The Write Adventure: Recent Episodes
Brandon J Greer
A podcast for beginning and struggling writers. I discuss the struggles of being a writer, the pitfalls of publishing, and overcoming the urges to give up. As a writer, you know that this life isn't easy while juggling all your other priorities. We all need some reassurances and affirmations. Welcome to The Write Adventure.
We all feel the guilt of writing. When do you feel it? When you are writing? When you aren't writing? It is nothing new, but we have to find a way to combat it.
You guys, this is a quick one. I just wanted to give you an update on me as this has been a super busy week.
I mentioned my ARCs for The Clandestine Queen. If you want to request a free copy of that in exchange for an honest Amazon review, click here!
In this episode, I talk about the differences between pansters, plansters, and plotters. I also discuss my outlining process and how long it takes me to outline a book. For me, the longer the better because that means my first draft will be better.
Oh, and I am joined by my one-year-old daughter.
Tonight I talk about my reading journey. I list out some books that were influential to me as I decided to start writing and what they brought to my table. Here is a list of books and where you can buy them:
Farworld
Fablehaven
Percy Jackson
The Warrior Heir
Michael Vey
The Paladin Prophecy
The Rithmatist
In this episode, I talk about some great advice I received from Richard Paul Evans which will change the way I look at selling books in the future.
As mentioned in the podcast, check out Author Ready at the link below, a great author mentor program.
https://authorready.com/
Today I discuss NaNoWriMo. I talk about what it is, how to get started, and some tips and tricks to being successful, and how to set yourself up for a win.
I am sick this episode, so I just kind of ramble on about my struggle with writing, taking breaks, and being okay when I don't hit my goals.
This episode is a little different. I briefly talk about a contest I am doing. The link for that is below. Then I talk about the importance of having a writers group and one of the ways they can impact your writing ability.
That way is by working on Anthologies together. This episode is a reading of my anthology piece. (If my voice sounds worn out, it is because it is. I need to work on it though because I am planning on narrating an audiobook soon.)
Here is the link to my contest:
https://contestpearl.com/FYBpdAu0FuhxyXp738NZ
In this episode, I talk about the difference between an author brand and an author platform and how to connect them. I also talk about target audience and how that plays into it.
Today, I am talking with my friend and fellow author Elizabeth Drysdale. Elizabeth has written 12ish books and has published one. Her next book is being released in October.
We talk about our struggles with writing and getting to where we are now. Elizabeth has some great tips. The one I would like to mention here is:
Writing is a job and just like a job, you are expected to show up.
You can learn more about Elizabeth at her website:
https://elizabethadrysdale.wixsite.com/author
Curse of the Forgotten:
Wren has been living in New York with her aunt ever since her mother left her behind to live with her boyfriend. She's even on track to graduate from high school early despite her rebellious streak. When her mother suddenly sends for her, Wren is forced to move to the middle of nowhere to live with a mother she knows nothing about and her new family. Refusing to accept her new life, Wren is desperate for a way to return to New York. When she discovers gold, she thinks she's found a way home. But instead of finding riches she gets lost in an enormous cave. Following a mysterious light, she finds refuge in a large underground castle. However, safety isn't what she finds. By entering the castle, she entangles herself in an ancient rivalry and learns she must break a curse if she ever wishes to leave. Threatened by a horrible monster, Wren must do the impossible. Learn to love him. Only then can she truly be free.
https://www.amazon.com/Curse-Forgotten-Elizabeth-Drysdale/dp/146213842X
Out of Time:
How far are you willing to go to find out how strong you really are and what it truly means to love someone?
Soph, a third-generation witch, has only one magical gift to her name-the ability to travel through time.
Traveling through time is not as exciting as everyone thinks. The thought of going back in time hundreds of years scares Soph to death, but her family needs her to do it to break a centuries-old curse. If she does not succeed, the outcome means death for her and her entire family. The problem is that she's not accurate in where she ends up.
Coerced into attempting what Soph believes is impossible, the young witch learns that she must save the life of the son of the man who cursed her family. The curse cannot be broken and her family cannot be spared in any other way. To make things worse, she must endure a shipwreck and is accused of witchcraft in seventeenth-century New England, a time when witches often found their way to the end of the noose.
If she can't save the man she's searching for in time, she risks getting stuck in the past with the curse firmly in place. Her success means breaking the curse and freeing her family to find true love. But her journey to the past brings her closer to hidden fears than she ever imagined!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B097Q9B2S1/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0
This is my final episode dedicated to query letter writing. In it, I discuss the following 6 tips:
- Write at least three different versions of your query letter. This will allow you to practice seeing your story from different angles.
- Edit, edit, edit. Keep your query letter under 250 words. (This is in regards to your book hook.) If you can do it under that, great.
- Never trust yourself with the finished product. You know your story too well, so what you think is clear, someone else might not be. Get as many other people to read it for you as you can.
- Read and critique other query letters. This will help you understand different query letter writing styles and could boost your ability in this area.
- Prepare yourself for rejections. They will come, and they do sting.
- Check out Angie Hodapp's website. I have listed it below.
Along with this, I talk about the three main types of pitches you need to know about:
- The movie tagline pitch, or the ten-second pitch.
- The elevator pitch.
- The full pitch.
These tips will help you polish your query and get you ready to talk about your story with anyone you meet.
Here are the promised links:
Angie Hodapp's website: http://www.angiehodapp.com/
Query Letters Made Simple: https://www.amazon.com/Query-Letters-Made-Simple-Creating/dp/1695155769/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=query+letters+made+simple&qid=1631244577&sr=8-1
In this episode, I will talk about the importance of adding good revelations and risks to your query letter.
Not only does this add more mystery to your query, but it gives us a better look at our main character and what they stand to lose if the antagonist wins in the end.
I follow the same three questions to guide us in this portion of the query as I have in the other episodes:
- Do I leave unanswered questions?
- Does it flow like a story?
- Does it cause you to feel sympathy for the Main Character.
In this episode, I also introduce some new query letters I helped my good friend with. Elizabeth Drysdale is the author of Curse of the Forgotten and Out of Time. Curse of the Forgotten is available at the link below and Out of Time is scheduled to release next month.
Again, I am leaving the link to my book, Query Letters Made Simple if you would like a copy.
Curse of the Forgotten:
https://www.amazon.com/Curse-Forgotten-Elizabeth-Drysdale-ebook/dp/B08LLDWDYY/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=Curse+of+the+Forgotten&qid=1630629212&sr=8-2
Query Letters Made Simple:
https://www.amazon.com/Query-Letters-Made-Simple-Creating/dp/1695155769/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Query+Letters+made+simple&qid=1630629238&sr=8-1
In this episode, I take you through the process of finding and writing your inciting incident.
I go over what the inciting incident is and what it isn't. As before, with introducing your main character, getting this part is critical to nailing your query letter. To help with that, I present the next part of my recipe or formula to writing a great query letter.
We also discuss the following questions in relation to our inciting incidents:
- Why is the inciting incident happening?
- Who or what is making it happen?
- What will your main character have to do because of this change?
In addition to that, I introduce what I call the When/But scenario. When and But are driving words that will propel your query along and build urgency.
As stated in this episode, I was going to link you to Angie Hodapp's blog, Tighten Your Query, but it no longer exists. Instead, I will link you to her website:
http://www.angiehodapp.com/
Also, here is the link for my book, Query Letter's Made Simple, from which this episode was taken:
https://www.amazon.com/Query-Letters-Made-Simple-Creating/dp/1695155769/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=brandon+J+Greer&qid=1630012496&sr=8-1
In this episode, I explain the recipe you need to use to begin writing your query letter. Specifically, we focus on how to introduce your main character.
I introduce questions you need to be asking yourself as you are writing your query to help it be the best it can be. Those questions are:
- Am I leaving any unanswered questions?
- Does my writing flow?
- Is there a reason for the reader to feel sympathy for my main character?
From there, I show you the importance of knowing your main character before you even start writing your query. I pose a lot of questions for you to consider and think about, if you haven't done so already. These questions address the following:
- Who is my main character?
- Where are they or what are they doing? (What is their current situation?)
- What do they struggle with? (What is their weakness?) The last thing we want is an overpowered character. Readers love character flaws.
We will then explore part of a query letter I wrote that introduces my main character.
This episode was heavily influenced by my book Query Letters Made Simple. If you enjoy this episode and want to know more about writing a query letter, here is the link to my book on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/Query-Letters-Made-Simple-Creating/dp/1695155769/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Brandon+J+Greer&qid=1629348128&sr=8-1
In this episode, I break down the basics of a query letter. There are five main parts of a query letter. The first two parts are:
- Metadata (Information about your book such as word count, genre, comp titles)
- Author data (Information about you, the author)
The last three parts are grouped together under the book hook. They are:
- Main Character Introduction
- The Inciting Incident
- Risks and Revelations
This episode touches on the three parts of the book hook and goes over why each point is important.
For the Main Character Introduction, we learn why the following elements are important to your query:
- Mystery
- Sympathy
In the Inciting Incident portion, we learn about the when/but scenario and why it could be the most important part of your query
In the risks and revelations section, we talk about how it is good to give away some secrets and how that helps build the mystery.
I quote from my book, Query Letters Made Simple, which is available on Amazon at the link below:
https://www.amazon.com/Query-Letters-Made-Simple-Creating/dp/1695155769/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Brandon+J+Greer&qid=1628742403&sr=8-1
In the next few episodes, we will break this down even further.
In this episode, I talk about my writing journey so far as an introduction to where I come from. I also let you know a little about what can be expected in the episodes to come.
In this episode, I talk about the lessons I learned while meeting with and preparing to meet with agents and acquisitions editors at writer's conferences. Here are the tips I will share with you:
- It is important to know how to summarize your book quickly
- Memorize your pitch and practice it
- Understand and know how your book is different than others like it
- Know what comps are and know what they are for your book (comparable titles)
I will discuss how far a little confidence can go and what you should never do during a pitch session. (All from personal experience.)
Finally, I talk about the two biggest things you can do to get people excited about your book. You have to be confident and excited about your own work. If you aren't, how will anyone else be?
In this episode, I discuss what I learned while self-publishing. I made a lot of mistakes that I hope you can learn from and I learned how I am going to do it differently next time.
I go over the following points:
- Proper editing
- The need for beta readers
- The importance of a good cover
- How formatting helps make a good book
It is very important to take your time in the process of self-publishing, especially if this is your first book. You have to invest time and/or money in this if you want a quality product that you will be proud of and that readers will enjoy.