Write Hot Podcast

Signe Olynyk is a Writer / Producer, as well as Founder of ScriptFest (www.scriptfest.com) and www.pitchfest.com, which includes the Great American PitchFest, the Great British PitchFest, and the Great Canadian PitchFest. She lives in Canada, and runs the highly regarded Sooke Writers Retreat from a secluded, oceanfront home, where dozens of select writers join her each year for their personal writing retreats. In addition to this, Signe has written and produced a number of television pilots, series, documentaries, and feature films, and works in the industry. She has professional credits on more than 120 productions, including her two latest feature films, ‘Below Zero’ (www.belowzeromovie.com) and ‘Breakdown Lane’ (www.breakdownlanemovie.com). Her work has been seen around the world on the CBC, Discovery Channel, Scream Channel, Fox, the BBC, and various others. To connect with Signe or pitch her, go to www.scriptfest.com and info@scriptfest.com.You can connect at www.laurapowers.net. You can also find her o

Laura spoke with Kevin about building towards multiple NYT bestsellers, working with Hollywood, and book bundling. Kevin J. Anderson has published 140 books, 54 of which have been national or international bestsellers. He has written numerous novels in the Star Wars, X-Files, and Dune universes, as well as unique steampunk fantasy novels Clockwork Angels and Clockwork Lives, written with legendary rock drummer Neil Peart, based on the concept album by the band Rush. His original works include the Saga of Seven Suns series, the Terra Incognita fantasy trilogy, the Saga of Shadows trilogy, and his humorous horror series featuring Dan Shamble, Zombie PI. He has edited numerous anthologies, written comics and games, and the lyrics to two rock CDs. Anderson and his wife Rebecca Moesta are the publishers of WordFire Press. If you would like more information on Star Wars, Dune, and a New World of Publishing you can connect with Kevin J. Anderson the following ways: wordfire.com Twitter: @theKJA Facbook: Official Ke

Kate Drane is Indiegogo’s Senior Director of Outreach for Tech and Hardware. Her favorite thing to do is democratize access to resources, and considers herself as a VC of the people. Since starting at Indiegogo in July 2012, she's empowered more than 500 entrepreneurs to collectively raise over $80M on the Indiegogo platform, including Canary, Misfit, and Skulpt. For more information on Indiegogo go to www.indiegogo.com or connect with Kata on Twitter @katedrane. We met at the Industry conference in Cleveland http://indsum.com/.You can connect at www.laurapowers.net. You can also find her on facebook via Write Hot and follow her on twitter @thatlaurapowers. Laura also is now taking pre-orders for her new book Supernatural Survival Guide! You can get order the book and get great perks at https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/supernatural-survival-guide-book/x/2967887#/. Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com - get a FREE audiobook download and 30-day free trial atwww.audibletrial.com/writehot. Over 180,

Jeanne Veillette Bowerman is the Editor and Online Community Manager of Script Magazine and on Stephanie Palmer's list of "Top 10 Most Influential Screenwriting Bloggers." She is Co-Founder and moderator of the weekly Twitter screenwriters’ chat, #Scriptchat, and wrote a Tracking Board Top 25 Launch Pad Competition selected script, the narrative adaptation of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book, Slavery by Another Name, with its author, Douglas A. Blackmon, former senior national correspondent of The Wall Street Journal. The limited series version of the same project was recently selected as PAGE Awards TV Drama Finalist. Jeanne also is President of Implicit Productions and consults with writers on how to build and strengthen their online and offline networks as well as face their fears in order to succeed in writing and in personal peace - a screenwriter's therapist. Laura and Jeanne met at Nashville Writer’s Conference where we talked about screenwriting and the metaphysical. To connect with Jeanne, you can go

Mark is an author and Director of Self-Publishing & Author Relations for Kobo. Mark Lefebvre was hired by Kobo in 2011 to develop an easy way for indie authors and small publishers to publish their work to Kobo's global catalog in 190 countries. Using his more than two decades worth of book industry experience (not to mention the fact that he is also a writer and self-published his first book in 2004), Mark led the creation of Kobo Writing Life in July 2012. In the four years since its launch, Kobo Writing Life has grown to represent between 15 to 20% of the company's weekly unit sales and a market share larger than the world's largest publishers. After meeting at Book Expo America, Laura asked Mark to be a guest on the show to talk about Kobo Writing Life. To connect with Mark, you can go to www.kobowritinglife.com and www.kobo.com/writinglife or follow on twitter @KoboWritingLife and facebook: www.facebook.com/kobowritinglife. You can connect at www.laurapowers.net. You can also find her on facebook via

Steve has over twenty years'€™ experience as a Television Executive having championed The X-Files, Buffy The Vampire Slayer, The Simpsons and Battlestar Galactica. He blogs on All Things Entertainment via www.SurfingHollywood.com. We discussed trends in television and tips for getting your writing career going in the television industry. You can connect with and follow Steve on twitter @SteveLaRue2. You can connect at www.laurapowers.net. You can also find her on facebook via Write Hot and follow her on twitter @thatlaurapowers. Today's podcast is brought to you by audible.com - get a FREE audiobook download and 30 day free trial atwww.audibletrial.com/writehot. Over 180,000 titles to choose from for your iPhone, Android, Kindle or mp3 player.

Joanna Penn is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of thrillers under J.F.Penn. She also writes inspirational non-fiction for authors and is an award-winning creative entrepreneur and international professional speaker. Her site, TheCreativePenn.com is regularly voted one of the top 10 sites for writers and self-publishers. Joanna has successfully grown her business from a side hustle to making over 100k a year writing full time so we talked about her process. We spoke about planning and making goal in Olympic year cycles (every 4 years) and talked about tips on how to grow your writing business and stay inspired. To connect with Joanna Penn and find out information on her podcast, you can go to www.thecreativepenn.com. You can connect at www.laurapowers.net. You can also find her on facebook via Write Hot and follow her on twitter @thatlaurapowers.

In this podcast, Laura speaks with freelance writer Kate Kordsmeier on how to be a successful freelancer. She is an Atlanta-based freelance food and travel writer and recipe developer for more than 100 publications, including USA Today, EatingWell, Travel + Leisure, Cooking Light, The Washington Post, Clean Eating, Conde Nast Traveler, FITNESS, Delta Sky, Women’s Health, American Way, Shape, Wine Enthusiast, Vegetarian Times, The Travel Channel, SELF, Rachael Ray Every Day, Real Simple, Esquire, Modern Luxury and DRAFT. She is also the Atlanta Editor for About.com, the author of the cookbook Atlanta Chef’s Table: Extraordinary Recipes from the Big Peach and the founder of Root + Revel, a food and wellness site devoted to natural living. television writer and producer You can connect with Kate www.katekordsmeier.com, www.rootandrevel.com or on twitter at @kpkords, @rootandrevel. You can connect at www.laurapowers.net. You can also find her on facebook via Write Hot and follow her on twitter @thatlaurapowers.

In this podcast, Laura speaks with television writer and producer Steven Long Mitchell. He was born and raised in New Orleans, by a family so dysfunctional it would have driven Tennessee Williams to drink even more, Steven is best known as the Emmy Award nominated Writer and Executive Producer of Tin Man, the highest rated miniseries in the history of the SyFy Channel and Co-Creator/Executive Producer of the hit cult classic TV show The Pretender and many others. He is currently developing two new - top secret televisions series that he will neither confirm or deny the existence of. Feel free to contact him through his website Steven@thepretenderlives.com and/or follow him on twitter @pretendersteve. For more information on Laura and her writing and podcasting, you can go to her website www.laurapowers.net. You can also find her on facebook via Write Hot and follow her on twitter @thatlaurapowers.

In this interview, Laura talks with Madeleine Holly-Rosing, writer and creator of the steampunk comic, Boston Metaphysical Society. The comic takes place in the late 1800s Boston. Though people may not think of them that way, comic books are sequential art. There are artists that are great at pinups and do posters but not have the skills to tell a story. Madeleine’s suggestions if you are interested in starting your own comic is to read indie comics. They key is to find the right artist. Art draws you in but the story makes you stay with comics. She suggests going to meetups and connecting others in the industry through friends. Go to comic cons, meet artist, post on comic Facebook groups connecting comic artists and creators. Once you connect with an artist, you should have a contract with a page rate $50 to 300 a page depending on experience. Madeleine met a colorist through a mutual friend and she uses Indonesia Color Labs. She raised the funds through a combination of self-funding and Kickstarter. You

In this interview, Laura talks with Max Timm, Author and Director of Community Outreach with the International Screenwriters Association and author of the new book The Wishkeeper. Laura and Max met at the Nashville Writers Conference when Laura pitched her supernatural screenplay to him. Max also hosts a podcast for writers that is featured on the ISA podcast page called The Craft. ISA is a resource for creators on all sides with a screenwriter angles. It’s a website resource for all aspects of the screenwriting including podcasts, job listings, trainings, and more. We also discussed Laura’s other work as a psychic and how she got her start as well as some of the strange experiences that Laura has as a psychic. If you are curious about her other work then his is a great interview to listen to! You can connect with Max and learn about his new book at www.wishkeeperbook.com. The Wishkeeper won the debut Young Adult at the Los Angeles Festival of Books. To connect with the International Screenwriters Association

In this interview, Laura talks with Danny Manus about pitching, log-lines and the importance of having your script read those knowledgeable in the industry before sending it to people to read. Laura and Danny met at the Nashville Writers’ Conference which is a part of the Nashville Film Festival. Danny Manus is an in-demand script consultant and CEO of No BullScript Consulting, and was ranked in the Top 15 “Cream of the Crop” Script Consultants by Creative Screenwriting Magazine. He is the author of “No BS for Screenwriters: Advice from the Executive Perspective” and was also named one of Screencraft’s “25 People Screenwriters Should Follow on Twitter”. We discussed how one of the biggest mistakes people make is pitching too soon and rushing the process of submitting rather than working the script until its ready. He also talked about the importance of having the 4 Cs and H which are: Concept, Character, Conflict, Context and Hook. We also discussed lots of specifics for pitching in the interview and discusse

Laura with Dave Chesson, author and founder of Kindlepreneur about using key words to market your book and even choose to write on a topic for which there is a market. There are generally two ways to make money as an author. One is to have a large platform and the other is to have a discoverable book for which there is a good market. Two ways you can help ensure success: write about something the customer is looking for and if the books out there are something you can beat. As John Lee Dumas said, “Its’ better to go a mile deep and an inch wide versus a mile wide and an inch deep.” Look into Amazon Best Seller Rank or ABSR. Do some research on what is out there in terms of books on a topic and what their sales rank is. There are about 4.7 million books out there right now. Then look at the books out there, are the covers good, are there poor ratings? Ask yourself if you could write a better book. If their ABSR is good and the quality of what is out there is poor, you have a good chance of selling well. You ca

David Silverman is a screenwriter and a tv writer, producer and a licensed therapist. He also works as a script consultant. He suggests selling your stuff first and then seek representation. We discussed the difference between agents and managers and how for new writers a manager can help you develop your career. He also suggested a few resources for getting your screenplays seen and sold: Blacklist: https://blcklst.com/, InkTip: https://www.inktip.com/, Scripts Shark: http://www.scriptblaster.com/, Scriptblaster: http://www.scriptblaster.com/. David also noted that writing a blog is a good way to get connected in the industry. He is also an advocate of networking with new directors or actors that are looking for work to get your scripts made. Common mistakes writer make is writing something that is really off the wall. David suggests writing something that is different but not too different. Also a bad to work on the same script for years. If you want to make your own work that can be a great option for begi

Joel Friedlander, blogger and book designer. We talked about the importance of good book cover design as well as his well-designed Microsoft Word templates. Joel Friedlander started self-publishing before self-publishing was a thing. Joel has two websites that are a resource for writers: http://www.bookdesigntemplates.com/ and www.thebookdesigner.com. Joel offers a book cover design competition on his website every month and every submission gets feedback. Joel addresses what to do for a good book cover: Make sure the style matches the genre so make sure you follow the genres, bring on someone to design it (unless they are a designer), making sure the book communicates what the book is about, and of course hiring a good designer. He also mentioned his free Book Construction Blueprint which is a great guide for putting a book together. If you want more information on Laura Powers, you can go to her website www.laurapowers.net. You can also find updates on the podcast by following the Write Hot Podcast on

In this interview, Laura Powers talks with Bob Schultz, President of Script Fest and The Great American Pitch Fest. Pitch Fest is an event held in Burbank, CA in which 500 writers pitch to more than 120 production companies, agents, managers, financiers, and industry pros seeking material to option, writers, to manage, hire, and represent. Script fest is the 20th through the 22nd of May and Pitch Fest is on Sunday the 22nd. There are also classes and panels on screenwriting and the business. You can find out more information and register at http://scriptfest.com/ For a ten percent off, enter code Laura10 at checkout. For more information on Laura and her work and her writing, you can go to www.laurapowers.net. Thanks for listening!

In this interview, Laura Powers talks with Kathleen Kaiser, President, Co-Founder of the Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network known as SPAWN and the Executive Director of the Pacific Institute for Professional Writing. We talked about the services that SPAWN provides to its members, the importance of editors and why establishing your own publishing company may be beneficial. We also talked about the 805 Writers Conference that is held in Ventura,California in November: http://www.805writersconference.com/. For more information on SPAWN and member benefits, you can go to: http://spawn.org/. To follow the podcast and other updates, you can find the Write Hot Facebook page. Laura also mentions her new class, “How to Grow Your Business Fast by Writing a Book”. It starts May 1 and included are lots of tips, tools, and templates to help you get your book idea out quickly and easily. Writing a book was one of the best things I ever did for my business. Hope you can join! You can find out more information my

In this interview, Laura Powers talks with tv and film writer, comic book creator, and author of “Kickstarter for the Independent Creator”, Madeleine Holly-Rosing. Her comic book “Boston Metaphysical Society” has been funded largely though crowdfunding. We talked about crowdfunding tips for running a successful campaign and we addressed the differences between Kickstarter and Indiegogo. It was a great conversation and Madeleine will be coming back to the show to talk about how to create a graphic novel or comic book yourself. You can find out more about Madeleine and “Boston Metaphysical Society” at http://www.bostonmetaphysicalsociety.com. To follow the podcast and other updates, you can find the Write Hot Facebook page. Laura also mentions her new class, “How to Grow Your Business Fast by Writing a Book”. It starts May 1 and included are lots of tips, tools, and templates to help you get your book idea out quickly and easily. Writing a book was one of the best things I ever did for my business. Hope you ca

In this interview, Laura Powers talks with writer, director, actor, producer, and Steve Harper on how to make a web series. Steve also shares crowdfundingtips. We discussed how film festivals now have categories for web series and referenced https://www.withoutabox.com/ and https://filmfreeway.com/ to find festivals for submission. We discussed specific aspects of writing a web series and crowdfunding aspects for web series in particular. To find out more information about Steve and this topic at: http://www.yourcreativelife.com/workshops/. To follow the podcast and other updates, you can find the Write Hot Facebook page. For more information about on me (Laura Powers) and my work as a psychic, you can go to www.healingpowers.net. For more information about Laura, you can go to www.laurapowers.net. Happy listening!

In this interview, Laura Powers talks with Publicist Rhonda Rees about how online piracy affects authors. We also discussed the LA Book Festival and how to prepare for it and other book festivals and fairs as an author. We specifically addressed how to check for online piracy of your books as well as how to handle it if you do find your work being pirated on a website. It has to do with using a DMCA (Digital Millenium Copyright Act) Takedown request. Hopefully you won’t need this but in case your work is pirated as an author, this is very helpful. April 23rd is World Book Day or World Book Copyright Day is April 23rd and Rhonda has organized a campaign to help authors and publishers understand this real problem. You can read about this initiative and learn about Rhonda here: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2016/03/prweb13270009.htmWe also addressed the benefits of hiring a publicist and the process of working with a publicist if you are interested in hiring one. We talked a little bit about my work in the psych