The Indy Author Podcast

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 MINUTES OF INDY https://bit.ly/2MinutesOfIndy, where over the week following the airing of the episode, you'll find brief video clips from the interview on each of those topics. You can also catch up on some highlights of previous episodes there. Show notes at https://bit.ly/TIAP165 Did you find the information in this video useful? Please consider supporting The Indy Author! https://www.patreon.com/theindyauthor https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattydalrymple Liesel Hill is a USA Today best-selling author, writing across multiple genres. As the creator of The Prolific Author Method and the moderator of The Prolific Author Membership, she uses story psychology and the idea of transformation to help other fiction authors write better books and market them more effectively to the right readers.

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 program was her belief that with traditional MFA programs, one size fits some. 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 of the episode, you'll find brief video clips from the interview on each of those topics. You can also catch up on some highlights of previous episodes there. Show notes at https://bit.ly/TIAP164 Did you find the information in this video useful? Please consider supporting The Indy Author! https://www.patreon.com/theindyauthor https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattydalrymple Gabriela Pereira is an author, speaker, and entrepreneur who wants to challenge the status quo of higher education. As the founder and instigator of DIYMFA.com, her mission is to empower writers, artists, and other creatives to take an entrepreneurial approach to their education and professional growth. Gabriela earned her MFA in writing from The New School and is the host of DIY MFA Radio, a popular podcast where she interviews bestselling authors and book industry professionals. She is also the author of the book DIY MFA: Write with Focus, Read with Purpose, Build Your Community.

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 year-end as authors, and I think you’ll enjoy our conversation as much as I did. 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 of the episode, you'll find brief video clips from the interview on each of those topics. You can also catch up on some highlights of previous episodes there. Show notes at https://bit.ly/TIAP163 Did you find the information in this video useful? Please consider supporting The Indy Author! https://www.patreon.com/theindyauthor https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattydalrymple Jennifer Hilt is the author of THE TROPE THESAURUS: TROPE YOUR WAY TO A STRONGER STORY, THE HORROR TROPE THESAURUS: KILLING IT WITH TROPES, and the upcoming ROMANCE TROPE THESAURUS. She is also the USA Today bestselling author of 24 books across four pen names. Michael La Ronn is the author of over forty science fiction & fantasy novels and self-help books for writers. He runs the popular YouTube channel Author Level Up and serves on the staff of the Alliance of Independent Authors as a US Ambassador, and he also co-hosts the AskALLi Member Q&A Podcast.

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, and how sometimes it's not about selling. 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 of the episode, you'll find brief video clips from the interview on each of those topics. You can also catch up on some highlights of previous episodes there. Show notes at https://bit.ly/TIAP162 Did you find the information in this video useful? Please consider supporting The Indy Author! https://www.patreon.com/theindyauthor https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattydalrymple By day, Gary Zenker is a marketing professional, banging out marketing plans, business plans, and copy for B2B and B2C clients. By night, he takes the lessons of human behavior and crafts them into flash fiction stories. His work has appeared in over a dozen print anthologies and on-line sites. His non-fiction columns on writing and various marketing topics have appeared in a variety of publications. He founded and continues to run the Main Line Writers Group and the Wilmington/Chadds Ford Writers Group to help local authors better their craft and reach their publishing goals. His party game WritersBloxx, helps others bring their stories to new audiences.

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 of the episode, you'll find brief video clips from the interview on each of those topics. You can also catch up on some highlights of previous episodes there. Show notes at https://bit.ly/TIAP161 Did you find the information in this video useful? Please consider supporting The Indy Author! https://www.patreon.com/theindyauthor https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattydalrymple Wall Street Journal bestselling author Isabella Maldonado wore a gun and badge in real life before turning to crime writing. A graduate of the FBI National Academy in Quantico and the first Latina to attain the rank of captain in the Fairfax County Police Department just outside DC, she retired as the Commander of Special Investigations and Forensics. During more than two decades on the force, her assignments included hostage negotiator, department spokesperson, and precinct commander. She uses her law enforcement background to bring a realistic edge to her writing, which includes the bestselling FBI Special Agent Nina Guerrera series (soon to be a Netflix feature film starring Jennifer Lopez) and the award-winning Detective Veranda Cruz series. Her books have been translated into 20 languages.

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 pique your interest? Check out 2 MINUTES OF INDY https://bit.ly/2MinutesOfIndy, where over the week following the airing of the episode, you'll find brief video clips from the interview on each of those topics. You can also catch up on some highlights of previous episodes there. Show notes at https://bit.ly/TIAP160 Did you find the information in this video useful? Please consider supporting The Indy Author! https://www.patreon.com/theindyauthor https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattydalrymple Frank Zafiro writes gritty crime fiction from both sides of the badge. He was a police officer from 1993 to 2013, serving as a patrol officer, a training officer, and a detective, and leading K-9 and SWAT units. He retired as a captain. Frank is the award-winning author of over forty novels, including the River City series of police procedurals, and co-author of the Charlie-316 series. Frank also hosted the crime fiction podcast Wrong Place, Write Crime. He has written a textbook on police report writing and taught police leadership all over the US and Canada. An avid hockey fan and a tortured guitarist, he lives in the high desert of Redmond, Oregon.

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 the week following the airing of the episode, you'll find brief video clips from the interview on each of those topics. You can also catch up on some highlights of previous episodes there. Show notes at https://bit.ly/TIAP159 Did you find the information in this video useful? Please consider supporting The Indy Author! https://www.patreon.com/theindyauthor https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattydalrymple Sharon Short is a regular contributor to Writer’s Digest magazine with her "Level Up Your Writing (Life)" column. She teaches a number of courses for writers, including those via Writer's Digest University. As Jess Montgomery, she writes the Kinship Historical Mystery series is set in 1920s Appalachia and inspired by Ohio's true first female sheriff. As Sharon Short, her book-length work ranges from a coming-of-age novel set in the 1950s (“My One Square Inch of Alaska”) as well as two mystery series: the comedic-with-a-twist-of-social-satire Josie Toadfern mysteries, and the electronic-gumshoe Patricia Delaney series.

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, where over the week following the airing of the episode, you'll find brief video clips from the interview on each of those topics. You can also catch up on some highlights of previous episodes there. Show notes at https://bit.ly/TIAP158 Did you find the information in this video useful? Please consider supporting The Indy Author! https://www.patreon.com/theindyauthor https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattydalrymple Ryan Fahey is an author, speaker, and entrepreneur who is passionate about personal growth, education, and well-being. He is the owner of FaheyConsulting which aims to help people and small organizations move from good to great. His latest book, “How to Thrive in Remote Working Environments” recently hit #1 on Amazon in Canada and cracked the top 40 books on entrepreneurship worldwide. Ryan owns a digital publication called, “The Canadian Way.”

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, where over the week following the airing of the episode, you'll find brief video clips from the interview on each of those topics. You can also catch up on some highlights of previous episodes there. Transcript and show notes at https://bit.ly/TIAP157 Did you find the information in this video useful? Please consider supporting The Indy Author! https://www.patreon.com/theindyauthor https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattydalrymple Jane Friedman has 20 years of experience in the publishing industry, with expertise in business strategy for authors and publishers. She’s the editor of THE HOT SHEET, the essential industry newsletter for authors, and has previously worked for Writer’s Digest and the Virginia Quarterly Review. In 2019, Jane was awarded Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World; her newsletter was awarded Media Outlet of the Year in 2020. Jane’s latest book is THE BUSINESS OF BEING A WRITER, which received a starred review from Library Journal. She is also the author of THE AUTHORS GUILD GUIDE TO SELF-PUBLISHING.

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 interest? Check out 2 MINUTES OF INDY https://bit.ly/2MinutesOfIndy, where over the week following the airing of the episode, you'll find brief video clips from the interview on each of those topics. You can also catch up on some highlights of previous episodes there. Transcript and show notes at https://bit.ly/TIAP156 Did you find the information in this video useful? Please consider supporting The Indy Author! https://www.patreon.com/theindyauthor https://www.buymeacoffee.com/mattydalrymple David Corbett is the author of six novels, including "The Long-Lost Love Letters of Doc Holliday," and his works have been nominated for the Lefty Award for Best Historical Mystery and the Edgar, Anthony, Barry, Shamus, and Spinetingler Awards. His novel Done for a Dime was named a New York Times Notable Book, and was described by the Washington Post as “one of the three or four best American crime novels.” Corbett’s short fiction has twice been selected for Best American Mystery Stories. His non-fiction has appeared in outlets including the New York Times and Writer’s Digest. He has written two writing guides, "The Art of Character" and "The Compass of Character," has taught at the UCLA Writer’s Program, and is a monthly contributor to Writer Unboxed.