400: Trusting Your Gut on a Complicated Plot
Episode 401 with Caroline Lovett
37m May 17, 2024
37m
399: 5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Self Publishing
Episode 399: The one where Sarina wrestles with the question of whether self-pub is the way to go.
10m May 10, 2024
10m
398: His Years of Writing Eloquently: The Return of A.J. Jacobs
Jess and A.J. talk what it's like to be 'living your subject' in Episode 398
56m May 03, 2024
56m
397: Starting Energy v. Finishing Energy: How the work gets done, start to finish.
"I've lost it now" is the sentiment of that finishing feeling
40m Apr 26, 2024
40m
396: Daring to Kickstarter with Rachael Herron
Episode 396: Inviting the people who want to support your work to do just that.
52m Apr 19, 2024
52m
395: Episode: 395 Who Owns an Idea?
This week Jennie Nash and Sarina Bowen sit down and talk Sarina's upcoming thriller
32m Apr 12, 2024
32m
Flashback Friday: Writing While #Broken
A replay of Episode 258 - Talking Depression, Anxiety and Writer's Block with Jenny Lawson
39m Mar 29, 2024
39m
394: Things Jess Learned This Month, Ep. 394
In the interest of flattening your learning curve, I kept notes on everything I learned this month about platforming, marketing, branding and publicity.
33m Mar 22, 2024
33m
393: I want to sell books. But I'm also writing what I want to write. Episode 393 with Jo Piazza
She never met a genre she didn't like. (Okay that's an exaggeration. But still.)
46m Mar 15, 2024
46m
392: How to Be a Good Literary Citizen: Volunteer at a Writing Conference
Episode 392 with Samantha Skal
32m Mar 08, 2024
32m
Flashback Friday: How Do You Write a Non-Fiction Book in less than a Year?
This week we're throwing it back to Episode 291, a coaching call with Emily Edlynn. Spoiler alert: She did it!
52m Mar 01, 2024
52m
391: Why You Should Take a Plot-walk
Episode 391: The whys and hows of putting a plot into words and speaking them aloud
42m Feb 23, 2024
42m
390: Coaching call with author, educator & speaker Katie Kinder
Jess talks with upcoming speaker Katie Kinder on how to take her career to the next level in Episode 390
49m Feb 16, 2024
49m
389: How to Create a Substack that Delivers (for you and your readers) Episode 389 with Dan Blank
Knowing you want from your subscribers can help you figure out what to offer them
57m Feb 09, 2024
57m
388: What’s on the Cutting Room Floor?
Episode 388 with Memoir Writer Suzette Mullen
31m Feb 02, 2024
31m
387: The Art of Manifesting for Tired and Skeptical Authors
Is it woo-woo? Or is it wisdom?
11m Jan 26, 2024
11m
386: Episode 386: Under the Weather Productivity
How to give yourself grace or a kick in the pants when you are not feeling like your best, most able self.
42m Jan 19, 2024
42m
385: What I Think About When I Think About Job Offers
Got a shiny new offer to write for a dream publication? Here are some questions to ask yourself.
32m Jan 12, 2024
32m
384: Unapologetically Re-creating our Abundant Zone of Genius
Episode 384 lands with our goals and words for 2024
46m Dec 29, 2023
46m
Flashback Friday: Become a #BetterStrongerFaster Writer with Becca Syme
(a well-deserved replay)
44m Dec 22, 2023
44m
Flashback Friday: Episode 293, how to build a literary life with Zibby Owens.
Writers, if you're paying attention at all, you've heard from Zibby Owens in the past 2 years. She's the host of the Moms Don't Have Time to Read Podcast (https://www.momsdonthavetimetoreadbooks.com/) and the creator of Zibby Media (https://zibbymedia.com/) , which at this point includes a magazine, a publishing house that's having a great month with, among other books, The Last Love Note (http...
45m Nov 24, 2023
45m
When Inner Dialogue Isn't "Telling" and When It Is in Memoir and Fiction
A very necessary replay of Episode 284 with Jess, KJ and Sarina
39m Nov 17, 2023
39m
383: How to Restart Your Work after an Unplanned Pause
Episode 383: Checking out for a bit isn't the end at all. It's a new beginning!
17m Nov 10, 2023
17m
382: How Sarina's Reading Journal Makes Her a Better Novelist: Episode 382
Dissecting other people's work makes you smarter. (And more relaxed.)
13m Oct 27, 2023
13m
381: How to Find the Right Speaking Agent: Ep 381
Jess answers questions raised in the #AmWriting FB group about speaking agents.
36m Oct 20, 2023
36m
380: National Novel Planning Month (that should be a thing)
Episode 380: November looms. Here's a plan for NaNoWriMo success.
22m Oct 13, 2023
22m
379: A Million Little Pieces that can Make or Break a Speaking Engagement: Episode 379
The fun, boring, easy and difficult details that go into a successful speaking engagement
49m Oct 06, 2023
49m
378: Six Seasons in One Episode: Cookbooks as Memoir with Gesine Bullock-Prado, Ep 378
"With every recipe I'm introducing myself to you again."
46m Sep 29, 2023
46m
377: Writing for Tweendom: Jamie Sumner on writing difficult topics and the glory of middle grade fiction
Jess talks with author and journalist Jamie Sumner about all things middle grade fiction.
55m Sep 22, 2023
55m
376: Flinging a Fall Book out into the world
Episode 376 is all of us, talking to all of you once more
45m Sep 15, 2023
45m
375: Reinvention Marketing: Selling Your Book for Years After Pub Day
Episode 375: Adventures in back-end marketing and promotion with Jess
36m Sep 08, 2023
36m
374: From Idea to Execution: Building a Book
Episode 374: Kirsten Jones stood in a line to meet Jess years ago at a Gift of Failure event, and she told Jess about her idea for a book...
1hr 11m Sep 01, 2023
1hr 11m
373: Never Carved in Stone: Letting Ideas Evolve
Episode 373/ Idea Factory Episode 8
30m Aug 25, 2023
30m
372: Ideas and Nonfiction: Your Book Idea Contains Multitudes
Idea Factory Episode 7
37m Aug 18, 2023
37m
371: When Good Ideas Go Bad (the most common mistakes writers make)
Idea Factory Episode 6
41m Aug 11, 2023
41m
370: Memoirs for the Marketplace: A Blueprint for Success
Idea Factory Episode 5
49m Aug 04, 2023
49m
369: You Are the Protagonist (memoirs need ideas too) with Rachael Herron
Ep 369 / Idea Factory 4
45m Jul 28, 2023
45m
368: How to Decide if Your Book Idea is Solid (or Solid Enough)
This is the third in our 2023 Summer Idea Factory series. Jennie Nash is back, and this time, she and I are talking about the process of testing out ideas, talking through them, and spending enough time with them to figure out if they’ll sustain you through an entire book—and if you want them to. Good news for memoir writers! Y’all probably know how much I love Jennie Nash’s Blueprint books. T...
35m Jul 21, 2023
35m
367: The Airport Game (or, how to come up with 8 ideas on a 3 hour long flight)
Episode 367/Idea Factory Episode 2
47m Jul 14, 2023
47m
366: Welcome to the Idea Factory (Good Writing Comes Last, Part 2)
Writers, I have IDEAS. Usually a lot of them. 99% of them go nowhere. You can feel me bubbling over with ideas in every episode and even in the title of many episodes. There is so much I always want to say. Like me, Jennie Nash is an idea cannon. So between us, we come up with a lot of plans. This is all to say that first: this episode, and the 7 “Idea Factory” episodes that follow, are the re...
40m Jul 07, 2023
40m
365: How to Start a Novel (and keep going) Episode 365
It's hard to know where to start, but if you don't start you can't finish.
24m Jun 30, 2023
24m
Summer Reading for Writers (plus a #FlashbackFriday: Episode 269)
Two years ago, Jennie Nash and I (this is KJ) got into a debate about what was the best, most helpful book for a writer’s bookshelf. Almost instantly we realized that we couldn’t choose just one (although if we could, I suspect it’s Save the Cat Writes a Novel for me (https://bookshop.org/a/1183/9780399579745) and Twyla Tharp’s The Creative Habit (https://bookshop.org/a/1183/9780743235273) for ...
31m Jun 23, 2023
31m
364: Satire: writing just below "over-the-top" with Jane Roper Episode 364
The book is The Society of Shame (https://janeroper.com/index.php/the-society-of-shame/) and one of the many, many ways you can tell it’s satire is that it keeps making people who don’t get it mad. Satire is fiction, hopped up on humor and then amped up by all the things that seem like they couldn't quite happen and yet you know they might. (Another commonality of good satire? The most outrageo...
42m Jun 16, 2023
42m
363: How to Hate Your Work and Also Sell It-- at the same time. Episode 363
Making the blurb sausage and eating it too.
38m Jun 09, 2023
38m
362: Talking Fat Talk and Substack Success: Episode 362 with Virginia Sole-Smith
SO. Virginia’s Substack—here it is right here (https://virginiasolesmith.substack.com/) —which also features a podcast, went from 700 people to 4500 people to 28K subscribers. BEFORE her new book, Fat Talk, hit the NYT best-seller list. Wouldn’t you like to hear how? We’ve got you covered. Replicating her success? Well, that’s never the way it works. But everything we learn helps. Links from ...
56m Jun 02, 2023
56m
Flashback Friday: Episode 288 with Joni Cole
How do I find a writing group and what if they’re mean? That’s a question we get asked a lot, and we always encourage writers to reach out in our Facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/hashtagamwriting) or boldly throw it out there anywhere else online that you hang out and see what happens. You don’t even have to trade pages to be a writing group. You look for the kind of support and...
1hr 1m May 26, 2023
1hr 1m
361: Scrivener Tips: It's only taken Jess 361 episodes to deliver on her promise
If, like Jess, you have been meaning to learn how to use Scrivener in a more efficient and productive way, sit back, relax, and enjoy.
31m May 19, 2023
31m
360: Summoning My Accountability Buddies: Because Sometimes Writers Need Deadlines, ep 360
Jess calls on Sarina and KJ to help her keep her butt in the chair and her head in the game.
33m May 12, 2023
33m
359: Dealing with Goal Fatigue What to Do When the Goals Aren't Getting You Anywhere, Ep. 359
Dana Bowman is the author How to Be Perfect Like Me (https://bookshop.org/a/1183/9781942094715) and Bottled Up: A Mom’s Guide to Early Recovery (https://bookshop.org/a/1183/9781937612979) . She was the 2016 recipient of the Kansas Notable Book Award, making her the only podcast guest to share that distinction with me. What else do we share? The experience of feeling a level of exhaustion with t...
44m May 05, 2023
44m
Flashback Friday: Jodi Kantor Chases the Truth
A primer for student journalists
42m Apr 28, 2023
42m