The Profitable Writer

Today is another example of why I love podcasting: it gives me opportunities to have conversations with amazing people. Then I get to share those conversations with you! In the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, I listened to a lot of contemporary Christian music, otherwise known as CCM. If you remember back in the days before streaming took over the world, we had these little things called “liner notes,” which contained the songs, lyrics, musicians, and others involved in the making of an album. One of the names I regularly saw was Jimmy Abegg, also known as Jimmy A. He was not only active as a musician on many albums, but also as a photographer who took photographs for many contemporary Christian music album covers. For those of you familiar with CCM, you might recognize Jimmy from his days as the guitar player in the Charlie Peacock trio, as well as one of the players in Rich Mullins’ Ragamuffins. Today I get to bring you a conversation with Mr. Abegg, and I hope that it will inspire you as it did me! Here’s a snippet of Jimmy’s bio from his website: “In 1989, a career in music led me and my young family to Nashville, Tennessee. Today, we still call Nashville home and I am proud to say that the years have been generous and full. I have been given so many opportunities to provide for my family and care for others while creating things I love. Be it, playing music on the road, recording in the studio, making fine art, showing in galleries, designing record packaging, photographing musicians, writing music, or mentoring others on all of the above; my life of creativity has explored many mediums. Whether abstract or figurative, my painting continues the tendency towards curiosity, whimsy and simple beauty, with a healthy dose of train-hopping, carefree adventure.” Jimmy suffers from macular degeneration, which has taken away the majority of his sight, but he still makes art and music. Interestingly, he says that some of his favorite pieces have been created during this period of his life. In this conversation, Jimmy and I talk about songwriting, collaboration, artwork, and creative habits, among other topics. One of my favorite quotes from this conversation is when Jimmy gave advice for people trying to figure out their path in life. He said, “Try to quit what you’re doing. If you can't stop, maybe you should be doing that.” I also want to give a shout-out to the kind and generous Cindy Morgan, who thoughtfully connected me with Jimmy! * * * Today’s episode is sponsored by Vellum, the go-to book formatting software for indie authors who care about creating beautiful ebooks and print books. Use the link to download Vellum for FREE. 📚 Download your FREE Daily Writer Starter Kit at https://dailywriterlife.com/free ✉️ Want writing tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Writer email at https://dailywriterlife.com/dailyemail 🚀 Want to grow your writing business and accelerate your success? Check out our Daily Writer Club. 📱 Follow us: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter

📚 Download your FREE Daily Writer Starter Kit at https://dailywriterlife.com/free ✉️ Want writing tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Writer email at https://dailywriterlife.com/dailyemail 🚀 Want to grow your writing business and accelerate your success? Check out our Daily Writer Club. 📱 Follow us: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter

Today’s episode is sponsored by editor Karen Hunsanger, also known as “The Word Wizard.” I’ve worked with Karen many times, and she is your secret weapon for crafting the highest-quality book possible. Visit the link above for a free sample edit. 📚 Download your FREE Daily Writer Starter Kit at https://dailywriterlife.com/free ✉️ Want writing tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Writer email at https://dailywriterlife.com/dailyemail 🚀 Want to grow your writing business and accelerate your success? Check out our Daily Writer Club. 📱 Follow us: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter

Today’s episode is sponsored by Plottr, the #1 visual book planning software for writers that helps you plan books in the same way you think. Plottr helps fiction and nonfiction authors, podcasters, speakers, and anyone creating content to organize their material and story points. Visit the link above to start your free 14-day trial. 📚 Download your FREE Daily Writer Starter Kit at https://dailywriterlife.com/free ✉️ Want writing tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Writer email at https://dailywriterlife.com/dailyemail 🚀 Want to grow your writing business and accelerate your success? Check out our Daily Writer Club. 📱 Follow us: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter

Today’s episode is sponsored by Write Your First Nonfiction Book: A Primer for Aspiring Authors by my friend and business coach, Honorée Corder. You’ll learn strategies for arranging your chapters, how to get started and stay organized, and easy step-by-step instructions that will eliminate the fear that’s been holding you back. 📚 Download your FREE Daily Writer Starter Kit at https://dailywriterlife.com/free ✉️ Want writing tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Writer email at https://dailywriterlife.com/dailyemail 🚀 Want to grow your writing business and accelerate your success? Check out our Daily Writer Club. 📱 Follow us: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter

📚 Download your FREE Daily Writer Starter Kit at https://dailywriterlife.com/free ✉️ Want writing tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Writer email at https://dailywriterlife.com/dailyemail 🚀 Want to grow your writing business and accelerate your success? Check out our Daily Writer Club. 📱 Follow us: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter

Today’s episode is sponsored by Kristi Griffith, owner of Thumbprint Creative. Kristi has created the cover design and interior layout for many of my own books, and books of my ghostwriting clients and friends. She works closely with you to create a design that perfectly captures the theme, message, and genre of your book.   📚 Download your FREE Daily Writer Starter Kit at https://dailywriterlife.com/free ✉️ Want writing tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Writer email at https://dailywriterlife.com/dailyemail 🚀 Want to grow your writing business and accelerate your success? Check out our Daily Writer Club. 📱 Follow us: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter

I’m excited to bring you this compelling and insightful conversation with my friend Tricia Brouk and her co-author, Alexandra Stockwell, on a topic that’s a new one for the show: menopause. Tricia and Alexandra share why they wrote their new book, The Invitation: Vital Conversations About Menopause, as well as their unique writing process together. But before I get into the specifics, I want to share why I wanted to have them as guests, given that it’s an unusual topic for a writing podcast. First, I think it’s important to support your friends who are launching books and building a business. Second, my wife just turned 50 and menopause has been a big topic of discussion in our house the last couple of years, and probably will be for a while longer. Third, a large percentage of people that I interact with on a daily basis are women, usually ranging from their 40s to 60s. There are a lot of exceptions, of course, but a good chunk of the people in my network and podcast audience are in this age group—in other words, women going into the age of menopause soon, dealing with it now, or having been through it in the not-too-distant past. Whenever you serve a particular audience, it’s important to understand where they’re coming from and what they’re going through. So, this was a great opportunity for me to learn about this topic that affects every woman, and therefore, the vast majority of men as well. And fourth, I confess that I’ve never taken much time to learn about menopause. As writers, it’s our job to be curious and seek knowledge about a wide variety of topics. And if you’re a ghostwriter like me, it’s especially important to know something about as many topics as you can. With that as the foundation of my interest in this topic, let me tell you a bit about my guests. Tricia Brouk helps high-performing professionals transform into industry thought leaders through the power of authentic storytelling. She founded The Big Talk Academy, where she certifies speakers in the art of public speaking. She was the executive producer of Speakers Who Dare and TEDxLincolnSquare, and is the producer and host of The Big Talk, an award-winning podcast and YouTube Channel. In addition to being the author of The Influential Voice, Tricia curates and hosts the Speaker Salon in NYC, and is being featured in a new documentary called Big Stages. Alexandra Stockwell, MD, known as “The Intimacy Doctor,” is a Relationship and Intimacy Coach and an Intimate Marriage Expert who specializes in coaching ambitious, successful couples to build beautiful, long-lasting, passionate relationships. Her mission is to change the cultural narrative so people everywhere know that intimate relationships can flourish and improve with time. Alexandra is the host of The Intimate Marriage Podcast as well as the author of Uncompromising Intimacy. In this conversation, we focus on two main things related to menopause. First, we dig into a basic understanding of what it is and how it affects women, with a view toward how men can better understand it to support the women in their lives. Tricia and Alexandra also dive into why and how they wrote The Invitation, particularly since the book doesn’t neatly fit into their typical brands. They also share their publishing strategy and why they approached the book as a conversation rather than a typical nonfiction book format. I’ll be honest: I felt out of my depth on this topic, so I’m grateful for Tricia and Alexandra’s patience and openness. I hope you find this inspiring not just as a writer, but as a human being as well—whether you’re a woman who has been through or will go through menopause, or a man who wants to better understand and support the women in his life. The Invitation releases on September 13, so I encourage you to support Tricia and Alexandra and pre-order your copy. I do want to mention that in this episode, we’re discussing some mature themes, so if you typically listen to this episode with younger kids in the room, you may want to stash it in your queue for a later time. * * * A big thank you to our sponsors, who keep this email free for readers: Today’s episode is sponsored by Vellum, the go-to book formatting software for indie authors who care about creating beautiful ebooks and print books. Use the link to download Vellum for FREE. 📚 Download your FREE Daily Writer Starter Kit at https://dailywriterlife.com/free ✉️ Want writing tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Writer email at https://dailywriterlife.com/dailyemail 🚀 Want to grow your writing business and accelerate your success? Check out our Daily Writer Club. 📱 Follow us: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter

📚 Download your FREE Daily Writer Starter Kit at https://dailywriterlife.com/free ✉️ Want writing tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Writer email at https://dailywriterlife.com/dailyemail 🚀 Want to grow your writing business and accelerate your success? Check out our Daily Writer Club. 📱 Follow us: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter

Today’s episode is sponsored by editor Karen Hunsanger, also known as “The Word Wizard.” I’ve worked with Karen many times, and she is your secret weapon for crafting the highest-quality book possible. Visit the link above for a free sample edit. 📚 Download your FREE Daily Writer Starter Kit at https://dailywriterlife.com/free ✉️ Want writing tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Writer email at https://dailywriterlife.com/dailyemail 🚀 Want to grow your writing business and accelerate your success? Check out our Daily Writer Club. 📱 Follow us: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter