The Indy Author Podcast

Matty Dalrymple talks with Michael Bracken about THE PATH TO SHORT STORY PUBLICATION, including getting a feel for what editors like and studying the guidelines; making yourself known to editors ... in a good way; finding the opportunities; knowing when to say no ... and when to try something new; best practices for submissions, including the importance of understanding MS Word; the value of conne...

Matty Dalrymple talks with Richie Narvaez about STRETCHING YOUR WRITING MUSCLES WITH SHORT FICTION, including using a short whodunit as a way of learning story structure and the basics of character conflict; the importance of being a reader in your genre to be aware of trends and tropes; the value of sketching out your story idea in advance; how a short story is like a cocktail party; using short...

Matty Dalrymple talks with Doug Dorst about RUNNING AT THE CREATIVE RISK, using the book he co-authored with J.J. Abrams, S., as an example. We discuss the power of thinking you have no chance, sacrificing verisimilitude for the reading experience, how having a creative safety net lets you run straight at the risk, the joy of creating a tactile experience, the importance of not turning away from w...

Matty Dalrymple talks with Cliff Beach about WHAT WRITERS CAN LEARN FROM THE MUSIC WORLD, including achieving a transference of feeling with our readers, maintaining a creative hunger, deciding whether you want to be hot or achieve a slow boil, balancing creativity and a business mindset, not waiting for someone to greenlight your idea, and the power of being interested, not just interesting. Show...

Matty Dalrymple talks with Amy Peele about USING "GLIMMERS AND WHISPERS" TO CARE FOR YOUR WRITER BODY, including the meaning behind "glimmers and whispers," using pleasure bundling as an incentive to move, the value of an accountability partner, hand care for writers, the physical and creative benefits of music, baking movement into different phases of the writing process, and believing that "the...

Matty Dalrymple talks with Shelby Leigh about MOVING PAST SELF-DOUBT TO PROMOTE YOUR WORK, including getting past the stigma of promotion and marketing; identifying the value to the reader of fiction as well as non-fiction; the importance of understanding your genre; the value of social media for both promotion and market research; protecting yourself emotionally from the impact of unfollows or ba...

Matty Dalrymple talks with Tara Robinett of Draft2Digital about THE POWER OF PRINT, including what print on demand is, and changing players in the POD market; D2D functionality for creating print editions from ebooks, including creating a wraparound print cover from an ebook cover; the importance of avoiding ebook language (like "click here") in your print book; why unlimited revisions aren't viab...

Matty Dalrymple talks with Emma Dhesi about THE POWER OF A BOOK COACH, including the differences between coaching and consulting, and between coaching and editing; the value a coach can bring in terms of providing accountability, guiding you through your own unique writing process, and helping you rediscover the joy of writing; and tips for choosing a coach, including red flags to look out for. Sh...

Matty Dalrymple talks with Dave Chesson of Kindlepreneur about AI AS METADATA ASSISTANT AND MUSE, including how effective (or ineffective) AI is in helping authors with keywords, book descriptions, categories, and titles; using AI to create interior images such as maps (and tips for how to do this); using AI image generators to visualize your book description; and the importance of changing how we...

Matty Dalrymple talks with Greta Boris and Megan Haskell about PLANNING A NOVEL. We discuss brainstorming, including planting the concept seeds, productive daydreaming, and feeding the subconscious; worldbuilding, including how much is too much, giving the characters (and readers) an anchor, and letting world-building inform your plot; standalone or series, including which makes more sense for wri...

Matty Dalrymple talks with Dharma Kelleher about WRITING FROM OR ABOUT THE LGBTQIA+ COMMUNITY, including Dharma's experience with traditional publishing and why she went indie; the importance of remembering why you're writing (it's probably not for the money); letting the reader draw the lessons from your book; finding commonality among the differences; the importance of giving your character agen...

Matty Dalrymple talks with Lisa Regan about HOW TO SUCCEED WITH A SUPER-LONG SERIES, including how to plan character development, building your team of characters, the plausibility pact with readers, the pros and cons of a fictional location, keeping readers engaged, and how to maintain your interest as a series author. Show notes at https://bit.ly/TIAP182 Did you find the information in this vide...

Matty Dalrymple talks with Claire Taylor about ENNEAGRAM AND YOUR AUTHOR CAREER, including what Enneagram is and how authors can benefit creatively and business-wise from learning about their type; the importance of understanding three key motivators: what you want your writing to do for you, what you want your writing to do for others, and what you want your money to do for you; understanding the...

Matty Dalrymple talks with John Gaspard about THE TOP 6 LESSONS NOVELISTS CAN LEARN FROM MOVIES, including the importance of staying in your lane, being completely committed, coming in late and leaving early, callbacks (or reaping what you've sown), getting notes (or working with beta readers), and not hesitating to hesitate. If one of those topics piques your interest, you can easily jump to that...

Jessie Kwak talks about IS FREELANCE COPYWRITING FOR YOU?, including considering your risk tolerance; being willing to experiment; the importance of choosing niches for content and format; understanding in what circumstances copywriters are credited; pricing your services; competing with platforms like Fiverr; factoring in AI; and allocating time to freelance work versus one's own work. If one of...

Shane Millar talks about HOW TO BE A WRITER IF YOU HATE WRITING, including diagnosing a dislike of drafting; whether first drafting quickly is a problem; tips for fleshing out setting and characters, including getting to know your characters in your first book and the advantage of continuing characters in a series; the benefit of learning story structure; the danger of too much study and not enoug...

Author Leslye Penelope talks about FROM INDY TO TRAD TO HYBRID, including being an indy author approached by a traditional publisher (and how that's the exception, not the rule); what changed with her traditionally published release and what stayed the same; publisher and author rights; partnering with one's traditional publisher; backlist books and traditional publishing; the idea that trad publi...

Michael La Ronn and Matty Dalrymple discuss TWO PERSPECTIVES ON CHOOSING THE TOOLS FOR YOUR AUTHOR CAREER, including the tools they use for writing and editing, design (book interiors and exteriors), production, distribution, marketing, promotion, and administrivia. More importantly, they discuss the criteria they use to select their tools, including using tools wide or deep, buying versus buildin...

M.K. Williams and Matty Dalrymple talk about LESSONS LEARNED AS AN AUTHOR PODCASTER AND YOUTUBER, including the importance of putting your own spin on your offering, bringing a mindset of plenty, leveraging a patronage model, starting out as if you have an audience of thousands, the importance of not planning for lightning in a bottle but also not undervaluing what you've achieved. Show notes at h...

Matty Dalrymple talks with Amy Woods of Content 10X about CHOOSING YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORM ... AND KNOWING WHEN TO CHANGE, including the theory behind content repurposing, understanding your goal for platform engagement, the importance on focusing where your audience is and having a platform-specific strategy, the emergence of LinkedIn as a social platform, and how we each have the ability to c...

Matty Dalrymple talks with Daniel Willcocks about the importance of NOT STAKING EVERYTHING ON YOUR FIRST BOOK, including the importance of committing to the process, the dangers of perfectionism, heeding your internal compass to decide if your book is ready for readers, writing your heart book, taking it one step at a time your way, and doing what makes you happy. Do any of those topics pique your...

Matty Dalrymple talks with Robin Whitten of AudioFile Magazine about AN EXPERT PERSPECTIVE ON AUDIO, including the growing acceptance of audiobooks, the fact that audio sales don't cannibalize other book sales, looking for a narrator's connection to the story, considerations for narrating your own book, a reviewer's perspective on AI-narrated audio, and different audio for different listeners. Do...

Matty Dalrymple talks with Mark Leslie Lefebvre about OUTSIDE-THE-BOX CONTENT: THE STORY BEHIND "THE CANADIAN MOUNTED" and how (and why) he decided to write a book of trivia about the movie Planes, Trains, and Automobiles published behind a cover mimicking the book John Candy's character is reading when he meets Steve Martin's character in the airport waiting area. We discuss the care Mark took in...

Matty Dalrymple talks with M.K. Williams about CREATING A WINNING WORKBOOK, including why she chose to create a workbook, the importance of understanding your ideal reader's needs, the vital role played by beta readers, hiring a design professional who specializes in workbooks, formatting options, and production costs. Do any of those topics pique your interest? Check out 2 MINUTES OF INDY https:/...

Matty Dalrymple talks with Kristopher Zgorski about THE DO'S AND DON'TS OF WORKING WITH BOOK BLOGGERS, including things you can do to "get the coins on your side of the table," such as following reviewers on social media and complying with blogger format and submission guidelines, and the fact that, despite your best efforts, you won't always get a yes. We also discuss the value of reading your co...