The Indy Author Podcast

Matty Dalrymple talks with Mary Adkins about HOW TO WRITE FROM TRAUMA WITHOUT RETRAUMATIZING YOURSELF, including choosing between memoir and fiction, having one driving theme in memoir, the emotional intensity and physical experience of returning to trauma, balancing the needs of the writer and the reader, and the healing power of writing. I want to let you know in advance that the trauma Mary dis...

Matty Dalrymple talks with Clarissa Gosling about THE IMPORTANCE OF GOOD HABITS AND HOW ACCOUNTABILITY GROUPS CAN HELP, including the importance of consistency, giving yourself time to rest, the challenge of measuring creative productivity, and the value both of finding what you're comfortable with AND of changing up your approach. Matty got so inspired by the topic of good habits, she solicited i...

Matty Dalrymple talks with Jane Cleland about PLOTTING WITH AN UNRELIABLE NARRATOR, including examples of successfully drawn unreliable narrators and how they impact story structure; the importance of not relying on coincidence; the role of intentionality; the importance of enabling your reader to be empathetic toward the  narrator; the value of reading for what Jane calls TRDs: plot twists, plot...

Matty Dalrymple talks with Liesel Hill about STRENGTHENING YOUR FICTION WITH A PREMISE, including reasons why you should have a premise and how to construct it, if and how premises differ from tropes, reverse engineering your story, using a premise as a check on your story's effectiveness, and the importance of internal transformation. Do any of those topics pique your interest? Check out 2 MINUTE...

Matty Dalrymple talks with Gabriela Pereira about WHAT WRITERS CAN LEARN FROM SHORT FICTION, including the importance of seeing the full story, matching the message to the medium, letting the reader fill in the details, asking why something works (as well as why it might not), and assessing your work for purpose. We also talk about her program, DIY MFA, and how one of the drivers behind that progr...

Matty Dalrymple talks with previous podcast guests Jennifer Hilt and Michael La Ronn about YEAR END: THE WRITING CRAFT AND THE PUBLISHING VOYAGE, including starting your planning early, having a North Star, finishing what you start, having a sounding board, the power of a retreat, and keeping it fun. Except for the keeping it fun part, Jennifer, Michael, and I have pretty different approaches to y...

Matty Dalrymple talks with Gary Zenker about BOOK MARKETING LESSONS FROM BEYOND THE BOOK WORLD, including what authors can learn from comic books and tattoo artists, how to drive interest for the next offering, the importance of not taking your reader out of the story, not wasting your best vehicle (your own books), the flexibility indy authors have in experimenting with promotional approaches, an...

I talk with Isabella Maldonado about CHOOSING YOUR PUBLISHING PATH, including when your publisher closes up shop, getting rights back, going hybrid, getting into bookstores, coordinating indy and trad releases, and her experience with Kindle First Reads. Do any of those topics pique your interest? Check out 2 MINUTES OF INDY https://bit.ly/2MinutesOfIndy, where over the week following the airing o...

I talk with Frank Zafiro about MISTAKES WRITERS MAKE ABOUT POLICE ROLES AND HOW TO AVOID THEM. We discuss the police department career ladder, the role of the police sergeant, police roles and social media, commanding a SWAT team, how communications can save the day, and how his study of best practices for writing of police reports informed his work as a fiction author. Do any of those topics piqu...

I talk with Sharon Short about BACKSTORY: ON THE MOUNTAINTOP OR IN THE VALLEY? We discuss the importance of understanding what the character wants, backstory red flags, the point of no return, backstory for secondary characters and for setting, and when the backstory becomes the story. Do any of those topics pique your interest? Check out 2 MINUTES OF INDY https://bit.ly/2MinutesOfIndy, where over...

I talk with Ryan Fahey about WHAT WRITERS CAN LEARN FROM REMOTE WORKERS. We discuss managing boundaries, not doing everything, considering what is filling us versus what's taking away from us, dealing with distractions, giving yourself a pass, and the difference between connections and community. Do any of those topics pique your interest? Check out 2 MINUTES OF INDY https://bit.ly/2MinutesOfIndy,...

Jane Friedman talks about LITERARY CITIZENSHIP ... OR A RISING TIDE RAISES ALL BOATS. We discuss what literary citizenship is, literary citizenship on social media, conveying your identity as an author, the power of repetition, taking a strategic approach, and the importance of authenticity. Do any of those topics pique your interest? Check out 2 MINUTES OF INDY https://bit.ly/2MinutesOfIndy, wher...

David Corbett talks about CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT THROUGH THE PAIN AND PROMISE OF LIFE. We discuss pathological maneuvers and the pain of life; how a theme emerges from moments of helplessness; the idea of persistent virtues; earning the redemptive moment; the power of giving an unsympathetic character a kid or a dog; and neo-noir and the morally flawed character. Do any of those topics pique your i...

I talk with Roland Denzel about THE BENEFITS (AND COSTS) OF MEMBERSHIP in writer's groups, including the importance of understanding your goals; factoring in opportunity costs and assessing if and how each opportunity gets you closer to those goals; finding your "medium point" group; the option of creating your own group; the downside of a wealth of resources; and giving yourself permission to let...

I talk with Tammy Gross about going FROM SCREENPLAY TO NOVEL AND BACK, including the benefits of the screenplay format; not aiming for perfection; capitalizing on contest submissions; the virtuous cycle between screenplay and novel; and how you can start with a screenplay and expand to a novel (and vice versa). Do any of those topics pique your interest? Check out 2 MINUTES OF INDY https://bit.ly/...

Wade Walton discusses THE IMPORTANCE OF A PROFESSIONAL PHOTO AND VIDEO PRESENCE. He talks about matching your background to your message; being aware of your video persona; telling a story with your headshot; letting your personality shine through; the costs and benefits of hiring a pro, and ways to make it affordable; and how often to update your headshot. Do any of those topics pique your intere...

Tiffany Yates Martin talks about THE THREE STAGES OF STORY: drafting, editing, and revising. We discuss how the first draft is base camp on our trip to the summit of a finished manuscript; the fact that our writing is a commodity; different editing processes; how we hone our craft; combating dejection with realistic expectations; and the fact that writing is not an assembly line. Do any of those t...

Patricia McLinn talks about SETTING YOUR CREATIVE HORIZONS. She discusses how those horizons differ between traditional and indy publishing; the importance of keeping your eye on the goal and of listening to the voice in your head; protecting the writing; the danger of searching out the secret; and going with your gut. Do any of those topics pique your interest? Check out 2 MINUTES OF INDY https:/...

Melissa Addey talks about HANDS-OFF MERCHANDISING FOR AUTHORS. She discusses the difference between merchandise and products; reaching people who haven't read our books; choosing a platform for your merchandise; the jam stall experiment; how to gain visibility for your products; and how customer data trumps sales. Do any of those topics pique your interest? Check out 2 MINUTES OF INDY https://bit....

Annmarie Kelly-Harbaugh talks about USING VULNERABILITY TO FEED YOUR CREATIVITY. She discusses writing as a source of healing; reading reviews and acting on reader input; dealing with the doubt spiral; making vulnerability and fear work for you; tapping into a growth mindset; and how to tell yourself "yes." Do any of those topics pique your interest? Check out 2 MINUTES OF INDY https://bit.ly/2Min...

Michael La Ronn of Author Level Up discusses MAKING THE MOST OF IN-PERSON EVENTS. He talks about making the time investment worth it (and doing the math); managing your energy; ways to build connections; using an in-person event as a lead-in to other engagements; and the fact that professionalism is everything. Do any of those topics pique your interest? Check out 2 MINUTES OF INDY https://bit.ly/...

Kelly Simmons discusses WRITING FOR AUDIO. She talks about considerations for episodic content; defining goals for an audio project and measuring results against those goals; whether authors should narrate their own work; the physical and emotional costs of recording; and the fact that you don't need to be a sound engineer to produce great audio content. Do any of those topics pique your interest?...

J.W. Judge discusses MANAGING WRITING WITH A FULL-TIME CAREER. He talks about marketing for fiction versus non-fiction; creating the circumstances that will enable you to encounter your readers; the importance of not waiting for the time, but making it, and the discipline needed to do this; using a podcast to create a community; and giving yourself time to be bored. Do any of those topics pique yo...

John Gaspard talks about SPEECH TO TEXT AND BACK AGAIN. He discusses writing while walking (and how you'll never get your best ideas on a treadmill); tips for easing the process; expectations of the content you'll produce; opportunities for repurposing content; and the indy ability to experiment. Do any of those topics pique your interest? Check out 2 MINUTES OF INDY https://bit.ly/2MinutesOfIndy,...

Kelsey Johnson of AWeber talks about REACHING THE RIGHT READERS THROUGH EMAIL. She discusses out of the box ideas for attracting subscribers; writing emails in the style of your books; not being embarrassed to sell your book; the easy rule for staying out of the spam folder; reasons not to use your personal email account; and setting a professional tone from the start. Do any of those topics pique...