Stark Reflections on Writing and Publishing

In this episode Mark reflects on five of the many things he has learned on the journey through the first fifty episodes of this podcast. Those five things are within the theme of: GLOBAL IS MORE GLOBAL THAN JUST GLOBAL THE POWER OF AUDIENCE FEEDBACK THE POWER OF COMMUNITY & THINKING BEYOND ONGOING GROWTH & IMPORTANCE OF COLLABORATION BRANDING & PROFESSIONALISM Throughout the five points (which do overlap), Mark mentions many different episodes and interviews that came to mind as he was drawing these themes.   Links of Interest: Stark Reflections Survey The 7 P's of Publishing Success Killing It On Kobo Patreon for Stark Reflections

Henry David Thoreau said: "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams! Live the life you imagined." In this episode's interview, Mark speaks with musician and writer Tommy Ray about how he had done just that. They talk about Tommy's experience of how he took a dream (an actual dream) and transitioned it into reality by listening to his heart and trusting his instincts in recreating his life. Before the interview Mark shares a quick personal update that includes: Being interviewed by Joanna Penn for a forthcoming episode of The Creative Penn podcast, which will air on Dec 24, 2018 A shout-out to Patrons of the show who support this podcast via www.patreon.com/starkreflections - By saving up the monthly funds Mark was able to order a higher quality microphone for the podcast The printed proof copies of THE 7 P'S OF PUBLISHING SUCCESS that Mark sourced locally, but will be distributing to all retailers as a POD file through Draft2Digital's new beta D2DPRINT option The "Kobo Publishing: Getting Your Book Featured" Webinar Mark will be hosting via Reedsy Live on Wed Dec 5th Mark then shares a word about the podcast's sponsor, Findaway Voices . . .In their chat, Mark and Tommy talk about: The origin of Tommy's dream mid year in 2015 that had him jumping into his pickup truck and traveling across America to play and share his music How Tommy was also inspired by books from authors Paulo Coehlo and Dan Millman as well as music from artists like Cat Stevens How long music has been a part of Tommy's life (including a memorable photo of Tommy as a young child standing next to a guitar) The concept of being "meant to live a creative life" Music Tommy wrote that was derived from the experience of following the creative dream The preplanning that involved reaching out to 100 venues Tommy had intended on playing in (but not having heard back from any of them) The two award nominations that Tommy rec'd prior to his trip (which altered his trip from a full year to 7 week one, where he drove through 15 trips and clocked 9,000 miles) Zama (population 36), the town where Tommy was born and where his father lived most of his life How Tommy's experience as a musician intertwines with his creative writing The extensive research that Tommy did to teach himself writing, and to learn about publishing and how to find support, such as editors and cover designers for his books Tommy's use of 3 editors on his book RAMBLING ACROSS AMERICA Maintaining passion, strength and integrity when the road is difficult Tommy's temporary return to a day job where he currently is: St. Croix of the US Virgin Islands The preference Tommy has for playing his own music rather than playing cover songs at the local bar The way that being on stage as a musician is easier for Tommy than the prose he shares via the page The new series of dark/horror fiction that Tommy has started writing, inspired by actual dreams and actual mental and emotional torment, starting with the book MIRROR OF PERCEPTION How you should never take this life for granted and how you can leave your mark on this world in a positive and optimistic way After the interview, Mark talks about Tommy's creativity and his relentless optimism and passion for living a creative life. He finds it fitting that, at the same time he was producing this episode he was watching his friend Julie Strauss post updates about the catch-up she has been doing on her latest novel for NaNoWriMo.  What Mark loves about the past week of writing sprints in which Julie is trying to catch up for some lost writing time during the month, that love is that, as frustrated and restless as she is, she hasn't once stopped digging into the work with all her heart and soul. And she is turning the angst into hilarious and cheeky updates so many other writers are cheering her on for while being entertained by her musings of the writer's struggle. Mark then plays a short sample of Tommy's song Zama, reflecting on the creative life and the places we have all called home, lived in and loved. Links of Interest: Tommy Ray Books Tommy Ray Music Tommy Ray Insights (Blog) Tommy Ray's Email: tommy@tommyraybooks.com Tommy Ray's YouTube Channel Findaway Voices The 7 P's of Publishing Success Killing It On Kobo Patreon for Stark Reflections Julie Strauss's Website Episode 35 (Featuring Julie Strauss) Stark Reflections Survey   Tommy Ray chooses to become an author to create value and inspiration to the world. He desires all to leave their mark, do not take this life for granted, as well as never give up on your dreams. He has always been inspired by travel adventure tales of real-life journeys. He always had a voice inside of him telling him he desired to live his life through a creative voice. For many years, he ignored the voice to follow other endeavors, but the voice was always there and increasing in volume. Tommy loves to travel, write, compose, blog along with performing. He decided it was how he desired to spend his life. “Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations,”-Unknown. To add to his catalog, he recently created the “Amid the Blackness” series. Short stories which fall in the suspense category. Keep a look-out for upcoming music from Tommy Ray along with future books as “The Country Boy.”

In this episode, Mark chats with Andrea Pearson, an author, a marketing guru and a mother. We talk about how she balances all three roles, about the tools she uses, her latest fiction, how she manages to get so much writing done as well as some of her personal takeways from the recent WMG Business Master Class workshop she had attended. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a personal update about the status of some of his recent November goals, which include the print version of his two recent non-fiction books about writing and publishing (The 7 P's of Publishing Success & Killing It On Kobo). Mark also shares a word about the podcast's sponsor, Findaway Voices . . . During the interview Mark and Andrea discuss: The genesis of the Self-Publish Strong podcast where Andrea and her husband Nolan discuss movies in a way that writers can learn from The motivational marketing or publishing tips/quotes provided in each and every episode of the podcast The balanced blend between comedy and instruction that the two balance in their episodes Andrea's desire to help people and how that led to various tools and resources within her Self Publish Strong brand The fiction Andrea writes, including a new urban fantasy book which is her latest release (The Shade Amulet) How having children has helped Andrea become more structured and write more books The software that Andrea uses for dictating her novels (and the high volume of works she can create in an hour of dictation) Additional take-aways Andrea reflects upon from the recent WMG Publishing workshop The work that Andrea's virtual assistant does for her vs the work she does herself How hiring a virtual assistant paid for itself because of how it cleared up Andrea more time to publish more books Marketing advice for authors who are just beginning After the interview, Mark reflects upon one of the things Andrea said regarding the needless stress authors often place on themselves when looking at their lack of sales, or, conversely, a great sales trend - particularly when that time could be better spent working on the next book. Links of Interest:   Andrea's Author Website Andrea's Books Andrea's Self Publishing Strong Website Episode 38 of the Self Publishing Strong Website (Takeaways from the Vegas WMG Business Master Class) Findaway Voices The 7 P's of Publishing Success Killing It On Kobo Patreon for Stark Reflections Stark Reflections Survey     USA Today bestselling author Andrea Pearson has been a leader in the indie author arena since early 2011, with 50+ books under her belt and over a hundred articles published on professional blogs and websites. She hosts the popular Self-Publish Strong podcast that focuses on both publishing and craft, and she offers multiple online courses that surround her favorite topic: marketing. Andrea was executive director for Indie Author Hub for a year and a half, and she is frequently invited to teach reader engagement through advanced newsletter marketing tactics and successful promotional campaigns at conferences and workshops. Andrea has been interviewed on the Science Fiction and Fantasy Marketing podcast, the Rocking Self-Publishing podcast, and the Author Hangout. She has guest posted on JA Konrath’s A Newbie’s Guide to Publishing blog, and her tips have been mentioned several times on the Sell More Books Show.

If you are familiar with the Self Publishing Formula Podcast, you'll likely recognize James Blatch as Mark Dawson's right-hand man; his co-host, or, perhaps, his co-pilot for the podcast. But in this episode Mark puts James in the pilots seat with a focus on Blatch's own writing, his background as a reporter, a videographer and, of course, as a pilot. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a word from the podcast's sponsor, Findaway Voices . . .In his personal update, Mark reflects upon the recent death of Stan Lee and talks about the impact Lee's writing had on him, and, in particular, the influence that the character Peter Parker (Spider-Man's alter-ego) had. In the interview, Mark and James talk about: The type of specific videos or books that lend themselves best to YouTube videos VS Facebook videos How videos for most authors, specifically fiction authors, is a medium that can be used to connect and engage with a community of readers The intimacy of radio and digital audio format A bit about James' experience at the BBC and how the skills, particularly of his final few years there lent to this new role as a co-host of the Self Publishing Formula Podcast James' first writing experiences as a young man and his more recent NaNoWriMo experience where his current novel came to him in a single flash of inspiration The evolution of this novel with various feedback from readers and editors The turning point moment for James of meeting and working with editor Jennie Nash Jennie's prompting question: "Why do you need to tell this story" and all that question sparked in James Other questions that Jennie asked or prompts given that helped with the re-imagining of the way the story was unrolled The origin of his love for aviation How James is an even split between the exuberant mother and his reserved and "stiff-upper-lip" father James' recent experience in Florda flying with Nathan van Coops (from episode 38) The advice that James would go back and give to himself when he was just starting After the interview, Mark reflects upon the latest "catastrophy" in the indie publishing space, the recent disappearance of the buy buttons on Amazon for thousands of titles. He offers a reflection on the likely reason for this odd phenomenon and then suggests that much time is wasted worrying over the matter instead of working on the next book. He also considers, if it truly is the negative thing authors think it might be, it's yet another reason why authors shouldn't be putting all their eggs in a single basket.   Links of Interest: James Blatch's Website The Last Flight James Blatch on Twitter The Self Publishing Formula Podcast Episode 133 - The Author Accelerator with Jennie Nash Findaway Voices Stan Lee Spider-Man A Canadian Werewolf in New York Kobo NaNoWriMo Patreon for Stark Reflections Stark Reflections Survey   James Blatch is co-host of the Self Publishing Formula podcast. He is a former BBC Television News reporter and is currently writing his first novel, a military thriller set in 1960s Britain.   The music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

In this episode Mark interviews Phillip McCollum about an intriguing project of writing 52 stories in 52 weeks. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a word from the podcast's sponsor, Findaway Voices . . . . . . and then a personal update which includes a push-up challenge he participated in at the 20Booksto50K conference in Vegas. Michael Anderle instigated this challenge for a good cause, with the following companies each donating $150 to the cause LMBPN Publishing Kobo Draft2Digital BookFunnel Reedsy $750 USD was raised for two worthy charities in a push-up challenge between Mark and Christine Munroe from Kobo. Chrissy's chosen charity was Children's Book Bank and Mark's chosen charity was First Book Canada. Mark thanks the companies previously mentioned for their generosity to two great children's reading programs and then also thanks new Stark Reflections Patron, Katie Cross, for supporting the podcast via www.patreon.com/starkreflections. In the interview Phillip and Mark talk about: The genres that Phillip tends to write in most often How long Phillip has been writing Thoughts about NaNoWriMo and other similar "competitions" to help inspired writers to write Phillip's inspiration for the 52 stories in 52 weeks, which was derived from Ray Bradbury The discipline involved in undertaking such an endeavor on starting each week on Monday morning and posting the story by Sunday night The typical word count of the stories that Phillip wrote during this process The importance of being adaptable and recognizing that you might not always reach every single goal you set Plans that Phillip has for the stories which included 3 ebooks: 1 for writers (52 Stories in 52 Weeks) and 2 for readers (splitting them into two volumes of 26 stories: Fantastic Shorts Vol 1 and Vol 2) Feedback that Phillip has received on the notes added to the stories Forthcoming challenges that Phillip has in mind to keep challenging himself as a writer Things that Phillip learned about himself as a writer by taking this challenge After the interview, Mark talks about the importance of challenges that impose deadlines and require a writer to actually get their butt in the chair and their hands on the keyboard. He also reminds writers of the importance of the "fail to success" theory from Dean Wesley Smith that Phillip mentions. If you try to hit a certain word count, for example, and don't make it, instead of fretting about the missed words, focus on the words that have actually been written, or the parts of the goal that were actually accomplished.   Links of Interest: Phillip McCollum's website Phillip McCollum on Twitter Findaway Voices Draft2Digital Kobo Bookfunnel Reedsy NaNoWriMo Patreon for Stark Reflections Stark Reflections Survey   Phillip McCollum spent 52 weeks writing 52 short stories in an effort to prove to himself that he might be cut out for this writing thing after all. He hails from Southern California where he shares living quarters with his wife, son, an old cat, and young betta fish.   The music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Mark interviews authors Kerrie Flanagan and Chuck Harrelson about the steamy romantic comedy novels they have been co-authoring under the name C.K. Wiles. Before the interview, Mark shares a personal update explaining why he isn't participating in NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) this year, even though he loves it. He talks about how he will be using the month of November to get caught up on previous unpublished NaNoWriMo novels - in an effort he is calling NaNoComMo (National Novel Compleition Month) as well as a few other outstanding book projects he has in the works, including print and audiobook versions of two of his recent books on writing & publishing, The 7 P's of Publishing Success and Killing It On Kobo. He then thanks new Patron of the show, Mary Jo Rabe as well as the other existing patrons via www.patreon.com/starkreflections for their support, then gets side-tracked into remembering television shows like Romper Room and The Polka Dot Door. This episode is sponsored by Findaway Voices . . .During the interview, Kerrie, Chuck and Mark talk about: How Kerrie and Chuck first met, about ten years ago, via a developmental editing project The support Chuck has offered in helping hold Kerrie accountable for various writing projects over the years The strategic decisions behind the collaborative C.K. Wiles project The origin of the psuedonym The process of how they brainstorm, map out, outline, and write each of the novels How Chuck uses AutoCrit's web-based editing software (which provides automated recommendations for improving your manuscript in over 20 areas – categories like poor dialogue, use of adverbs, and relying on cliches) The cast and universe of characters that they have created and draw upon for each novel in this series The interesting and unplanned story arc that is beginning to reveal itself as they were working on the third book The logistics of how they published the C.K. Wiles books to the various retail platforms The co-author contract/agreement that Kerrie and Chuck created regarding this author name and series The importance of trusting one another and "having no ego" on a collaborative work - looking at the work as "ours" as it is being worked on and re-written The different elements that Kerrie and Chuck each bring to the narrative that make it better Plans they have for promotions and attention for this series After the interview, Mark reflects on one of the elements that Kerrie and Chuck mentioned, which is playing off one another's strengths. He considers teamwork and the importance of recognizing strengths and weaknesses when working with others. Links of Interest: C.K. Wiles Website C.K. Wiles Books Sign up to get Book One for FREE Kerrie Flanagan Episode 31 - Interview with Kerrie about Writing Magazine Articles Northern Colorado Writers Group Findaway Voices NaNoWriMo Romper Room The Polka Dot Door Polkaroo AutoCrit Patreon for Stark Reflections Stark Reflections Survey The 7 P'S Of Publishing Success Killing It On Kobo   Kerrie Flanagan is a freelance writer with over 20 years’ experience and is the author of Guide to Magazine Article Writing. As a writing consultant, she works with writers, giving them the encouragement, support, resources and tools to find success on their writing journey. She is the author of 8 books under her label, Hot Chocolate Press. Chuck Harrelson resides in Denver Colorado and is an active member of both the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers and the Northern Colorado Writers Group. His past manuscripts won the 2014 Top of The Mountain Book Award competition, the Ballot Press Competition and one was a finalist at the 2016 San Diego Writers Conference.    The music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

Having just spent six days at the WMG Business Master Class workshop in Las Vegas, Mark reflects on the overwhelming and head-spinning influx of information, insight, wisdom, ideas, inspiriation, and perspective that he had just taken in. In this episode, he walks through some of the ideas on how authors can process such a deluge of information and adapt the curated learnings and ideas into things that are likely to best work for them. This episode is sponsored by Findaway Voices . . . Some of the elements that Mark talks about are: A few key things to remember before setting out to try to implement the ideas gathered The importance of first stepping back to take a breath and get perspective A list of questions to ask yourself when looking at all of the ideas that you have jotted down or taken in The importance not just of deciding on something, but deciding to act on that something The concept of EAT, FEED, DRAIN The FOUR-D way to update a to-do list The importance of taking responsibility for your own career   Mark then thanks new Patron to the show, Matty Dalrymple, and sends a thanks to all patrons for their ongoing support of the show via www.patreon.com/starkreflections.   Links of Interest: WMG Publishing Workshops Findaway Voices Dean Wesley Smith Kristine Kathryn Rusch Kevin J. Anderson Rebecca Moesta David Farland David P. Vandagriff (aka The Passive Voice) Damon Courtney (Bookfunnel) Christina F. York Andrea Pearson Donna Cook Loren L. Coleman T. Thorn Coyle Patreon for Stark Reflections Stark Reflections Survey The 7 P'S Of Publishing Success Killing It On Kobo   The music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

In this episode Mark chats with Dave Sweet and Sarah Graham about their new book SKELETONS IN MY CLOSET: Life Lessons from a Homicide Detective, an unorthodox police memoir taking readers on a ride-along like no other, revealing poignant truths about life and death, and how we can all work and live together. Danger and grit pair with humour and compassion in this gripping, fresh read. Dave Sweet, a conservative, veteran homicide detective has teamed up with Sarah Graham, a liberal, optimistic author to write this unconventional universal life-lessons book. Before the interview, Mark shares a personal update which includes: Why he is pushing back the release date of his book INDIE PUBLISHING INSIDER SECRETS Some reflections on how previous Stark Reflections podcast guest Dana Pharant turned a mistake into a win Mark's forthcoming trip to Las Vegas to teach at a WMG Publishing Master Class about the business of writing and publishing This episode is sponsored by Findaway Voices . . . In the interview, Mark and Dave and Sarah talk about: How Dave and Sarah first met and then decided to work on this project together The work Dave has been doing with local area writer groups looking for insights and realistic detail related to actual police work The dichotomy of "Homicide Cop" and "Life Lessons" The importance that this book be optimistic and not be gratuitous in its portrayal of Dave's experiences The transformation that is witnessed in the various people involved in a homicide investigation and the lessons learned along the way The early reader expectation of "more grit" and how the authors responded to that with respect for the victims and their loved ones The decision to release this book as by Dave with Sarah rather than keeping Sarah's name hidden like a more traditional "ghost written" book, because of the way that Sarah's voice and influence helped to smooth out some of the rougher edges that come from Dave's experience The processes and different techniques used in how they wrote this book together (actual writing, raw words, interactive presentations, phone calls) What Dave learned about writing through this process What television actually gets right about police work and police life How Sarah's experience as a writer was different than the writer/cop partnership seen on television programs like Castle The publishing options, agent feedback and choices made for the publication of this book The intriguing "sneak peak" preview eBook their publisher created in a "Behind the Scenes" chapbook The comparison between when Sarah is all-consumed when working on edits and Dave is all-consumed when focusing on a case The "Reading Guide/Study Guide" section at the end of the book Forthcoming books in this series which will each explore courage and death After the interview, Mark reflects on how Dave and Sarah kept working at testing out different ways of making the collaboration work, not giving up, but continuing to experiment and find new ways for the process to happen smoothly. He discusses their publishing path as well, which was a series of learnings and tweaks and changes, until they found the one that suited them best. He considers how they applied patience, persistence, partnership and progression in their path towards publication. Mark then thanks Patrons for their sponsorship of the show via www.patreon.com/starkreflections.   Links of Interest: Skeletons in My Closet Mischievous Books WMG Publishing Workshops Findaway Voices Dana Pharant on Stark Reflections Dana's Facebook Video about mistakes & wins Patreon for Stark Reflections Stark Reflections Survey The 7 P'S Of Publishing Success Killing It On Kobo   The music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

In this week's episode, Mark speaks with Tina Dietz who is an award-winning and internationally acclaimed speaker, audiobook publisher, podcast producer, and content marketing expert. Prior to the interview, Mark shares a few personal updates that include the launch of his new traditionally published book Macabre Montreal, and how that book launch interfered with attending the NIGHT OF THE WRITING DEAD event in Pittsburgh that same weekend. This episode is sponsored by Findaway Voices . . . . . . and also by the Patrons of the show at www.patreon.com/starkreflections. All patrons will find, this week, the full audio of the first chapter about PRACTICE from Mark's forthcoming audiobook of The 7 P's of Publishing Success.   In their conversion, Mark and Tina talk about The link between writing/expression and entrepreneurship How writing (particularly in print) can be an enduring format as a tangable legacy Tina's introduction into podcasting and audiobook production Tina's Forbes article "Do You Sound Like a Leader?" that focuses on the relationship between vocal qualities and how a person is viewed as a leader Getting used to and comfortable with the sound of one's own voice Breathing techniques and facial exercises used for voice or singing voice Food and drink to avoid when doing voice work (dairy and citrus, for example) The coaching Tina does helping authors getting ready to do interviews for radio or podcasting The difference between forms of media like television, radio and podcasting Trends in the audiobook industry that authors might not be familiar with The concept that anything you create needs to be an asset and not a burden The free download that Tina has on her website that helps demystifies the audiobook process - www.launchyouraudiobook.com Things to consider when deciding between narrating and producting an audiobook yourself or outsourcing that How Tina's clients often "come for the audiobooks and then stay for everything else" The pre-interview Tina sent to Mark ahead of the podcast which made things so much easier for Mark   In the post-interview reflections, Mark talks about how Tina's info PDF made his job as an interviewer so much easier and he also shares a link to a WORD document template that authors can download and modify so they have something similar to use for their own podcast or radio interviews.   Tina Dietz is an award-winning and internationally acclaimed speaker, audiobook publisher, podcast producer, and content marketing expert who has been featured on media outlets including ABC, Inc.com, Huffington Post, and Forbes. Tina's podcast, The StartSomething Show, was named by INC magazine as one of the top 35 podcasts for entrepreneurs. Tina’s company, StartSomething Creative Business Solutions, connects leaders, entrepreneurs and experts with larger audiences, resulting in expanded influence and income. Tina divides her time between the US and Costa Rica, where she’s part of a leadership team building a conscious community called Vista Mundo.   Links of Interest: Tina's Website Tina on Twitter Facebook LinkedIn YouTube Goodreads Findaway Voices Patreon for Stark Reflections Night of the Writing Dead More Information about Stark Publishing Solutions Stark Reflections Survey Macabre Montreal The 7 P'S OF PUBLISHING SUCCESS   The music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0

In this solo episode, Mark reflects upon some of the things that happened at NINC and why he enjoys attending it every year. One of the things, of course, was that he recently became Director of Business Development for Draft2Digital. This episode is sponsored by Findaway Voices . . . . . . and also by the Patrons of the show at www.patreon.com/starkreflections. Links of Interest: Findaway Voices Patreon for Stark Reflections More Information about Stark Publishing Solutions Stark Reflections Survey NINC (Novelists Inc) Macabre Montreal The 7 P'S OF PUBLISHING SUCCESS   The music for this podcast (“Laser Groove”) was composed and produced by Kevin MacLeod of www.incompetech.com and is Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0