Pros Talking Prose

Well, that escalated quickly. We started this episode of Pros Talking Prose a little irritated. Okay, maybe more than a little. Somewhere along the way, our professional filters apparently packed their bags and left the building. Four topics. Two publishing professionals. One timer. Absolutely no guarantee we'd behave ourselves. This week, Stacey Smekofske and Troy Lambert are letting you be a fly...

You started writing your book with ALL the enthusiasm in the world. The characters were talking to you, the plot was practically writing itself, and you were convinced this was going to be your best book ever. And then... somewhere around chapter twelve, the honeymoon ended. Now you're staring at your manuscript, wondering where all that excitement went. Sound familiar? Losing motivation doesn't n...

Can writing 50,000 words in 30 days actually make you a better writer? Or are we just getting really good at chasing word counts? November is coming, and writers everywhere are preparing to do what writers do best: set wildly ambitious goals, stock up on caffeine, and convince themselves that this will finally be the month they finish that novel. However, are writing challenges like Novel November...

What happens when readers discover that the book they loved was written by AI? Does the story suddenly become less valuable—or does the author lose something far more important: the reader's trust? AI-generated books are becoming part of the publishing conversation, but authors and readers aren't necessarily seeing eye to eye. And while some writers are embracing artificial intelligence as a short...

Could thinking about book sales before you finish your manuscript actually keep you from finishing it? You want to write a great book. You also want someone to buy the thing. But when should target readers, genre expectations, and book marketing enter the conversation? This week on Pros Talking Prose, Stacey Smekofske and Troy Lambert get a little feisty about where writing craft meets author busi...

There’s a LOT of writing and publishing advice out there. Follow this formula. Use this tool. Publish this way. Market your book like this, but after 100 episodes of Pros Talking Prose, we keep coming back to two words: It depends. In our 100th episode, we hand the conversation over to you. We answer questions from our listeners about writing, editing, AI, indie vs. traditional publishing, staying...

Book marketing has changed, and a lot of the advice authors are still following was built for an internet that doesn’t really exist anymore. In this episode of Pros Talking Prose, we sit down with marketing strategist Amanda Natividad, founder of Zero Click Marketing, Chief Evangelist at SparkToro, and co-author with Rand Fishkin of the upcoming book Zero Click Marketing: How to Build Brands and E...

Authors spend a lot of time worrying about book sales, reviews, algorithms, trends, AI, bestseller lists, agents, publishers, other authors’ success… and a whole lot of things we can’t control. All that noise can make it very easy to lose your way. In this episode of Pros Talking Prose, Troy and Stacey talk about the difference between the things authors can control, the things they can influence,...

Readers aren’t accepting “good enough” books anymore. The quality bar in publishing has moved, and whether you publish independently, traditionally, or somewhere in between, readers are paying attention. In this episode, Stacey and Troy dig into what “professional quality” actually means today. Spoiler: professional means more than editing. A strong book is not just grammatically clean. The story...

Writing may happen alone, but building an author career doesn’t. After a whirlwind weekend at Killer Nashville, Stacey and Troy came home thinking about something that doesn’t get talked about nearly enough in publishing: the people you surround yourself with can fundamentally change the direction of your career. A conversation with a stranger can become a friendship. A friendship can become an in...

Publishing is changing fast. AI is changing faster. Authors are being told to write more, publish more, build bigger platforms, learn new technology, follow every trend—and somehow keep producing better books while doing it all. No wonder so many writers feel like they’re losing ground. In this episode, Stacey and Troy talk about the pressure authors are putting on themselves, why imposter syndrom...

What happens when your entire travel plan falls apart and you suddenly realize you're living through the exact kind of story structure you teach authors to write? In this episode of Pros Talking Prose, we do something a little different. After a travel day filled with changing gates, missing pilots, canceled flights, expensive mistakes, unexpected allies, and one very important business conversati...

Every author wants the formula. The perfect story structure. The guaranteed marketing strategy. The business system that promises more readers, more sales, and a six-figure author career. But the author success formula is a lie. That does not mean business advice, writing frameworks, or marketing strategies are useless. It means someone else’s formula was built around their skills, resources, audi...

For the past year, it has felt like everyone has an opinion about AI. But what do authors actually think? We surveyed over 200 authors to better understand how writers really feel about artificial intelligence, not just how they use it, but how they view its impact on creativity, publishing, copyright, trust, and the future of storytelling. The results surprised us. In this episode of Pros Talking...

Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey reminded us of one of the most important truths about storytelling: once your story is released into the world, it no longer belongs only to you. Every reader brings their own experiences, beliefs, emotions, and perspective to your work. That's not a flaw in storytelling; it's the very thing that makes stories endure. In this episode of Pros Talking Prose, Troy Lamb...

Every author wants to believe their book is ready. But would it survive the first ten minutes on an acquisitions editor's desk? In this episode of Pros Talking Prose, Troy Lambert and Stacey Smekofske pull back the curtain on what professional editors and publishers actually look for when evaluating a manuscript. From unforgettable opening chapters and compelling characters to author voice, pacing...

You spent months (or years) writing your book... ...and then gave yourself fifteen minutes to write the blurb. We see it all the time. Authors pour everything into their manuscript, only to rush through the one piece of sales copy that convinces readers to pick it up, or put it back on the shelf. In this episode of Pros Talking Prose, we're breaking down what actually makes a great book blurb, why...

The AI conversation has reached a point where authors are accusing authors, readers are accusing writers, and trust is beginning to erode throughout the publishing industry. In this episode of Pros Talking Prose, we step away from the usual "AI is good" versus "AI is bad" debate and tackle something much bigger: What happens when suspicion replaces evidence? Whether you're excited about AI, comple...

Everyone says publishing needs fewer gatekeepers… until they have to sort through thousands of low-quality books. We know this episode may ruffle a few feathers. As lifelong advocates for independent authors, we believe writers should retain their rights, their royalties, and control over their careers. But that doesn't mean every barrier in publishing is a bad thing. In this episode of Pros Talki...

How much is caution costing your author career? Most writers don't think fear is influencing their decisions. They think they're being practical. Responsible. Patient. Careful, but sometimes playing it safe comes with a hidden cost. In this episode of Pros Talking Prose, Troy Lambert and Stacey Smekofske explore how fear affects the decisions authors make every day, like finishing manuscripts and...

Most authors don't have a writing problem—they have a deadline problem. In this episode of Pros Talking Prose, Stacey joins us from the California coast while Troy holds down the fort in Idaho to talk about one of the biggest sources of stress, burnout, and frustration in an author's career: unrealistic deadlines. From drafting and editing to cover design, formatting, publishing, and launch planni...

Are you measuring author success by the wrong standard? Too many writers compare themselves to bestselling authors, viral success stories, and household names. But what if that's exactly what's making you miserable? In this episode of Pros Talking Prose, Troy Lambert and Stacey Smekofske tackle the uncomfortable truth about author success, the publishing industry's "power law," and why so many wri...

Is your book really for everyone? One of the biggest mistakes authors make is trying to write, market, and sell their books to everyone. In reality, the most successful authors understand that books succeed when they connect deeply with the right readers, not all readers. In this episode of Pros Talking Prose, Stacey Smekofske and Troy Lambert discuss why trying to appeal to everyone can actually...

Most authors think book titles are just creative decisions. They’re not. Your title is metadata. Your title is marketing. Your title is the FIRST signal readers get about your book, and if it’s confusing, generic, impossible to pronounce, or sounds like every other title in your genre… readers are already moving on. In this episode of Pros Talking Prose, Troy Lambert and Stacey Smekofske break dow...

Some authors became so focused on “being professional” that they forgot how to actually enjoy writing. In this episode of Pros Talking Prose, Stacey Smekofske and Troy Lambert tackle burnout, doomscrolling, industry panic, AI fearmongering, and the emotional exhaustion many authors are quietly carrying right now. We talk honestly about: • treating your author career like a hobby (in a healthy way)...