Become A Writer Today

My guest this week is retired clinical psychologist Pam Munter.Pam's written four books and had more than 150 personal essays published over the years. Her latest book is Fading Fame: Women of a Certain Age in Hollywood, a collection of ten short stories and two plays about the troubled lives of strong and talented women who survived #MeToo. Pam also writes a lot of non-fiction and memoirs.In our interview, she talks about her approach to writing short stories, plays, and personal essays and talks about her life as a stage performer and a clinical psychologist.Pam also has a fascinating insight into the creative process, which is worth listening to in the middle of the interview. If you feel that writing is a bit of a lonely profession, this is a conversation you want to hear.In this episode, we discuss:How to balance writing with a professional careerDealing with feedback Outlining stories in advance vs free writingShould writers attach value to their work?How long Pam spends writing each dayTips on get

In this episode, I catch up with Brian Finney to understand how he transitioned from writing non-fiction to writing fiction and how he manages his day. Many writers work on the side while working a demanding day job. Brian has gone the other way. He’s now a professor emeritus at California State University, which means he doesn’t lecture at the university, so he has time to write his psychological thrillers during the week. I was interested in how somebody would approach having a massive chunk of free time to write. I dug into Brian’s writing process to figure out how much time he spends writing and how he gets himself into a state of flow.In this episode, we discuss:Brian's writing processCurrent events and conspiracy theories that drive Brian's storiesWriting toolsReactions from Brian's former studentsHow Brian promotes his booksAdvice on finding time to writeTechniques and strategies for getting into the flowResources:Brian Finney WebsiteMoney MattersDangerous ConjecturesSupport the showIf y

Many writers like to work within one genre or niche. They write thriller books or police procedurals, or mystery books. Other writers find working within one genre or niche confining, and they like to try different types of writing to see where it takes them. In this episode, I recently had the chance to catch up with Jenn Ashton, and she’s done just that. She’s published poetry, children’s books, journalism, historical research, technical manuals, and she’s also an accomplished visual artist. I had many questions for Jenn about her creative ventures and whether other projects like painting can improve your writing.In this episode, we discuss:Balancing different creative outletsGetting into a creative flowSharing stories with a beta group before publishingGiving helpful feedback to a friendHow to earn a living while following your creative dreamThe benefit of entering writing competitionsAdvice for writers looking to get publishedResources:People Like FrankNaNoWriMoSubmittable Jennifer Ashton Jennifer Ashton

This week, I got to catch up with somebody I've wanted to talk to for a long time.David Farland is the author of over 50 books, including The Runelords series. He's worked with top fantasy and science fiction authors like Brandon Sanderson and Stephenie Meyer, and he's also written Million Dollar Outlines.In this interview, we talk about Robert Heinlein's Rules for Writers. Several years ago, I came across these rules after being frustrated writing and rewriting the same short stories repeatedly. We chat about hybrid publishing, self-publishing, and traditional publishing and how to decide which approach is right for your book. I also got David's take on marketing and how a back catalog can help you earn a good living as an author.David also explains the importance of having an e-mail list and how it can help you earn a healthy living from writing.In this episode, we discuss:How David's writing process has changed over the yearsAdvice for new writersWhat makes a story compellingC

In this episode, I chat with therapist Charley Wininger.He's the author of the new book, Listening to Ecstasy: The Transformative Power of MDMA. Writing about the therapeutic benefits of psychedelic substances is pretty controversial, depending on where you live in the world. It's a topic that I'd like to write about, but I'm not quite there yet, so I was fascinated to hear from an author who's not afraid to write about something controversial.Charley started writing in his mid-60s. He's now 72, and it took him seven years to write the book. If you ever feel like you've missed your chance to write a book, take heart from his experiences. I ask Charley about the correlation between psychedelics, meditation and flow state, and the creative process. He also describes his writing process and how he got around some issues like writer's block.In this episode, we discuss:How Charley wrote his memoir Why the book took 6 years to writeAdvice given to Charley about writingThe com

Meredith Heller is the author of Write a Poem, Save Your Life: A Guide for Teens, Teachers, and Writers of All Ages. It's an instructional book for anybody who wants to write or teach writing poetry. If you want to learn more about writing poetry, it's a title I recommend. In this episode, Meredith told me how she combines her career as a working poet with that of a massage therapist and teacher.Meredith explains how having a job can inform your craft and can give you source material for your art. She is also a prolific journaler and had over 80 different journals that she used for material.In this episode, we discuss.How Meredith combined her poetry with the work of her students in the bookMeredith's techniques for getting her students to write about difficult topicsThe process for writing poetryIs poetry making a comeback?The key to writing while having a careerResources.Write a Poem, Save Your Life: A Guide for Teens, Teachers, and Writers of All Ages Meredith HellerSupport the showIf you en

Colin Dayan is the Robert Penn Warren Professor in the Humanities at Vanderbilt University.She’s written extensively about Haiti and Guantanamo Bay and has written not one but two memoirs. Colin chatted to me about her memoirs and how, if you spend a lot of time engaged in one type of writing to pay the bills as Colin did with academic writing and research, you should still go ahead and try on a completely different form of writing. After all, who knows where you’ll end up in 10 or 15 years, and by exploring different genres and formats, you could build a writing career that lasts a lifetime. I asked Colin about her research process, and we dig into how she approaches researching memoir versus writing something for an academic and formal audience.In this episode, we discuss:Choosing topics for a bookHow to approach writing a personal essayThe reaction of those featured in Colin's booksColin's tips for writing a memoirPicking a theme to structure your memoir aroundResources:Colin DayanMarion Roach Sm

Terry McDougall is an executive and career coach and the author of the new book, Winning the Game of Work.In this episode of the podcast, I spoke to Terry about her fascinating idea of seeing work as a type of game. She considers her book as part of her calling card, and she had some fantastic insights into how the book is potentially helping her find more clients for her coaching practice.If you have an interesting work story and you want to go out on your own as a consultant or coach, then writing a non-fiction book is a way to help you grow your business or your practice.In this episode, we discuss:How to treat work as a gameStrategies to help you succeed at workBooks that laid the foundation for Terry's writingHow long it took to write the bookWhat Terry would do differentlyTerry's writing process on an average dayResources:What Color is Your Parachute - Richard N. BollesWinning the Game of Work - Terry McDougallMarketing Mambo PodcastTerry B. McDougall WebsiteSupport the showIf you enjoyed the

Recently I caught up with podcaster, blogger, and author Amy Isaman.Amy taught creative writing for years until she finally answered her calling and wrote her first book in her 40's.  She's written both mystery books and historical fiction, and she believes that writers should try writing in different genres. After all, readers don't confine themselves to one genre.She puts a case forward for writers to flex their creative muscles and pick a genre they've not written in before, whether that's a thriller, mysteries, or science fiction.In this episode, we discuss:Turning your first book into a seriesOutlining your writing in advance Amy explains her editing processUsing beta readersStarting a blogResources: Amy IsamanAmy Isaman at AmazonAmy Isaman on InstagramSara Oliver DesignSupport the showIf you enjoyed the show please leave a review on Apple. And if you have any questions you can find me on Twitter @BryanJCollinsThanks for listening!

My guest in this episode is Roger Reuff.  He developed the concept of the story having a soul. He wrote a book about it and has a course of the same name at soulofyourstory.com. Roger is multi-talented and has written several books and screenplays, one of which made into onto big screen, The Big Kahuna starring Kevin Spacey and Danny DeVito.Roger starts our interview with an overview of who he is and how he came up with his idea for finding the soul of a story.In this episode we discuss: What writers should ask themself before they start on a bookRoger's three main approaches to writingHow Roger formats his writingHow he developed the concept of the Soul of your StoryResources:Soul of Your StorySoul of Your Story WebinarSupport the showIf you enjoyed the show please leave a review on Apple. And if you have any questions you can find me on Twitter @BryanJCollinsThanks for listening!

My guest this week is the author of the Sky Fall series of books, Joseph Bendoski. Joseph's background is in screenwriting which he eventually left behind as he found the conventions of that particular genre too restrictive.When he switched to writing novels, he found it a more freeing format. He was initially undecided whether to write fiction or non-fiction. He made his decision after looking at the book sales for Malcolm Gladwell and George R. R. Martin of Game of Thrones. George R.R. Martin had sold over 80 million books, whereas Malcolm Gladwell's sales were around 8 or 9 million. Joseph's key takeaway from that was that if you want to write a story that readers will read and enjoy, perhaps fiction is the way to go. In this episode, we also chat about marketing strategies and insights for getting your writing in front of more people.In this episode we discuss:The restrictions that come with script writingHow scriptwriting informed Joseph's novel writingThe decision behind writing a se

Writing can be a lonely business. Sitting alone for several hours, just you and your words. This is when a writing community or collaboration can be of real benefit.In this episode, I chat with Niki Hardy from Hope Writers and the author of Breathe Again. How to Live Well When Life Falls Apart.Niki talks to me about how she found the encouragement that she needed from Hope Writers. She believes that without their support, her book would never have been published. In this episode we discuss:What members get from Hope Writers when they joinWhy Niki wrote her bookNiki's writing process. How Hope Writers differs from other communitiesUsing newsletters to promote your writingResources:Hope WritersBreathe AgainNiki HardySupport the showIf you enjoyed the show please leave a review on Apple. And if you have any questions you can find me on Twitter @BryanJCollinsThanks for listening!

Will building your personal brand help you to sell more books and courses or find you more clients as a writer? Personal branding is something that content creators should consider. I learned the hard way that building a brand isn't about spending hundreds of dollars on a fancy logo but is more about associating yourself with a specific topic or creating a name for yourself within a niche.In this episode, I chat with Pamela Wilson, who you may know from Copyblogger and her own business, Big Brand System. Pamela gives some insight into what it means to build a personal brand today. I was particularly interested in how personal branding can help you create digital products and services that others will want to buy.In this episode we discuss: Does guest posting still work The definition of personal brandingCreating a content strategySetting up a pre-offerBuilding an audienceThe value in creating a good lead magnetWhat to focus on as your online business growsResourcesCopybloggerBig Brand SystemSupport the s

Simon King is the author of over 30 books across five different series, including the Sam Rader series, the non-fiction Prison Days series, and the MAX series. Before he became an author, Simon worked in a maximum-security prison in Australia, and he only published his first book in 2018.In this episode, Simon explains how he went from working a demanding day job, working nights and shifts, to publishing up to 12 books a year over three years.Simon also believes that it’s essential to set a clear target for how much you want to write every day. He set a target to write 3,000 words every day no matter what, and he explains what that did for his writing career.In this episode we discuss:How his job as a prison officer helped with his writingHaving an ideal reader in mindStarting with the end Moving from writing non-fiction to fictionStrategies Simon uses to promote his booksDeciding on the length of a bookResources:Books by Simon KingSupport the showIf you enjoyed the show please leave a review on Apple. And if

Could you write a memoir?I used to think that you couldn’t write a memoir until you were old and at the end of your life. Your memoir would be one big book that would describe everything that happened from when you were born until the present moment. But, you can write a memoir about a particular theme, topic, or a single event in your life. Marion Roach Smith is a memoir coach, and she runs a course in the art of memoir writing. In this episode, we talk about what makes a good memoir and how you can start writing one. Marion also discusses how it feels to write something outside of your comfort zone and how you might have to deal with critics who tell you not to write outside your niche.In this episode we discuss:The conventions of a good memoir bookAre you the protagonist in a memoir?How a three-act structure works for a memoirTips for remembering things from the pastDealing with reactions from other peopleDeciding what to keep in a memoir and what to take out Resources:Marion Roach SmithSupport the showIf

Cary Bergeron is the founder of the book promotion service Crave Books. In this episode, we get into what it takes to sell a book today and how a book promotion service can get you in front of more readers. Cary talks about three fantastic insights  if you’re getting ready to publish your first book:Does it have a good cover? Does it have reviews? Does it have a good description? It would help if you got all three to convince somebody on Amazon, Kobo, or Google, or wherever they’re buying your book to hit the Buy button.In this episode, we discuss:Cary's background and how he's written so many booksHow to get the best use out of a book promotion serviceGetting the best value from your first promotionThe budget needed to get a campaign off the groundGetting your first book reviewsResources:Crave BooksFacebook GroupSupport the showIf you enjoyed the show please leave a review on Apple. And if you have any questions you can find me on Twitter @BryanJCollinsThanks for listening!

If you're working as a freelance writer and want to earn a full-time wage, I recommend copywriting. Copywriting is essentially writing words that sell products and services. It's a great discipline to help you figure out how to condense your ideas into articles, e-mails, and stories that you will publish online. In this episode of the podcast, I chat with Aly Goulet. She specializes in the B2B and SaaS industries. She talks about the importance of side projects and how and why she is building a WordPress app. This project might seem like it's got nothing to do with copywriting, but Aly explains how she will use it to help develop her copywriting business.In this episode, we discuss:How to start a career as a freelance writer with no experienceHow to find your first client as a copywriterSetting your hourly rateIs it ever ok to write for free?Tips for copywriters to increase their ratesWhat makes good email copyGetting started with an email campaign Sending cold pitches to clientsResources:Every

This episode of the podcast has a very special guest. Bernard Huang is the co-founder of the popular content tool Clearscope. In our conversation, Bernard explains how Clearscope works and how it can help you grow your website and help you find more readers for your non-fiction articles. You'll also find some practical tips on building a niche website, learning about content optimization tools, and increasing traffic to your website.  Bernard also tells the fascinating story behind how he founded  Clearscope. There are many parallels between Bernard’s experience with Clearscope and how writers find working on their first book or their first creative project.In this episode, we discuss:How Bernard started ClearscopeHow Clearscope encourages creatives to think differently about what is on their webpagesIs Google forcing web pages to be too prescriptive?The future of search results is videoWhat steps you should take if your traffic has dippedHow often should you update your website contentResources:Bernard

In 2016, Dorit published the award-winning memoir, Accidental Soldier about her time in service with the Israeli Defense Forces.Here, Dorit talks about how she balances doing something with clear commercial intent with doing something creative, like writing memoirs about her time in active service.If you find time to do both every day, then you will advance your career, you’ll get paid, and you’ll also improve at your craft. Who doesn’t want those things?I kicked off the interview by asking Dorit to describe how her time in active service informed her memoir, Accidental Soldier.In this episode, we discuss:Why Dorit had to do compulsory service in the  Israeli Defense ForceHow long it took her to write her bookHow to promote a memoir that’s so specific to personal experiencesEstablish who you are writing forWhat is SEO writing?Balancing creativity with SEO copywritingWriting for a consumer audience.How to balance working as a copywriter with writing a personal memoirResources:Dorit SassonAccidental SoldierSupp

Social media is an excellent way of finding readers and finding clients if you’re a freelance writer. And, if you create content for social media platforms like Quora, you can build up a library of content that you can use and refer to over time.But, how exactly should you spend time on social media, what tools should you use, and how can you do it?Neal Schaffer has the answer to these questions and more. He is an expert in influencer marketing and has written more than five books, including his latest which focuses on influencer marketing called The Age of Influence. Although Neal consults with B2B clients, the book is also relevant for anybody who wants to use social media to become an influencer. He explains how creatives can find the right network during our conversation, how to repurpose content and build an audience on social media. He also talks about finding a balance between creating content and being active on these platforms. In this episode, we discuss:The definition of an influencerDeciding on th