WRITE NOW! Workshop Podcast: Write a Book, Change the World with Kitty Bucholtz

Today's guest is historical romance writer, Joanna Davidson Politano ! But don't be fooled, Joanna's books have more of a Gothic, almost literary, flavor. If you like Victoria Holt, for example, you may well love Joanna's books. We chatted about her latest book, the beautifully written and very fun (adventure and mystery as well as romance) A Rumored Fortune . It released on July 31, 2018, and I f...

The lovely Susan May Warren is back, and this time with writing tools! It was all we could do, the last time she was on the show , to stay focused on her new book and not stray off into all the ways Susie May helps other writers. So this show is all about her helping all of us to become better writers through a ton of tools she's developed for all levels of writers. :-D As you listen, you'll hear...

There was so much to learn at the Romance Writers of America National Conference held in July this year in Denver, Colorado, that I decided to share some of it with you. :-D The YARWA (Young Adult Romance Writers of America) chapter held a half-day event that included an agent/editor panel - and I share 7 things they say writers do wrong with their queries. Michael Hauge was also one of their spea...

When I was at the Romance Writers of America National Conference last week in Denver, Colorado, I interviewed several of the attendees to find out why they were there and what their favorite part of the conference was. I hope you enjoy listening to all their responses! If you'd like to learn more about them, the names of my guests are: Tracy Reed Debra Mullins Kathryn R. Biel Melissa Baldwin Becky...

Editor and writing teacher Marcy Weydemuller is back to show us how to use travel journaling to create both fiction and nonfiction. She's been blogging about the topic ( starting with this post ) as well as several other topics in her journaling series. She's got some great ideas on how to get started and how to keep notes so you can write up your experiences when you get back from your travels. T...

Shawn Smucker is the author of the young adult book,  The Day the Angels Fell , and the brand new sequel, The Edge of Over There , tales of mystery and magic that will leave you wanting more. Today, Shawn talks to us about his journey to fiction and how it started by writing a nonfiction book for his aunt. He began earning his living co-writing memoirs for others, and one such experience took...

Last episode, we talked about doing a mid-year check-in with our writing goals  to see if there are any areas that need adjusting as we enter the second half of the year. Today, I'd like to talk to you about doing the same thing with your personal goals. Is there anything that you've been saying, "I want to get better at this" or "I want to do more of that" this year? If so, do you have some...

Normally, you'd get an interview today as you do every Thursday, but we are halfway through the year so I thought it would be good to check in and see how you're doing on your goals for the year. I suggest people do a self-check every 3-6 months to see if they're on track with the plans they set at the beginning of the year, and to see what needs to be adjusted. In May of this year, I spoke to a w...

After Laura Drake explained to us how to pitch our book at a conference last week, it seemed another logical topic would be how to write a query letter. And since I'm about to write a query letter myself, I figured the timing was perfect! My go-to resource for publishing information for ages was literary agent (turned author) Nathan Bransford's blog. There is really no way I can distill his "Query...

Sometimes, if we change our perspective, we can see things in our lives and in ourselves more clearly. When things are going great, and the little things are bothering us, a reminder that others have a lot more pain in their lives right now can help us to regain our perspective and gratitude. Conversely, if life is hitting us in big ways, enjoying the small things - a flowering plant, a child's la...

Laura Drake is back for a timely look at pitching your book! It's conference season, and writers conferences are one of the best places to find and pitch your book to agents and editors who may be the right fit. But how do you say everything you want to say in 2-10 minutes?! Pitching veteran Laura Drake has some great tips for you. Preparation and practice are the two key elements! But knowing whe...

A few days ago, I got a great email from Vellum . They wrote to let users know that if you use Scrivener as well, the new version 3.0 now has a choice to compile/export for "Vellum Export." That means when you use that option, Scrivener will create the docx file that Vellum requires in order to create your ebook. Hurray! It's perhaps a small step that you now don't have to do, but it's one I'm gla...

Sometimes you just don't feel like doing what you need to do. You're too hot, too cold, too tired, having too much fun. You don't feel like it. How important is this thing you "have to do"? If it's not important, no worries. But if it is, sometimes you just need to paste on a smile, choose to have a good attitude, and go do it. Remember, there's a point at which we can reach decision fatigue each...

Sydney Avey is the author of three historical fiction novels including The Sheep Walker's Daughter , The Lyre and the Lamb , and  The Trials of Nellie Belle , a partially fictionalized tale of her great-grandmother's life as the first female traveling court reporter in the American West. Today Sydney shares her story of how she came to read the real Nellie Belle's short stories and how it pro...

I've taken a page from the big online marketing gurus, and twisted it to work for me as a novelist. They want you to figure out your avatar, your one perfect customer, and create all your sales and marketing information focused on what that one person would love. Well, it works great for staying focused in your story, too! But instead of creating a fictional avatar - I'm already creating tons of f...

Today's encouraging words are a reminder that sometimes you need to learn to be a good receiver in order to learn to become a better giver. The times in my life when I've been embarrassed at what someone wants to give me because I can't reciprocate have been many. But those times helped me to better understand what it's like to be on the receiving end, struggling with pride or wariness or embarras...

Multi-award-winning author Susan May Warren offers us a fun and exciting look at how she built her current series, the action-packed Montana Rescue series. Storm Front , book 5 in the soon-to-be 6-book series, released on May 1, 2018, and we talked about those characters, subplots, settings, and more. Susie May is a hybrid author, both traditionally published and indie published, so she gives us t...

In this deeply personal episode about my journey into burnout and my quest for a way out, I mention several articles and Bible verses which helped change my perspective and show me a path back to peace. Among those is this article on Psychology Today, " The Telltale Symptoms of Burnout...Do You Have Them? " Definitely look it over if you wonder at all if you're beginning to burn out in work or lif...

As I've been struggling to figure out where I'm going in life, a scene came to mind from the movie, Monsters, Inc. Near the beginning, when Sully and Mike are hiding Boo and trying to figure out how to get her back to her own world without getting caught, they are all in Sully’s apartment with Boo coloring on the floor. She starts doing that toddler thing, rubbing her eyes, trying to stay awake, e...

Interviewing the lovely Patricia Bradley was an exercise in paradoxes. Hearing this sweet Christian woman pronounce in her soft, Southern drawl, "Oh, I love to talk about murder. It's just fun " was just the beginning of my mind bending to look at things differently. :-D But I should have expected nothing less after I read the tagline for her website: Where love and faith cross paths...with m...

Most people don't consider taxes "fun" but I'd like to help you at least not think of them as "hard." The first step is helping you to organize your sales information so that you have the information you need when you need it. The easiest way to do that is to create an Excel file. Find out the first month of the sales tax year for where you live and type the twelve months of the year in the column...

While talking with Kristin Billerbeck during the last episode , I was so excited to tell her that her new book, The Theory of Happily Ever After , really helped me during the difficult time I've been having in finding my joy again, finding out if writing is still part of what I'm meant to do with my life and my time. I worry that I may be an over-sharer, but I really believe that helping other peo...

When  Kristin Billerbeck , author of The Theory of Happily Ever After , proudly insisted during this interview, "I refuse to back away from the chick lit title" for her genre of books, my heart did a little happy dance! I love chick lit, and I love Kristin's books. :-D She said that the first time she wrote a chapter of Christian chick lit, her friend and fellow author Colleen Coble told her,...

Chris Fox came on the show last week to talk about his new book, Plot Gardening . I've been reading the book and making notes as I go through it, and it occurred to me that I might be able to help you as you work through a new book or try to figure out what to do with one in progress. In Chris's book, he talks about how to build the characters, the plot, the world, a step at a time. One question h...

I've been reminded these last couple of weeks of the importance in my life of play - and how incredibly underestimated its value has become in my life over the last seven or eight years. I've been talking about the importance of the words we use - out loud and inside our heads, and how positive self-talk can help us be more joyful. Hitting the Restart button is another mantra of mine. We can alway...