Become a Writer Today

Writers sometimes forget that those who don't practice the craft daily find it exceptionally difficult to communicate in the written word, but if you are listening to this podcast episode, you already understand how to communicate in the written word.  Chances are, you know how to hit writing deadlines. You know how to research articles and how to publish them. So, rather than just doing it f...

What are your limiting mindsets around money and freelancing? Like many writers, I’ve had some limiting beliefs around money, which have held me back over the years. I guess I was telling myself I don’t deserve to get paid to write. Later on, when I started getting paid as a copywriter for a British software company, I said things like, “I should be content with what I have because lots of other p...

Years ago, I worked as a freelance writer producing my content exclusively. These days, I still write articles for the websites I run, but I also employ several writers to create content for me on topics outside my areas of expertise. To scale a content website, you need to publish more articles and blog posts, and it's impossible to write them all yourself. When you dive into a niche, you&ap...

I've spent a lot of time thinking about the future of content publishing online. When you run a content website, you must understand a couple of strategies to build an audience. If you're focused on attracting traffic from Google, you need to figure out search engine optimization. Alternatively, if you're looking for traffic from Facebook, you need to understand social media marketi...

Over the years, I've produced, recorded, and outsourced various audiobooks based on works I've written. For my first book, I narrated it myself using a microphone at home. Later, I commissioned a narrator, also known as an ACX, and asked them to rework the entire audiobook. They did a better job than I did. For subsequent books, I outsourced production by hiring narrators, and I paid bet...

How can you balance the analytical act of editing with the creative act of writing?  I spend a lot of time thinking about editing and considering the best ways to take a draft and turn it into something publishable.  That's probably because I spend some of the working days editing the work of other writers and because I've worked as a sub-editor for several newspapers over the years.  I...

Meditation, mindfulness, and creativity, how do they work hand in hand?  I like to meditate twice a day. It's a practice that took 8 or 9 years to develop. I first learned meditation using the app Headspace and took guided meditation courses. Then, I started taking some in-person meditation courses. I even went away on a meditative retreat. Because I spend so much time working alone, I find m...

What should writers and content publishers know about using AI as part of their creative workflow? Over the past year or two, I’ve tested various content marketing tools, software, and so on. One tool that I use extensively is MarketMuse. About a year ago, the traffic on my main website, Become a Writer Today, dipped by 10 to 20 percent after a Google algorithm update. I was pretty stressed about...

How can you earn a living from your passion for the written word?  When I started as a writer, it seemed exceptionally difficult to earn a good living from the written word. That's probably because I was trying to make a living as a journalist in Ireland, and as a pretty small country, there were few opportunities. But I quickly discovered that my experiences weren't unique. It's pr...

How can interviews help you if you are writing a non-fiction book? I spent a lot of time interviewing guests for this podcast and as a freelance journalist. Interviews can seem like they're pretty straightforward to do. But it can take almost as long to prepare for an interview, particularly if you don't know the topic well. Even if you're knowledgeable about a topic, it's stil...

How important is solitude for the creative process, and how can you balance finding solitude for your creative work with everything else that's going on in your busy life?  In this week's episode, I catch up with Bryan Crosson. He's the author of the Lonesome Thread , and his book is all about creativity, solitude for creatives, and why it's so important. In his book, Bryan dra...

How can you write creative non-fiction? And what makes it stand out? I am fascinated by creative non-fiction. It is a type of writing where the writer or author injects something of themself from their personal life or a little bit of creativity into the work. In other words, it's not simply researching a topic and turning it into another dry business book. Writing creative non-fiction can be...

How can you collaborate with other writers and authors? And what should you know before you decide to write an article, essay, or book with someone else? This week's interview is all about collaborative writing, and I caught up with two authors from Nebraska, Becky Breed, and Lucy Adkins, to discuss the process. They are collaborative authors who have known each other for over 20 years. Colla...

In this episode, I caught up with Sharlene Anders, better known as Shallalla who is a creativity coach based in Germany. Shallalla turns the tables during our conversation and asks me questions about my creative work and what I do when I feel like a project doesn’t have any meaning. Like all authors, I enjoy the process of writing. But when I was writing my parenting book, I would turn on the news...

If you're a regular listener to this podcast, you know I stick to a format where I interview an expert on a particular topic. I talk to them about their background and ask them about their writing process and journey. I like the interview format, but there are other formats that you can use for podcasts like the one popularized by Serial, where you script out an episode in advance and tell a...

Steve Krug is the author of the book Don’t Make Me Think . He’s rewritten the book three times, and so far, it’s sold over 600,000 copies. During the interview, I got into why he decided to rewrite the book several times and how the book helped him build a business around writing technical non-fiction for his audience. Steve also talks to me about what he’s up to these days and gives some valuable...

As a writer, you may be concerned that AI writing tools will replace you. The answer is no, at least not just yet.  I've tested multiple tools, and while they're helpful and save time, they won't help if you are writing something complex or requiring creativity or in-depth research.  What they can do is help overcome problems like writer's block. They can help you figure out to...

Jessica Artemisia Mathieu is a sci-fi, fantasy author and digital marketing agency owner. She's also the creator of The Sovereigntii, which uses NFTs on blockchain as a new form of storytelling, community, and income. Jessica is one of the few writers I've talked to so far who's successfully using NFT as part of her writing career. I wanted to find out how she's doing it and ho...

Dr. Joan Smoller is a creative non-fiction writer, a writing coach, a former lecturer at NYU, and author of three books. She’s also written for multiple high-profile publications in the United States, including the New York Times . In this interview, she talks about the power of non-fiction, how writers could use it to inspire social change and what non-fiction has done for her.  Joan demonstrates...

Jay Clouse is the host of the popular podcast, Creative Elements. A couple of months ago, I took one of Jay's podcasting courses, which changed how I think about podcasting and creative work. In this episode, Jay and I discuss the value of consistency. He's interviewed several top performers, like Seth Godin, and turning up and doing consistent work is often the key to their success. Jay...

Amardeep Parmar is a content creator and a prolific Medium writer.  Within around two years, he built up approximately 60,000 followers. One of his articles went viral, he's got millions of views, and he's featured in top-tier publications online like Wired and Morning Brew.  Amar's experience shows that if you feel like it's too late to start online writing or it's too ha...

Debbie Gartner is known as The Flooring Girl.  Her website is all about home improvements, but the emails she sends to her list are all about SEO, creating content, and affiliate marketing.  I wanted to find out how somebody can run two different business models and earn a living. Debbie is very open and transparent about what works in her business and what she earns from it. She produces monthly...

Dan Clarke is the founder of Brain.fm, a service designed to help you focus on your task. It was popularized in 2016 via an AppSumo deal but has gone through many iterations since then. Brain.fm helps you manage distractions which can be a real challenge for writers. Distractions can take you away from your flow state and affect your writing. Dan Clark talked with me about how Brain.fm evolved and...

The internet thrives on great content. Somebody has to write it, and while some people say AI could replace writers, that’s not going to happen anytime soon. That's a topic I talk about in this week’s interview with the expert content marketer, Pam Didner. Smart content marketers write books, articles, or publish content that aligns with a product or service that they create. Non-fiction auth...

Matty Dalrymple has been the host of The Indy Author Podcast since 2016 and published her first book in 2013. She's the author of the Ann Kinnear suspense novels and suspense shorts and the Lizzy Ballard thrillers.  In this episode of the podcast, I ask Matty why she decided to set up her podcast and if it’s too late for aspiring podcasters today. We also get a little bit into the workflow of...