DIY MFA Radio

This is our one-year anniversary of DIY MFA Radio and for this episode, Elisabeth and I decided to change things up. Since I'm usually the one doing the interviewing, this time around Elisabeth interviewed me about DIY MFA, writing, and other fun things. We also celebrated this milestone by doing a live Periscope broadcast of the unedited recording session and it was SO MUCH FUN. While you can't catch the Periscope recording anymore (they're only available for the first 24hours after the broadcast) we WILL be doing these live recording sessions again in the future. Stay tuned because it's going to be epic! For show notes and more info: DIYMFA.com/055

I’m so excited to interview Sara Paretsky, author of 20 books, including the renowned V.I. Warshawski novels. In 1982 she introduced the world to  private eye V.I. Warshawski in her book Indemnity Only. V.I. – tough, credible, street-smart, and feminine – challenged the stereotypes of women in fiction as victims or vamps and Paretsky made it possible for a new generation of crime writers to thrive. In, Brush Back,  the latest book in this series, V.I. must uncover the truth about a crime that hits very close to home, and forces her to take a good look into her family’s past. As V.I. digs for clues and tries to piece the story together, she must put her life—and career—on the line until she can finally discover what happened on a fateful night many those years ago. It could be the biggest case of her career—if V.I. manages to survive. Sara Paretsky was named 2011 Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America and is also the recipient of the Cartier Diamond Dagger Award given by the British Crime Writers’ Association. Paretsky is currently president of the Mystery Writers of America.  She lives in Chicago. Listen in as Sara and I discuss: Creating a unique and strong protagonist. The mystery writing scene and how it’s changed now. Setting as character in writing. Personal limits to detail in topics such as sex and violence in writing. Plus, Sara's #1 tip for writers! For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/054

Hello and welcome to another episode of DIY MFA Radio! I’m so excited to be sharing this interview with you from Thrillerfest! I met with Le French Book founder Anne Trager, and Le French Book authors Eric Giacometti, and David Khara to talk about writing thrillers for French and American markets. We had an amazing conversation andI can't wait to share it with you in this episode. Le French Book is a company that translates French mysteries and thrillers for the American audience. These books have been wildly popular in Europe and now they are available here in the United States, thanks to Le French Book and its founder, Anne Trager. I don't know about you, but after speaking with these fascinating authors, I can't wait to check out these books! For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/053

Hi Word Nerds! Thanks so much for joining me. In this episode, I'm thrilled to interview debut author Susannah Marren. She and I talk about her process for writing her debut novel, her inspiration and the different thematic elements in her writing Get ready to be inspired by this lovely interview. Susannah is originally from Long Beach Island, New Jersey. She currently lives in Manhattan with her family and still spends her summers on the Jersey Shore. Between the Tides is her first novel. In this episode, Susannah Marren and I discuss:   What inspired her to write Between the Tides. Different thematic elements in her writing. The most enjoyable and most challenging parts of being a writer. How knowing the ending can drive your story forward. How to let your experience inform your writing. What the publishing process looks like for a debut author. Plus, Susannah shares her #1 tip for writers. For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/052

Hello and welcome to another exciting episode of DIY MFA Radio! Today I’m interviewing Calee Lee, the founder and CEO of Xist Publishing, the largest independent digital-first children's publisher. She is also the author of more than 15  books for children. Dedicated to helping kids develop a lifetime love of reading, she founded Xist Publishing in 2011 to provide beautiful books for the touchscreen generation. Today she’ll share insights about alternative paths to publishing. For writers who don't want to go with abig 5 publisher but also don't want to self-publish, there is an alternate route. In this episode Calee tells us about medium and small press publishers, in particular her own company, Xist Publishing, which is a digital-first independent children's publisher. For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/051

Hey Word Nerds! Welcoem to another episode of DIY MFA Radio. Back in June, I went on my first mini writing retreat right here in my howntown of NYC. I didn't go too far, just a couple of miles, but I got a hotel and spent about 24 hours immersed in my writing. In those 24 hours, I managed to knock out around 7000 words of the manuscript I've been working on. To give you some perspective, on a good week at home, I'm happy if I get 4000 words. And that's in a whole week! I discovered I could hammer out almost double the number of words in a 24-hour writing retreat than I do on a regular week at home. What a HUGE return on investment! This retreat taught me that occasionally putting my life on hold and immersing myself in writing (even if just for a little while) can have a huge impact on my manuscript. Especially since my first deadline is only a few weeks away. To learn more about this retreat, and get some actionable tips to help you create one of your very own, check out this episode. For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/050

Hello and welcome to another exciting episode of DIY MFA Radio! Today I'm so excited to interview Beatriz Williams. She is the author of international best sellers Overseas, A Hundred Summers, and The Secret Life of Violet Grant. Her new book, Tiny Little THing, hit bookstores on June 23 and is out now. I'm reading it right now and let me just say, it's incredible! In his episode, Beatriz and I talk about her creative decisions as she crafted this fascinating book. DIYMFA.com/049

Today I want to talk to you about a crucial part of my own creative life: The Brain Book. It's my portable office. When I have the Brain Book with me, I know I can be creative and productive anytime, anywhere. Not only does the Brain Book contain my book's outline, my to-do list, etc., it also carries little totems and mascots so that I don't have to be attached to any place in particular when I want (or need) to write. In this episode, I'm going to give you a quick rundown of what my brainbook looks like. Then I'm going to challenge you to build your own Brain Book and share pictures of it with me! To see pictures of the Brain Boon in action, follow me on Instagram. For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/048

Hey Word Nerds! Thanks so much for being here with me today. We're going to talk about a bit of DIY MFA's core philosophy and I'll teach you a game-changing techique that has helped writers turn their writing lives around completely. I usually only share this technique with my DIY MFA 101 course, but it is SO important that I wanted to talk about it on the podcast today. If you take only one lesson away from DIY MFA, I hope this is the one. This small change can have a HUGE impact on your writing. For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/047 

Welcome to our official Book Expo America (BEA) 2015 recap. In this episode, I pull together insights I gained from attending various sessions at BEA this year, plus trends I observed while exploring the show. Overall, I can sum up the direction that publishing is going in two words: identity and community. In this episode I dig into different reasons why these themes will dominate the industry in comming years and what they mean for us as writers. For more info and show notes: DIYMFA.com/046