selling on Kickstarter.

Valerie's new day book for the year 2023 is: Meditations from the Mat: Daily Reflections on the Path of Yoga by Rolf Gates.

I've published our 2022 Book List on the website: valerieihsan.com/podcast-news

The Author Life Community

Passion Planner: https://bit.ly/3AUiJUx (affiliate link) Discount Code: VALERIE188

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

Find Us:

Valerie’s Services: https://valerieihsan.com

Valerie’s Author Site: https://valerieihsanauthor.com

Valerie’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Erick’s Services: https://erickmertzwriting.com

Erick’s free book on Ghostwriting: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/cexki4kp5n

Erick’s Author Site: https://erickmertzauthor.com

Erick’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

Writer Craft Facebook Group

Patreon: https://patreon.com/valerieihsan

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Jennie's Bio:

J. Komp, of Just Key Edits, has been taking apart stories, to explain why we love or hate them, for over 30 years. A Behavioral Science major, that found her voice after a decade of live theater productions, Jennie lives for stories that are as entertaining and consumable as they are transformative. Her development editing focuses on the connection between a book and its potential audience, emphasizing the tangible elements that bring a story into a reader’s everyday life and reveal our relationship with the extraordinary.

Jennie’s style, in both fiction and non-fiction, bridges that elusive gap between art and business. She’s taken 2 companies to over 4 million Facebook fans, in less than a year, leads a live online, Read & Critique group for every proficiency level and type of writer, teaches at seminars and writers conferences across the country, and manages writers committed to reaching their publishing goals. A distinctive realist, Jennie’s dark sense of humor is balanced by a mantra that is the standard for everything she does, “the Disney is in the details.”

Jennie's Read: The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches

Valerie's Reads:

Pilgrimage by J.F. Penn and Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan and The Secrets of Hartwood Hall by Katie Lumsden.

Erick's Read: Fairy Tale by Stephen King

Jennie's new book!: The Phone: An Unruly Collection of Second Chances

In Erick's update, he mentions "noodling" and I immediately thought of this (which was not what he was talking about!): https://youtu.be/Yu0GhasxOws (Kathleen Madigan video clip of stand-up talking about Noodling. Hilarious!)

Jennie's group you can join:

Reading Critique Group for Writers FB Group

3 Bird View FB page

Author XP (marketing for authors) (bi-monthly promotions)

Raven Publicity (publicity for authors)

The Shades of Orange (Rachel, Book Blogger on YouTube) for book recommendations SF/Fantasy/Horror

Contact Erick for business-starting advice or building a website.

Contact Valerie for coaching for help writing your book.

Other Resources:

Thomas Umstattd Jr, at Novel Marketing Podcast. Ep255: How to Create an Email Onboarding Drip Campaign

Russell P. Nohelty and Monica Leonelle's book, Get Your Book Selling on Kickstarter.

Valerie's new day book for the year 2023 is: Meditations from the Mat: Daily Reflections on the Path of Yoga by Rolf Gates.

I've published our 2022 Book List on the website: valerieihsan.com/podcast-news

The Author Life Community

Passion Planner: https://bit.ly/3AUiJUx (affiliate link) Discount Code: VALERIE188

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

Find Us:

Valerie’s Services: https://valerieihsan.com

Valerie’s Author Site: https://valerieihsanauthor.com

Valerie’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Erick’s Services: https://erickmertzwriting.com

Erick’s free book on Ghostwriting: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/cexki4kp5n

Erick’s Author Site: https://erickmertzauthor.com

Erick’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

Writer Craft Facebook Group

Patreon: https://patreon.com/valerieihsan

View Details

Hello Writers and Crafters!

I'm Valerie Ihsan, And I'm Erick Mertz, and this is Episode 106 of the podcast and it's March 22, 2023 as we record this.

Main Topic: Setbacks

PATREON:

No new patrons this week. Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in us and in the podcast.

This podcast is sponsored by our patrons at Patreon.com/valerieihsan. For as low as a $1/mo, you can get a postcard from me, a shout out on the podcast, and we can make announcements for you on air. At other tiers, the benefits increase--free books, accountability Zoom calls, scene analysis, mastermind calls, and even free Writer Craft retreat tickets. Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan.

Patreon.com/strangeairstories for paranormal mysteries short stories

Comments: email from listener:

Questions from listeners:

Announcements:

• 1)

UPDATE:

• Valerie: book launch party, speaking event, author expo, pitching conferences, doing some group coaching for The Author Life Community this weekend, some health issues slowed me down a bit.
• Erick: website error took me out of a week's worth of work; mountain of little client work to finish before getting back to my own work.

Just finished: You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero

I'M READING: Southern Book Club's Guide to Slaying Vampires by Grady Hendrix; Bones Would Rain from the Sky: Deepening Our Relationships With Dogs by Suzanne Clothier; Wabi Sabi: Japanese Wisdom for a Perfectly Imperfect Life by Beth Kempton.

Up Next: Pilgrimage by J.F. Penn and The Blackhorse by Carole Johnstone

• Erick's Reading: Fairy Tale by Stephen King

Show Notes:

"Everybody has a plan until you get hit in the mouth." Mike Tyson

It will happen--losing control. You can't insulate yourself or your business from setbacks.

It's okay to get angry or sad. Let it out.

Sometimes immediate response doesn't work, isn't helpful.

Acknowledge the life shift and make a new plan.

Making a new plan is empowering and gives space for new growth.

"You might need a rest stop." And not every one knows how to merge, so there will be detours along the way.

Take away:

1. Feel your feelings.

2. Empower yourself to find a new plan

3. Be analytical and reflective about why it happened. Sometimes there is no answer.

4. Leave space for recovery.

5. Start the new plan.

6. Find support to carry on with the new plan.

Next episode: interview author Jennie Komp

Resources:

Author XP (marketing for authors) (bi-monthly promotions)

Raven Publicity (publicity for authors)

The Shades of Orange (Rachel, Book Blogger on YouTube) for book recommendations SF/Fantasy/Horror

Contact Erick for business-starting advice.

Contact Valerie for book coaching for help writing your book.

Other Resources:

Thomas Umstattd Jr, at Novel Marketing Podcast. Ep255: How to Create an Email Onboarding Drip Campaign

Russell P. Nohelty and Monica Leonelle's book, Get Your Book Selling on Kickstarter.

Valerie's new day book for the year 2023 is: Meditations from the Mat: Daily Reflections on the Path of Yoga by Rolf Gates.

I've published our 2022 Book List on the website: valerieihsan.com/podcast-news

The Author Life Community

Passion Planner: https://bit.ly/3AUiJUx (affiliate link) Discount Code: VALERIE188

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

Find Us:

Valerie’s Services: https://valerieihsan.com

Valerie’s Author Site: https://valerieihsanauthor.com

Valerie’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Erick’s Services: https://erickmertzwriting.com

Erick’s free book on Ghostwriting: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/cexki4kp5n

Erick’s Author Site: https://erickmertzauthor.com

Erick’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

Writer Craft Facebook Group

Patreon: https://patreon.com/valerieihsan

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Hello Writers and Crafters!

I'm Valerie Ihsan, And I'm Erick Mertz, and this is Episode 105 of the podcast and it's March 8, 2023 as we record this.

Main Topic: Reflection as an Indie Author Tool

PATREON:

No new patrons this week. Thank you to our existing patrons for believing in us and in the podcast.

This podcast is sponsored by our patrons at Patreon.com/valerieihsan. For as low as a $1/mo, you can get a postcard from me, a shout out on the podcast, and we can make announcements for you on air. At other tiers, the benefits increase--free books, accountability Zoom calls, scene analysis, mastermind calls, and even free Writer Craft retreat tickets. Become a patron of the arts at Patreon.com/valerieihsan.

Patreon.com/strangeairstories for paranormal mysteries short stories

Comments: email from listener:

Questions from listeners:

Announcements:

• 1) Book launch party on Saturday
• 2) Chasing Shadows 99 cents on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09YZ44QXF

UPDATE:

• Valerie: Went to Becca Syme's Publishing conference this past weekend. Blew my mind. I'll be going every year now. Got my books and delivered them to the bookstore for the launch party on Saturday. Starting new book project today; met with co-writer yesterday to set up the outline.
• Erick: Website crashed; that consumed all of last week; working to catch up on client work, as a result; released reader magnet "Forgotten Shadows;" from the ground up marketing; reengaged with newsletter swaps; working on main series, plus side series with

Just finished: In the Middle of Hickory Lane by Heather Webber

I'M READING: Maame by Jessica George; Bones Would Rain from the Sky: Deepening Our Relationships With Dogs by Suzanne Clothier; Wabi Sabi: Japanese Wisdom for a Perfectly Imperfect Life by Beth Kempton.

Up Next: The Blackhorse by Carole Johnstone

• Erick's Reading: Dead Beat by Jim Butcher

Show Notes: "Only do what you are good at." (Wisdom gem from Erick.)

You don't need to use a spreadsheet for metrics; It can be more "feelings" oriented.

Pick a section of time (or a work) to reflect on. For instance, a co-writing experience, writing your last novel, the ad campaign you did last week, your last month.

Example questions to ask yourself:

• What was the most memorable part of this past month?
• What were the three biggest lessons you've learned in this past month?
• Assess your priorities. Are you happy with how you spent your time? If not, what steps can you take next month to adjust them?
• What did you accomplish this past month? What are you most proud of?
• What or who are you especially grateful for this past month?
• Name three things you can improve on this upcoming month. What are concrete actions you can take to work towards these improvements?

Next episode:

Resources:

Author XP (marketing for authors) (bi-monthly promotions)

Raven Publicity (publicity for authors)

The Shades of Orange (Rachel, Book Blogger on YouTube) for book recommendations SF/Fantasy/Horror

Contact Erick for business-starting advice.

Contact Valerie for book coaching for help writing your book.

Other Resources:

Thomas Umstattd Jr, at Novel Marketing Podcast. Ep255: How to Create an Email Onboarding Drip Campaign

Russell P. Nohelty and Monica Leonelle's book, Get Your Book Selling on Kickstarter.

Valerie's new day book for the year 2023 is: Meditations from the Mat: Daily Reflections on the Path of Yoga by Rolf Gates.

I've published our 2022 Book List on the website: valerieihsan.com/podcast-news

The Author Life Community

Passion Planner: https://bit.ly/3AUiJUx (affiliate link) Discount Code: VALERIE188

ProWriting Aid: https://prowritingaid.com/?afid=9378 (affiliate link)

Find Us:

Valerie’s Services: https://valerieihsan.com

Valerie’s Author Site: https://valerieihsanauthor.com

Valerie’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

Erick's Linktree link: https://linktr.ee/erickmertzauthor

Erick’s Services: https://erickmertzwriting.com

Erick’s free book on Ghostwriting: https://dl.bookfunnel.com/cexki4kp5n

Erick’s Author Site: https://erickmertzauthor.com

Erick’s Facebook Page and Instagram account

Writer Craft Facebook Group

Patreon: https://patreon.com/valerieihsan